DAILY DIGEST: San Diego County Water Authority proposes sweeping legal settlement with Metropolitan; Salton Sea: Largest lake of CA born from an engineering mistake; Arizona cancels water meeting amid difficult negotiations on Colorado River deal; and more …

In California water news today, San Diego County Water Authority proposes sweeping legal settlement with Metropolitan Water District; In Water-Stressed West, an Old Water Efficiency Metric Needs a Reboot; This machine can make gallons of fresh drinking water right out of thin air; LA County ‘Big dig’ project at Devil’s Gate Dam draws the ire of residents and activists alike; Salton Sea: Largest Lake of California Born From An Engineering Mistake; Arizona cancels water meeting amid difficult negotiations on Colorado River deal; and more …

On the calendar today …

In the news today …

San Diego County Water Authority proposes sweeping legal settlement with Metropolitan Water District: “San Diego County water officials, who have been mired in legal disputes with their counterparts to the north over billions of dollars in rates and methodology, proposed a sweeping compromise Thursday that, if accepted, could end years of acrimony and expensive litigation.  The new chairman of the San Diego County Water Authority sent the outline of a settlement to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California that he said could resolve five separate lawsuits and secure reliable supplies at reasonable rates for years to come. ... ”  Read more from the San Diego Union Tribune here:  San Diego County Water Authority proposes sweeping legal settlement with Metropolitan Water District

San Diego County Water Authority offers to end decade-old rate dispute with Los Angeles:  “The San Diego County Water Authority offered Thursday to end a decade-long rate dispute with the Metropolitan Water District in Los Angeles.  Board Chair Jim Madaffer sent a letter to MWD directors outlining a compromise approach to end litigation involving billions of dollars charged to deliver independent water supplies from the Colorado River to San Diego.  “Concluding all pending court cases is in the best interest of everyone involved, and it would allow us to begin a new era of collaboration on other important regional and state issues,” said Madaffer, who started his tenure as chair on Oct. 1. … ”  Read more from the Times of San Diego here:  San Diego County Water Authority offers to end decade-old rate dispute with Los Angeles

In Water-Stressed West, an Old Water Efficiency Metric Needs a Reboot:  “People in California and the Southwest are getting stingier with water, a story that’s told by the acre-foot.  For years, water use has generally been described in terms of acre-foot per a certain number of households, keying off the image of an acre-foot as a football field a foot deep in water. The longtime rule of thumb: One acre-foot of water would supply the indoor and outdoor needs of two typical urban households for a year. … ”  Read more from Water Deeply here:  In Water-Stressed West, an Old Water Efficiency Metric Needs a Reboot

This machine can make gallons of fresh drinking water right out of thin air:  “Machines designed by a California-based team can produce, in some cases, up to 300 gallons of fresh drinking water a day by pulling it straight from the air. And the team just won a $1.5 million prize for it.  The machines, dubbed Skywater, were created by the Skysource/Skywater Alliance, a team of sustainability experts from Venice, California. Skywater machines, housed in big metal boxes, are atmospheric water generators that condense water vapor from the atmosphere and turn it into drinking water. The machines can be powered by solar energy or the burning of biofuels. Depending on the model, they can be used for households, for farming or for emergency relief efforts. … ”  Read more from Channel 8 here:  This machine can make gallons of fresh drinking water right out of thin air

In commentary today …

State water grab will devastate our community, say Are you a mechanic? A food processor? A trucker? Do you work in a bank? Sell insurance? Much more simply, do you drink water in eastern Merced County?  Assuming you answered yes to any of these questions, get ready: the State Water Resources Control Board will soon vote to take more than $230 million and about 1,000 jobs from our community.  In July, the water board released its newest plan to require that twice as much water remain in the Merced River and flow north into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. After a series of hearings and delays, the board is poised to adopt this doomed-to-fail plan on Nov. 7. … ”  Read more from the Merced Sun Star here:  State water grab will devastate our community, say

