Water users, environmentalists, and state and federal agencies have reached an agreement on pumping operations in the Delta effective through June to both preserve the reliability of water exports and protect the Delta smelt.

The Senate Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health held a hearing June 17 on the state of the Superfund environmental cleanup program.  The hearing coincided with the release of a General Accounting Office (GAO) report that supports legislation to revive a corporate tax to help pay for restoration of Superfund sites.

Late spring storms have allowed the Department of Water Resources to increase its final 2010 State Water Project allocation to 50% of requested amounts, up from the 45% announced May 20.

An ACWA-opposed bill that would prohibit public agency board members from holding two public offices simultaneously in certain circumstances will be heard in the Senate Local Government Committee on June 30. 

ACWA is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2010. Since its formation in 1910, ACWA has been a guiding force in California water. From early irrigation statutes to the historic legislative package signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger in November 2009, ACWA continues to help shape the laws and policies that affect California’s water resources.

A special video presentation debuted in May at ACWA's Spring Conference & Exhibition in Monterey. Click below to view.

ACWA has taken a position to support the nomination of Mr. Phil Isenberg as Chair of the Delta Stewardship Council and Mr. Richard Roos-Collins as a member of the Delta Stewardship Council.

The Senate Rules Committee hearing to confirm the appointments of Isenberg and Roos-Collins to the council on June 23 was cancelled. The hearing will be rescheduled.

On Thursday, June 17, the House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing on H.R. 5487, the Water Resources Research Amendments Act of 2010.

The bill, submitted by Subcommittee Chairwoman Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Santa Fe Springs), would amend the Water Resources Research Act of 1984.  The original act

Water users who divert water from streams are now required to file statements with the State Water Resources Control Board under the board’s Water Diversion and Use Program.

The State Board is requiring that statements be filed every three years in an effort to better identify how much water is being diverted from the state’s watersheds. The requirement is part of the comprehensive package on water enacted by the Legislature in November 2009.