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Water, Wildfires, Climate: Californians Leaning Toward Approving $10 Billion Bond

/in , /by /Cal Mattersby Alejandro Lazo

Californians are leaning in favor of approving $10 billion in bonds for climate and environmental projects with substantial numbers of votes counted tonight.

Proposition 4 would fund projects across the state to safeguard drinking water, combat wildfires, protect natural lands, and improve resilience against floods and extreme heat, but some of the money is also directed toward shorter-term items like job training.

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A Trump Win Could Spell Major Changes for California’s Drinking Water, RFK Jr. Says

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Corinne Purtill

More than half of Californians and nearly 75% of U.S. residents live in communities where fluoride has been added to drinking water to prevent tooth decay, an intervention hailed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control as one of the 20th century’s greatest public health achievements.

Yet should Donald Trump be elected to a second term, water systems will be immediately directed to end this practice, according to supporter Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

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Why the Election Might not Matter for California Water

/in , /by /Politicoby Camille Von Kaenel

Former President Donald Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom want you to believe they’re on opposite ends of the spectrum on California water. But their policies aren’t drastically different — and both lean toward the Republican-leaning farmers of the Central Valley.

On the campaign trail, Trump has promised to force Newsom to turn on the faucet for water-strapped farmers if he is elected. Meanwhile, Newsom today finalized rules that insulate the state’s endangered fish protections from federal changes.

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New California Water Permit Seeks to Balance Water Delivery with Environmental Protections

/in , /by /Courthouse News Serviceby Alan Riquelmy

A new operating permit issued Monday for California’s state water project is expected to help protect fish and ensure almost 30 million people can access a reliable water supply.

“The new incidental take permit for the state water project issued today provides California with new tools and resources to better manage our water supply for endangered fish species and millions of Californians,” said Karla Nemeth, water resources department director, in a statement.

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In a Record, All but Two U.S. States Are in Drought

/in , /by /The New York Timesby Austyn Gaffney and Mira Rojanasakul

Almost the entire United States faced drought conditions during the last week of October.

Only Alaska and Kentucky did not have at least moderate drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a record in the monitor’s history.

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Invasive Mussel Found in North America for First Time, Posing Immediate Threat in California’s Delta

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Roxanna Xia

A particularly worrisome mussel species has entered North America for the first time through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta — sparking what many are calling an immediate threat to California’s most significant watersheds.

Golden mussels, invasive freshwater bivalves that have devastated ecosystems and critical water infrastructure in other parts of the world, were recently discovered near the Port of Stockton. Limnoperna fortunei appear to have also found their way many miles downstream into O’Neill Forebay of the San Luis Reservoir, where officials in Merced County have been rapidly conducting genetic testing.

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Is Fluoride in Drinking Water Safe? What to Know After RFK Jr.’s Claims

/in , /by /USA Todayby Cybele Mayes-Osterman

Fluoride – it’s added to the water systems of more than two thirds of Americans. It’s in dental products from toothpaste to mouth wash. It’s been the subject of long-running conspiracy theories.

And now, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says Donald Trump could try to take it out of water supplies nationwide if elected president.

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Can a $10 Billion Climate Bond Address California’s Water Contamination Problem?

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Vanessa G. Sánchez

When Cynthia Ruiz turns on her kitchen faucet, she hears a slight squeak before cloudy fluid bursts out of the spout. The water in her Central Valley town of East Orosi is clean enough most of the time to wash dishes, flush toilets, and take showers, but it’s not safe to swallow. Drinking water is trucked in twice a month.

“There are times where the water is so bad you can’t even wash dishes,” said Ruiz, who is advised not to drink the tap water, which is laden with nitrates — runoff from orange and nectarine fields surrounding the town of roughly 400. “We need help to fix our water problem.”

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‘Immediate Threat’: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

/in , /by /Cal Mattersby Alastair Bland

From the glittery bling of its name, the golden mussel sounds like it could be California’s state bivalve.

Unfortunately, the creature’s only connection to the Golden State is the fact that it is California’s most recently identified invasive species — and it’s a bad one, with the capacity to clog major water supply pipes.

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The Southwest Offers Blueprints for the Future of Wastewater Reuse

/in , , /by /resilenceby Freddie Clayton

No country is immune from water scarcity issues—not even wealthy countries like the United States.

Population growth and climate change are stretching America’s water supplies to the limit, and tapping new sources is becoming more difficult each year—in some cases, even impossible.

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