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Solar Canal Pilot May One Day Help California Achieve Its Ambitious Climate, Energy Goals

/in , /by /Stocktoniaby Riley Ramirez

As you drive through the Central Valley, it is hard to miss the iconic California Aqueduct, which moves millions of gallons of irrigation water through a large canal in the middle of the state. The canal is visible because it’s open on top — a fact that also allows a sizable percent of the water to evaporate, as the region now faces increasingly high temperatures for much of the year. A few years ago, scientists began asking: What if we covered the canal with solar panels?

 

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Across America, Big Cities Are Sinking. Here’s Why.

/in , /by /The New York Timesby Mira Rojanasakul

A new analysis of America’s 28 largest population centers found that all but three are sinking overall, and in many cases significantly. Several of the most affected areas are in Texas, particularly around Fort Worth and Houston. But the problem is nationwide, affecting cities as scattered as Seattle, Detroit and Charlotte, N.C. The sinking of land, also called subsidence, can worsen the effects of sea-level rise, intensify flooding and strain the very foundations of urban infrastructure.

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Why a Contentious Project to Raise California’s Shasta Dam Could Move Forward Under Trump

/in , /by /Cal Mattersby Alastair Bland

Near the southern flank of Mount Shasta, springs and snowmelt converge to form the McCloud River. This Sacramento River tributary, held sacred by the Winnemem Wintu tribe, teemed with Chinook salmon before Shasta Dam, built in the 1940s, blocked their annual migrations. “The winter run was the main sustenance source for the Winnemem Wintu throughout history,” said tribal member Gary Mulcahy.

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OPINION: U.S. and Mexico Must Collaborate to Manage Water Supply Amid Climate Change

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Dr. Marisela Martinez

The water treaty between Mexico and the United States has been in place since 1944. It has been a fundamental pillar in the shared management of transboundary water resources. However, the realities of the 21st century, marked by climate change, growing agricultural demand, and prolonged droughts, are putting its validity and adequacy to the test.

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How AI Demand is Draining Water from Areas that Need it Most

/in , , /by /Bloombergby Leonardo Nicoletti, Michelle Ma and Dina Bass

Each time you ask an AI chatbot to summarize a lengthy legal document or conjure up a cartoon squirrel wearing glasses, it sends a request to a data center and strains an increasingly scarce resource: water. The data centers that power artificial intelligence consumes immense amounts of water to cool hot servers and, indirectly, from the electricity needed to run these facilities.

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Groups Call on Trump Administration to Curb Wasteful Use of Colorado River Water

/in , /by /LA Timesby Ian James

Environmental groups are demanding that the Trump administration exercise the federal government’s authority to curb wasteful water use in an effort to address the Colorado River’s chronic water shortages. In a petition submitted Tuesday, the Natural Resources Defense Council and nine other groups called for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to enforce a provision of federal regulations stating that water deliveries in California, Arizona and Nevada “will not exceed those reasonably required for beneficial use.”

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How California Farmers Can Recharge the Drained Aquifers

/in , /by /AG Dailyby Frida Garza

In parts of California’s Central Valley, so much groundwater has been pumped out of the ground to deal with the region’s persistent drought that the land is starting to sink in. Underground aquifers — layers of sand, gravel, clay, and water — are vital resources that communities can turn to when surface water is scarce. But when more water is pumped out of aquifers than is put back in — as is happening in the southern part of the valley — it can cause the ground to slowly contract, like a drying sponge.

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Map Shows Fluoride Bans on Drinking Water in US States

/in , /by /Newsweekby Jasmine Laws

Florida has become the latest state to restrict fluoride additives in public drinking water, after Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law this week, and a Newsweek map shows how similar legislation is progressing in the rest of the U.S. The legislation, part of the broader Florida Farm Bill, prohibits local governments from adding fluoride or other medical additives to municipal water systems.

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Colorado River Needs ‘Shared Pain’ to Break Deadlock Over Water Use, Experts Say

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Alex Hager

The Colorado River makes up about half of San Diego County’s imported water supply. Now, California and the six other states that use the Colorado River are deadlocked about how to share it in the future. The current rules for dividing its shrinking supplies expire in 2026.

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Jacobs Awarded Contract to Operate Largest Water Recycling System in Southern California

/in , /by /Smart Water Magazine

Jacobs has been selected by the West Basin Municipal Water District to provide operations and maintenance (O&M) services for the Edward C. Little Water Recycling Facility and four associated sites. The five-year contract covers what is described as the largest water recycling system of its kind in the United States.

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