Contra Costa county supervisors lean on landowners to solve stormwater pollution problem
Posted by: Maven on February 8, 2012 at 7:42 amFrom the Contra Costa Times:
“A new $12 to $22 annual parcel fee to clean trash out of storm drains and keep pollutants out of Bay Area lakes and rivers will go before Contra Costa County landowners later this month.
The county board of supervisors on Tuesday unanimously triggered the election on behalf of the county and its 19 cities after a hearing at which a majority of property owners failed to protest it.
Ballots will go out Feb. 21 to 307,000 property owners, who will have until April 6 to vote. The cost of the $500,000 election will come from existing fees paid into the 18-year-old clean water program county-city consortium. … “
Continue reading from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.
Dispute over East Bay MUD water line in Lafayette
Posted by: Maven on February 7, 2012 at 7:39 amFrom the Contra Costa Times:
“Nestled under oak and manzanita trees in the shadow of a towering East Bay hill, Dan Moy’s house is situated in an idyllic spot.
But according to handyman Jason Cohn, something strange is underfoot.
During the past six months that he has worked at Moy’s house, Cohn has witnessed some odd happenings. The house and yard have shifted; a patch of ground that once was flat is now warped and sloping. Grass is growing where it shouldn’t be.
The culprit, Cohn thinks, is a compromised 47-year-old utility-owned pipe embedded in the Moy property, in unincorporated Contra Costa County between Lafayette and Pleasant Hill. … “
Continue reading from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.
Hold the salt: Developer explores using desalinated water for Saltworks project
Posted by: Maven on February 4, 2012 at 7:50 amFrom the Silicon Valley Mercury News:
“Among many challenges facing the controversial Redwood City Saltworks project, securing water for a community that may have as many as 12,000 homes is high on the list.
DMB Pacific Ventures, a new company owned by Arizona-based DMB Associates that wants to develop Saltworks on Cargill’s salt flats, has promised not to tap into Redwood City’s limited water supply to hydrate the massive 1,436-acre project, which also would include office buildings, stores, schools, playing fields and restored marshlands.
Until recently, DMB has been focusing on a complex maneuver to transfer the rights to 2.7 billion gallons of water a year purchased from a Bakersfield farming collective to a Bay Area water agency for delivery. … “
Continue reading from the Silicon Valley Mercury News by clicking here.
Marin Municipal Water District plans to raise water rates for sixth straight year
Posted by: Maven on February 4, 2012 at 7:18 amFrom the Marin Independent Journal:
“The Marin Municipal Water District is eyeing a sixth consecutive year of rate hikes to help balance its budget.
The district board, which met Thursday to consider its budget options, will review a possible 6.5 percent increase when it meets again in two weeks. If such a hike is eventually approved, the average customer who pays a $94.44 two-month water bill would pay another $4.20 per bill, district officials said.
The new water rate could take effect May 1 and would generate another $3.6 million annually for the district, which has a $60 million-plus budget. … “
Continue reading from the Marin Independent Journal by clicking here.
Santa Cruz: Desal petition finalized: Group must now collect about 5,500 signatures from registered voters
Posted by: Maven on February 4, 2012 at 7:04 amFrom the Silicon Valley Mercury News:
“The city attorney finalized language Friday on a petition from desalination opponents who are aiming for a ballot measure that would change the city’s charter to let voters decide the project’s fate.
The charter amendment, if approved by a majority of voters, would remove the City’s Council authority to approve a seawater desalination plant designed to offset supply during severely dry periods. The amendment also would bar the city from incurring debt for the controversial project.
Rick Longinotti, a leader of the Right to Vote on Desal Coalition, said the group will have to work diligently to collect signatures from 15 percent of registered city voters, roughly 5,500, to place the matter on November’s ballot. Advocates, who are hosting a kick-off party Feb. 12, have a 180-day window from the petition’s publication in the newspaper, which Longinotti said would be soon. … “
Continue reading from the Silicon Valley Mercury News by clicking here.
