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La Niña and California’s New Water Year

It’s that time of the year in California, when water managers, climatologists and meteorologists look at the factors that determine what the winter will bring during Water Year 2020-21 (October 1, 2020 – September 30, 2021).

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently said that La Niña conditions are present in the tropical Pacific, “with an approximately 85% chance of La Niña lasting through the winter.” Forecasters currently think this La Niña will be on the stronger side. For California, those conditions typically mean a drier winter, with increasingly dry conditions heading into 2021.

Water Authority to Host Public Session on Economics of Regional Conveyance Study

The San Diego County Water Authority will host an online public information session on Oct. 27 about economic considerations related to the proposed Regional Conveyance System. The virtual event will run from 10 a.m. to noon.

 

 

To Batteries and Beyond: In a High-Renewables World, Pumped Hydro Storage Could Be “the Heavy Artillery”

Around three or four years ago, Jim Day, CEO of Daybreak Power, came across a Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) study that listed dozens of locations around the country that could be viable for pumped hydro storage projects.

Opinion: California’s Energy System Should Be Resilient, Flexible and Affordable

As essential service providers, utilities are responsible for helping to ensure the health and well-being of our communities. The weight of that responsibility has gotten heavier as climate change and the pandemic take its toll on our beautiful state and the people who live here.

UN: Climate Change Means More Weather Disasters Every Year

In the wake of heat waves, global warming, forest fires, storms, droughts and a rising number of hurricanes, the U.N. weather agency warned Tuesday that the number of people who need international humanitarian help could rise 50% by 2030 compared to the 108 million who needed it worldwide in 2018.

Environmentalists and Dam Operators, at War for Years, Start Making Peace

The industry that operates America’s hydroelectric dams and several environmental groups announced an unusual agreement Tuesday to work together to get more clean energy from hydropower while reducing the environmental harm from dams, in a sign that the threat of climate change is spurring both sides to rethink their decades-long battle over a large but contentious source of renewable power.

EPA Announces $108M to Improve Water Quality in the California Delta

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced a $108 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to the Stockton Public Financing Authority to help modernize the city’s wastewater treatment facility and reduce nitrogen discharges to the San Joaquin River. With this loan, EPA is supporting a regionally significant project that will improve water quality and support public health and the economies of the California Delta.

Big Infrastructure Bill ‘Isn’t Dead’ as WRDA Talks Heat Up

A high-stakes Supreme Court confirmation and COVID-19 negotiations may be the focus on Capitol Hill, but a sprawling water infrastructure bill is still advancing quickly behind the scenes.

PFAS Used by Many Industries Warrant Controls, Scientists Say

A subset of so-called forever chemicals, used to make thousands of industrial and consumer products, can’t be deemed “low-concern” despite chemical manufacturers’ arguments, a group of international scientists said in a paper released Tuesday.

Gómez and Jacobs on the Green New Deal, Climate Injustice

If San Diego’s urban core were a human heart, then the 53rd Congressional District would be, geographically, its left ventricle. The political battle to represent its people is one between two liberals: former environmental justice advocate and San Diego City Council President Georgette Gómez and Sara Jacobs, the granddaughter of a Qualcomm co-founder who also chairs a childhood poverty organization called San Diego for Every Child.