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Solar-Powered Pipe Desalinizes 1.5 Billion Gallons of Drinking Water for California

The infrastructure California needs to generate energy for electricity and clean water need not blight the landscape. The Pipe is one example of how producing energy can be knitted into every day life in a healthy, aesthetically-pleasing way. One of the finalists of the 2016 Land Art Generator Initiative design competition for Santa Monica Pier, the design deploys electromagnetic desalination to provide clean drinking water for the city and filters the resulting brine through on-board thermal baths before it is reintroduced to the Pacific Ocean.

LA Aims to ‘Capture’ 5 Billion Gallons of Water Each Year With New Project

Construction began Monday on a project at the Tujunga Spreading Grounds that is expected to double the amount of stormwater that can be captured at the facility to about 5 billion gallons per year. The $29-million project, to be completed in 2018, was funded by the city’s Department of Water and Power and designed by the county’s Department of Public Works. The project will increase the spreading grounds’ current capture and storage ability from 2.5 billion gallons, or 8,000 acre-feet of water, to 5 billion gallons or 16,000 acre-feet per year – enough water each year to supply 48,000 households in Los Angeles.

Why California Water Fix is a Path to Extinction for Native Fisheries

The California WaterFix project, which proposes to construct and operate twin tunnels that would divert millions of acre-feet of water before it reaches the Bay Delta estuary, would likely lead to extinction of several native fisheries, based on our review of the recent biological assessment prepared by the Bureau of Reclamation.

 

BLOG: Peter Gleick Why California’s Current Drought Is Different

IN 1987, CALIFORNIA was at the beginning of what would be a six-year drought – the second driest in the state’s history. Fittingly, that same year Peter Gleick helped to co-found the Pacific Institute, a global think tank that would become a leader in global environmental and California water issues. In 1987, Gleick had just finished a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, in the Energy & Resources Group, where his dissertation was the first to study the impact of climate change on water resources.

State Assembly Narrowly Passes SB32 to Extend Climate Change Fight

The Assembly approved sweeping climate-change legislation Tuesday that extends the state’s targets for reducing greenhouse gases from 2020 to 2030 in a controversial bill that saw White House officials and Gov. Jerry Brown privately urging lawmakers for support. Under SB32, the state would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. The bill would piggyback on AB32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which calls for California to reduce greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by 2020. The state is expected to reach that target.

Groundwater Declines Seen, Even in Wet Climates: Studies

Water availability in the U.S. characterized by four years of drought in the West and more rainfall in the East reflects the nation’s geographic extremes from deserts and mountains to low-lying almost tropical swamplands. Even where water seems abundant, increasing demand is stressing the ability to re-charge groundwater supplies everywhere. From all appearances, the West Coast in 2015 was thirsting for more water with its parched lands and dried up lakes and rivers, while most of the Southeast was wetter than average, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

California’s Ocean Waters Due For a Cooling Trend After Period of Damaging Heat, Scientists Say

As a series of marine heat waves linked to climate change has thrown ocean ecosystems out of whack from Australia to the coast of California, a cooling trend called La Niña has given scientists hope that water temperatures could come back into balance. But so far, the cooling weather pattern — predicted to follow as a result of last winter’s El Niño — remains squeezed by warmer ocean temperatures along a narrow stretch of the Earth’s equator.

Explosive Blue Cut Fire Fully Contained as Other Wildfires Continue to Rage

Exactly one week after the Blue Cut blaze first exploded in the Cajon Pass, fire officials declared the devastating wildfire fully contained Tuesday. The fire destroyed an estimated 105 homes and 213 other structures in San Bernardino County and now ranks as the 20th most destructive wildfire in state history, said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Backers Drop Plan to Allow Delta Anglers to Keep More Striped Bass

The state Fish and Game Commission on Thursday will no longer consider a controversial proposal to allow anglers to catch and keep more nonnative Delta bass. On Tuesday, backers pulled a petition that sought to increase the size and daily bag limits for nonnative striped and black bass in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Michael Boccadoro, a spokesman for the Coalition for a Sustainable Delta, said supporters were frustrated that they would only be allowed 10 minutes at Thursday’s meeting to make their case to the commissioners.