You are now in California and the U.S. Home Headline Media Coverage category.

State Water Project Allocations Increase To 75 Percent

/in , , /by /Lake County News (Lakeport, Calif.)

The California Department of Water Resources announced Thursday that it will increase the 2019 State Water Project allocation to 75 percent from 70 percent. This is the final allocation for the calendar year. The initial allocation in November 2018 was 10 percent. The 2019 allocation of ­­75 percent amounts to 3,145,105 acre-feet of water. “This winter’s robust storms resulted in above average snowpack and reservoir levels bringing California a much-improved water year from last year,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “The full reservoirs will provide a healthy buffer for if we return to drier conditions next year.”

Full Story

$30 Million Salton Sea Bill Passes U.S. House

/in , , /by /KESQ (Thousand Palms, Calif.)by Sam Benson Smith

The United State House of Representative has passed H.R. 2740, an appropriations bill in support of a federal agreement to allot $30 million for projects which would address the environmental and health crisis at the Salton Sea. Included in the Bill is an amendment from Representative Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D – Palm Desert) which would dedicate an added $2 million to stymie the decline of California’s largest lake. “This bill reflects the all-hands-on-deck approach we must take to mitigate and manage the decline of the Salton Sea by investing in our local environment and the health of our children, seniors, and families,”read a statement from Ruiz’s issued in a news release from his office.

Full Story

Feds Can’t Duck Claims Of Shoddy Review For Desert Water Pipeline

/in , /by /Courthouse News Service (Pasadena, Calif.)by Martin Macias Jr.

A federal judge indicated Thursday he will advance conservation groups’ claims that a proposed 43-mile groundwater pipeline in a Southern California desert was approved abruptly and without proper environmental review by a federal agency. The Cadiz groundwater pipeline project would move nearly 45 million gallons of water daily for 50 years from an underground aquifer in the Mojave Desert and to cities across Southern California. The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Food Safety accuse Cadiz of trying to evade federal laws protecting the fragile desert by planning to build its pipeline along a railroad track that was established under the General Railroad Right-of-Way Act of 1875.

Full Story

IID Board Hears Plans To Pipe QSA Water Directly To San Diego

/in , , /by /The Desert Review (Brawley, Calif.)by Betty Miller Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

After false starts and real stops, the San Diego County Water Authority is once again trying to make inroads into taking their QSA transferred water directly from the Imperial Valley, bypassing its current deliverer, the Metropolitan Water District. Dan Denham, assistant general manager of the SDCWA, proposed several pipeline scenarios for QSA-conserved water at the meeting of the Imperial Irrigation District Tuesday, June 18. Denham proposed several pipeline routes, two southern and one northern from various points in the Valley to San Diego County.

Full Story

DWR Gives $10 Million Grant To Monterey Peninsula Desalination Project

/in , /by /KSBW 8 (Salinas, Calif.)by Josh Copitch

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced they will provide a $10 million grant to public utility, California American Water. The grant money is destined to help build the seawater desalination component of the Peninsula Water Supply Project. “We are extremely grateful to DWR for supporting our project,” said California American Water president Rich Svindland. The Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project is a $329 million project featuring a portfolio of water supply components to address the area’s water needs. Since 2005, DWR has completed three rounds of funding using Proposition 50 funds.

Full Story

Becerra On Trump Administration’s New Rule For Coal-Fired Power Plants: They’re ‘Backsliding’

/in , /by /KQED News (Sacramento)

The Trump administration has rolled back a landmark Obama-era rule that sought to wean the nation’s electrical grid off coal-fired power plants and their climate-damaging pollution. Its replacement gives individual states wide discretion to decide whether to require limited efficiency upgrades at individual coal-fired power plants. Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler calls it a sign that “fossil fuels will continue to be an important part of the mix” in the U.S. energy supply.

Full Story

Newsom Catches Heat For Using Climate Funds On Drinking Water Plan

/in , , /by /KQED News (Sacramento)by Kevin Stark

California lawmakers are poised to fund the cleanup of dirty drinking water in the state’s poorest communities — a problem most everyone agrees needs to be addressed. Not everyone, however, agrees on where the money should come from to pay for it.The issue? The Legislature wants to use revenue from California’s  cap-and-trade climate change program, which was created to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by making companies pay for the right to emit them.

Full Story

Groundwater Pumping Has Significantly Reduced US Stream Flows

/in , , /by /Phys.Orgby University of Arizona

Groundwater pumping in the last century has contributed as much as 50 percent to stream flow declines in some U.S. rivers, according to new research led by a University of Arizona hydrologist. The new study has important implications for managing U.S. water resources. Laws regulating the use of groundwater and surface waters differ from state to state. Some Western states, Arizona among them, manage groundwater and surface water separately.

Full Story

OPINION: California Wildfires Threaten Water Supply. Here’s How

/in , , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Marc Marcantonio

The fire was started by a car on the side of the freeway–a fluke which gave the fire its name, the Freeway Complex Fire.Ten years later, while firefighters and communities are gearing up for another wildfire season, California’s lawmakers are grappling with tough questions over how to assign financial responsibility for wildfire damages. The Freeway Complex Fire holds important lessons for all. Among the many victims of the fire was a public drinking water supplier that serves about 80,000 residents in Orange County, the Yorba Linda Water District, where I work as general manager. Of the hundreds of structures damaged by the Freeway Complex Fire, one was the water district’s facilities needed to pump water through portions of the system.

Full Story

Inching Towards Abundant Water: New Progress In Desalination Tech

/in , /by /Singularity Hubby Vanessa Bates Ramirez

In early 2018, Cape Town, South Africa came dangerously close to being the world’s first major city to run out of water. People lined up for blocks to collect spring water. Stores sold out of receptacles like buckets and bowls. Bottled water was rationed in tourist-heavy parts of the city. April 12 was designated “Day Zero”—the day the water was expected to dry up. City officials prepared for riots, keeping army and police ready to be deployed to water collection sources.

Full Story