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Water District Has Plans in Place for Nightmare Scenario

/in , /by /Valley Roadrunnerby David Ross

“This is an out-of-the-box situation that I’ve never dealt with before,” admitted Valley Canter Municipal Water District Gen. Mgr. Gary Arant at Monday’s board meeting, which, due to the evolving coronavirus crisis (is there any other kind now?) was held with one director teleconferencing and all of the staff and directors “social distancing” by maintaining at least six feet away from each other in the board room.

At the meeting Gaby Olson, VCMWD’s Safety and Regulatory Supervisor, gave an overview of the district’s Pandemic Response Plan, which is how the district will respond to what has become the nightmare scenario of the decade, if not the most serious crisis since 9-11.

The plan recognizes a stark fact of life: even in the midst of a crisis where people may be sheltering in place and most commerce has ground to a halt, no matter how many employees are out sick, you can’t stop delivering water to the public. You must do whatever must be done to keep the water flowing from the tap.

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California Pilot Plant Could be Churning out ‘Sustainable’ Lithium as Early as 2023

/in , /by /Energy Storage Newsby Andy Colthorpe

Following recent reports that newly accessed geothermal power resources in California could also provide access to lithium as a valuable by-product, a pilot facility is now in development.

Resource developer Controlled Thermal Resources recently signed a power purchase agreement for 40MW of geothermal energy with Imperial Irrigation District, a water – and energy – provider in Southern California.

CTR is also now creating Hell’s Kitchen Co, facilities for lithium extraction and chemical processing at its geothermal plant at Imperial Valley’s shallow, saline Salton Sea. CTR has now partnered with technology provider Lilac Solutions, which has its own proprietary ion exchange technology, to open up a pilot plant to extract lithium from the run-off geothermal brine

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Imperial County Officials Say They’re Prepared To Prevent Spread Of Coronavirus

/in , /by /inewsource (San Diego)by Jennifer Bowman

For Luis Olmedo, environmental justice work must continue during a pandemic — especially in Imperial County.

The executive director of Comite Civico de Valle was on his way Tuesday morning to a county Air Pollution Control Board meeting, where he planned to watch on his phone outside and wait to enter the building until his organization’s agenda item came up. He was doing his part to help stop the spread of coronavirus by keeping his distance from others.

 

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San Diego Region’s Water Supplies Safe to Drink

/in , , /by /Water News Networkby Ed Joyce Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego region’s water supplies remain safe to drink.

The San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies have increased regional coordination and communication to ensure the coronavirus pandemic does not impact safe and secure water service for San Diego County.

Public water supplies in the San Diego region remain safe to drink due to numerous robust treatment processes used by local and regional water providers.

Despite widespread fears about coronavirus, there’s no evidence that the virus is transmitted through treated water. The U.S. EPA recommends that Americans continue to use and drink tap water as usual.

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Groups Bring Suit Over Secret Approval Process for PFAS Chemicals

/in , , /by /Courthouse News Service (Pasadena, Calif.)by Megan Mineiro

Bemoaning the government’s clandestine process of approving widely unregulated PFAS chemicals, environmentalists brought a federal complaint Wednesday to make the chemical program transparent.

Short for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS are a class of chemicals ubiquitous in commercial products and disturbingly linked to cancer, infertility, pregnancy complications and other toxic effects.

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California Mountains Blanketed in Snow After March Storms

/in , , /by /Associated Press (Sacramento Bee)by John Antczak

California mountains are blanketed in snow and much of the state has had plenty of rain in a remarkable March turnabout from the extremely dry first two months of the year.

The most recent statewide storm started during the weekend and, despite diminishing, snow snowfall and showers were still occurring here and there.

In the Sierra Nevada, Homewood Mountain Resort on the west shore of Lake Tahoe reported late Tuesday a storm total of 114 inches (289.5 centimeters) of snow at its summit and 74 inches (188 centimeters) at the base.

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Carlsbad Desalination Plant Staff Take Extraordinary Step to Shelter in Place to Ensure Operational Continuity at Critical Facility

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“As manager of the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant in San Diego County, our top priority is to ensure the health and safety of the employees and compliance with stringent state and federal standards for the production of a safe and healthy drinking water supply.

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Region’s Water Agencies Collaborate to Ensure Water Security

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The Water Authority and its 24 member agencies have increased regional coordination and communication to ensure the coronavirus pandemic does not impact safe and secure water service for San Diego County.

Public water supplies in the San Diego region remain safe to drink due to numerous robust treatment processes used by local and regional water providers. Despite widespread fears about coronavirus, there’s no evidence that the virus is transmitted through treated water. The U.S. EPA recommends that Americans continue to use and drink tap water as usual.

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Coronavirus: California Issues Warning About Disinfecting Wipes

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

As Americans stockpile disinfecting wipes and paper towels to clean their homes more often to reduce the risk of coronavirus, California’s state water regulators on Tuesday urged them to keep one thing in mind: Don’t flush them down the toilet.

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INSIGHT: EPA Seeks to Expand Federal Role in Water Reuse

/in , /by /Bloomberg Environmentby William M. Alley

The Environmental Protection Agency recently released its National Water Reuse Action Plan to promote more water reuse in the U.S. William M. Alley, director of science and technology for the National Ground Water Association, says the plan focuses on low-hanging fruit and states and associations will likely remain the leaders and innovators in water reuse.

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