California Gets Widespread Rain, Snow from Spring Storm
Snow and rain fell Monday on California as spring delivered the kind of stormy weather that was missing most of the winter.
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Utility Workers, the Forgotten Heroes of this Pandemic
We’re grateful for nurses, doctors, physician assistants, respiratory therapists and so many others in the medical field. We’re also grateful for people who work in grocery stores, the restaurants delivering and offering curbside food, and all the delivery workers bringing packages to those of us self-quarantining or social distancing at home. When sending up thanks for all these people, many of us forget another critical job that must go on during the COVID-19 pandemic: utility workers who keep our water clean and flowing and our lights — and laptops — on.
How utility workers are doing their jobs in a much different world
Austin Energy is one utility that agreed to speak with 3p. We reached out to the company to find out what it had instituted in the face of COVID-19. The utility activated an Incident Command System at the beginning of March and formed a “Pandemic Planning Team” that meets virtually every day. Almost 70 percent of AE’s staff are teleworking and the rest, including line workers and some call center staff, have to report to job sites as essential personnel. Those essential workers have a daily temperature screening, observe social distancing where possible, and sanitize equipment regularly. Fortunately for these workers, so far Austin is not a hot spot.
The same cannot be said for New York City, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. Utility workers there face a starker reality. As of publication, Con Edison, the utility serving the city, has 170 confirmed cases and three deaths with about half of its personnel working remotely. Likewise, throughout the state, utilities are feeling the pressure.
For example, the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), the grid operator for New York state, has some essential staff living at control centers outside Albany in response to the shelter-in-place guidance at operation hubs from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Likewise, 200 National Grid personnel are living on-site and will be replaced by a second set of 200 after a month, continuing to cycle as long as necessary.
Water utilities face the same hurdles, as well as additional challenges. There are a lot more water utilities across the country than electric utilities, and many of them are very small, some with staff in the single digits. Further, some utilities have to deal with keeping water systems going when people are flushing disinfecting wipes down the toilet, clogging up sewer lines. As with the case of the power generation sector, utility workers who staff water systems across the U.S. are also sheltering in place to ensure continued, reliable service.
California Poised to Ban Sportfishing in Some Areas. Rural Towns Worried About Coronavirus Spread
California is poised to close the spring sportfishing season in some counties in response to worries that anglers will spread COVID-19 to rural communities.
Removing the Novel Coronavirus from the Water Cycle
Scientists know that coronaviruses, including the SARS-CoV-19 virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, can remain infectious for days — or even longer — in sewage and drinking water.
Two researchers, Haizhou Liu, an associate professor of chemical and environmental engineering at the University of California, Riverside; and Professor Vincenzo Naddeo, director of the Sanitary Environmental Engineering Division at the University of Salerno, have called for more testing to determine whether water treatment methods are effective in killing SARS-CoV-19 and coronaviruses in general.
The virus can be transported in microscopic water droplets, or aerosols, which enter the air through evaporation or spray, the researchers wrote in an editorial for Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, a leading environmental journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry in the United Kingdom.
“The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic highlights the urgent need for a careful evaluation of the fate and control of this contagious virus in the environment,” Liu said. “Environmental engineers like us are well positioned to apply our expertise to address these needs with international collaborations to protect public health.”
American Water Continues Project Work Amid Coronavirus Woes
American Water Works announced that its subsidiary, Illinois American Water will continue with planned infrastructure projects across its service areas amid the novel coronavirus threat. Infrastructure maintenance and upgrades at regular intervals are quite essential to ensure potable water and wastewater services to customers.
Illinois American Water provides water and wastewater services to 1.3 million people in its service territories. Per World Health Organization, washing hands with soap at regular intervals and maintaining social distancing are crucial measures to avoid the infection.
Here’s the Latest Count of Suspected Bases with Toxic “Forever Chemicals” in the Water
There are nearly 700 military installations with either confirmed or suspected ground water contamination caused by fire-fighting foam using in vehicle and aircraft mishaps, according to new data released Thursday by the Environmental Working Group.
Cancer-linked per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, collectively known as PFAS, have been confirmed at 328 sites, according to Pentagon data analyzed by EWG. and are suspected on about 350 more Defense Department installations and sites.
“DoD officials have understood the risks of AFFF since at least the early 1970′s, when the Navy and Air Force did their own studies on the toxicity of PFAS in fish, and the early 1980s when the Air Force conducted its own animal studies,” Scott Faber, EWG’s senior vice president for government affairs, told reporters in a phone conference on Thursday.
Los Angeles County’s Water Supply Analysis of Development Stands
Los Angeles County can move forward on plans to develop 2,000 acres along the Santa Clara River without conducting a new assessment of the project’s impact on local water supply, a California appeals court ruled.
EPA Administrator Emphasizes Value of Water Treatment in Talk With WQA
The Water Quality Association’s Board of Directors recently heard from Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler in a conference call in which Wheeler underscored the value of water treatment during the COVID-19 crisis.
“You’re providing a critical service to the American public, and we want to make sure you have the resources you need to provide that service,” said Wheeler, who reiterated the importance of continued dialogue after hearing the perspectives of several directors during the call.
Wheeler emphasized that his office remains open for business during the COVID-19 crisis, and that action continues on other fronts such as drinking water standards, expanding funding to manage per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), updating the Lead and Copper Rule and a new water reuse action plan designed to accelerate water recycling efforts across the country.
“It was a great call and very informative for our Board,” says incoming WQA President D.J. Shannahan, who was among the directors to address Wheeler. “We appreciate his willingness to listen to our needs while also sharing his priorities for improving the water quality of our nation.”
HIV, Ebola, SARS and Now COVID-19: Why Some Scientists Fear Deadly Outbreaks Are on the Rise
The social upheaval and death caused by the new coronavirus has awoken many to what some infectious-disease experts have been warning about for more than a decade: Outbreaks of dangerous new diseases with the potential to become pandemics have been on the rise — from HIV to swine flu to SARS to Ebola.
Many experts now believe that this surge in new infectious diseases is being driven in part by some of humanity’s most environmentally destructive practices, such as deforestation and poaching, leading to increased contact between highly mobile, urbanized human populations and wild animals.
“The evidence is clear; we’re driving disease emergence through less sustainable use of nature,” said Dr. Aaron Bernstein, interim director of the Center for Climate Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Following California’s Water as Another Dry Spell Looms
What does a Central Valley almond farmer have in common with a San Diego homeowner? The answer is simple: Water. More specifically, the amount of water they need to sustain their respective lifestyles — which is a lot.
