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Drought-Weary California Equips Water Supplies For Efficiency

/in , /by /Bloomberg (Arlington, Va.)by Emily C. Dooley

Drought-weary California officials want water suppliers to use the resource more efficiently, but how new water regulations will play out in districts remains unclear. A pair of bills, signed at the end of May by Gov. Jerry Brown (D), amend the state’s water code and emphasize water efficiency with a focus on indoor and outdoor household use as well as water loss in urban districts. Both Senate Bill 606 and Assembly Bill 1668 require urban districts to set use targets, or budgets for water use, and the assembly version also broadens the number of agricultural suppliers that must set management plans.

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Warming Drives Spread Of Toxic Algae In Oregon And Beyond, Researchers Say

/in , /by /The Associated Press by Tom James

The words blasted to cellphones around Oregon’s capital city were ominous: “Civil emergency . prepare for action.” Within half an hour, a second official alert clarified the subject wasn’t impending violence but toxins from an algae bloom detected in Salem’s water supply. Across the U.S., reservoirs that supply drinking water and lakes used for recreation are experiencing similar events with growing frequency. The trend represents another impact of global warming and raises looming questions about the effects on human health, researchers say.

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A New Groundwater Market Emerges In California. Are More On The Way?

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Alastair Bland

A “use-it-or-lose-it” system of water allocation has historically required growers in California to irrigate their land or lose their water rights, whether market forces compelled them to grow crops or not. Now, in a significant breakthrough for the state’s water economy, a community of farmers near Ventura are about to join a new groundwater market. The buying and trading system, expected to begin by July 1, will allow farmers under the purview of the Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency to fallow their own land and sell groundwater to other users willing to pay more than their crop sales would generate.

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SLO Residents Will Pay More For Monthly Water And Sewer Costs

/in , /by /The Tribune (San Luis Obispo)by Nick Wilson

Residents of San Luis Obispo will be paying more for water and sewer after the City Council unanimously passed rate increases Tuesday. The new rates, which are set to go into affect at the start of the 2018-19 fiscal year on July 1, will amount to about 3 percent higher costs for water services and 4 percent for sewer costs for the average residential household, according to city officials.

 

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OPINION: Effect Of Rising Seas Has A Time Line And Cost

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicle

California’s fabled beaches are shrinking, with waves and tides eventually expected to slosh over thousands of coastal homes and businesses. That’s the entirely plausible prediction from scientists studying climate change and rising ocean levels linked to hotter temperatures. In less than 30 years, rising waters will flood about 20,000 homes along the state’s shoreline. A warmer ocean is expanding and polar ice sheets are melting, pushing up sea levels here by nearly 2 feet. And it’s coming faster than ever, with lapping water noticeable by 2035 and the serious trouble a decade later.

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As Rainy Season Comes To A Close, Officials Call For Conservation

/in , /by /The Hub (Los Angeles)by Hugo Guzman

It was only a few years ago that climatologists like Jet Propulsion Lab’s Bill Patzert were warning Angelenos that rainy days could soon be a distant memory. The period between late 2011 and 2014 was the driest in California history since record-keeping began, according to the Western Regional Climate Cente.

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Water Use Across The United States Declines To Levels Not Seen Since 1970

/in , /by /USGS (Reston, Va.)

Water use across the country reached its lowest recorded level in 45 years. According to a new USGS report, 322 billion gallons of water per day (Bgal/d) were withdrawn for use in the United States during 2015. This represents a 9 percent reduction of water use from 2010 when about 354 Bgal/d were withdrawn and the lowest level since before 1970 (370 Bgal/d).

 

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The Two Biggest Challenges To Groundwater Recharge In California

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Alvar Escriva-Bou

The wet winter of 2017 brought an opportunity to test groundwater recharge – the intentional spreading of water on fields to percolate into the aquifer – as a tool for restoring groundwater levels and helping basins comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). This is especially important in the San Joaquin Valley, which has the biggest imbalance between groundwater pumping and replenishment in the state.

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Report Finds Industrial Chemicals In Water Supply More Toxic Than Thought

/in , /by /KQED (San Francisco)

A family of industrial chemicals turning up in public water supplies around the country is even more toxic than previously thought, threatening human health at concentrations seven to 10 times lower than once realized, according to a government report released Wednesday. The chemicals are called perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl. They were used in such goods as fire-suppressing foam, nonstick pans, fast-food wrappers, and stain-resistant fabric and carpet, but are no longer used in U.S. manufacturing. Water sampling has found contamination in water around military bases, factories and other sites.

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A Deep Dive Into Groundwater, Desalination

/in , /by /Capitol Weekly (Sacramento)by Keith Van Der Maaten

At the height of the recent drought, the legislature passed and Gov. Brown signed legislation, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), that for the first time required California water agencies to account for groundwater pumping and held them accountable for the development of sustainable plans for the future. Groundwater accounts for approximately 30% of the state’s water supply.

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