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Vallecitos Water District Smokes Out Wastewater System Problems

/in , /by /Water News Network

Problems in wastewater systems can’t hide behind a smokescreen at the Vallecitos Water District. The district’s Systems Collection Department routinely performs “smoke testing” of its wastewater system. This technique can easily locate flows caused by broken or incorrectly installed sewer pipes, lateral connections, or missing/broken clean-out caps. The test is performed by introducing smoke, comprised primarily of steam, through a device similar to a fog generating machine, into the wastewater systems. Staff can see if smoke comes out of the system through any leaks or breaches.

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Atmospheric Rivers Are Back. That’s Not A Bad Thing.

/in , /by /The New York Timesby Jill Cowan

Remember atmospheric rivers? Earlier this year, they hit California’s collective consciousness in a big way, as the state reeled from the catastrophic flooding, mudslides and pounding rain they brought with them. This week, much to the dismay of anyone eyeing a weekend outdoors, atmospheric rivers are back and forecast to pour cold water (and snow) on the Bay Area and other parts of California. As Daniel Swain, a climate researcher and the author of the Weather West blog, put it: “Enjoy the upcoming 10 days of ‘Mayuary.’”

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Drawing Lines On Privacy, Wildfire, Water And Schools

/in , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Dan Morain

The nation’s first big-city ban on the use of facial-recognition technology by municipal agencies and local law enforcement passed Tuesday in San Francisco, signaling the next front in the debate over data privacy. Voting 8-1, supervisors in the tech hub made an exception for federally regulated facilities, like the airport. Oakland is considering a similar measure, and San Francisco Assemblyman Phil Ting has authored a more limited statewide version. SF police actually don’t use facial recognition. But privacy advocates say other law enforcement agencies do (San Jose, San Diego, California Department of Justice), that the technology can violate privacy, and that it can be inaccurate, especially with subjects who are not white men.

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Opinion: The Cadiz Project To Drain The Desert Is A Bad Idea

/in , /by /Los Angeles Times

There’s a tiny green patch of Mojave Desert, past Barstow but before Needles, north of Joshua Tree National Park and south of the Mojave National Preserve, where groundwater pumped from an aquifer under the arid landscape irrigates several hundred acres of crops. Rainfall that seeps from the adjacent mountains is sporadic, but sufficient to replenish what is taken from the ground while still leaving enough for the natural springs that sustain the bighorn sheep, desert tortoises and other threatened species that live in the environmentally fragile region. But the private landowner, Cadiz Inc., is interested in more than growing a few lemons among the creosote and cactus.

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