Water Supply

Buck Wargo CITY HALL -- Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich's questioning of the safety of Glendale's drinking water has city officials steamed and asking about his motivation. Antonovich, whose district includes Glendale, issued a statement late Wednesday stating that bottled water was superior to the city's tap water. Glendale's water containsaluminum, arsenic, barium, copper and lead and has higher levels of trihalomethanes and coliform bacteria than averages of 202 brands of bottled water tested by the county, Antonovich stated.

CITY HALL — Glendale Water & Power commissioners expressed frustration Wednesday over the apparent ineffectiveness of voluntary water conservation efforts after city officials said single-family homeowners had all but erased previous gains earlier this year. Preliminary year-to-year comparisons showed single-family homes, which consume 45% of the city’s water, dropped from about 16% a few months ago to just .2% in the most recent reporting period. Glendale Water & Power has been trying to achieve a voluntary water use reduction of 10% citywide.

I think the cities of Glendale and Burbank deserve a ton of praise for showing some spine regarding the source of our drinking water. With the levels of chromium 6 in the San Fernando Valley water supply a major concern, both cities have refused to accept its use until further studies, or until new technologies can reduce or remove the known carcinogen. Although the move could cost millions of dollars in replacing the water supply with outside sources, city officials are apparently not willing to roll the dice with the public's health.

CITY HALL — The City Council and Glendale Water & Power Commission will join Tuesday for a special meeting to discuss the crisis brewing over the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta. While the delta is hundreds of miles north of Glendale, city officials say its reliability and ecosystem issues trickle down in a big way to affect a significant portion of the city’s water supply. Two-thirds of all state residents rely on the delta as a key water source, according to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which supplies up to 70% of the Glendale’s water supply.

Water managers and environmental experts recognize that California’s statewide water system is in crisis. But despite intense media coverage and focus by the governor and legislators, the public remains unaware of the state’s water problems. California’s aging water supply and delivery system is facing multiple dire threats. Any one of these factors would be enough to jeopardize the state’s water supply. But now, they have combined to place California’s water supply and infrastructure, as well as critical environmental resources, in a state of crisis.

After more than a decade of service at the Crescenta Valley Water District, General Manager Michael Sovich is taking a position at another water agency. At the end of June, Sovich will leave CVWD to serve as manager of resources and operations for the Three Valleys Municipal Water District, a Claremont-based wholesale agency that distributes water to about 15 cities, water districts and companies. Sovich will oversee operations of a small water treatment plant, work on water supply issues and conjunctive use programs, as well as demand reduction programs.

At this time two years ago, I wrote an article in this newspaper regarding Crescenta Valley Water District's voluntary water conservation program that the board of directors adopted, asking the residents of La Crescenta and Montrose to conserve water. Our goal was to reduce water use by 25%, to reduce the risk and severity of water shortage. Although our voluntary water conservation program has increased awareness locally, it has been only marginally effective in reducing customer demand.

In 2003, the City Council rejected Poseidon's environmental report and identified three issues the company needed to resolve. Nearly two years later, Poseidon officials argued that they've met those demands and city staff has signed off on the report, but concerns linger from nearby neighbors and environmentalists. Here's an update on the three issues that might come up during the desalination debate: Marine life o7The Issuef7: The original report didn't adequately address the impact of Poseidon's use of AES' intake pipeline on marine life.

In light of the recent news coverage of the carcinogen 6, I am glad to see that state Sen. Adam Schiff has taken a leading role in the fight to ensure that our local drinking water is safe. As a person who judges politicians by their actions not their words, Schiff's introduction of a bill requiring the Department of Health to test for levels of chromium 6 in our drinking water demonstrates his concern for our families. As a Burbank resident and mother I shudder to think that our water supply may be unsafe.

