ACWA e-News for June 27, 2012

With so many great reasons to choose tap water over bottled water, Region 1 agencies are encouraging consumers to "take it from the tap," Region 1 Chair Paul Helliker writes in the latest entry in the "Voice on Water" blog.

Read the complete blog entry here.

The Central Valley Flood Protection Board will meet June 29, in Sacramento to consider approving the 2012 Central Valley Flood Protection Plan.

The proposed plan was posted online on June 18, triggering a two-week public review period before Friday’s meeting.

In a letter sent on Friday to the Secretaries of Interior & Commerce, 12 members of Congress from Northern California addressed their recent briefing on a proposal to retool the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. The letter can be found below. 

The State Water Resources Control Board has scheduled a series of workshops to gather information and discuss scientific and technical issues as part of its process to consider new water quality objectives for the Bay-Delta.

The first of a two-part status report on 2010 urban water management plans has been sent to the state Legislature.

Submitted by the Department of Water Resources, the report documents baseline and target water uses, as reported in those plans, used to measure progress toward a 20% reduction in urban water use by 2020.

As annual water quality reports begin reaching mailboxes and websites around the state, it's a great time to reflect on communicating water quality issues to the public, ACWA Water Quality Chair Pankaj Parekh writes in the latest entry in the "Voices on Water" blog.

Read the complete blog post here.

Three projects in California have been selected to receive funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to improve urban waters.

The California Water Commission will take final action on agricultural water measurement regulations at its meeting on Friday, July 6.

Developed under SBX7 7, the water conservation arm of the comprehensive water package of 2009, the regulations must provide for a range of options for agricultural water suppliers to measure the volume of water delivered to customers and comply with farm-gate delivery measurement requirements. Water suppliers have until July 31, 2012, to comply.

A new study by the National Research Council supports earlier research showing accelerated sea level rise and underscores the need for state and federal agencies to take preemptive action.

Both gates on the Delta Cross Channel are now open after being closed for repair since May 29.

Hydraulic fracturing and its impact on the nation’s water supplies is the topic of a new report by the Pacific Institute.

In “Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Resources: Separating Frack from Fiction” the authors report on information gleaned from interviews with state and federal agencies, academia, industry, environmental groups and other groups across the U.S. They authors point out key issues and identifies areas where more credible and comprehensive data is needed.

The Senate is currently debating the Farm Bill and voting on a variety of amendments to the bill.