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A Peek Into California’s Energy Future: Grid Operator Releases 20-year Outlook

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Rob Nikolewski

A long-range outlook released by California’s grid operator offers a glimpse at what the state’s electric system may look like in 20 years — a portfolio with dramatically more renewable energy sources in the power mix, accompanied by a price tag of about $30.5 billion in transmission costs alone.

The California Independent System Operator, known as the CAISO for short, manages the electric grid for about 80 percent of the Golden State and a small part of Nevada. Every year, the organization conducts an annual transmission analysis and then updates its 10-year planning horizon.

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As Drought Continues, Southern California Offers Millions to Buy Sacramento Valley Water

/in , , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

The drought drags on, and the thirsty residents of Southern California are preparing again to spend heavily to buy water from the farm fields of the Sacramento Valley.

The board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California directed its staff Tuesday to start negotiating the purchases of as much as 100,000 acre-feet of water from the Valley — deals that would be worth millions of dollars.

Metropolitan has bought water from Northern California in eight of the past 16 years. The purchases can be a sensitive point in farm country, where water sales will result in fewer acres of crop grown and damage done to the local economy.

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Eva Plajzer Named Director of Operations and Maintenance for San Diego County Water Authority

/in , , /by /Smart Water Magazine Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority
Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Eva Plajzer, a 30-year civil engineering and management professional, has been appointed Director of Operations and Maintenance for the San Diego County Water Authority. She fills the position vacated by the retirement of Jim Fisher, whose 32-year career included nearly 10 years in a leadership role at the Water Authority.

The Water Authority is a regional wholesale water agency that provides about 80% of the water used in San Diego County, sustaining a $253 billion economy and quality of life for 3.3 million residents. The agency’s Operations and Maintenance Department is responsible for operating the aqueduct system; ensuring facility security and emergency preparedness; and maintaining and managing the fleet and various other assets.

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Opinion: Voter-Approved California Water Projects Are Making Progress

/in , , /by /The Mercury Timesby Teresa Alvarado and Matthew Swanson

In November 2014, California voters approved Proposition 1: The Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act. The $7.5 billion bond dedicated $2.7 billion for the public benefits of new water-storage projects. Some ask, “Why have no new reservoirs been built in the seven years since?” Rest assured, there are projects in the works. All recently passed a key milestone and are moving forward.

Any large-scale water storage project is complex and requires a high degree of planning, engineering, coordination and significant financing. The California Water Commission has actively overseen the proposed projects over the past six years to help ensure they meet statutory requirements, progress at the rate dictated by the bond legislation and meet the public benefits promised to voters.

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Record Temperatures Forecast as Winter Heatwave Heads for California

/in , , /by /The Guardianby Dani Anguiano

An unusual winter heatwave is expected across California this week with record temperatures in the forecast for multiple cities from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles.

In Southern California, where temperatures are predicted to be 15 to 20 degrees above normal from Wednesday morning through Sunday, the National Weather Service upgraded a heat watch to a heat advisory.

The heat watch and advisory were the first to be issued by the Los Angeles weather office in the month of February, according to records dating to 2006. Most heat watches and warnings in the area are issued from May through October.

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Sustainable Conservation: Protecting Water Quality While Recharging Aquifers

/in , , /by /Maven's Notebook

Over 600,000 Californians rely on nitrate-contaminated public supply wells for their household water needs.  However, those numbers are even greater as they don’t include the many others who struggle with contaminated groundwater from domestic wells.  Balancing long-term groundwater sustainability and water quality will help California weather future droughts, ensure safe drinking water, and support our thriving agricultural community that feeds the nation.

One tool for groundwater sustainability is groundwater recharge, where water is intentionally spread on the ground and allowed to infiltrate into the underlying aquifer.  However, there is much concern that groundwater recharge can increase water quality issues, especially when the recharge water is spread upon agricultural lands.

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California’s Drought-Relief Dreams Are Quickly Drying Up

/in , , /by /Bloombergby Brian K Sullivan, Mark Chediak, and Elizabeth Elkin

As recently as Christmas, it looked like California’s devastating drought could—if not fully disappear—at least be on track for serious improvement by spring. That’s no longer the case.

California’s snowpack was promisingly high at the start of the year after Pacific storms in October and December delivered a round of heavy rains and deep snows. But it has since dropped below where officials hoped it would be for this time of year after those early-season cloudbursts turned out to be isolated events.

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California Water District Plans Country’s 1st Solar Canopy Project Covering Canals

/in , , /by /Solar Power Worldby Billy Ludt

Turlock Irrigation District (TID) in Turlock, California, is planning the country’s first pilot project to build solar panel canopies over a portion of the water utility’s existing canals. Project Nexus is planned as a multi-use solar project, assessing water evaporation reduction from mid-day shade and wind mitigation; improvements to water quality and reduced canal maintenance through reduced vegetative growth; and generating renewable energy.

Project Nexus is a public-private-academic partnership among TID, the Department of Water Resources (DWR), Solar AquaGrid and the University of California, Merced.

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As West Continues to Confront Devastating Drought, California Attorney General Urges EPA to Expand Clean Water Act Protections for Nation’s Waterways

/in , , /by /Sierra Sun Times

On Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, leading a multistate coalition along with New York Attorney General Letitia James, urged the Biden Administration to repeal a Trump-era rule drastically curtailing protections under the Clean Water Act. Under the 2020 rule, more than half of all wetlands and at least 18% of all streams across the United States were left without federal protections. Western states like California were even harder hit, with 35% of all streams deprived of federal protections as a result of the 2020 rule. In the comments, the coalition supports the Biden Administration’s proposed regulation to restore the 1980s definition of “waters of the United States” and urges the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) to take swift action to develop a more expansive definition that is consistent with science and the law, addresses the impacts of climate change, and serves environmental justice communities.

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California Conservationists and Farmers Unite to Protect Salmon

/in , , /by /Reutersby Daniel Trotta and Nathan Frandino

In an experiment a decade in the making, biologists are releasing hatchery salmon onto flooded Northern California rice fields, seeking to replenish endangered fish species while simultaneously benefiting the farmers’ business model.

At a time when environmentalists are often pitted against agribusiness in California’s water wars, conservation scientists and rice farmers are working together, trying to reclaim the great flood plains of the Sacramento River for salmon habitat.

Their task is daunting. California’s wetlands have all but disappeared, converted into farms and cities in one of the great engineering feats, or environmental crimes, of the 20th century.

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