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In response to the ongoing severe drought, on Tuesday the State Water Resources Control Board approved an emergency regulation to ensure water agencies, their customers and state residents increase water conservation in urban settings or face possible fines or other enforcement.
The new conservation regulation is intended to reduce outdoor urban water use.
The regulation, adopted by the State Water Board, mandates minimum actions to conserve water supplies both for this year and into 2015.
Most Californians use more water outdoors than indoors. In some areas, 50 percent or more of daily water use is for lawns and outdoor landscaping.
Many communities and water suppliers have taken bold steps over the years and in this year to reduce water use; however, many have not and much more can and should be done statewide to extend diminishing water supplies.
With this regulation, all Californians will be expected to stop washing down driveways and sidewalks; watering of outdoor landscapes that cause excess runoff; using a hose to wash a motor vehicle, unless the hose is fitted with a shut-off nozzle, and using potable water in a fountain or decorative water feature, unless the water is recirculated.
The regulation makes an exception for health and safety circumstances.
Larger water suppliers will be required to activate their Water Shortage Contingency Plan to a level where outdoor irrigation restrictions are mandatory.
In communities where no water shortage contingency plan exists, the regulation requires that water suppliers either limit outdoor irrigation to twice a week or implement other comparable conservation actions.
Finally, large water suppliers must report water use on a monthly basis to track progress.
Local agencies could ask courts to fine water users up to $500 a day for failure to implement conservation requirements in addition to their existing authorities and processes.
The State Water Board could initiate enforcement actions against water agencies that don’t comply with the new regulations.
Failure to comply with a State Water Board enforcement order by water agencies is subject to up to a $10,000 a day penalty.
“We are facing the worst drought impact that we or our grandparents have ever seen,” said State Water Board Chair Felicia Marcus. “And, more important, we have no idea when it will end.”
Marcus said the drought’s impacts are being felt by communities all over California.
“Fields are fallowed; communities are running out of water, fish and wildlife will be devastated,” Marcus said. “The least that urban Californians can do is to not waste water on outdoor uses. It is in their self-interest to conserve more, now, to avoid far more harsh restrictions, if the drought lasts into the future. These regulations are meant to spark awareness of the seriousness of the situation, and could be expanded if the drought wears on and people do not act.”
In addition to approving the emergency conservation regulation, the State Water Board made a plea for water suppliers, communities and businesses to do even more.
For example, water agencies are being asked to step up their programs to fix leaks and other sources of water loss, use more recycled water or captured stormwater, and find additional ways to incentivize demand reduction among their customers.
The new regulation was developed following two drought emergency declarations by Gov. Brown.
On Jan. 17, Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. issued a drought emergency proclamation following three dry or critically dry years in California.
The April 25 Executive Order issued by the governor directs the State Water Board to adopt an emergency regulation as it deems necessary, pursuant to Water Code section 1058.5, to ensure that urban water suppliers implement conservation measures.
As drought conditions continue, the State Water Board may revisit this regulation and consider other measures to enhance conservation efforts throughout the state.
Following board adoption, the regulation will likely go into effect on or about Aug. 1, following submittal to the Office of Administrative Law.
The emergency regulation remains in effect for 270 days, unless extended by the State Water Board due to ongoing drought conditions.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – This week Lake County Animal Care and Control has a shelter full of big dogs needing homes.
The dogs available this week include mixes of shepherd and pit bull, ranging in age from 7 months old to 9 years.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.
In addition to the animals featured here, all adoptable animals in Lake County can be seen here: http://bit.ly/Z6xHMb .
The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).
Male pit bull terrier mix
This male pit bull terrier mix is 7 months old.
He has a short tan and white coat, weighs 50 pounds and has not been neutered.
Find him in kennel No. 16, ID No. 40175.
Female shepherd mix
This female shepherd mix is of undetermined age.
She has a short brown coat and brown eyes,and floppy ears. Shelter staff did not report if she has been spayed.
She's in kennel No. 25, ID No. 40345.
'Blue'
“Blue” is a 2-year-old male pit bull terrier mix.
He has a medium-length blue coat, weighs 73 pounds and has not been neutered.
Find him in kennel No. 28, ID No. 39852.
'Sparkey'
“Sparkey” is a 3-year-old pit bull mix.
The dog, whose gender was not reported, weighs 77 pounds and has a short tan and white coat.
Sparkey is in kennel No. 29, ID No. 40350.
'Luna'
“Luna” is a 9-year-old female shepherd mix.
She has a short tan coat and has been spayed.
She's in kennel No. 30, ID No. 7244.
Female pit bull mix
This female pit bull terrier mix is 3 years old.
She has a short black and brindle coat, weighs nearly 40 pounds and has been spayed.
She's in kennel No. 32, ID No. 40298.
To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
In July 2015, NASA will discover a new world. No one knows what to expect when the alien landscape comes into focus. There could be icy geysers, towering mountains, deep valleys, even planetary rings.
At this point, only one thing is certain: Its name is Pluto.
On July 14, 2015, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will make a close flyby of that distant world.
“Because Pluto has never been visited up-close by a spacecraft from Earth, everything we see will be a first,” said Adriana Ocampo, the program executive for NASA's New Frontiers program at NASA headquarters. “I know this will be an astonishing experience full of history making moments.”
The mission's principal investigator, Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute, has likened the way New Horizons will revolutionize knowledge about the Pluto system to the way that Mariner 4, which flew past Mars in July 1965, revolutionized knowledge of that planet.
At the time, many people on Earth thought the Red Planet was a lush world with water and vegetation friendly to life. Instead, Mariner 4 revealed a desert world of haunting beauty.
New Horizons’ flyby of Pluto will occur almost exactly 50 years after Mariner 4’s flyby of Mars—and it could shock observers just as much.
