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Invasive Mussel Found in North America for First Time, Posing Immediate Threat in California’s Delta

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Roxanna Xia

A particularly worrisome mussel species has entered North America for the first time through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta — sparking what many are calling an immediate threat to California’s most significant watersheds.

Golden mussels, invasive freshwater bivalves that have devastated ecosystems and critical water infrastructure in other parts of the world, were recently discovered near the Port of Stockton. Limnoperna fortunei appear to have also found their way many miles downstream into O’Neill Forebay of the San Luis Reservoir, where officials in Merced County have been rapidly conducting genetic testing.

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Is Fluoride in Drinking Water Safe? What to Know After RFK Jr.’s Claims

/in , /by /USA Todayby Cybele Mayes-Osterman

Fluoride – it’s added to the water systems of more than two thirds of Americans. It’s in dental products from toothpaste to mouth wash. It’s been the subject of long-running conspiracy theories.

And now, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says Donald Trump could try to take it out of water supplies nationwide if elected president.

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Can a $10 Billion Climate Bond Address California’s Water Contamination Problem?

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Vanessa G. Sánchez

When Cynthia Ruiz turns on her kitchen faucet, she hears a slight squeak before cloudy fluid bursts out of the spout. The water in her Central Valley town of East Orosi is clean enough most of the time to wash dishes, flush toilets, and take showers, but it’s not safe to swallow. Drinking water is trucked in twice a month.

“There are times where the water is so bad you can’t even wash dishes,” said Ruiz, who is advised not to drink the tap water, which is laden with nitrates — runoff from orange and nectarine fields surrounding the town of roughly 400. “We need help to fix our water problem.”

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‘Immediate Threat’: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

/in , /by /Cal Mattersby Alastair Bland

From the glittery bling of its name, the golden mussel sounds like it could be California’s state bivalve.

Unfortunately, the creature’s only connection to the Golden State is the fact that it is California’s most recently identified invasive species — and it’s a bad one, with the capacity to clog major water supply pipes.

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The Southwest Offers Blueprints for the Future of Wastewater Reuse

/in , , /by /resilenceby Freddie Clayton

No country is immune from water scarcity issues—not even wealthy countries like the United States.

Population growth and climate change are stretching America’s water supplies to the limit, and tapping new sources is becoming more difficult each year—in some cases, even impossible.

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Could California be Off to a Good Snow Start this Season? It’s a Good Start So Far

/in , /by /ABC 10by Carley Gomez

People from Truckee to South Lake Tahoe will be gearing up for blustery conditions for trick or treating as Halloween nears.

A cold storm system is set to arrive from the Gulf of Alaska with decent moisture. A Weather Impact Alert was issued for Thursday and Friday in the Sierra for inches of snow at pass level and as much even one to two feet for the peaks and summits.

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What Is Prop 4? The $10B Climate Bond Measure Explained

/in , /by /Patchby Kristina Houck

Voters in the November election will decide whether to borrow billions of dollars for climate and environmental programs.

Proposition 4, also called the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024, would issue $10 billion in bonds for various projects.

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Salton Sea, an Area Rich with Lithium, is a Hot Spot for Child Respiratory Issues

/in , /by /Science Xby Leigh Hopper

Windblown dust from the shrinking Salton Sea harms the respiratory health of children living nearby, triggering asthma, coughing, wheezing and disrupted sleep, USC research shows.

The findings also indicate that children living closest to the sea, who are exposed to more dust in the air, may be the most affected.

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Newsom Goes North for a Climate Fight

/in , /by /Politicoby Jordan Wolman

California is in the very early stages of making it easier for desalination plants along the coast.

The State Water Resources Control Board took the first step today toward changing its ocean protection standards to make it faster to permit desalination plants and to clarify how and when developers measure and mitigate the harm to marine life. The effort is part of Newsom’s strategy to boost supplies as the climate changes.

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PODCAST: How Aging Water Systems are Pushing Sewage into U.S. Homes

/in , /by /New York Public Radio

Walter Byrd remembers the first time sewage came bubbling out of his toilet like it was yesterday.

“It was just pumping up through there,” Byrd says. “One of the bathrooms was so full of waste, at least 4 inches high in there. It smelled just like a hog pen.”

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