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California Department of Water Resources Says Wildfires Lead to Increased Flood Risks: Be Prepared, Stay Alert

/in , , /by /Sierra Sun Times

California has experienced record-breaking wildfires in 2020 with more than 4 million acres burned, increasing the risk of flash flooding along with mud and debris flows to communities and homes downslope of burn areas. The impacts caused by wildfires can be drastic when it comes to flood risk. In normal conditions, trees, shrubs, grass, and other protective groundcover allow rainfall to infiltrate into the soil.

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L.A.’s Coast Was Once a DDT Dumping Ground. No One Could See It — Until Now

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Rosanna Xia

Not far from Santa Catalina Island, in an ocean shared by divers and fishermen, kelp forests and whales, David Valentine decoded unusual signals underwater that gave him chills.

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California’s Landmark Groundwater Law Falls Short, Advocates Say

/in , , /by /CapRadio by Nina Sparling

In the midst of the last drought, California took its first step to regulate how the state uses groundwater. But advocates worry the new rules have favored big agricultural users over small communities, particularly in areas like the San Joaquin Valley.

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Snow and Rain Coming to Southwest Drought Area, But La Niña Could Be Bad News in the Long Run

/in , , /by /The Weather Channelby Chris Dolce

Serious drought conditions continue in the Southwest, and while some beneficial rain and mountain snow are in the near-term forecast, the expectation of La Niña this winter could be bad news for the region.

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Mexico Makes Good on Water Debt to US

/in , , /by /The Monitorby Dina Arévalo

After nearly a year of uncertainty about whether Mexico would be able to fulfill its water debt to the United States, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday that the two countries have reached an agreement to satisfy the debt by Friday, just one day before the treaty deadline to do so is set to expire.

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Council OKs Gap Funding for Water Plant

/in , , /by /The Ceres Courierby Jeff Benziger

Sitting as the Ceres Financing Authority, members of the Ceres City Council last week unanimously approved the sale of $22 million in bonds to finance the surface water project as an interim measure. The cities of Ceres and Turlock have formed a joint powers authority, called the Stanislaus Regional Water Authority, with the Turlock Irrigation District to build and run a plant to siphon water out of the Tuolumne River, filter it and pipe it to homes. The water will be stored in a large above ground tank at Ceres River Bluff Regional Park and comingled with groundwater.

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Bill Gates-Backed Venture Aims to Eliminate ‘Forever Chemicals’

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Tiffany Kary

A new venture backed by billionaire Bill Gates is trying to make sure that “forever chemicals” don’t really last that long.

Allonnia LLC, which launched Thursday with $40 million in Series A funding, is working to engineer microbes to get rid of pollutants in wastewater and soil. It’s starting with PFAS, an insidious class of chemicals that are widespread in U.S. drinking water and have otherwise proved resistant to breaking down, earning them the “forever” moniker.

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Study: Water Use Dropping in Western Cities Even While Population Grows

/in , , /by /KNAU Arizonaby Melissa Sevigny

Many western cities have been able to shrink their total water use in recent decades, even as their populations grew. That’s the finding of a new study published in the journal Water last week. KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny spoke with lead author Brian Richter about how simple water conservation measures could be a cost-effective way to combat shortages in the Colorado River Basin.

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Special Districts Push for Slice of California’s Coronavirus Relief Pie

/in , , /by /Whittier Daily Newsby Teri Sforza

The prickly issue of financial help for state and local governments — hammered by COVID-related dips in tax revenue — has been like rocks in the dance shoes of Democrats and Republicans as they execute the latest coronavirus-relief minuet.

While Democrats want $436 billion for state and local governments, Republicans refuse to “bail out” what they call “poorly run” and “mismanaged governments,” many of which happen to be in blue states.

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MacArthur ‘Genius’ Brings National Attention to Local Fight Against Sewage Failures

/in , , /by /NPRby Emma Bowman

If Catherine Flowers ever received a calling to take on a career in environmental activism, it likely came in the form of mosquito bites.

In 2009, Flowers was doing economic development work in her hometown of Lowndes County, Ala., where raw sewage leaked into the yards of poor residents who lacked access to a municipal sewer system.

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