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The Next Fight In California’s Water Crisis Is Over Salt, Pollutants

/in , , /by /The Fresno Beeby Michael Claiborne and Arnold D. Sowell Jr.

When it comes to drinking water in California — safety, supply and reliability — we can never rest. None of us. For those who think it’s a crisis that only impacts rural communities in our state, you are wrong. Children in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego and other urban communities are drinking lead-contaminated water from their drinking fountains, and nearly all of California’s 58 counties include communities with tainted water.

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Tests Of California Water Supplies Reveal Widespread PFAS Contamination

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

A class of toxic chemicals linked to cancer, known as PFASs, are present in numerous wells used for drinking water across California, according to new state tests performed on a fraction of California’s many well water supplies.

The test samples, released Monday by the State Water Resources Control Board, represent California’s fledgling effort to get a handle on contaminants that until recently haven’t been well tracked and regulated.

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State Water Officials To Vote On Valley-Wide Plan To Reduce Nitrate And Salt

/in , /by /Valley Public Radioby Kerry Klein

Later this week, the State Water Resources Control Board will vote on a long-anticipated plan to reduce some of the pollutants flowing into Central Valley water. However, not everyone agrees on the details.

The program is called Central Valley Salinity Alternatives for Long-Term Sustainability, or CV-SALTS. It aims to provide cleaner water for drinking and irrigation by reducing the nitrate and salt that are discharged into ground and surface water.

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Wastewater Project Could Create Drought-Proof Drinking Water for 500,000 Homes

/in , /by /Orange County Registerby Martin Wisckol

In its effort to establish a new, drought-proof source of water that could serve a half-million Southern California homes, the Metropolitan Water District on Thursday, Oct. 10 unveiled a $17 million pilot plant that will bring wastewater to drinkable standards.

Water from the trial project in Carson will not be piped to customers – it will be put back with regularly treated wastewater and pumped into the ocean.

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EPA Announces Proposed Changes to Lead and Copper Rule

/in , , /by /WaterWorld

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed rule that significantly improves the actions that water systems must take to reduce lead in the nation’s drinking water. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the proposal at an event in Green Bay. This action represents the first major overhaul of the Lead and Copper Rule since 1991 and marks a critical step in advancing the Trump Administration’s Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures.

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This is What Adapting to Climate Change Looks Like

/in , , /by /The Atlanticby Robinson Meyer

California has always promised Americans a glimpse of the future. But this week, the Golden State is forecasting a future that nobody wants to live in. Millions of people across California lost their power this week, after the local utility Pacific Gas and Electric intentionally shut off electrical lines to avoid starting wildfires in dangerously dry and windy conditions.

The outage—termed a “public-safety power shutoff”—stretched hundreds of miles across the state’s northern half, dousing the lights in affluent Bay Area suburbs, on Sacramento Valley ranches, and in large coastal cities such as Eureka.

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Recharging Depleted Aquifers No Easy Task, But It’s Key to California’s Water Supply Future

/in , , /by /Water Education Foundationby Gary Pitzer

To survive the next drought and meet the looming demands of the state’s groundwater sustainability law, California is going to have to put more water back in the ground. But as other Western states have found, recharging overpumped aquifers is no easy task.

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Public’s Input Sought On State of Salton Sea and Proposed Fixes

/in , , /by /KESQ by City News Service

A public meeting to decide what fixes might be applied to change the fate of the dying Salton Sea — and how much taxpayer money should be spent on the effort — will be held Tuesday morning in North Shore, hosted by a committee chaired by Riverside County Supervisor Manuel Perez.

“I’m glad we’re having this meeting in North Shore, which is where our efforts are centered on in providing a safe and stable Salton Sea, protecting public health and the environment and creating economic, tourism and recreation opportunities,” Perez said.

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EPA to Unveil New National Lead-in-Water Standards

/in , , /by /Bloombergby David Schultz

The EPA will unveil the first updates to its regulations on lead in drinking water in nearly three decades at an Oct. 10 event in Green Bay, Wis., according to a person invited to attend the event.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler is scheduled to attend the event, along with David Ross, the agency’s top water official, and Cathy Stepp, the head of its Midwestern regional office.

The agency’s lead regulations, officially known as the Lead and Copper Rule, went into effect in 1991 and haven’t been substantially updated since then.

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When The Power Goes Out, So Does The Water In Some Places

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

Not only did the lights go out for tens of thousands of Californians on Wednesday, but some of them were bracing for the loss of their taps and toilets, too.

Utilities across the state were warning residents that PG&E’s planned power outages could limit their ability to deliver water and carry off sewage, especially if the shut-off were to continue for days.

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