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Savior or Albatross? Proposed Desalination Plant Could Decrease South Bay’s Dependence On Imported Water, But Has Raised Environmental Concerns

In April 2015, the City of Manhattan Beach made a sudden announcement that shook the twin pastoral pillars of suburbia, the automobile and lawn. Effective immediately, residents could not wash their cars at home, and instead had to take them to a commercial car wash. Watering lawns was permitted only on one designated day a week, and had to be done by hand or with sprinklers, not a hose.

 

BLOG: Wet Year Spurs Proponents of New California Reservoir

As one of the wettest California winters in memory nears its end, the state’s major reservoirs are all essentially full or well above their historical average levels. It’s good news for everyone and everything that depends on water, especially after several years of reduced allocations for farmers and huge losses for salmon, which were frequently unable to spawn successfully for lack of cold water. In spite of their replenished supplies, the glass is still half empty for many farmers and urban water districts.

In Wet Years, the Peninsula Could Get By Without Desal.

A question that’s long been asked about California American Water’s proposed desalination plant – and which is brought up in several letters commenting on the project’s environmental impact report – is exactly how big it should be. What’s surprising is that, in a year as wet as this one, the plant wouldn’t even be necessary. Pure Water Monterey, a recycled water project launched by the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency and the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, will deliver 3,500 acre-feet of water annually to the Monterey Peninsula beginning in 2018.

Single Faucet at Grapevine Elementary School in Vista Tests Positive for Lead

New lead testing results at Vista Unified School District schools show that a faucet, used for food preparation at one elementary school, has tested positive for lead. The faucet, located at Grapevine Elementary School in Vista, at 630 Grapevine Road, is located in the kitchen. Of the 29 schools tested in the school district, 22 schools passed the lead test. Tests at six schools are still pending. The district is taking advantage of a state program to pay for the testing at its schools.

California’s Sierra Nevada Snowpack Is Larger Than Previous 4 Years Combined, NASA Says

The snowpack in California’s Tuolumne River Basin in the Sierra Nevada is currently larger than the previous four years combined, according to new NASA data. The 2017 California snowpack is near the largest on record, NASA’s data showed. Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO) mapping showed the Tuolumne Basin’s snowpack is twice as large as last year’s and 21 times the volume of 2015, which was the lowest on record.The combined April 1 snow-water equivalent from 2013-2016 adds up to only 92 percent of this year’s April 1 measurement, NASA added.

Drought May Be Over, But Changes It Wrought Will Be Here Into Future

California’s historic five-year drought is officially over, washed away with the relentlessly drenching rains, floods and snowstorms of this winter. But just as tougher building codes and better emergency planning follow major earthquakes, the brutally dry years from 2012 to 2016 are already leaving a legacy, experts say, changing the way Californians use water for generations to come. “There’s no question that we’ll be better prepared for the next drought because of the lessons learned in this one,” said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the State Water Resources Control Board in Sacramento. “This was the wake-up call of the century.”

San Diego Explained: The Evolution of Your Water Bill

Generally, the more water you use, the bigger your monthly water bill. But that hasn’t always been the case. Back in the old days, people didn’t have water meters. It isn’t easy to encourage people to use less water if they can use as much as they want without paying extra, though, so now most properties have meters, and heavy water users pay the price. Yet the battle over who pays what for water continues, especially when rate increases are announced.