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US EPA Report Cites Cybersecurity Flaws in Drinking Water Systems, Flags Disruption Risks and Lack of Incident Reporting

/in , /by /Industrial Cyberby Anna Ribeiro

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General released a report on cybersecurity concerns in drinking water systems. As part of its continued oversight of the EPA’s role as a sector risk management agency, the office revealed that passive assessment of cybersecurity vulnerabilities was conducted on drinking water systems with populations served of 50,000 people or greater. The findings revealed exploitable cybersecurity weaknesses that could disrupt service, cause data loss, or lead to information theft.

Furthermore, while attempting to notify the EPA about the cybersecurity vulnerabilities, the OIG found that the EPA does not have its ‘cybersecurity incident reporting system’ that water and wastewater systems could use to notify the EPA of cybersecurity incidents.

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Expansion of San Luis Reservoir Set to Boost California’s Water-Storing Capacity

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

The Biden administration and eight California water agencies have reached an agreement to share in the costs of raising a dam to expand San Luis Reservoir, a nearly $1-billion project intended to increase the state’s water-storage capacity and benefit a group of urban communities and agricultural areas.

The plan to raise B.F. Sisk Dam and enlarge the reservoir near Los Banos will enable it to hold more water during wet years, boosting the reserves of water suppliers in parts of the Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley.

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Reclamation and Partners Complete Negotiations for the B.F. Sisk Dam Raise and Reservoir Expansion Project in Merced County, Advancing Water Supply Reliability in California’s Central Valley

/in , /by /Sierra Sun Times

The joint project creates an additional 130,000 acre-feet of storage space in San Luis Reservoir, the nation’s largest off-stream reservoir, producing additional water supply for two million people, over one million acres of farmland and 135,000 acres of Pacific Flyway wetlands and critical wildlife habitat. Reclamation signed the Record of Decision for the project on Oct. 20, 2023, the first approval of a major water storage project in California since 2011.

Significant provisions of the agreement include cost sharing and space management for the federally-funded and authority-funded shares of the expanded reservoir. A $25 million investment to the project under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was announced in October 2022 and an additional $10 million in July 2023. An additional $60 million was authorized for project construction from the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, for a total of $95 million in federal contributions to date in construction costs.

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Cadiz to Repurpose Steel from Terminated Keystone XL Pipeline for California Water Project

/in , /by /Pipeline & Gas Journal

Cadiz Inc. announced plans to acquire 180 miles of steel pipe from the terminated Keystone XL Pipeline, repurposing the materials for a new water delivery pipeline.

This new infrastructure will connect the company’s groundwater bank in California’s Mojave Desert to major water networks across the Southwestern U.S., with construction expected to begin in 2025.

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Record-Setting Dry Conditions Threaten More US Wildfires, Drinking Water Supplies

/in , /by /MSNby Wayne Parry

Record-setting dry conditions in some parts of the U.S. are raising fears of new wildfires and also could threaten drinking water supplies if substantial rain does not fall in the coming months.

Firefighters battled wildfires from California to New York on Wednesday, hampered by high winds and arid landscapes.

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Los Angeles Set to Build Facility to Transform Wastewater into Clean Drinking Water

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

Los Angeles will soon begin building a $740-million project to transform wastewater into purified drinking water in the San Fernando Valley, expanding the city’s local water supply in an effort to prepare for worsening droughts compounded by climate change.

The city plans to break ground next month to start construction of new facilities at the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys. When completed, the facilities will purify treated wastewater and produce 20 million gallons of drinking water per day, enough to supply about 250,000 people.

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Will Lake Shasta Fill Up for 3rd Straight Year When La Niña Winter Weather Hits California?

/in , /by /Record Searchlightby David Benda

A pair of storms moving through Redding this week could dump 1.5 to 2 inches of rain in the region, helping bring up water levels at Lakes Shasta and raising hope California’s largest reservoir will fill up for a third straight year if a robust La Niña arrives this winter.

The lake was at 56% total capacity as of Monday, which is 104% of its historical average, according to the state Department of Water Resources’ most recent data.

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California Clears Hurdle to Expand Major Reservoir and Store More Water

/in , /by /SFGATEby Amy Graff

A $1 billion project to raise the height of B.F. Sisk Dam and increase water storage capacity on the San Luis Reservoir cleared another hurdle.

State agencies and the federal government reached an agreement on Oct. 1 around how costs to build the project would be shared and how the new storage capacity would be divided up if the dam were raised 10 feet. Under the plan, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, one of the largest water districts in the San Francisco Bay Area, would kick in the most funding and have access to the most storage. The agreement will be marked with a celebration in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 13, said Matthew Keller, a spokesperson for Valley Water.

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How Will a Second Trump Presidency Shape the Colorado River?

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Alex Hager

The people who will determine the future of the Colorado River said they do not anticipate major changes to their negotiation process as a result of former president Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Multiple officials from states that use the Colorado River pointed to historical precedent and said that similar negotiations in the past were largely unaffected by turnover in presidential administrations. Historically, state leaders have written the particulars of river management rules, and the federal Bureau of Reclamation implements the states’ ideas.

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What the Science Says About Fluoride in Water

/in , /by /ABC 10 News by Patrick Terpstra

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he’ll be serving in a major health care policy role in the upcoming Trump administration, where his to-do list includes telling local communities to stop adding fluoride to drinking water.

“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy posted to the social media site X.

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