Monterey desal EIR dealt blow; Review failed to consider water rights, judge rules
Posted by: Maven on February 4, 2012 at 7:01 amFrom the Monterey County Herald:
“In an amended ruling, a Monterey County Superior Court judge has found that the environmental review for the failed regional desalination project neglected to properly consider a number of issues, including water rights.
The revised ruling, which amends a tentative decision issued by Judge Lydia Villarreal in December, deals a severe blow to any thoughts California American Water may have had of using the project’s environmental impact report on an alternative desal project.
And it could raise questions about whether the EIR is adequate under the California Environmental Quality Act for Cal Am to go ahead with its portion of the regional project. … “
Continue reading from the Monterey County Herald by clicking here.
Promising winter run of Marin coho brings cautious optimism about recovery
Posted by: Maven on February 3, 2012 at 7:46 amFrom the Marin Independent Journal:
“Eric Ettlinger, aquatic ecologist for the Marin Municipal Water District, stood ankle-deep in the waters of Lagunitas Creek on Thursday and liked what he saw.
“The fish are all around,” Ettlinger said of numerous steelhead trout and a few coho salmon and their fish eggs.
After years of low numbers of endangered coho salmon in Marin creeks, Ettlinger observed a small but resurgent number of those fish and their eggs this winter. … “
Continue reading from the Marin Independent Journal by clicking here.
SEE ALSO: Celebrated Marin County salmon make their return, from the San Francisco Chronicle
Mosquito fogging in jeopardy after new environmental regulations
Posted by: Maven on January 31, 2012 at 7:05 amFrom the Silicon Valley Mercury News:
“As fears grow that an unseasonably warm winter could lead to a severe West Nile virus season in the Bay Area, statewide vector control agencies may lose their chief weapon in fighting the mosquito-borne illness.
Mosquitoes already have awakened from their hibernation, and a late rain could create the perfect breeding ground for West Nile, just as a federal court ruling imposes strict regulations on the use of mosquito-abatement pesticides.
The ruling, which took effect last fall, requires that pesticide use adhere to the Clean Water Act, meaning seasonal fogging may cease in parts of the Bay Area, increasing the chances humans will get infected by the potentially fatal virus, experts say. A bill that would free vector control agencies from the rules is stuck in Congress. … “
Continue reading from the Silicon Valley Mercury News by clicking here.
Tri-Valley water agency eliminates controversial bonus program
Posted by: Maven on January 30, 2012 at 7:22 amFrom the Contra Costa Times:
“An incentive program that had awarded more than $2.5 million in bonuses over the past 13 years to workers of one Tri-Valley water agency has been eliminated due to public pressure.
The Dublin San Ramon Services District board of directors approved contracts over the past two months that did not include its Pay For Performance program, which had offered employees additional compensation based on individual, department and district evaluations.
“We probably received a hundred emails from rate payers and a lot of attention was generated through media attention and local blogs,” said Dan Scannell, a board member since 2000 and vocal opponent of the program. … “
Continue reading from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.
Senator Feinstein: Proposals to drain Hetch Hetchy won’t work
Posted by: Maven on January 29, 2012 at 8:48 amFrom the Sacramento Bee, this commentary by Senator Dianne Feinstein:
“The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park has been a vital source of clean water for San Francisco Bay communities for almost 100 years.
Through its energy-efficient gravity flow system, it pipes some of the cleanest water in California to 2.6 million people and thousands of high-tech companies that rely on its purity.
Nevertheless, every so often an effort emerges to remove the O’Shaughnessy Dam and drain the reservoir. … “
Continue reading this commentary by Senator Feinstein at the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
San Francisco’s green ethos goes only so far, says the Sacramento Bee
Posted by: Maven on January 26, 2012 at 8:26 amFrom the Sacramento Bee, this editorial:
“Gee, do you think San Francisco could get any more hysterical about proposed alternatives to the city getting its water from a submerged and majestic canyon in Yosemite National Park?
