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Carlsbad Municipal Water District Launches New Billing System

/in , , /by /The Coast News Groupby Steve Puterslo

It has been 20 years in the making, but the Carlsbad Municipal Water District has finally launched a new billing system.

Approved several years ago, the new system makes it much easier to register, sign up for automatic payments and get billing information, to name a few, said Finance Manager Cheryl Gerhardt.

The new system upgrade also includes 24-hour, 7-day-a-week ability to check a balance or make a payment, paperless billing and other features, which went live March 3 to the public.

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Treated Wastewater May be Safe for Aquaculture

/in , , /by /PHYS.orgby American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Although aquaculture in treated wastewater is practiced worldwide, there is scant scientific research concerning whether organic micropollutants are present at safe levels for consumption.

A new study in Aquaculture by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has determined that organic micropollutants in the water—trace elements of heavy metals, pharmaceuticals and personal care products as well as pesticides, solvents, and detergents—result in minimal accumulation in fish. Additionally, the wastewater does not appear to affect other commercially important traits of fish.

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Lithium Startup Backed by Bill Gates Seeks a Breakthrough at the Salton Sea

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sammy Roth

David Snydacker knew going in that California’s Imperial Valley was a “graveyard for lithium-extraction technologies.”

For years, companies had tried and failed to find a cost-effective way to pull the valuable mineral — a key ingredient in the batteries that power electric cars — from the naturally heated fluid deep beneath the Salton Sea. One of the most recent busts was Simbol Materials, a much-hyped startup that collapsed in 2015 shortly after Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. offered to buy the firm for $325 million.

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Tensions Emerge as a Top Arizona Official Discusses Tribes’ Unresolved Water Claims

/in , , /by /Arizona Republicby Ian James

Many of Arizona’s Native tribes have long-standing claims to water rights that haven’t yet been settled, and a discussion of efforts to negotiate possible agreements took center stage at a meeting of Gov. Doug Ducey’s water council.

The meeting grew tense after Arizona’s top water official gave a presentation on the status of tribes’ unresolved water claims, and then didn’t allow leaders of four tribes to speak.

Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke said he sent letters a week ago to all 22 federally recognized tribes in Arizona inviting them to speak about the issue at upcoming meetings later this year.

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