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California Assembly Passes Expedited Dam Safety for Silicon Valley Act

/in , , /by /Engineering News-Recordby Tim Newcomb

In an effort to move forward a $576 million Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project, the California State Assembly passed AB 3005 on June 8, the Expedited Dam Safety for Silicon Valley Act, facilitating the construction of the project.

Assemblyman Robert Rivas (D-Hollister, Calif.), who wrote the bill, says the overwhelming vote of bipartisan support shows the importance in fixing the dam. “The clock is ticking on a catastrophic dam failure in case of a large earthquake,” he says, “and we can’t allow bureaucratic delay to increase risks to public safety, water security and environmental protections.”

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90% Clean Power by 2035 is ‘Challenging but Feasible’

/in , , /by /PV Magazineby William Driscoll

A 90% clean grid by 2035 would be cost-effective, says a report from UC Berkeley and GridLab; a companion policy paper calls for a federal renewables mandate to get there.

Under a 90% clean grid, wholesale electricity would cost less than it does today. And although a 55% clean grid in 2035 would have even lower electricity prices, when environmental and health damages from fossil fuel use are counted, the 90% clean grid would cost less.

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Water’s Not the Issue

/in , /by /East Bay Expressby Alastair Bland

As the coronavirus creeps through the human population, causing social and economic turmoil, farmers discard vast quantities of food that they are abruptly unable to sell in the upended economy. The waste has been widely reported as one heartbreaking impact of the Covid-19 crisis. Part of the problem seems to be that, with restaurants closed, vegetable farmers, as well as producers of milk, eggs and meat, wound up with no one to buy their goods.

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Delta Dispute Casts Shadow on Water Supplies

/in , , /by /Ag Alertby Christine Souza

With supplies curtailed from California’s largest water projects, farmers have been reducing acreage, water districts have been working to secure additional supplies, and everyone has been keeping an eye on the continued dispute between state and federal governments on managing the delta.

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PFAS Cleanup Backers Face Unexpected Foe: Water Utilities

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Christina Brady

After decades of inaction, the federal government has gotten serious about cleaning up PFAS, a class of compounds known as “forever chemicals” that have been linked to health problems and inhabit the bloodstream of nearly every American.

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Opinion: County Farm Bureaus Innovate During Pandemic

/in , , /by /AgAlert (Sacramento)by Lindsey Liebig, Colleen Taber and Hannah Gbeh

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting shelter-in-place protocols and safety concerns disrupted rural communities and markets for agricultural products. Around California, county Farm Bureaus responded with innovative solutions intended to help their members ensure safety of themselves, their families and their employees, and to promote and sell crops and commodities in new and rapidly changing conditions.

Here are three examples among many, showing how county Farm Bureaus in California have supported their members and their communities.

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While Some Farmers Face New Challenges Amid COVID-19, Others Have Found Success

/in , , /by /KALW San Franciscoby Adreanna Rodriguez

In California, farms have not been immune to COVID-19. A Farm Bureau Federation survey recently found that more than half of farms across the state have lost customers or sales due to pandemic. Small family farms are especially vulnerable.

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Building Effective Water Data Platforms

/in , , /by /Stanford Water in the Westby Megan Glatzel

Much like solving a mystery, making informed water management decisions in California involves finding and investigating all necessary information. With data scattered across multiple locations, the process of accessing and analyzing the information can be an arduous task.

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Central Valley Water Districts Take Aim at Each Other’s Groundwater Plans

/in , , /by /SJV Waterby Lois Henry

There is no tougher playground than California’s water world.

Just take a look at the zingers flying back and forth between water districts on one another’s groundwater sustainability plans posted on the Department of Water Resources’ website.

“It’s like a giant game of dodgeball,” said Dana Munn, General Manager of Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District.

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Trial Underway in SF Could Remove Fluoride from Drinking Water

/in , /by

About 200 million Americans, nearly two-thirds of the population, drink water containing fluoride to fight tooth decay. That could be changed by a case now on trial in a San Francisco federal court.