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Hydropower Decline Adds to the Strain on Power Grids in Drought

/in , /by /NBC 4

After water levels at a California dam fell to historic lows this summer, the main hydropower plant it feeds was shut down. At the Hoover Dam in Nevada — one of the country’s biggest hydropower generators — production is down by 25%. If extreme drought persists, federal officials say a dam in Arizona could stop producing electricity in coming years.

Severe drought across the West drained reservoirs this year, slashing hydropower production and further stressing the region’s power grids. And as extreme weather becomes more common with climate change, grid operators are adapting to swings in hydropower generation.

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Water Authority Wins National 2021 EPA WaterSense Excellence Award

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October 11, 2021 – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized the San Diego County Water Authority with a 2021 WaterSense Excellence Award for advancing water efficiency through its Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper, or QWEL, program. The Water Authority received one of 34 WaterSense awards last week at the national WaterSmart Innovations Conference in Las Vegas.

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Teams from Unified Command Test Water, Soil at San Onofre in Response to OC Oil Spill

/in , , /by /Times of San Diego by City News Service Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Officials said Sunday that no oiled wildlife has been located in San Diego County from last weekend’s massive oil spill off the coast of Orange County.

Meanwhile, San Diegans can expect to see shoreline cleanup assessment teams and contracted crews in protective gear monitoring, inspecting and cleaning San Diego County beaches.

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Opinion: Up to 1 Million Gallons of Water … a Night? That’s Par for Some Desert Golf Courses

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Steve Lopez

Doug Thompson couldn’t believe what he’d just been told. His wife, a botanist, was advising a Coachella Valley country club on drought-resistant landscaping, and Thompson, who got to talking with the groundskeeper, asked how much water it takes to irrigate a golf course.

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Carlsbad Desalination Plant-oil spill-Lagoon-boom protection

Desal Plant Operations Continue; Protective Boom Installed at Lagoon

/in , , /by /Water News Network Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

(Editor’s note: As of Friday, October 8, the Carlsbad Desalination Plant continues operating at full production with no indication of oil in the feed water. As a precautionary measure, protective booms have been placed at several locations in the Aqua Hedionda Lagoon, including in front of the desalination plant intake).

Poseidon Water and the San Diego County Water Authority issued the following joint statement in response to emergency response efforts following the recent oil spill off the coast of Orange County. No oil has been detected by the plant’s monitoring system.

“The San Diego County Water Authority and Poseidon Water appreciate precautionary efforts by state emergency response crews to install a protective boom at the mouth of Agua Hedionda Lagoon, which provides intake water for the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant. State agencies are also installing a second barrier near the plant intake.

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New Water Year Begins with Most of the Basin in Drought

/in , , /by /Arizona Public Mediaby Alex Hager (KUNC)

October marks the beginning of a new calendar for those who measure and manage the west’s water. The good news? Across the Colorado River basin, there’s a lot less “exceptional drought.”

The amount of land under the absolute driest designation is down about 60% in less than a year. The bad news is that more than 90% of the basin remains in some level of drought.

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Tarballs Found Along San Diego Coastline, Orange County Oil Spill Suspected

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Large clusters of tarballs were found along beaches in Oceanside and Carlsbad, San Diego County officials said Thursday, with similar reports being made in Encinitas and Del Mar.

The black balls of tar, about the size of a quarter, are suspected to have come from the massive oil spill off the coast of Orange County, where a ruptured pipeline has spewed more than 144,000 gallons of crude oil into the ocean.

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Colorado River Drought Conditions Spur Calls for Better Water Infrastructure

/in , , /by /Tucson Sentinelby Ariana Figueroa

Experts in government, agriculture, water management and the environment stressed during a U.S. Senate hearing on Wednesday the danger that droughts fueled by climate change pose in the West, including the Colorado River Basin.

During a hearing before an Energy and Natural Resources Committee panel, witnesses said long-term solutions and an investment in water infrastructure are needed to combat the effects of climate change.

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Opinion: Conserving Water Can Cut Our Bills and Help Future Generations

/in , /by /Desert Sunby Arden Wallum

Extended droughts broken up by rainy years are part of a natural cycle here in California. Our state is once again in another dry period, with areas of Northern California already experiencing a significant impact. It is not a question of if, but when the Coachella Valley faces a similar fate.

Thanks to decades of targeted projects and careful planning, Mission Springs Water District will have enough water to serve our 40,000 customers in and around Desert Hot Springs.

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Oil, Tar Wash Ashore in San Diego County as O.C. Oil Spill Cleanup Extends

/in , /by /Los Angeles Times by Hannah Fry, Priscella Vega, and Robin Estrin

Small amounts of oil and tar washed ashore as far south as San Diego County on Thursday as cleanup and recovery efforts accelerated following the oil spill along the Orange County coast.

Officials said they’ve made progress in the cleanup and hope to advance even further over the weekend. But a storm that meteorologists say could bring 20-mph winds to the region is moving in, raising concerns that more oil could reach the shores. So far, much of the crude has remained offshore, but striations have been seen in Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach.

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