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PUD Providing Water To Farmers For Drought Relief

/in , /by /Skagit Valley Herald (Skagit Valley, Wash.)by Jacqueline Allison

The Skagit Public Utility District is making water available to Skagit County farmers through the end of the month for emergency drought relief. PUD commissioners voted Aug. 8 to transfer some of its water rights to irrigation districts 15 and 22 in southwest Skagit County, allowing the districts to pump water from the Skagit River for crop irrigation. The state Department of Ecology approved the transfer Aug. 9. Jason Vander Kooy, a dairy farmer in district 15, said Wednesday the water will help about 10 farmers over 1,000 acres wrap up late-season irrigation.

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Could A Hurricane Lash Los Angeles? 80 Years Ago, This Deadly Storm Came Close

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Paul Duginski

September 1939 was a stormy month on the world stage. On Sept. 1, Hitler invaded Poland. On Sept.3, Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand responded by declaring war on Germany. In Los Angeles that month, as residents sweated through an unusual heat wave and nervously watched the storm clouds of World War II gathering overseas, four tropical cyclones that would affect Southern California were born in the eastern North Pacific. No tropical cyclones had made it north of 25 degrees latitude in the northeastern Pacific basin during all of 1937 and 1938.

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California And National Drought Summary For August 20, 2019, 10 Day Weather Outlook, And California Drought Statistics

/in , /by /Sierra Sun Times (Mariposa, Calif.)by Jessica Blunden and Richard Heim

The United States is in the thralls of summer, and with that can come heat, flash droughts, and occasional, if not frequent, thunderstorm activity. Several areas of the U.S. experienced extreme heat this past week, particularly notable across much of the South and in the East. Parts of western Texas and eastern New Mexico were 6-10 degrees F above their typical averages, with little rainfall to speak of in much of the region. On the other hand much of the northern tier of the U.S. into the Upper Midwest was cool for this time of year, although precipitation amounts there were a mixed bag.

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Escondido Hires Firm To Plan Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Plant

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Deborah Sullivan Brennan

Escondido is moving forward on a reverse osmosis treatment facility that will reduce the city’s wastewater and also provide more recycled water for agricultural use. The project will divert millions of gallons of water from the discharge pipeline, and turn it into highly treated irrigation water. It’s expected to begin construction in early 2020 and come online in December, 2021. “This will not only generate a new supply of water to farmers that is economically viable to them, but it also will save our wastewater customers an enormous amount of money,” said Director of Utilities, Christopher McKinney.

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Microplastics In Drinking Water ‘Don’t Appear To Pose Health Risk,’ WHO Says

/in , /by /FOX 5 San Diego

They may be in our oceans, rivers and ice but there’s little evidence to suggest that microplastics in the water we drink pose a risk to our health. In its first review on the health risks of plastic in tap and bottled water, the World Health Organization said that microplastics “don’t appear to pose a health risk at current levels,” but the key finding came with a big caveat — the review said available information was limited and more research was needed on microplastics and how they affect human health.

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OPINION: Eagle River Watershed Council: The Mighty Colorado Faces Challenges

/in , /by /Vail Daily (Eagle County, Colo.)by Holly Loff

The mighty Colorado. Its very name makes some nostalgic, others wishful of adventure and, still others, fearful. Whatever your feelings, we are lucky to have about 55 miles of the Colorado River flowing through our county. Not to mention the Eagle River is a significant headwaters tributary to the Colorado River, and many of us recreate on and/or near the Colorado River. However, it is not a river without challenges, as drought, aridification, climate change, and human activities reduce flows and change the timing of hydrologic events. There are images everywhere of the “bathtub rings” in Lake Powell and Lake Mead, showing how low both of these water storage areas are, despite this big water year.

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Opinion: Pumped-Storage Hydropower Can Help Washington Meet Its 100% Clean-Energy Goal

/in , , /by /Seattle Times by Nate Sandvig and Matthew Hepner

As Washington state begins its transition to a carbon-free electrical supply, a new project under development near Goldendale has the potential to deliver an abundance of clean electricity to support the Northwest energy grid. This project already has the support of a wide range of stakeholders.

The proposed Goldendale Pumped Storage Project, eight miles south of Goldendale next to the Columbia River, would create 1,200 megawatts of clean electricity to integrate into the existing power grid, as well as tap into and use power already being generated by the Northwest’s wind and solar-energy projects.

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Brewing Month 2019-Water Authority-RB

Craft Beer Industry Economic Impact in San Diego Rises to $1.2 Billion

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As the nation’s “Capital of Craft,” San Diego County is home to more than 150 breweries that boast nearly 6,500 local jobs. In 2018, the regional craft beer industry produced $1.2 billion in economic impact, according to a report by California State University San Marcos and the San Diego Brewers Guild.

California has more operational craft breweries than any other state in the country. As of January 2019, 155 independent craft brewers were operating in San Diego County.

The regional economic benefits generated by the industry would not be possible without the safe and reliable water supply that the San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies deliver to the region every day.

Craft Beer Con highlights importance of water efficiency

As part of an ongoing partnership with the Brewers Guild, the Water Authority sponsored the 2019 Craft Beer Con industry event at CSU San Marcos. Dozens of industry professionals attended the event to network and see the release of the new economic findings.

In addition to the $1.2 billion in economic impact in 2018, the report showed that San Diego brewers produced 1.13 million barrels in 2018. The industry also had a philanthropic impact, donating an estimated $5 million to regional nonprofits. Overall, the industry’s economic impact grew 6% since 2017.

“Beer can be 90-95% water,” said Jeff Stephenson, a principal water resources specialist at the Water Authority. “Water is essential to every step of the process, not only for the final product, but for cooling, packaging and cleaning.”

Stephenson was part of an expert panel at Craft Beer Con, discussing water-use efficiency in brewing, the continued partnership between water agencies and the region’s growing craft beer industry.

Regional investments in a clean and reliable water supply

Regional investments in water infrastructure have paved the way to ensuring a safe and reliable water supply that can sustain industries like the craft beer industry and fuel San Diego County’s $231 billion economy.

Water-use efficiency technology and equipment have also helped brewers streamline production and reduce their water costs while producing high quality products.

The craft brewing industry and those who work closely with it have a positive outlook.

In a survey that CSU San Marcos conducts each year, participants showed high confidence in the industry, with interests in increasing hiring and investments and confidence that production and distribution volume will continue to grow.

SDPD Warns Of Thieves Posing As City Utility Employees

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Alex Riggins

A pair of thieves posing as city water department employees conned their way into a La Jolla home earlier this month, distracting the elderly homeowner as they stole cash and jewelry, police said Tuesday. The same two men wanted in connection with the scam and theft in La Jolla are also wanted for questioning in a similar incident that occurred nine days prior in the nearby community of Bird Rock, according to San Diego police detective Sgt. Ron Bailiff. Police say the two men identified themselves as being from “the water department” when they knocked on the front door at the La Jolla home around 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 9.

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More Work Needed On State’s Drinking Water Crisis

/in , /by /Capitol Weekly (Sacramento, Calif.)by Mary Creasman

California has a drinking water crisis. More than 1 million people in California lack access to safe, clean, and affordable drinking water. Four hundred schools in our state have lead contamination in their drinking water. About 300 public water systems in our state are not in compliance with drinking water standards. This is a public health and environmental crisis. In late July, Governor Newsom signed a law that will establish the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. Starting next year and for the next ten years, this fund will provide $130 million in funding for cleaning up drinking water systems, including many rural areas that lack funding for ongoing operations and maintenance.

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