Archived Water News Headlines | Public Works and Utilities

The following news headlines and archives were published during 2003 and 2004. Some of the archives may have decayed links.

ACC again seeks control of McLain's companies; Hearing set for April 8 in Tucson (Sierra Vista Herald, 3/24/04) - As the ongoing struggle between John McLain - owner of seven local water companies - and the Arizona Corporation Commission continues, there will be a preliminary hearing on the commission's efforts to appoint an interim manager. After hearing a long list of noncompliance violations , commissioners voted to appoint an interim operator to run the water companies. The decision is considered one of the most drastic measures the commission takes against a public utility.

California needs drinking water, and the private sector wants to help. But commercial desalination can't begin until far-reaching issues of who will profit from seawater are resolved (Twin Cities Pioneer Press, 3/21/04)

EID weighs energy provider role (The Sacramento Bee, 3/21/04) - The El Dorado Irrigation District's potential as a player in the energy business ranges from selling electricity on the spot market to supplying electricity to retail customers, district officials say.

Nevada Power Co. sues other utilities (Las Vegas Sun, 3/19/04) - Nevada Power Co. filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the Colorado River Commission and the Southern Nevada Water Authority conspired to damage the utility and its ratepayers during the Western energy crisis. The lawsuit claims that the agencies, along with bankrupt energy trader Enron Corp., deceived Nevada Power about the commission's energy needs. That scheme led the utility to buy and sell energy based on false information, causing "Nevada Power and its customers significant economic losses," the lawsuit said.

Nevada water officials sued in Enron-related power case (Associated Press | Star Telegram, 3/17/04) - Nevada's largest utility sued several Nevada water officials over profanity-laced tapes that are the focus of a case involving Enron Corp. and the Western power crisis of three years ago. Nevada Power Co. believes the state Colorado River Commission helped Enron manipulate Western power markets during the energy crisis in 2000 and 2001. The utility's lawsuit names the Southern Nevada Water Authority and several executives of the commission.

Miners: Tribe blew 4 years not securing 'other' water (Gallup Independent, 3/15/04) - The Black Mesa Mine on the Navajo Indian Reservation, that provides a coal and water mixture to the Mohave Generating Station in Nevada, may shut down due to lack of water. Mohave generates electricity to southern California, Phoenix and the Vegas Valley.

EMFs?
Idaho Power pushes bill to establish excess electricity Idaho News Channel 2/AP, 2/28/04) - Idaho Power Company was recently ordered to pay a Twin Falls-area dairy 17 (M) million dollars because electricity from its power lines was making the cows sick.

Valley effort could cut power bills Kings River Conservation District plan forecasts savings of 13%. (Jan 11, 2004 - Fresno Bee) - A water-related agency that sells electricity to the state, says utility bills could be lowered with "community choice aggregation." Cities, counties or special districts band together, buy electricity from energy producers and, perhaps, save money compared to prices from the major, privately held utilities

Governors to Assess Likelihood of Power Outages in the West: Stable, affordable supplies of energy key topic for WGA Annual Meeting - DENVER -- Governors have asked the Western Electricity Coordinating Council to review the region’s ability to avoid cascading power outages and report its findings during the Western Governors’ Association’s Annual Meeting on Sept. 14 in Big Sky, Mont.

Ensuring affordable, stable supplies of energy and regional transmission planning will be the main topics of discussion on Sunday, Sept. 14. Western Governors have long urged Congress to adopt electricity legislation that would give the West and other regions authority to develop enforceable reliability standards for their electric grids.

“The blackout that hit the Northeast, Midwest and parts of Canada clearly demonstrated the need to assess our region’s ability to avoid large scale, devastating power outages,” said Gov. Judy Martz of Montana, WGA Chair. “Having adequate and reliable transmission capacity is critical to the safety and well being of our citizens and a strong economy. We will discuss with the Administration and industry the status of regional planning, pending federal legislation and actions we need to take to ensure the system’s reliability.”

Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who will become WGA Chair at the September meeting, has stated that he will emphasize U.S. and Western energy issues during his chairmanship. "The issue of electric reliability and finding regional solutions has been a high priority for Western governors since outages that hit the West in 1996," Richardson said. "For years Congress has failed to enact reliability legislation that would meet the needs of the Western Interconnection. The August blackout should be a wake-up call that it is past time to make reliability standards enforceable within each region."

MORE INFORMATION

Civil Engineers Call for Presidential Commission to Act on Failing Infrastructure (American Society of Civil Engineers - September 4, 2003) - The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) called for the formation of a presidential commission on infrastructure to address the deteriorating conditions of our nation's roads, bridges, drinking water systems, schools and other public works. The call for action was announced today as the group released its 2003 Progress Report for America's Infrastructure. The Report reveals that little has improved since the nation's infrastructure received an overall D+ on ASCE's 2001 Report Card for America's Infrastructure, with the price tag for infrastructure renewal escalating from $1.3 trillion over a five-year period in 2001 to $1.6 trillion over a five-year period.

States/Tribes get $5 million more for water security needs (8/20/03) -
The EPA announced the allocation of nearly $5 million in State and Tribal Assistance Grants to assist drinking water systems across the nation in continued support of counter-terrorism coordination with state, local, and federal governments, which began under a 2002 grant program. This coordination is to ensure drinking water utilities receive technical assistance and training on homeland security issues, including vulnerability assessments and emergency response plans. For more information, please contact Pat Minami at 202-564-4654 or minami.patricia@epa.gov.

Alternative Energy Stocks Post Gains(Reuters, 8/15/03)

US Probes Possible Threat Against Nuclear Plant (Reuters, 3/20/03) - The Bush administration said it was investigating a possible threat against the giant Palo Verde power plant in Arizona, the nation's largest nuclear plant.

U.S. finds clues to potential cyber-attack - DAMS, UTILITIES, 911 SYSTEM CALLED VULNERABLE (Mercury News, 6/27/02)