Even the esteemed San Francisco Chronicle has joined the epidemic of panic, blaming such ideas on “fringe environmentalists” in a Sunday editorial.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein and the general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission believe that a U.S. Department of the Interior investigation of water use – requested by Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Gold River – is tantamount to dismantling the water system that includes the dam and reservoir in the Hetch Hetchy Valley. … “
Continue reading this editorial from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Mountain Lake’s gunk to be cleared in Presidio
Posted by: Maven on January 24, 2012 at 7:34 amFrom the San Francisco Chronicle:
“It is a good thing that nobody attempts to swim in Mountain Lake.
The 4-acre pond on the southern boundary of the Presidio of San Francisco is sloppy with toxic gunk.
The mud at the bottom of the 8-foot-deep body of water is saturated with lead, pesticides and oil that has drained off Park Presidio Boulevard and the adjacent golf course and flowed into the lake through storm drains. … “
Continue reading from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
Small non-profit works to reduce massive sewage spills into San Francisco Bay
Posted by: Maven on January 24, 2012 at 7:27 amFrom the Silicon Valley Mercury News:
“Every year, winter rains like the recent storms that have soaked the Bay Area help fill reservoirs and perk up lawns. But they also carry an ugly downside, causing aging sewage systems to back up, overflow and malfunction, endangering human health and polluting San Francisco Bay.
Last year, a staggering 17.5 million gallons of raw or partially treated sewage spilled in the nine Bay Area counties — enough to fill 26 Olympic-size swimming pools — and 95 percent of it flowed to the bay, lakes or streams.
But with little fanfare, a small nonprofit group is steadily turning the tide. … “
Continue reading from the Silicon Valley Mercury News by clicking here.
Hetch Hetchy should be restored to natural state, says Congressman Lungren
Posted by: Maven on January 23, 2012 at 7:17 amFrom Congressman Dan Lungren at the San Francisco Chronicle:
“What if someone were to tell you that California could have another Yosemite Valley? One might respond that it would be amazing but that only God could create such a remarkable wonder. Surprisingly, there is such a valley. It was created 10,000 years ago. It is called the Hetch Hetchy Valley and was described by John Muir as being “a grand landscape garden, one of Nature’s rarest and most precious mountain temples.” Hetch Hetchy Valley was home to a large variety of plant and animal species and was a stopping point for migratory birds.
However, 89 years ago, all this was lost. The valley was converted to a reservoir to serve the needs of San Francisco.
So how did one of nature’s most beautiful sanctuaries, a jewel for millions of Americans, get converted into a water storage tank for a single city? The short answer: A ready supply of public land was available with no apparent practical alternative at a time when our frontier seemed endless. … “
Let the dam at Hetch Hetchy stand, says the San Francisco Chronicle
Posted by: Maven on January 23, 2012 at 7:15 amFrom the San Francisco Chronicle, this editorial:
“You can’t be serious, Congressman. Rep. Dan Lungren, a Sacramento-area Republican, is prodding the Interior Department to investigate San Francisco’s operation of the Hetch Hetchy water and power system, perched in the Sierra near fabled Yosemite Valley. It’s the latest rerun of a nonsensical sideshow that aims to take out a dam that provides water for 2.4 million people.
Lungren, who must know how remote his chances are, is joining a tiny crusade to turn back the clock on a decision made nearly a century ago to flood a granite-walled valley for the benefit of San Francisco and three other Bay Area counties. … “
Continue reading this editorial from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
Hetch Hetchy an invaluable source of water, power, says commentary
Posted by: Maven on January 23, 2012 at 7:13 amFrom the San Francisco Chronicle, this commentary by Jim Wunderman, president and CEO of the Bay Area Council:
“The Hetch Hetchy water system serves pristine drinking water to 2.6 million residents from Hayward to San Jose to San Francisco in a region that is among the world’s most economically productive. Despite the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water and Power System’s enormous importance, a serious movement is afoot to eliminate our water system. The basis of the fight is that we are wasteful guzzlers of this precious water. The facts tell a different story.
Few regions in California are more miserly with their water than the 33 cities in Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco counties served by Hetch Hetchy. … “
Continue reading this commentary at the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
Coming tomorrow … Hetch Hetchy in the news
Posted by: Maven on January 22, 2012 at 8:02 amThe San Francisco Chroncile has posted two articles about Hetch Hetchy, but is restricting access today for those with subscriptions. You can also pay 75 cents to read it today.
