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This Zombie Dam Project Underscores California’s Dilemma Over Water

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Michael Hiltzik

Despite what you may have gleaned from television and the movies, zombies aren’t always constituted of flesh and blood. Sometimes they come in concrete and rock. Exhibit A is a $3-billion dam proposal on the San Joaquin River known as Temperance Flat. The project’s beneficiaries, chiefly growers in the San Joaquin Valley, have struggled for years to justify its construction. Its critics say they’ve done so by exaggerating the probable water yield from the dam and reservoir while understating its negative impact on the region’s ecology and cultural and recreational environmental impacts, and overstating its recreational resources.

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NASA Finds ‘Human Fingerprint’ In Many Areas Of Water-Supply Change Worldwide

/in , /by /13WMAZ (Macon, Ga.)by Ian James

Humans are dramatically altering water supply in many places worldwide, say NASA scientists who have been tracking regional changes via satellite. The researchers analyzed 14 years of data from NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellites, which the space agency has dubbed GRACE. They studied areas with large increases or decreases in freshwater — including water stored in aquifers, ice, lakes, rivers, snow and soil — to determine the most likely causes of these changes.

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IDE Technologies Opens California Wastewater Reuse Demo Facilities

/in , /by /Filtration+Separation (United Kingdom)

IDE Technologies’ technology is being used in two new wastewater reuse demo facilities in California: the Central Coast Blue Advanced Water Purification Demo Facility, in partnership with the City of Pismo Beach, and the Regional Recycled Water Advanced Purification Center Demo Facility, in partnership with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County.

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OPINION: Bond Measure Will Protect The State’s Future

/in , /by /The Acorn (Agoura Hills)by Fran Pavley

On Tues., June 5, you will be able to vote on Proposition 68, a $4.1-billion ballot measure that will provide funds toward parks, the environment and water projects throughout California. This is a simple majority vote, general obligation bond. As a bond, it is paid back through the state’s general fund over a 20- to 30-year period of time. It is not an assessment or tax on local property. The advantages to our area in helping protect and enhance our quality of life makes this a proposition worthy of your support.

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New Agency Builds Momentum For California Water Tunnels

/in , /by /The Bond Buyer (New York)by Keeley Webster

A joint powers authority has been formed to oversee design and construction of California’s delta water tunnel project, a milestone in the multibillion-dollar plan that has been in the works for more than a decade. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Santa Clara Valley Water District and Zone 7 Water Agency, three agencies that agreed to fund the project, have seats on the board of the newly formed Delta Conveyance Design and Construction Joint Powers Authority. A board slot is reserved for the Kern County Water Agency, whose board will vote May 24 on whether to accept the seat.

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Prop. 68 Promises Billions For California Parks, Clean Water

/in , /by /KCRA Sacramentoby Mike Luery

For bicycle riders like Eric Johnson, the American River Parkway is an urban jewel in Sacramento County — and a place to be cherished. “It’s nice to be away from the cars,” Johnson said. “It’s nice to be in the nature scene. You know, it’s peaceful.” That’s why Johnson said he supports Proposition 68, a $4 billion bond measure that would allocate an extra $10 million to the American River Parkway.

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Climate Change Is Making Droughts Worse In The Western US

/in , /by /KPBSby Luke Runyan

A new study from NASA reinforces the idea that droughts are getting worse and could become more frequent in the Western U.S. The culprit is human-caused climate change. Droughts aren’t just about precipitation, said NASA scientist and the study’s co-author Benjamin Cook. They’re also about the timing of snowmelt and the wetness of soil, both of which are upended by a warming climate.

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A Ban On Delta Tunnels Lawsuits Slips Into Federal Spending Plan

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Emily Cadei and Ryan Sabalow

With the California Delta tunnels proposal facing an uncertain future, one of the state’s Republican congressmen has come up with a way to help the multibillion water project, known formally as California WaterFix, reach completion: ban environmental lawsuits. On Tuesday, veteran Rep. Ken Calvert of Riverside County released a 142-page draft spending bill for fiscal year 2019 for the Interior Department and related agencies.

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GRACE-FO Will Help Monitor Droughts

/in , /by /Space Daily

You may not notice water in the ground under your feet, but it plays an important role in keeping you alive. Plants draw water from soil into their roots and use it to grow. If there’s not enough, the resulting drought may have impacts that spread across local water supplies, regional agriculture and even international food prices. NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission was the first satellite system to directly measure global changes in the water stored underground in the world’s largest aquifers. GRACE Follow-On, scheduled to launch this month, will continue this important task.

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WaterWorld Weekly Newscast: Another Water District Commits To California WaterFix Project

/in , /by /WaterWorld (Tulsa, Okla.)

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works introduced water infrastructure legislation last week aimed at increasing water storage, providing flood protection, increasing local stakeholder input, deepening ports, and maintaining the navigability of inland waterways across the country. Additionally, America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 would invest in the maintenance and construction of water and wastewater infrastructure and the development of a strong water utility workforce. The $2.8 billion legislation would also authorize and deauthorize a number of specific water infrastructure projects across the country.

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