Glendale Fire Department officials have determined that an underground natural spring was serving as the water source for a $10-million marijuana crop that police seized Aug. 16 in the Verdugo Mountains. That information is contrary to early reports that the growers were tapping city cisterns ? set in the hills for use by firefighters in case of brush fires ? to irrigate the grove, Sgt. Tom Propst said. Officials inspected the four cisterns in the area and found no evidence that anyone had tampered with the water supply, he said.

Officials are asking residents and businesses in La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta and Pasadena to conserve water during an upcoming eight-day pipeline shutdown starting on Thursday. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is upgrading one of its oldest water lines, which delivers drinking water to 250,000 people in the region. Officials are asking the affected communities to refrain from outdoor watering, washing cars, hosing sidewalks, filling pools and leaving tap water running.

The drum beat of warnings last summer was as loud as it was dire: Conserve water or face shortages and even higher rates. And so we cut back, so much that utilities in Burbank and Glendale started to feel the pinch. Now, rates are either already rising or proposed to be in both cities, even as officials laud the public's ability to conserve. Utilities are in the unenviable position of encouraging their customers to use less of what they sell. Since less electricity and water being used means less revenue coming in, this often leads to the frustrating position of having to raise rates.

CITY HALL — As for heeding calls to cut back on water use amid ongoing drought conditions, Glendale Water & Power customers have been good, perhaps too good. Utility officials Monday warned that because customers are using 18% less water compared with the benchmark 2006 year, revenues have taken a hit, and so rates may have to be raised in the near future to make up for the loss. The City Council last year restricted outdoor irrigation to three days a week in response to reduced water allotments from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

LA CAÑADA — Foothill Municipal Water District officials have settled on a $63-million plan — to be presented to the public next month — for projects that a voter-approved bond would help fund. The series of projects, which also include $7 million in rehabilitation to the district’s aging infrastructure, are aimed at reducing the region’s reliance on expensive imports through recycled water and groundwater capture projects. “The more independent we are, the more reliable we are,” said Foothill Municipal General Manager Nina Jazmadarian.

Nutrition Program The City Council on Tuesday will consider awarding a four-year contract with Morrison Management Specialists Inc. to cater the city?s congregate and home delivered meal programs for seniors. The city was awarded $214,284 in federal funds administered by Los Angeles County to support the program. Under the proposed contract, Morrison would provide about 40,000 hot meals at city-operated facilities annually at $4 per meal and about 11,550 frozen meals for delivery to home-bound seniors annually at $3.90 per meal.

CITY HALL — The City Council and Glendale Water & Power Commission will join Tuesday for a special meeting to discuss the crisis brewing over the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta. While the delta is hundreds of miles north of Glendale, city officials say its reliability and ecosystem issues trickle down in a big way to affect a significant portion of the city’s water supply. Two-thirds of all state residents rely on the delta as a key water source, according to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which supplies up to 70% of the Glendale’s water supply.

Polyanna. That’s what my friends called me. Every year I save and save to add more things to my Halloween display. I don’t have a lot of extra money, but it gives me such joy. Every year for nine years, people come and stand in front of my house and take pictures and laugh and talk to others on the street — it becomes a social place. Every year my friends help me put it up and take it down. They always say, “Aren’t you afraid someone will steal stuff?

CITY HALL — Glendale Water & Power moved closer Tuesday to pumping more of its own water after the City Council authorized the bidding process for a $1.3-million well rehabilitation project. Once completed, the project would enable the city to extract the full amount of underground water allowed under a state agreement, thus alleviating at least some of its heavy reliance on expensive water imports, officials said. Glendale Water & Power only extracts 70% of the allowable groundwater due to capacity issues.

The Foothill Municipal Water District, the major intermediary for imported water to the Crescenta Valley and foothill areas, on Thursday announced a pair of community forums to be held through the end of the month. The Crescenta Valley Water District imports a major portion of its water from Foothill, which in turn is supplied by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The public forums were scheduled to provide residents and property owners with updated information on the ongoing water supply challenges, plans for the development of new local water supplies, conservation methods and the current mandatory controls that proliferate the area.