The 2005-2007 drought that parched the Southeast wasn’t the worst Atlanta has endured since its establishment as a railroad hub in the 1830s. But with a burgeoning population dependent on a single water supply source the Chattahoochee River, fed by Lake Lanier that itself had been crippled by prolonged dry conditions, the drought was bad enough to spur action.
Today Azul released a new report conducted by UCLA’s Luskin Center for Innovation that looked at potential impacts of Poseidon’s proposed desalination project on disadvantaged households in Orange County. The expert analysis confirmed what equity groups like Azul, Oakview ComUNIDAD and OC Earth Stewards have long asserted: that the plant’s billion dollar price tag would drive up water rates, harming low-income ratepayers without providing any benefit in terms of water reliability or quality.
Dozens of fish carcasses 13 of them Chinook salmon protected by the Endangered Species Act rotted in the sun Tuesday a couple hundred yards from a new $6.3 million structure that state officials built specifically to keep that grisly scenario from happening. Before the winter and spring flood season this year, engineers completed work on the new fish passage along the Fremont Weir, a nearly two mile-long concrete structure atop the Yolo Bypass.
One of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first actions after taking office was to appoint Wade Crowfoot as Natural Resources Agency secretary. Then, within weeks, the governor laid out an ambitious water agenda that Crowfoot, 45, is now charged with executing. That agenda includes the governor’s desire for a “fresh approach” on water, scaling back the conveyance plan in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and calling for more water recycling, expanded floodplains in the Central Valley and more groundwater recharge.
With the exceptional California snowpack melting as temperatures rise, rivers and streams are full of dangerously cold and swift moving water this spring. PG&E encourages water enthusiasts to take extra precautions when in or near rivers, especially around hydroelectric facilities and dams, where water flows can change rapidly. Anglers are encouraged to take precautions as trout season opens April 27 for most California rivers.
Rep. Josh Harder, D Turlock, thinks there is a better way to find water solutions for California’s Central Valley and to stop squandering water in wet years that’s needed in dry years. His bipartisan water legislation unveiled Wednesday promises federal support for storage and innovation projects to address shortages that too often plague Valley agriculture and communities. Representatives from water districts, agriculture, local and state government and other groups joined the freshman congressman on the Tuolumne River bank in Modesto to announce the bill.
To better understand if a proposed project to bolster the underlying groundwater basin with recycled water may work, the Palmdale Water District Board of Directors on Monday agreed to a contract amendment with its consulting firm to conduct more tests. The Palmdale Regional Groundwater Recharge and Recovery Project is planned near Avenue L and 100th Street East, where treated wastewater will be allowed to percolate into the ground to be stored. However, the district is still studying the area to ensure it is appropriate for the water recharge.
County supervisors have outlawed drilling of certain new oil wells in the vicinity of a major aquifer for 45 days in light of water-safety questions. The decision Tuesday by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors came a couple of months after scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey reported that they had found petroleum-related gases in wells supplying irrigation water on the Oxnard Plain.The moratorium applies to the drilling of new wells and the re-drilling of existing ones near the Fox Canyon Aquifer, which is described as a major source of drinking quality groundwater.
Greater San Diego has the sixth worst ozone pollution in the country for the fifth year in a row, a report released Wednesday by the American Lung Association says. Local officials said it’s time to take action and protect the communities most affected.San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher and officials from the American Lung Association and local environmental groups held a press conference at Cesar Chavez Park in Barrio Logan to discuss the annual air quality report, which estimates more than 40 percent of Americans live with unhealthy air quality.
Port officials looking to expand local aquaculture heard some good news this month. A two-year project by federal scientists that mapped the potential for aquaculture in the U.S. found ample promise in San Diego. And zeroing in on those spots is getting easier. “We think this is the most exhaustive analysis ever done at the estuary scale in the U.S.,” said James Morris, a marine ecologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who presented the results to the Port.
