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OPINION: Editorial: Focus on Flood Prevention, Not Disaster Cleanup

Once again, state legislators have done what is popular instead of what is necessary — and that’s one big reason California’s infrastructure is in such sorry shape. That reminder was driven home this week in a discussion about levees and flood protection. Flood experts gathered in Sacramento on Monday to mark the beginning of flood preparedness week. In a press conference, the president of the Central Valley Flood Protection Board pleaded for the state to make the investment in flood protection. Bill Edgar says the state spends $30 million a year in repairs and maintenance, but that the state needs to spend $130 million a year.

More Ink, Less Water: News Coverage of the Drought Prompted Californians to Conserve, Study Suggests

What does it take to get Californians to save water during a massive drought? Apparently, a lot of ink and newsprint helps. Extensive news coverage of the state’s historic drought prompted residents to conserve water, new research out of Stanford University suggests. The more that major newspapers wrote about the drought, the more people in the Bay Area cut back on their personal water use, according to a report this week in the journal Science Advances.

Proposed Doheny Desalination Project Will Be Discussed At Water District Workshop

The South Coast Water District will hold a board workshop Tuesday in Laguna Beach to discuss the proposed Doheny Ocean Desalination Project. District staff will update board members about desalination studies, placement of slant wells, hydrology, alternative power supplies and cost estimates. South Coast, which serves customers in South Laguna, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente, proposes a 5-acre facility on 30 acres of district-owned property near San Juan Creek.

Seawater Desalination Will Quench The Thirst Of A Parched Planet

Humanity has sought to make the Earth’s oceans potable for thousands of years. The Norse tale of Utgarda-Loki tells of Odin being tricked into drinking from a horn connected to the sea, while Exodus 15:22–26 of the Bible likely describes Moses desalinating the water of Marah: When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”