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El Niños Are Far Costlier Than Once Thought, in the Trillions, Study Says — and One’s Brewing Now

/in , /by /AP Newsby Seth Borenstein

 The natural burst of El Niño warming that changes weather worldwide is far costlier with longer-lasting expenses than experts had thought, averaging trillions of dollars in damage, a new study found.

An El Niño is brewing now and it might be a big — and therefore costly — one, scientists said. El Niño is a temporary and natural warming of parts of the equatorial Pacific, that causes droughts, floods and heat waves in different parts of the world. It also adds an extra boost to human-caused warming.

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Marin Municipal Water District Adopts Historic Rate Hikes for Water Supply Projects

/in , , /by /Marin Independent Journalby Will Houston

A majority of Marin residents’ water bills will see significant increases beginning in July as the Marin Municipal Water District looks to make historic investments in new water supplies and recover from the recent drought.

The agency’s board of directors voted 4-1, with Director Larry Russell dissenting, on Tuesday to approve a plan to hike water rates and fees for the next four years.

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New Report Finds Proposed Delta Tunnel Could Bankrupt Metropolitan Water District

/in , , /by /Sacramento News & Review by Dan Bacher

In a report sponsored by the California Water Impact Network, policy expert Max Gomberg revealed that the continued funding of the controversial Delta Tunnel – also known as the Delta Conveyance Project – could bankrupt the powerful Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Gomberg is the former climate change and water conservation manager for the State Water Resources Control Board.

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Proposed Reservoir in Northern California Would Boost Folsom Lake Water Storage

/in , , /by /ABC 10 by Monica Woods

No matter if it’s a dry year or wet year, there are continued pleas for more water storage. Now, an American River Basin study is showing how a strategically placed high Sierra reservoir might be part of the water solution.

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“Up to 1,000 Gallons Per Day”: Roseville to Convert Wastewater Into Methane to Power Waste Collection Fleet

/in , , /by /CBS Sacramento by Dominic Garcia

The City of Roseville has a new way to power its vehicles: they’re using wastewater and turning it into fuel.

Believe it or not, what goes down, will soon power up part of Roseville.

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Drinking Water at 1 in 4 California Child-care Centers Tests Dangerously High for Lead

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Dorany Pineda

In test results that suggest thousands of California infants, toddlers and children continue to be exposed to brain-damaging lead, data released by the state Department of Social Services has revealed that 1 in 4 of the state’s child-care centers has dangerously high levels of the metal in their drinking water.

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California Agencies Warn of Potential Summer Floods as Lake Levels Climb to Full Capacity

/in , , /by /USA Today by Camille Fine

As California agencies brace for possible summer floods, officials are warning visitors of Northern waterways to take precaution as record-breaking snow packs built up from winter storms continue to liquify.

Both Lake Oroville and Lake Shasta reported near-full capacity Monday.

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States Near Historic Deal to Protect Colorado River

/in , , /by /The Washington Post by Joshua Partlow

After nearly a year wrestling over the fate of their water supply, California, Arizona and Nevada — the three key states in the Colorado River’s current crisis — have coalesced around a plan to voluntarily conserve a major portion of their river water in exchange for more than $1 billion in federal funds, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

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Fitch Ratings: EPA’s Cyber Rules Will Add Financial Burden for Utilities

/in , , /by /Water Finance and Management

According to a release from credit rating firm Fitch Ratings, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) requirement that all public water systems incorporate cyber risk and resiliency in their periodic reviews will add an increased regulatory and financial burden that could be even greater for smaller systems and systems with minimal existing cyber infrastructure.

Fitch Ratings says the requirement could have a significant effect on water utilities’ capex budgets, and margins would be pressured if systems are unable or unwilling to pass on the added costs to customers through rate increases.

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California Pledges to Build Channel for Threatened Fish to Bypass Gold Rush-Era Dam

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Adam Beam

California officials on Tuesday said they will spend about $60 million to build a channel along the Yuba River so that salmon and other threatened fish species can get around a Gold Rush-era dam that for more than a century has cut off their migration along the chilly waters of Sierra Nevada streams.

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