The articles will be available tomorrow and posted to tomorrow’s scroll, but if you want to read before then:
Feinstein’s move makes sure science gets fair review, says the Marin Independent Journal
Posted by: Maven on January 20, 2012 at 5:48 amFrom the Marin Independent Journal, this editorial:
“The National Park Service promised to complete a fair and thorough review of the Drakes Bay Oyster Co.’s request to extend its lease at Point Reyes National Seashore, but public questions are already swirling about the study’s accuracy.
That’s not surprising in a debate where people seem to find room to disagree over nearly every fact.
That’s why U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s legislation asking the National Academy of Sciences to review the park service’s environmental impact statement study is so important.
It’s unfortunate that she has to take this step, but it is important to the public’s trust in the outcome. … “
Continue reading from the National Park Service by clicking here.
Mountain View: No fear of drought, for now
Posted by: Maven on January 20, 2012 at 5:46 amFrom the Mountain View Voice:
“Though rain has been scarce over the past few months, Mountain View residents have little reason to fear drought at this time, an official with the Santa Clara Valley Water District said.
“Overall, considering all 10 of our local reservoirs, we are at 81 percent of the average total storage for this time of year,” said Marty Grimes, a spokesman for the water district.
Grimes acknowledged that it has been an unusually dry year so far — Nov. 19 was last time any of the water district’s reservoirs collected any significant amount of precipitation. … “
Continue reading from the Mountain View Voice by clicking here.
Mountain View’s Cuesta Park Annex to get flood detention basin
Posted by: Maven on January 19, 2012 at 6:05 amFrom the Mercury News:
“The Mountain View City Council has cleared the way for a controversial flood detention basin in Cuesta Park Annex, despite renewed objections from site users.
Presented with two options for containing a major flood along Permanente Creek, council members voted 4-2 Tuesday night in favor of constructing an 8- to 12-foot-deep basin on five acres of the popular recreational area.
The other option called for installing a 48-inch diameter pipe under Cuesta Drive to catch flood waters. … “
Continue reading from the Mercury News by clicking here.
LA Times editorial: San Francisco’s water ways: The city is not doing enough to meet rules that allow it to use water from Hetch Hetchy
Posted by: Maven on January 15, 2012 at 6:54 amFrom the Los Angeles Times:
“The way San Francisco takes advantage of its bountiful water from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir would make John Muir weep. The iconic naturalist and founder of the Sierra Club fought mightily to prevent the damming of one of the most beautiful valleys in Yosemite National Park nearly 100 years ago, but lost. And there are reasons to think that the city that benefits from this extraordinary federal largesse isn’t abiding by one of the few restrictions placed on its water use.
The 1913 federal law that gave San Francisco its special deal also made it clear that the city was to take no more Hetch Hetchy water than it needed to “for its beneficial use for domestic and other municipal purposes.” It was to continue using its own local resources of water, supplementing that as necessary with the water from Yosemite.
But the city uses almost none of its own groundwater anymore. It does little to harvest rainwater, and its water reclamation efforts are minuscule. … “
Continue reading from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.
YouTube: SFPUC’s Water System Improvement Program achieves 2.5 million safe working hours
Posted by: Maven on January 14, 2012 at 6:10 amFrom the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, posted at YouTube:
“In late November 2011, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) reached a remarkable milestone: 2.5 million work hours completed without a major recordable injury or lost time since April 2009.”
Golden Gate Bridge’s 75th anniversary celebrations
Posted by: Maven on January 11, 2012 at 6:52 amFrom the San Francisco Chronicle:
“The Golden Gate Bridge, the focus of many memories and photographs, will be the center of attention at a sprawling waterfront festival and spectacular fireworks display that will end with a surprise finale over Memorial Day weekend to commemorate its 75th anniversary.
