Schwarzenegger signs softener ban bill
Legislation that would allow Santa Clarita to conduct a local referendum leading to a municipal ban on water softeners received the signature of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzengeger (R). The Water Quality Association did not oppose the bill, arguing that Santa Clarita's serious chloride situation required action and the new law establishes high thresholds before a city could take the extraordinary step of banning softeners. A vote in Santa Clarita is anticipated in 2007 or 2008. Earlier, we reported that Santa Clarita is experimenting with a new "black box" technology to replace salt-regenerated ion-exchange softeners. The Sept 16 edition of the Santa Clarita Valley Signal ran an article about a new type of softener they hope will replace salt-regenerated ion-exchange units.