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Urban Californians used about 1.8 percent more water in October compared with a year earlier, state officials said Tuesday. It marked the fourth straight month in which conservation has slipped following the state’s decision to relax drought mandates.The State Water Resources Control Board said, however, that conservation was better in October than in September, and that it was largely pleased with the efforts Californians were making. “Californians’ continued commitment to conservation shows they don’t take water for granted anymore,” said board Chairwoman Felicia Marcus in a prepared statement.

After the House proposed a narrow version of the energy bill to the Senate, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) proposed a broader bill once again. After a meeting last week with House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT), Chairman Murkowski appeared confident she will get a bill during the Lame Duck session.

Could applying microalgae to the soil boost yield and strengthen plants? We spoke to Lance Smith, chief business office, Heliae Development LLC., based in Gilbert, Arizona, in the southeast Phoenixmetropolitan area. “Heliae is a company that is dedicated to unlocking the potential of microalgae,” said Smith. “We’ve been in business now for over eight years. We hope to be able to deliver microalgae products in a lot of areas, including in plant agriculture.” “While we work with hundreds of algae species, the algae we are currently marketing for plant agriculture is a green algae.

Outgoing Sen. Barbara Boxer is slamming a push by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to attach California drought language to a waterways bill, calling the provision a “poison pill.” Boxer, a California Democrat, said the inclusion of the drought language would jeopardize bipartisan efforts to finalize the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which McCarthy said would be posted on Monday.

The underlying legislation authorizes dozens of water-related infrastructure projects around the country and is expected to include emergency funding for the lead-contaminated community of Flint, Mich.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced a deal to include a long-stalled drought measure inside a water projects bill that is poised to clear Congress as early as this week.

But at least one top Democrat in the Senate says she will try to block passage. The deal, which is aimed at bringing water to drought-stricken areas of California, came after negotiations with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., McCarthy said. Feinstein has in the past opposed the drought bill.