But there will be no repeat of the crowded, and potentially calamitous, bridge walk that took place at the 50th birthday celebration. During that event, which closed the bridge to traffic but opened it to people, pets and bicycles, so many people crowded onto the roadways and sidewalks that they created the span’s worst-ever congestion – and flattened the bridge deck’s slight arching shape. Bridge and public safety officials say it was fortunate that nobody was seriously injured. … “
Continue reading from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
EPA: Metal recycler discharged pollutants in Bay
Posted by: Maven on January 10, 2012 at 7:24 amFrom the Silicon Valley Mercury News:
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered a company that shreds and recycles scrap metal to stop discharging a rash of toxic pollutants into the San Francisco Bay.
The EPA announced Tuesday that Sims Metal Management’s facility in Redwood City had violated federal clean water laws by releasing automobile shredded residue into a creek that flows directly into the bay.
The agency made the announcement after issuing an enforcement order that lists six ways the company violated the Clean Water Act, including discharging the contaminants into waters where ships typically pick up shredded cars and other recycled metals to haul across the ocean. … “
Continue reading from the Silicon Valley Mercury News by clicking here.
Dry weather takes aim at Marin’s endangered fish
Posted by: Maven on January 9, 2012 at 6:49 amFrom the Marin Independent Journal:
“An unusually dry weather pattern that has settled over the region is wreaking havoc on Marin’s endangered coho salmon that need rain to survive.
There hasn’t been any significant rain in the county since Thanksgiving, when a little more than an inch fell. Since then, just slightly over a quarter of an inch of rain has fallen. December was the second-driest in Marin in more than 130 years.
The lack of rain comes right when the coho need it most. After returning from the ocean, they ride rain-swollen creeks back to their birthplaces so they can spawn and start the lifecycle all over. … “
Continue reading from the Marin Independent Journal by clicking here.
Lagunitas Creek watershed: This Marin County watershed is prime breeding ground for endangered Coho salmon
Posted by: Maven on January 8, 2012 at 8:06 amFrom the Bay-Citizen:
“Lagunitas Watershed in Marin County is a prime breeding ground for the endangered coho salmon. Once rain swells the creeks, the fish return from the ocean to their freshwater birthplace to spawn. With declining numbers of salmon in the recent past, environmentalists are closely counting this year’s returnees.
So far, they are hopeful. … “
Continue reading from the Bay-Citizen by clicking here.
Drain it! Pay more for the water! The Hetch-Hetchy saga continues
Posted by: Maven on January 8, 2012 at 8:03 amFrom KQED’s Climate Watch:
“Over the past couple of weeks San Francisco’s water supply and fixed annual fees for that water have come under attack by Republican Congressmen from other parts of the state. The first parry came from Representative Dan Lungren who represents the area stretching east from Sacramento. Lungren has a self-proclaimed “love affair” with Yosemite and thinks it’s worth spending some money to find out if restoring the valley is feasible. On KQED’s Forum program, Lungren argued that, “The possibility that we might have a second Yosemite Valley is something that at least I believe ought to be looked at. And yet everyone who opposes us seems to be afraid of looking at the facts.”
The other big threat to San Francisco’s pristine water supply comes from Representative Devin Nunes, a Republican from Tulare county. The Bay Citizen’s John Upton reported this week that Nunes is proposing that Hetch-Hetchy fees be used for deficit reduction. … “
Continue reading from KQED’s Climate Watch by clicking here.
Modesto Irrigation District not ready yet for vote on sale of Tuolumne River water
Posted by: Maven on January 8, 2012 at 7:50 amFrom the Modesto Bee:
“The Modesto Irrigation District is approaching a critical juncture in its history with a decision on whether to sell Tuolumne River water to the city and county of San Francisco on an ongoing basis.
For many decades, the response to that suggestion has always been a firm and flat “no.” In the past several months, however, behind the scenes that “no” has turned into a “maybe.”
Specifically, early discussions between the staffs of the MID and San Francisco have centered on two possibilities … “
Continue reading from the Modesto Bee by clicking here.
Congressman Nunes wants to raise Hetch Hetchy rent a thousandfold
Posted by: Maven on January 6, 2012 at 7:38 amFrom the Bay Citizen:
“The going rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco is about $2,500 a month. That’s the same amount the city pays to use eight miles of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park as a reservoir.