In regional news and commentary today …

Klamath program uses fire to manage landscape:  “For the fifth consecutive year, the Klamath River Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (TREX) took place along the Klamath River in an ongoing effort to develop the Klamath River community’s capacity to safely and effectively reintroduce fire onto the local landscape.  The training exercise included local, state and federal agencies and 87 participants, including tribal members, local contractors, firefighters and nonprofit organizations, who spent two weeks learning about fire behavior, its impacts to the local environment and how to use fire as a tool in land management. … ”  Read more from the Times-Herald here: Klamath program uses fire to manage landscape

Nevada Irrigation District directors hear groundwater plan update:  “The Nevada Irrigation District Board of Directors received an update about the Groundwater Sustainability Plan Development and authorized a contract for work at Scotts Flat Campground, during its Wednesday meeting.  Directors got an update on the California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act from the West Placer Groundwater Sustainability Agency, including development of the required Groundwater Sustainability Plan. … ”  Read more from The Union here: Nevada Irrigation District directors hear groundwater plan update

Final North Valley Regional Recycled Water Program groundbreaking held: “The groundbreaking for the Turlock component of the North Valley Regional Recycled Water Program (NVRRWP) was held last Friday, October 19.  The Turlock phase is the final leg of the project, which currently delivers recycled water from the City of Modesto’s water treatment plant on Jennings Road to the Delta Mendota Canal for the benefit of West Side farmers and wildlife refuges. When completed, the project is anticipated to deliver 30,000 acre feet of desperately needed water a year. … ”  Read more from the Patterson Irrigator here:  Final North Valley Regional Recycled Water Program groundbreaking held

South San Joaquin Irrigation District: State of the art irrigation:  “Pressurized delivery of irrigation water to farmers west of Ripon and south of Manteca is saving 12,500 acre feet of water a year or enough to cover the indoor and outdoor water use of 13,000 typical California household for a year.  More than a 100 people got a look at the state-of-the-art South San Joaquin Irrigation District Division 9 project that serves as a water industry model for innovation irrigation delivery during a field day on Thursday.  General Manager Peter Rietkerk explained how the $14 million irrigation system serving 3,800 acres that previous relied on flood irrigation works. The facility has drawn worldwide attention for its efficiency in water delivery to farms. It has been bestowed four national awards and three international awards ... ”  Read more from the Manteca Bulletin here:  South San Joaquin Irrigation District: State of the art irrigation

LA County ‘Big dig’ project at Devil’s Gate Dam draws the ire of residents and activists alike:The first phase of a controversial four-year sediment removal project in Devil’s Gate Dam is scheduled to begin at the end of the month — a project which will result in hundreds of truck trips a day in and out of Hahamongna Watershed Park.  During this phase of the $66.6 million Devil’s Gate Dam Sediment Removal Project, vegetation will be removed from the first 50 acres behind the dam, and dirt roads will be paved over to make way for trucks entering and exiting the park from the Foothill (210) Freeway in April.  The construction will force the closure of some sections of recreational trails in the rugged foothills of Northwest Pasadena. … ”  Read more from Pasadena Weekly here:  LA County ‘Big dig’ project at Devil’s Gate Dam draws the ire of residents and activists alike

Los Angeles:  Backers say Measure W parcel tax would help in capturing and saving storm water runoff: “If approved, Measure W, a hard-surface parcel tax on the Nov. 6 ballot, would raise $300 million a year to fund projects aimed at collecting, cleaning and storing storm water runoff that would otherwise flow into the ocean.  The LA County Board of Supervisors on July 17 approved the Safe, Clean Water Program by a vote of 4-1, with only Supervisor Kathryn Barger dissenting. … ”  Read more from Pasadena Weekly here:  Los Angeles:  Backers say Measure W parcel tax would help in capturing and saving storm water runoff

