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Pendulum Swings in Clean Water Act Regulation

/in , , /by /Capital Pressby Mateusz Perkouwski

The regulatory pendulum is expected to swing toward stricter Clean Water Act enforcement, though experts say the Biden administration’s changes probably won’t be immediate. Farmers and environmentalists have been in a political tug-of-war over the law’s scope for years, largely due to ambiguous legal interpretations of the statute. While Democrats will now have power over Congress, their majority is too slim to make changes to the law, said Don Parrish, the American Farm Bureau Federation’s senior director of regulatory relations.

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Opinion: 3 Critical Lessons California Offers to Improve Restoration of Land On a Global Scale

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Julie Rentner and Manuel Oliva

2021 presents opportunities for decisive and positive action, including the launch of the United Nations’ Decade on Ecosystem Restoration which reinforces the importance of healing degraded ecosystems around the world before it’s too late.  It gives us great hope to know that California is committed to leadership through investment and sharing lessons learned from decades of experience. Our diverse ecosystems, abundant natural resources and a mild climate have helped attract millions of residents and developed California’s world-class economy.

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Sunlight Powers Portable, Inexpensive Systems to Produce Drinking Water

/in , , /by /Scientific Americanby Prachi Patel

In an increasingly hot and crowded world, clean water is becoming a precious commodity. Two thirds of the global population will have problems accessing fresh water by 2025, and removing salt and contaminants from the oceans and groundwater is one way to slake humanity’s thirst. Today’s large desalination plants, though, cost millions of dollars to build. Most use reverse osmosis, which forces seawater through salt-blocking membranes.

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Ramona Water District Digs Into Roads for Pipe Repairs After County Has Paved Them

/in , , /by /Ramona Sentinelby Julie Gallant

A labyrinth of aging water pipes is putting the Ramona Municipal Water District on the hook for the costs of repairing water leaks and conducting emergency repairs on water mains, which are among the district’s primary responsibilities, but also for costs related to repaving roads after the pipe work is completed.

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Valley Groundwater May Get (Small) Slice of State’s $15 Billion Surplus

/in , , /by /SJV Waterby Lois Henry

The Governor’s proposal for how to spend California’s $15 billion surplus includes $60 million in direct grants to help replenish groundwater in the valley’s most depleted basins.

The measure specifies the money is to be used in “critically over-drafted basins,” which lie mostly in the San Joaquin Valley.

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