Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District (MWD) has released their analysis of water supplies for the next three years saying that it has sufficient water supplies to meet the demands of its member agencies thanks, in large part, to Southland residents and their successful water conservation efforts. When the State Water …
Read More »No-show El Niño, continuing drought and rising temperatures combine for a critical fire season
Lacking a true, heavy rain El Niño presence in Southern California this year and rising global temperatures, fire officials throughout the Southland came together recently to warn people to take precautions, maintain your properties and shrubbery and be prepared. Michael Moore, Riverside fire chief, said this will be a “critical” …
Read More »State Water Board simplifies permitting process for recycled water projects
A new General Order, approved last week by the State Water Resources Control Board, will simplify the permitting process for recycled water projects thus advancing the state’s goal of increasing recycled water use statewide. Expanding water recycling is a key quantity of the state’s efforts to increase regional self-reliance under …
Read More »State Water Board drops fine for two irrigation districts
Regulators with the State Water Resources Control Board have formally dropped complaints against two Northern California water districts. Both were accused of diverting water in summer 2015 in violation of a drought order. In the case of the Byron-Bethany Irrigation District (BBID) the complaint included a $1.5 million fine. Though …
Read More »Feds, state and Nestle tussle over water rights in San Bernardino mountains
The U. S. Forest Service, the state Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and Nestle Waters North America are currently at odds over Nestle’s continued piping of water from the San Bernardino National Forest in order to produce Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water. The controversy stems from a permit that expired in …
Read More »Diminishing drought conditions will only slightly increase hydropower in California
Though the much-hyped El Nino of 2015-16 only materialized in some parts of the state, it was enough to boost California’s hydropower generation to its best levels since 2011. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (USEIA), the state’s hydropower production in March was 2.77 million megawatt hours – the …
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