Can L.A. County stormwater tax clear the two-thirds bar for passage?Julia Ying stood on the beach near Santa Monica Pier, holding up a photograph of a storm drain.  “After a big rain, everything gets rushed down here: car oil, fertilizer … you name it,” Ying told a group in front of her. “And it doesn’t go through any filter.”  It was a week after L.A.’s first major rain of the season, and hundreds of volunteers had gathered to pick up trash along the beach at a monthly cleanup organized by Heal the Bay.  Ying, a volunteer herself, was giving them instructions — and helping make the case for a countywide measure on the Nov. 6 ballot that would raise money from property taxes to fund stormwater capture and cleanup. ... ”  Read more from the LA Times here:  Can L.A. County stormwater tax clear the two-thirds bar for passage?

San Diego: Customers still questioning water bills:  “Complaints about San Diego’s water department continue to surface. During the past year, the San Diego Public Utilities Department has looked to wash off the stains from controversies involving high water bills, errant water meter reader employees, repair backlogs, and complaints about a lackluster customer service department.  Customers who questioned their water bill say water department employees were quick to place blame on them and reluctant to investigate complaints. Such issues have led to a growing surge of distrust among ratepayers in San Diego. … ”  Read more from Channel 7 here:  San Diego: Customers still questioning water bills

Dianne Feinstein attacks Kevin de León over Cadiz Water Project:  “The two Democrats running to represent California in the U.S. Senate hold similar views on many of the election’s hot-button issues.  But at a Thursday news conference held at Whitewater Preserve, north of Palm Springs, Sen. Dianne Feinstein attacked her challenger, state Sen. Kevin de León, for stopping a bill that would have required added scrutiny of a proposal to draw water from the aquifer underlying the Mojave Desert.  Los Angeles-based water supply company Cadiz, Inc. has proposed pumping 16.3 billion gallons of groundwater out of the aquifer and transporting it through public lands to the Colorado River Aqueduct, a major source of water in Southern California, since the 1990s. … ”  Read mroe from the Desert Sun here: Dianne Feinstein attacks Kevin de León over Cadiz Water Project

Salton Sea: Largest Lake of California Born From An Engineering Mistake:  “The Salton Sea is the largest lake in California at around 970 square km. But it’s not the product of the powers of nature, it’s the product of a major engineering mistake over 110 years ago.  Its creation wiped out the town of Salton and it grew to become a popular fishing and leisure spot during the 1950s. It also became an important local wildlife refuge.  That is until today. It is now on the verge of becoming an environmental and public health disaster. In the following article, we’ll take a look at this interesting watercourse created entirely by accident. … ”  Read more from Interesting Engineering here:  Salton Sea: Largest Lake of California Born From An Engineering Mistake

Along the Colorado River …

Arizona cancels water meeting amid difficult negotiations on Colorado River deal: “With a deadline approaching for Arizona to finish a deal that would divvy up cutbacks in Colorado River water deliveries, the state’s cities, tribes and agricultural irrigation districts are entering what should be the final stretch of negotiations.  The talks are proving difficult, though, with points of disagreement over how the cuts should be spread around and how much water should be used to soften the blow for farmers in central Arizona who have the lowest priority in the state’s pecking order of water users.  The state’s top water managers canceled a Thursday meeting of a group they call the Drought Contingency Plan Steering Committee, saying in a statement that they wanted to “give time for additional discussions and analysis related to the four essential elements involved in this process.” … ”  Read more from the Desert Sun here:  Arizona cancels water meeting amid difficult negotiations on Colorado River deal

Also on Maven’s Notebook today …

NEWS WORTH NOTING: San Diego County Water Authority board chair outlines compromise terms to potentially end MWD litigation; California approves Ocean Acidification Action Plan

Today’s announcements …

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About the Daily Digest: The Daily Digest is a collection of selected news articles, commentaries and editorials appearing in the mainstream press. Items are generally selected to follow the focus of the Notebook blog. The Daily Digest is published every weekday with a weekend edition posting on Sundays.

 

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