The $30,000 annual fee was set by federal law in 1913 and has not been changed since. But now, as the federal government struggles with budget problems, a Central Valley congressman is pushing to increase the city’s Hetch Hetchy rent by a thousandfold, to $34 million a year. … “
Continue reading from the Bay-Citizen by clicking here.
Star-News Editorial: California dream: another Yosemite
Posted by: Maven on January 5, 2012 at 8:37 amFrom the Pasadena Star-News, this editorial:
“A second Yosemite for California?
What Golden Stater wouldn’t like another spectacular Sierra Nevada valley to show off to the world – and to hike and camp in?
Many Californians know that there was indeed such a place, Hetch Hetchy, and that the founder of the Sierra Club himself, the immortal John Muir, fought until his dying day to keep it from being dammed up as a reservoir.
That means no one alive but perhaps for a scuba diver has ever seen it, deep beneath the surface of the reservoir that provides some 7 percent of California’s drinking water, mostly for San Francisco and other Bay Area cities. … “
Continue reading this editorial from the Pasadena Star-News by clicking here.
Major milestone reached in Ross Valley flood-control effort
Posted by: Maven on January 5, 2012 at 7:58 amFrom the Marin Independent Journal:
“When Ross Valley voters approved a flood-control fee in 2006, they were promised it could leverage state and federal money for the important work that needs to be done.
Local officials have delivered, landing a $7.6 million grant from state flood-control and water-conservation bonds. The Phoenix Lake project ranked fifth among 41 applications statewide, meeting three major goals of the voter-approved bonds: flood control, increased water supply and environmental protection.
The grant will cover about half of the estimated $15.6 million cost of the unusual project. … “
Continue reading from the Marin Independent Journal by clicking here.
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission says Hetch Hetchy at 85 percent of capacity
Posted by: Maven on January 5, 2012 at 7:50 amFrom the San Francisco Examiner:
“The Sierra Mountains may be low on snow this winter, but San Francisco’s Sierra water source is far from running dry.
The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, the utility system’s primary source of drinking water, is at 85 percent of its capacity, according to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. … “
Continue reading from the San Francisco Examiner by clicking here.
Richmond Superfund site toxic pollution increasing
Posted by: Maven on January 4, 2012 at 7:59 amFrom the Silicon Valley Mercury News:
“Leonardo Bravo likes to fish on the Richmond shoreline because it relaxes him.
He might not find it so calming if he knew that fish at a nearby Superfund site are becoming increasingly toxic more than a decade after the channel was cleansed of pollutants.
Despite the cleanup dredging, levels of two pesticides not used in the United States since the early 1970s — DDT and dieldrin — are rising in fish around the site, according to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency review.
Some fish tested at the site, which includes two waterways in Richmond’s Inner Harbor, are now more contaminated than those tested before the cleanup. … “
Continue reading from the Silicon Valley Mercury News by clicking here.
Dan Lungren’s critics wary of his Hetch Hetchy plan
Posted by: Maven on January 4, 2012 at 7:50 amFrom the San Francisco Chronicle:
“Dan Lungren, a Republican member of Congress from Sacramento County, wants to give the world “a second Yosemite Valley.” The valley already exists, in Yosemite National Park – buried under 300 feet of water in the Hetch Hetchy reservoir, which provides San Franciscans and 1.7 million other Bay Area residents with pristine water straight from the Sierra.
All that would be needed would be to blow up the dam, which Yosemite godfather John Muir fought to his dying breath in 1914. The Schwarzenegger administration in 2006 estimated the cost at $3 billion to $10 billion. … “
Continue reading from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
Richardson Bay atoll renovated as nature preserve
Posted by: Maven on January 2, 2012 at 8:04 amFrom the San Francisco Chronicle:
“An all-but-forgotten island in the northwest corner of Richardson Bay has become a testing ground for the notion that a functioning ecosystem can be built out of human excavation refuse.
