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Judges Select ENR California’s 2019 ‘Best Projects’ Award Winners

/in , /by /Engineering News-Recordby Erica Berardi

We are excited to announce ENR California’s 2019 Regional Best Projects winners! So far in ENR’s annual regional contest, ENR California’s judges have awarded 54 honors for the region. Thanks to the large number of entries, we divided the region into two: Northern California and Southern California, which includes Hawaii. Each year, ENR California assembles a group of judges, with varying specialties and expertise in the construction industry, to review, score and form a panel to determine Best Projects winners for the region. Judges independently review entries, score each on pre-specified criteria, and convene with fellow judges to compare impressions and scores. Together, the judges’ panels select honorees for Best Project and Merit awards. (Judges recuse themselves in cases of conflict of interest.)

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After 65 Years, Spring-Run Chinook Salmon Successfully Return To The San Joaquin River

/in , /by /California Department of Water Resources

The San Joaquin River – the second longest river in California – was once home to one of the largest populations of spring-run Chinook salmon, a species of fish that is now classified as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Thanks to a collaborative multi-agency effort that includes the Department of Water Resources (DWR), spring-run Chinook salmon are successfully returning to the San Joaquin River for the first time in more than 65 years. At the end of May 2019, 23 adult spring-run Chinook returned, surviving their nearly 370-mile round trip journey to the Pacific Ocean as juvenile fish and the trip back to the San Joaquin River as adults to spawn – typically a two to five-year process.

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Excessive Heat Ahead For California Into The Weekend

/in , /by /WeatherNation (Centennial, Colo.)

Another round of heat is heat for portions of the Southwest later this week into the weekend. Excessive Heat Watches are already in effect for the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys this weekend. Heat Advisories are in effect today (Thursday) for several interior areas of Central California and southward to the Cuyama Valley and mountains of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.

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Turning Sewer Into $$$

/in , , /by /The Manteca Bulletin (Manteca, Calif.)by Dennis Wyatt

What you flush and send down the drain once it is treated by the city is a valuable commodity for farmers on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. Just how much Manteca’s treated wastewater is worth to agricultural users served by the Delta Mendota Canal that are often at the mercy of fish flows diversions and drought that reduces their Central Valley Project allocations may be determined in the coming year.

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State Releases An Update Of Water Plan

/in , , /by /The Independent (UK)by Ron McNicoll

The impacts of climate change on water use and how the state can address them represent a significant change in the new 5-year update of the California Water Plan. Update 2018, released last week by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) in Sacramento, recommends actions to meet various important aspects of climate change. One of the priorities, improving integrated management of local watersheds, has been a focus of Zone 7 Water Agency in its role as manager of the Valley’s groundwater basin. As long ago as 20 years, the agency had been using the latest computerized research tools to gain a better picture of how the basin behaved, and best practices for its management.

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DOE Announces $16M In Funding For 14 Tribal Energy Projects

/in , , /by /Utility Dive (Washington, D.C.)by Max Witynski

On Tuesday, the DOE announced more than $16 million in funding for 14 tribal energy infrastructure projects through its Office of Indian Energy. The projects add over 13 MW of capacity for 900 buildings, and will save approximately $7.5 million annually, according to Office of Indian Energy Director Kevin R. Frost. Nine of the projects will involve new solar installations, while others involve energy efficiency, battery storage and microgrids, among other technologies.

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OPINION: Earthquakes Can Dry Water Supply. Californians Must Prepare

/in , , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Charles Wilson

Recent earthquakes have us all thinking about emergency preparedness. Whether that’s updating the earthquake kit, putting supplies in the car trunk, or finally affixing the bookshelves to the wall, there are steps we can take personally to prepare for the worst. Critical to any earthquake kit is bottled water. This is because an earthquake may damage local pipelines or water treatment facilities, leaving us with contaminated water or no service at all.

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California Governor Signs Bill To Clean Up Drinking Water

/in , , /by /Associated Pressby Adam Beam

California’s governor on Wednesday signed a law that will take up to $130 million of state money each year that was supposed to clean up the air and instead use it to clean up drinking water. Despite its status as the world’s fifth largest economy, California has struggled to provide the basic service of clean tap water to more than 1 million of its residents. The problem is most acute in the Central Valley, the heart of the state’s $20 billion agriculture industry, where large farms have polluted water sources for mostly rural communities.

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Touring Oil Spill Site, Newsom Calls For Greater Oversight Of California Petroleum Industry

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Phil Willon

Gov. Gavin Newsom, in the Central Valley on Wednesday for a firsthand look at one of the largest oil spills in California history, vowed to go beyond the state’s already aggressive efforts to curtail the use of fossil fuels and seek a long-term strategy to reduce oil production. Newsom also signaled a sharp break with that past by criticizing existing oversight of the oil industry as too permissive. He promised to begin by retooling the state’s top oil regulatory agency, state Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources.

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Bipartisan Water Amendments Act Aired In Hearing Thursday

/in , /by /Oakdale Leader (Oakdale, Calif.)

A bipartisan bill introduced by Representative Josh Harder (CA-10) will receive a hearing in the Water Oceans and Wildlife Subcommittee on Thursday, July 25 at 10 a.m. eastern time. The bill, the Water Resources Research Amendments Act, would reauthorize an expired program which supports local water research institutes that solve problems and develop long-terms solutions on water quantity and quality in collaboration with universities, local governments, the water industry, and the public.

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