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Salton Sea Odor Advisory Extended Again. Relief May Come On Wednesday

/in , /by /Desert Sun (Palm Springs)

An odor advisory issued last week for the Coachella Valley to elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide that smell like rotten eggs was extended again on Monday, this time for another two days.

It is now set to expire Wednesday afternoon.

The advisory had already been extended three times since Aug. 18 due to the stench emanating from a sparsely populated area immediately downwind from the Salton Sea.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued the advisory after detecting hydrogen sulfide concentrations at 239 parts per billion, exceeding the state standard of 30 parts per billion.

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Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins Couldn’t Have Orchestrated It Better If She Tried

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

Her Senate Bill 1 is the year’s most far-reaching environmental legislation. It declares that the state would adhere to laws governing clean air, water, endangered species and labor that were in place in January 2017, when President Trump took office, and before he set about trying to unravel environmental law. Farm groups mounted a major campaign to sway legislators to amend or kill the bill, and seemed to be gathering momentum.

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Microplastics Are Found In Lake Tahoe’s Waters For First Time

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Louis Sahagun

Scientists have detected microplastic pollution in Lake Tahoe’s deep blue waters for the first time. Now they are trying to determine its source and potential harm to the lake’s flora and fauna.
Preliminary analyses of water samples collected by researchers at the Desert Research Institute in Reno revealed the presence of particles of synthetic fiber and bits of red and blue plastic no bigger than the head of a pin.

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Cal Water Completes Two Infrastructure Improvement Projects

/in , /by /California Water News Daily

California Water Service (Cal Water) recently completed two infrastructure projects in the Kern River Valley and Los Altos. The first was the installation of more than 4,200 feet of a new transmission water main in the Los Altos’ Rancho neighborhood, which will strengthen water system reliability and infrastructure resiliency for customers and enhance fire protection in emergencies. Cal Water crews installed new 16-inch, ductile iron water main on Covington Road, between Parma Way and South El Monte Avenue, and extending to the intersection of Foothill Expressway and South El Monte Avenue. “Through careful planning and execution, we were able to complete this complex water system improvement project without disrupting our customers’ water service,” said Cal Water District Manager Ron Richardson.

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State Launches Probe Into Oil Field Spills – Including One That’s Been Flowing Since 2003

/in , , /by /KQED Newsby Ted Goldberg and Dan Brekke

State oil and gas regulators say they’re launching an investigation of operations in a Kern County oil field after a series of large, uncontrolled crude petroleum releases near Chevron wells — including one that has continued on and off for more than 16 years and may have spewed out more than 50 million gallons of crude oil.

The state Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, known as DOGGR, served Chevron with a notice of violation on Friday, ordering the company to stop major, uncontrolled surface flows at a site called Gauge Setting 5, or GS-5, in the Cymric oil field. Oil has been flowing from the location since March 2003.

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Reclamation Awards $16.98M To Five Water Recycling And Reuse Projects In California, Hawaii and Texas

/in , /by /Water World

The Bureau of Reclamation will provide a total of $16.98 million to five communities in California, Hawaii and Texas to help plan, design and construct congressionally authorized Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Projects. Title XVI is part of Reclamation’s WaterSMART Program that focuses on improving water conservation and helping water-resource managers across the West to make sound decisions about water use

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