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San Francisco Takes on EPA at the Supreme Court, a Surprising Case for Green-Thinking City

/in , /by /KQEDby Katherine Monahan, Lesley McClurg

The Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday in a significant environmental case brought by San Francisco — one that some city officials are surprisingly hoping to lose.

San Francisco is suing the Environmental Protection Agency because it argues that current law makes the city responsible for more than its share of water pollution, sparking a legal battle that environmentalists fear the court’s 6-3 conservative majority could use to roll back clean water protections on a national scale.

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Column: Something is Rotten in SoCal’s Metropolitan Water District

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sammy Roth

There are few government agencies more central to daily life in Los Angeles than the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which spends billions of dollars each year ensuring that 19 million people have enough to drink, in part by importing hundreds of billions of gallons from the Colorado River and Northern California.

There are also few agencies more prone to bitter power struggles.

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Critical Infrastructure: How to Protect Water, Power and Space from Cyber Attacks

/in , /by /Gtby Jule Pattison-Gordon

Sectors that underpin modern society face rising cyber threats. Water, electricity and satellites — which support everything from GPS navigation to credit card processing — are at increasing risk. Legacy infrastructure and increased connectivity challenge water and the power grid, while the space sector struggles with safeguarding in-orbit satellites that were designed before modern cyber concerns. But many different players are offering advice and resources and working to develop tools and strategies for a more cyber-safe landscape.

When the water sector runs as it should, wastewater is properly treated to avoid spread of disease; drinking water is safe for residents; and water is available for needs like firefighting, hospitals, and heating and cooling processes, per the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

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California Voters To Take Up Climate Change With Proposition 4

/in , /by /KQEDby Keith Mizuguchi

Among the many questions on your California ballot this November is whether to approve a $10 billion state bond to invest in climate adaptation. Proposition 4 is one of the largest bonds on the ballot in the country this year.

The money in the bond will be used to make communities more resilient against climate change.

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SoCal’s Water Supply Could be Crippled by Next Major Earthquake

/in , /by /ABC 7by Marc Cota-Robles

Living in Southern California, it may frequently cross your mind: when will the next big earthquake hit?

“We’re afraid of earthquakes because they’re sudden, we can’t predict them, you don’t see them coming,” seismologist Lucy Jones told Eyewitness News.

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California Atmospheric River Forecast: ‘Big Changes’ in Storm Path Expected

/in , /by /Newsweekby Anna Skinner

Atmospheric rivers are forecast to “drench the West Coast” this winter, according to a recent meteorological report.

Last winter, the West Coast faced a slew of atmospheric rivers that caused devastating floods and landslides. The storms also brought a deluge of rain that supplemented California lakes and rivers, helping to eliminate the state’s drought. Meteorologists are again predicting a wet winter for the West Coast, according to an AccuWeather report published Monday, and meteorologists are warning of a “big change” expected in the Golden State by midseason.

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As California Farms Use Less Colorado River Water, Worries Grow Over Shrinking Salton Sea

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

It was 111 degrees when Mark McBroom stepped from his air-conditioned pickup and onto a dry alfalfa field. Remnants of desiccated hay crunched underfoot, and the sun-baked soil was fragmented with deep cracks.

McBroom and other Imperial Valley farmers agreed to leave many hay fields unwatered for seven weeks this year in exchange for cash payments from a federally funded program designed to alleviate the water shortage on the Colorado River.

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Public Acceptance Lags As CA Facilities Turn Sewage Into Tap Water

/in , /by /Public News Serviceby Kathleen Shannon

After an Orange County resident flushes her toilet, the water flows through the Southern California community’s sewer system, meanders its way to the sanitation plant, has its solids removed, is piped to a wastewater recycling facility next door and undergoes three different purification processes until it is clean enough to drink.

“It tastes like water,” said Mehul Patel, executive director of operations for the Orange County Water District’s project, after taking a gulp from a clear plastic cup at the sampling station, as he stood outside the final purification process facility on a warm afternoon earlier this month.

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American Water Cyberattack Renews Focus On Protecting Critical Infrastructure

/in , /by /Fox 5 San Diego by Bruce Shipkowski

A cyberattack continues to affect the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States, renewing a focus on the importance of protecting critical infrastructure sites.

New Jersey-based American Water paused billing to customers as it announced the cyberattack on Monday. It said it became aware of the unauthorized activity on Thursday and immediately took protective steps, including shutting down certain systems. Water services have been unaffected as protections remained in place Wednesday.

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Biden Sets 10-Year Deadline For US Cities To Replace Lead Pipes Nationwide

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Matthew Daly and Michael Phillis

A decade after the Flint, Michigan, water crisis raised alarms about the continuing dangers of lead in tap water, President Joe Biden on Tuesday set a 10-year deadline for cities across the nation to replace their lead pipes, finalizing an aggressive approach aimed at ensuring that drinking water is safe for all Americans.

Biden announced the final Environmental Protection Agency rule during a visit to the swing state of Wisconsin in the final month of a tight presidential campaign. The announcement highlights an issue — safe drinking water — that Kamala Harris has prioritized as vice president and during her presidential campaign. The new rule supplants a looser standard set by former President Donald Trump’s administration that did not include a universal requirement to replace lead pipes.

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