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California Gas Plant To Be Re-powered With Batteries + Solar

/in , /by /pv magazine by Tim Sylvia

While it has been no secret that the City of Glendale, California has been looking to re-power the aging gas-fired Grayson Power Plant with renewables, details the scope of that project, as well as the carveouts for each specific type of generation proved to be scarce.

That all has changed, however, as the city has released a plan to replace all but one of the plant’s existing generation facilities with a mix of battery storage, distributed solar and geothermal energy. Broken down by capacity, the plan calls for a 75 MW, 300 MWh battery energy storage system, up to 50 MW of distributed solar projects, energy efficiency and demand response programs.

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Humidity, Storms To Surge In Western US As Heat Eases In California

/in , /by /AccuWeatherby Courtney Spamer

A pattern change will allow California to cool off a bit, but also cause drenching storms to erupt over the interior West. On Sunday, temperatures soared to near-record levels above 100 F across California’s interior. However, the record-challenging heat will subside early this week. An area of high pressure shifting eastward will gradually cause temperatures to drop across interior California and then the remainder of the Southwest. “The first to feel these changes will be California, when temperatures will start trending down on Monday,” said AccuWeather Long-Range Meteorologist Max Vido.

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As Southwest Water Managers Grapple With Climate Change, Can A ‘Grand Bargain’ Work?

/in , , /by /Arizona Public Media by Luke Runyon, KUNC, and Bret Jaspers, KJZZ

Water managers on the Colorado River are facing a unique moment. With a temporary fix to the river’s scarcity problem recently completed, talk has begun to turn toward future agreements to manage the water source for 40 million people in the southwestern U.S.

Climate change, growing urban populations and fragile rural economies are top of mind. Some within the basin see a window of opportunity to argue for big, bold actions to find balance in the watershed. Others say the best path forward is to take small, incremental steps toward lofty goals, a method Colorado River managers say has worked well for them for decades.

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OPINION: Environmental Laws Don’t Impede Development

/in , /by /Voice of San Diegoby JP Theberg

San Diego County, like the rest of California, is facing an affordable housing crisis of unprecedented proportions. But in the push to build more housing, officials should be careful not to throw out laws that have long served the state and our region. Developers and polluters have for years pointed to the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, as an impediment to development and industry. Instead of cleaning up their act to serve the people of California, they continue to push the same misinformation intended to weaken one of California’s most successful environmental laws.

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City Of San Diego’s Water Rates To Increase 4.82% On Sept. 1

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Debbie L. Sklar Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The city of San Diego reminded water customers this month that rates are increasing 4.82% beginning Sept. 1 to help pay for water reliability and infrastructure improvements.

Combined with the 1.46% increase in water rates from the San Diego County Water Authority, the total increase is 6.28%. This is less than the 7% increase originally approved by the City Council for fiscal year 2020.

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Researchers Explore How To Meet Water Demands In Drought Years

/in , , /by /NOOZHAWK (Santa Barbara)by Harrison Tasoff

Water. It’s perhaps the biggest issue in the American West. It has inflamed passions and driven ambitious projects for the past century.

Now an economist at UCSB has investigated how we might be able to mitigate the stress of droughts by changing the incentives for water storage and use. The results appear in the journal Nature Sustainability.

Humans use water for a variety of different ends, but rivers also need water flowing through them to ensure the survival of fish and other wildlife. In fact, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires a minimum stream flow in certain rivers to protect threatened fish.

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Winning Vista Irrigation District WaterSmart Landscape Reduces Water Use

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Vista resident Deborah Brandt showed how attractive water-wise landscaping can be when low-water use plants are combined with other landscape components in winning the Vista Irrigation District’s 2019 WaterSmart Landscape Contest. District officials selected Brandt’s entry this month among many quality entries received.

The Vista Irrigation District is among 13 San Diego member agencies with landscape contests in 2019 with the goal of showcasing beautiful residential water-wise landscapes throughout the region.

 

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California Attorney General Says EPA Attempt To Limit Clean Water Act Oversight Is Unlawful

/in , , /by /Sierra Sun Times (Mariposa, Calif.)

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, leading a coalition of 14 states and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, on Friday filed a comment letter denouncing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) guidance that attempts to roll back state involvement in the permitting of federal projects under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. Section 401 and other provisions of the Clean Water Act preserve states’ authority to protect the quality of the waters within their borders. In the comment letter, Attorney General Becerra asserts that EPA’s guidance, which implements President Trump’s April 2019 Executive Order, is unlawful, directly contravenes both the language and intent of the Clean Water Act, and undermines state authority recognized under the Clean Water Act.

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OPINION: Valley Voice: We Must Begin Work On Bringing Sea Of Cortez Water To The Salton Sea

/in , /by /Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by G. Dana Hobart

The Salton Sea is California’s largest lake: roughly 35 miles long by 15 miles wide. Its surface is 233 feet below sea level. Our 17-year drought caused the sea to recede even faster, resulting in greater sea bottom exposure (“playa”). Winds and other factors create serious health issues by fanning PM 10 and other dust particles throughout the Coachella Valley and much of Imperial County. Asthma rates are among the nation’s highest. As Assistant Secretary for Salton Sea Policy, Bruce Wilcox, summarized the Salton Sea’s health picture,  “Conditions are dire and we have to do something now for habitat and … dust suppression.”

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OPINION: All Californians Deserve Clean Drinking Water

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicle

For years a million Californians have watched tainted, dirty water flow from their taps. These residents, overwhelmingly poor, Hispanic and living in small Central Valley towns, drive long distances to load up on bottled water for everyday basics. It’s shameful that in a state this rich, people still have to share shower water and schools have to plug up their drinking fountains. Thanks to overdue political attention, legislative horse trading and a dose of budget legerdemain, that situation is finally changing. Gov. Gavin Newsom showcased the final step with a bill signing in the aptly named hamlet of Tombstone in Fresno County.

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