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Malibu – City Of Malibu Named “Recycled Water Agency Of The Year” For Civic Center Water Treatment Facility News1 Day Agono Comment

/in , /by /Santa Monica Daily Press

The WateReuse Association, California chapter named the City of Malibu the 2019 “Recycled Water Agency of the Year” for its Civic Center Water Treatment Facility (CCWTF), which was completed and started processing wastewater into clean, recycled water for irrigation in October, 2018. “The City of Malibu and its people have always defined themselves as innovators of environmental protections and programs,” said Mayor Jefferson “Zuma Jay” Wagner. “Our new water treatment facility puts us ahead of the curve of smart, environmentally sound water management practices while combating the realities of climate change and drought here in California.”

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The Central Valley Is Sinking As Farmers Drill For Water. But It Can Be Saved, Study Says

/in , , /by /Sacramento Beeby Andrew Sheeler

A team of Stanford University researchers believe they have identified the best way to replenish the shrinking aquifers beneath California’s Central Valley. The groundwater beneath the Central Valley has been steadily depleting, particularly as the state’s $50 billion agricultural industry relied on it during a series of droughts. Each year, more water exits the aquifer than goes into it. The study from Stanford’s School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences, published in the journal Water Resources Research, found that unless action is taken, the ground in that region will sink more than 13 feet over the next 20 years.

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America’s Most Endangered Rivers of 2019

/in , , /by /American Rivers

Water scarcity due to global warming could displace 700 million people worldwide by 2030. In the same time frame, 54 million lives globally could be impacted by river floods. In the United States, our climate has warmed by 1.8 degrees in the past century. It’s time to get real about what this means: Forest fires are growing more destructive, cities are struggling to do more with less water, fish and wildlife are struggling to survive and storms are triggering more life-threatening floods.

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Napa County Passes Contentious Water And Tree Protection Provision

/in , /by /Forbesby Liza B. Zimmerman

After close to a year of non-stop debate about how to protect agriculture and support commerce, the Napa County Board of Supervisors (BOS) passed the final ordinance on Water Quality and Tree Protection last Tuesday April 9th. It was adopted by a vote of 5-0, with provisions for it to take effect in 30 days. Brad Wagenknecht, a supervisor at the Napa Valley BOS, shares in a recent interview that, “the Board has worked on this for such a long time.” He adds that, as a result, “I think you will be able to recognize the Napa Valley in 50 years.”

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What State Has The Greatest Percentage Of Beginning Farmers?

/in , /by /Farm Progress (St. Charles, Ill.)

The 2017 Census of Agriculture was released April 11. Here’s a few findings from the report. Alaska ranks first in the percent of producers who are beginning farmers, followed by Georgia and Maine. Beginning farmers have 10 or fewer years of farming experience. In 2017, 27% of all U.S. producers classified as beginning farmers. Their average age was 46.3, and their farms were smaller than average in both acres and sales. The average age of all U.S. producers in 2017 was 57.5 years, up 1.2 years from 2012, when the last Census was conducted. This continues a long-term trend. Producers had been on their current farm an average of 21.3 years. On average, producers are older in southern states and younger in Midwestern states.

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David Bernhardt Confirmed As Interior Secretary Despite Ethics Concerns

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Anna M. Phillips and Bettina Boxall

David Bernhardt, President Trump’s pick to the lead the Interior Department, was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday amid persistent ethical concerns and doubts about his independence from the energy and water industry groups he long represented as a lobbyist. Senators voted 56-41 in favor of Bernhardt’s confirmation. Several Democrats crossed party lines to support the nominee, including Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico. Sen. Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, also voted for confirmation.

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$250 PG&E Bill: Utility’s Customers Will Pay 50 Percent More If Wildfires Erupt Again, Report Warns

/in , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose)by George Avalos

PG&E bills would rocket 50 percent higher if wildfire disasters caused by the embattled utility descend on northern or central California again, according to a report that’s being circulated in Sacramento ahead of a crucial announcement Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. An array of catastrophes loom if state officials fail to find a fix for California’s utility-caused wildfire woes, according to the report from Steven Weissman, a lecturer with UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. “Rates would skyrocket, on average by 50 percent in the first year, to keep up with new fires,” Weissman wrote in his report to the governor’s office. “It’s simple math.”

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Drought Is Not Just About Water. It Affects Air Pollution, Too

/in , /by /Science Magazine (Washington D.C.)by Jason Plautz

The severe drought that struck California from 2011 to 2015 had an obvious impact on rivers, forests, and wildlife. Now, a new study shows it also had some surprising effects on the state’s notorious air pollution, adding new wrinkles to the state’s efforts to clear the skies. Researchers have long known that plants can both help create and cleanse one dangerous air pollutant: ground-level ozone, which causes breathing problems and exacerbates lung damage. Plants can scrub ozone from the air by absorbing the pollutant through their stomata, or pores. But certain plants also emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that react with other atmospheric chemicals to create ozone.

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Balancing Native Plants With A Fire-Resistant Garden

/in , , /by /Santa Cruz Sentinelby Jackie Pascoe

During long years of drought, homeowners were urged to replace thirsty lawns with drought-tolerant plants native to California, and plants from similar Mediterranean climate zones. Now the drought is officially over, but we have another worry: wildfires. Do drought-resistant plants burn more easily? Are we left with the wrong kind of gardens? The answer is: not really. Hydration makes plants are more fire-resistant, and drought tolerant plants, especially California natives, stay hydrated with less water and hold onto it longer than plants that originate in moister places. Plants to remove or avoid are those that shed bark or are fast growing. Also, plants that have a lot of wax, resin, oils, terpenes, or fats, such as chamise, rosemary, and sagebrush.

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With An Impending Deadline, Cal Am Pushes For Desal Plant Permits Amid Changing Waterscape.

/in , /by /Monterey County Weeklyby Asaf Shalev

When you turn on a faucet on the Monterey Peninsula, you’re consuming water that’s been illegally pumped from Carmel River. Now, after more than two decades of this, scores of public officials, utility executives and citizen advocates are working – and sometimes fighting – to replace the region’s water supply before state-mandated sanctions kick in. California American Water is forging ahead with its plan: a desalination plant near Marina. But operating a desal plant is energy intensive and the construction itself will cost about $329 million. Spread across Cal Am’s local customer base of 40,000, that sum averages $8,225 per ratepayer, an expense that would be collected over the course of a few years.

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