Summary: Thursday, January 30, 2014 Let me tell you about a couple of meetings being held today in Monterey County during which important water policy issues will be discussed. At 2:00 p.m. today, the Regional Advisory Committee of the Monterey County Water Resources Agency will be meeting in Salinas. The Advisory Committee is supposed to be giving the Agency advice on how to allocate available water from the Salinas River. If you have been following this issue at all, you will remember that the Monterey County Board of Supervisors has been discussing this very topic in a series of closed personnel sessions. The County Counsel thinks that this was legal; others disagree. What seems to be admitted by all involved is that the Board of Supervisors hasn’t been waiting around for the Regional Advisory Committee to present its thoughts. Reportedly, the Board has been discussing the sale of available water for non-agricultural, urban uses. Farmers seem to be concerned Another important meeting today begins at 9:00 a.m. in Watsonville. The Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board will consider, among other things, the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program that is of such importance to both farmers and to those concerned about improving the environmental quality of local water bodies. Naturally, you are invited to attend these public meetings. I have put links to more information in the transcript of today’s Land Use Report, at kusp.org/landuse. More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Monterey County Water Resources Agency Home Page Agenda, January 30, 2014 Meeting of MCWRA Regional Advisory Committee Central Coast Region Water Quality Control Board Home Page Agenda Notice, January 30, 2014 RWQCB Meeting in Watsonville
