San Diego regional water news roundup Aug 1-7, 2012
Posted by George J Janczyn on August 8, 2012
A selected roundup of news related to San Diego regional water issues. Click headlines for the full story at originating website.
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Helix extends employee contract, draws criticism / U-T San Diego : “Despite an outcry from some ratepayers, Helix Municipal Water District board voted 4-1 Wednesday to extend a contract with the district’s employee association.” |
POWAY: City reimburses $1 million to residents who paid stormwater fees / North County Times : “Poway residents have received about $1 million in refunds since October after jumping at an offer to be reimbursed for stormwater fees they paid in 2010-11…residents have until Oct. 18 to file claims for the refunds.” |
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ESCONDIDO: Rebuilt Wohlford Dam slated to open in 2017 / North County Times : “City Council members took another step toward keeping central Escondido safe from severe flooding Wednesday when they agreed to pay consultants $3.5 million to design a roughly $26 million rebuild of the Lake Wohlford Dam.” |
Special report: Aquifers shrink as nation digs deep / U-T San Diego : “Deep underground — far out of sight and out of mind for most people — dreams are turning to dust. Few places in Southern California is that more evident than the desert sands of Borrego Springs, where residents, farmers and golf course operators are sucking about four times as much water from the ground each year as nature replaces.” |
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City Council receives mostly low grades on environmental issues / Voice of San Diego : “Every year for the last eleven years, the mayor and City Council members have been graded on their environmental stewardship. What started in 2001 as the Water Quality Report Card grew into the Environmental Quality Report Card in 2009, and became a spotlight for major environmental votes in areas such as water quality, habitat, green energy, land use and climate change. Sadly, last year’s grades were the lowest in the three-year history of the EQRC.” |
Water giant MWD must get its fiscal house in order / North County Times : ““The ancient Greeks had a word for it: “hubris,” which is “a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one’s own competence or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power.” The July 22 Community Forum by Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District managers (“Scrutiny of water decisions long overdue in San Diego”) shows that Metropolitan has indeed lost touch with reality. Currently overcharging San Diegans more than $50 million annually, Metropolitan says “trust us”” |
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Judge rejects MWD efforts to avoid discovery in Water Authority rate challenge / San Diego County Water Authority : “San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard A. Kramer today rejected arguments made by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and other Southern California water agencies that they do not have to produce documents to the San Diego County Water Authority disclosing how MWD set its 2011 and 2012 water rates.” |
Proposed water rate increase on agenda / Pomerado News : “The typical residential water bill would increase by 3.5 percent starting next year under a proposal to be considered Tuesday night by the [Poway] City Council. The council will discuss the report in a workshop format, meaning no decisions will be made. A public hearing is planned for Oct. 16. If approved then, the rate will take effect on Jan. 1 and will be reflected in bills mailed in March.” |
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