Pluto is almost completely unknown. It is so far away, that even the Hubble Space Telescope strains to see it.
The best images so far show little more than Pluto's shape (spherical) and color (reddish). Over the years, changes in those color patterns hint at a dynamic planet where something is happening, but no one knows what.
By late April 2015, New Horizons will be close enough to Pluto to take pictures rivaling those of Hubble – and it only gets better from there.
At closest approach in July 2015, New Horizons will be a scant 10,000 km above the surface of Pluto. If New Horizons flew over Earth at the same altitude, it could see individual buildings and their shapes.
Flying so close to Pluto could be risky business.
Pluto has five known moons: Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos and Hydra. Numerical simulations show that meteoroids striking those satellites could send debris into orbit around Pluto, forming a debris system that waxes and wanes over time in response to changes in the bombardment.
During the approach to Pluto, the science team will keep a wary eye out for debris, and guide the spacecraft away from danger.
“The New Horizons Team continues to do a magnificent job in keeping the spacecraft healthy and ready for this incredible rendezvous,” Ocampo said. “The spacecraft is in good hands.”
No one knows what New Horizons will discover. “Many predictions have being made by the science community, including possible rings, geyser eruptions, and even lakes,” said Ocampo. “Whatever we find, I believe Pluto and its satellites will surpass all our expectations and surprise us beyond our imagination.”
“Think about seeing something for the first time and discovering the unknown,” she concluded. “That’s what we're about to do.”
To see the ScienceCast, visit http://youtu.be/RDIsbN-e1qU .
Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Firefighters remain on the scene of a fire that broke out along Highway 29 Saturday afternoon.
The fire was reported shortly after 3 p.m. on Highway 29 near Hofacker Lane, between Lower Lake and Middletown.
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Greg Bertelli said the fire is estimated to have burned about eight acres.
Lake County Fire responded, and Cal Fire sent a full wildland response of five engines, two dozers, two handcrews, one helicopter, three tankers and an air attack, with Bertelli reporting that he had requested a second helicopter also respond due to the threat to nearby structures.
Initially, about three to four structures were in the fire's path, so Bertelli said firefighters went on a direct attack to protect the buildings. None were damaged.
Bertelli said there were no injuries reported during the fire.
The fire was reported to be contained at around 4:11 p.m., according to radio reports, with aircraft released.
Shortly after 5 p.m., Bertelli reported that there was still a lot of smoke in the fire area, and three to four hours of heavy mop up would be needed due to a lot of dead logs in the perimeter.
There also was a concern about evening winds that were picking up, Bertelli said.
As a result of the winds, “We're keeping a majority of the resources here,” he said.
The fire was located right off the roadway. Early in the incident, the California Highway Patrol's incident logs indicated the top of Coyote Grade had been closed, with heavy smoke in the roadway.
Bertelli said the highway is open now but the California Highway Patrol remained on scene early Saturday evening to provide traffic control around the fire area.
Bertelli said a fire investigator was on scene to try to determine the cause.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A criminal grand jury convened by the District Attorney's Office has indicted a San Francisco man for his alleged part in a June 2013 Clearlake Oaks home invasion robbery and shooting.
The indictment was returned against Gregory Pierre Elarms, 29, according to District Attorney Don Anderson.
On July 2 Elarms was arrested for having taken part in the home invasion on June 26, 2013, at the home of Ronnie and Janeane Bogner, whose adult son, Jacob, was shot and pistol-whipped during the robbery.
Elarms, along with his half-brother, Dion Andre Davis II – the alleged shooter in the case – and Tyler Christopher Gallon and Sean Douglas Foss of Clearlake, and San Franciscan Jenaya Drevelyn Jelinek, are alleged to have fled the scene, later shooting at Lt. Tim Celli of the Clearlake Police Department who encountered them in the city limits.
Anderson said the grand jury indicted Elarms for charges including robbery, burglary, assault with a firearm on Jacob Bogner and Celli, car theft, theft, vandalism and conspiracy.
One charge that isn't being filed against Elarms but which has been filed against Davis, Foss and Gallon is attempted murder, Anderson said.
Anderson said Elarms will return to Lake County Superior Court for arraignment on the charges on July 25.
Davis, Foss, Gallon and Jelinek were indicted last fall. Jelinek has since pleaded out. Davis' trial is set to begin next month, according to Anderson.
Davis and Elarms are each being held in the Lake County Jail on $1 million bail, according to jail records. Foss and Gallon also remain in custody, with bail for each set at $500,000.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A criminal grand jury has not returned an indictment against a Lakeport woman accused of shooting and mortally wounding her husband, a part-time sheriff's deputy, last December.
District Attorney Don Anderson said that means that a murder case will not move forward against 64-year-old Paula Ann Piveronas.
“We won't be filing any charges at this time,” Anderson told Lake County News on Friday.
She was arrested last Dec. 6 after authorities say she shot her husband, 66-year-old Robert Piveronas, twice at their Reeves Lane home outside of Lakeport early that morning.
Robert Piveronas was flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of injuries that were reported to have included wounds to the stomach and chest. He died the following day.
Robert Piveronas was a part-time sheriff's seasonal marine patrol deputy and bailiff, and a retired commander from the Hillsborough Police Department.
Anderson convened a criminal grand jury to consider the case.
He said Paula Piveronas claimed she was defending herself when she shot her husband.
“That was a big issue, whether it was self-defense,” Anderson said.
“The people have the burden of proving it was not self-defense once that issue is raised, and we don’t have enough evidence to prove it was not a self-defense case,” according to Anderson.
He said investigators found no history of domestic violence between Robert and Paula Piveronas.
If any more information develops in the case, charges could still be filed in the future, Anderson said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at