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Nearly 35 Million Households Will Lose Their Utility Shutoff Protections Over the Next Month

/in , , /by /CNBCby Megan Leonhardt

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, millions of Americans have relied on emergency orders put in place by state and local governments that bar utility companies from shutting off services such as gas, electricity and water. However, many of these orders will expire by the end of September, leaving 34.5 million households without shutoff protections, according to a new report from energy efficiency startup Carbon Switch.

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California Bill Would Require Reports on Solid Chlorpyrifos Use

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Emily C. Dooley

State regulators would have to tell the California legislature about a limited use of chlorpyrifos, a powerful insecticide linked to brain damage in children, under a bill heading to the governor. The measure, SB 86, was approved by the Assembly and Senate Sunday. It would require the state Department of Pesticide Regulation to detail the granular, or non-liquid, use of chlorpyrifos, which accounts for roughly 1% of its total use. The state banned all uses of chlorpyrifos as of 2021 over health concerns.

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New Report Offers Grim Details on Underinvestment in U.S. Water Infrastructure

/in , , /by /Water Finance & Management

According to the new report released this week by the American Society of Civil Engineers  and Value of Water Campaign, the United States is underinvesting in its drinking water and wastewater systems, putting American households and the economy at risk. The report, “The Economic Benefits of Investing in Water Infrastructure: How a Failure to Act Would Affect the U.S. Economy Recovery,” finds that as water infrastructure deteriorates and service disruptions increase, annual costs to American households due to water and wastewater failures will be seven times higher in 20 years than they are today — from $2 billion in 2019 to $14 billion by 2039.

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CPUC Approves Structural Change to Water Bills

/in , , /by /The Bakersfield Californianby John Cox

State utility regulators on Thursday put an end to a system that’s allowed investor-owned water utilities including California Water Service to bill customers the cost difference between expected and actual water usage. The California Public Utilities Commission, siding with its consumer-advocate arm, voted 4-1 to halt what are known as water-revenue adjustment mechanisms, which sometimes resulted in unexpected surcharges on ratepayers’ monthly bills. Commissioner Liane M. Randolph cast the lone vote against the proposal.

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Opinion: Despite Unprecedented Times, Natural Resources Should Remain Important to the Legislature

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Pablo Garza

As if a global pandemic was not enough, the tumultuous legislative session comes to a close as much of the state is on fire. Understandably, lawmakers had already significantly pared down their legislative packages to focus on a response to COVID-19. And, then last week many important bills on environmental justice and natural resources stalled.

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Report: Funding Water Infrastructure Benefits Economy

/in , , /by /WaterWorld Magazine

The United States is underinvesting in its drinking water and wastewater systems — putting American households and the economy at risk, according to a new report released by the American Society of Civil Engineers and Value of Water Campaign.  The report, “The Economic Benefits of Investing in Water Infrastructure: How a Failure to Act Would Affect the U.S. Economy Recovery,” finds that as water infrastructure deteriorates and service disruptions increase, annual costs to American households due to water and wastewater failures will be seven times higher in 20 years than they are today — from $2 billion in 2019 to $14 billion by 2039.

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Pure Water Monterey Supply Set for Extraction, Use on Peninsula

/in , , /by /Monterey Heraldby Jim Johnson

Pure Water Monterey is finally poised to make water available for the Monterey Peninsula, providing a new water supply source for the area while allowing a reduction in Carmel River water usage albeit at a considerably reduced rate to start than was expected.

Last weekend, Monterey One Water announced that it had completed a 1,000-acre-foot recycled water reserve in the Seaside basin and that California American Water could start extracting additional water from the basin equivalent to the amount of recycled water being pumped into the basin beyond the reserve.

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Water, Water, Every Where — And Now Scientists Know Where it Came From

/in , , /by /NPRby Nell Greenfieldboyce

Water on Earth is omnipresent and essential for life as we know it, and yet scientists remain a bit baffled about where all of this water came from: Was it present when the planet formed, or did the planet form dry and only later get its water from impacts with water-rich objects such as comets?

A new study in the journal Science suggests that the Earth likely got a lot of its precious water from the original materials that built the planet, instead of having water arrive later from afar.

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Opinion: Yes, We Need a ‘Grand Bargain’ Over Delta Water – and Everyone’s Best Ideas

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla

Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt calls for “a ‘Grand Bargain’ in which all the parties achieve a consensus, confirmed in legislation, to apportion Delta water between exports and an adequate ecological flow to San Francisco Bay.”  We agree. Let’s start with a statewide water audit. Leadership now asks, “How much was promised?” That question ignores the reality of how much water actually exists and leads to endless litigation, as Babbitt explained.

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‘We’re Drying the Fuels’: How Climate Change is Making Wildfires Worse in the West

/in , , /by /Arizona Republicby Ian James

As flames tore through California’s Santa Cruz Mountains, Craig Clements drove toward the fire in a specialized radar-equipped Ford pickup, watching the plume of smoke billowing from the forest.

Clements is a professor who leads San Jose State University’s Fire Weather Research Laboratory, and he chases wildfires to study their behavior.

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