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It is now possible to imagine a future in which highly treated wastewater will be plumbed directly into California homes as a new drinking water supply. On September 8, the State Water Resources Control Board released a long-awaited report on the feasibility of so-called “direct potable reuse.” This means recycling urban sewage flows in a process akin to seawater desalination, then plumbing it directly into a city’s freshwater distribution lines without first storing it in a groundwater aquifer or reservoir (known as indirect potable reuse).

To support our prosperity and growth, California needs to expand its investments in our physical and natural infrastructure.This is particularly apparent as climate change puts stress on our ability to provide safe, clean water. One of the bills awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown’s decision stands out as a common-sense measure that would help secure California’s future water needs. Assembly Bill 2480, by Assemblyman Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica, would require formal recognition of the five watersheds that feed Northern California’s primary reservoirs as state infrastructure, just like the state’s dams, canals and levees.

 

 

Weather forecasters are backing off their earlier prediction that La Nina atmospheric conditions would drive weather patterns this fall and winter. That means all bets are off when it comes to how — and how many — storms will approach the West Coast, advises Michelle Mead, a National Weather Service warning coordinator. The federal Climate Prediction Center had issued a “watch” for La Nina — a mixture of atmospheric and ocean surface temperatures that tends to steer storms toward the Pacific Northwest and Northern California.

 

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) has come under criticism after a local TV station filmed one of the agency’s substations watering its artificial grass. The synthetic turf was installed in 2011 as part of a program to replace grass with drought-tolerant landscaping at 71 DWP facilities. “All told, this program has removed over 1.3 million square feet of grass and replaced it with California-friendly landscaping,” DWP spokesman Joe Ramallo told Reuters. “That’s enough water to (serve) 314 single-family homes in Los Angeles each year.” Nearby residents became angry after seeing the sprinkler systems running to water the synthetic turf.