The name Aramburu Island may conjure up exotic images, but the 17-acre atoll on the east side of Strawberry Point is really just a giant pile of dirt scraped off a hillside and dumped unceremoniously by a developer into the bay.
This decidedly unromantic mound of soil, named after a former Marin County supervisor, is now being transformed into the utopian vision of the Richardson Bay Audubon Center and Sanctuary, which is using $2.4 million to create a nature preserve and wildlife refuge surrounded by shoreline habitat. … “
Continue reading from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
Rebuilding the historic Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System
Posted by: Maven on December 28, 2011 at 11:36 pmFrom Trenchless Technology:
“When you think of San Francisco, most people think about the Gold Rush, earthquakes, the Golden Gate Bridge and the tech boom of Silicon Valley. However, we often take for granted the people — visionaries, local leaders and engineers — who put the San Francisco Bay Area on the map.
These people spearheaded the birth of a colossal, gravity-based water system known as the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System, described as an “engineering marvel,” that provided enough water to sustain development and flourish an innovative metropolitan area for more than 70 years.
Most of the Hetch Hetchy Water System was built in the 1920s and 1930s. However, segments of the system date back to the Civil War when the Spring Valley Water Works began construction of Pilarcitos Dam, the first of four dams it would ultimately build on the San Francisco Peninsula. … “
Continue reading from Trenchless Technology by clicking here.
Santa Clara Valley Water District to save $7.7 million through new contracts
Posted by: Maven on December 28, 2011 at 11:33 pmFrom the Morgan Hill Times:
“In an effort to cut costs and bring more efficiency to the agency, the Santa Clara Valley Water District approved new agreements with three employee unions that will save $7.7 million over the life of the contracts.
Tuesday, the SCVWD board of directors unanimously approved the contracts with the Engineers Society, Professional Management Association, one week after negotiations finished with the largest union, the Employee’s Association affecting 686 of the agency’s 714 total employees. … “
Continue reading from the Morgan Hill Times by clicking here.
60 years after leaving, porpoises again play in San Francisco Bay
Posted by: Maven on December 28, 2011 at 6:50 amFrom National Public Radio (NPR):
“Something that has been missing from San Francisco Bay since World War II appears to be making a comeback: Harbor porpoises are showing up in growing numbers, and researchers are trying to understand why they’re returning.
The walkway across the Golden Gate Bridge is almost always packed with people taking photos. But Bill Keener isn’t here for snapshots of the stunning views. He’s aiming his massive telephoto lens at a dark shape in the water 200 feet below.
“There’s a porpoise right there, coming very, very close,” he says. “Here’s a mother and calf coming straight at us.” Keener is with Golden Gate Cetacean Research, a nonprofit group focused on studying local porpoises, whales and dolphins. … “
Continue reading from National Public Radio by clicking here.
San Francisco: ‘Human error’ led to water main break
Posted by: Maven on December 28, 2011 at 6:48 amFrom the Bay-Citizen:
“San Francisco acknowledged Tuesday that its faulty design was responsible for a water main break that flooded homes and damaged cars in South San Francisco last month.
The agency said it failed to ask a contractor to install welds or similar restraints needed at a joint when it installed the new water line. The SFPUC discovered six similar design flaws for planned projects during a search of its records following the Nov. 25 flood, but not in any pipelines currently in use. … “
Continue reading from the Bay-Citizen by clicking here.
Santa Clara Valley Water District tightens its belt with new contracts
Posted by: Maven on December 28, 2011 at 6:45 amFrom the Silicon Valley Mercury News:
“Attempting to trim costs as it faces major expenses and an upcoming request to voters for more money, the board of Silicon Valley’s largest water provider on Tuesday approved new contracts that cut benefits and limit pay increases for hundreds of its union employees.
The board of the Santa Clara Valley Water District finalized a three-year deal with 686 staff members that district officials say will save $7.7 million over the life of the contracts. The district, which provides drinking water and flood control for 1.8 million people, has come under criticism over the past decade from the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury and some elected officials for its spending habits and perks. … “
Continue reading from the Silicon Valley Mercury News by clicking here.
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