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Opinion: Priced Out and Shut Off: Tackling Water Affordability

/in , , /by /The Hillby Michael Mcafee and Susana De Anda

Right now, Congress is debating needed investments in our water system decades in the making. While the Senate’s compromise bill passed earlier this month includes billions for lead pipe replacement and helping communities prepare for future drought and floods, the bill falls short of ensuring all families can turn their tap on and access safe, affordable water.

Infrastructure spending isn’t enough. We must pair new water spending with bill assistance to ensure the water flowing through our upgraded pipes serves all households in America. This is especially true as the country faces another rise in COVID-19 cases.

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‘Forever Chemicals’ Found in Groundwater Near Military Bases

/in , , /by /AP Newsby John Flesher

High levels of toxic, widely used “forever chemicals” contaminate groundwater around at least six military sites in the Great Lakes region, according to U.S. Department of Defense records that an environmental group released Tuesday.

The Environmental Working Group said PFAS, an abbreviation for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, have oozed into the Great Lakes and pose a risk to people who eat fish tainted with the chemicals.

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Federal Judge Throws Out Trump Administration Rule Allowing the Draining and Filling of Streams, Marshes and Wetlands

/in , , /by /The Washington Postby Dino Grandoni and Brady Dennis

A federal judge Monday threw out a major Trump administration rule that scaled back federal protections for streams, marshes and wetlands across the United States, reversing one of the previous administration’s most significant environmental rollbacks. U.S. District Judge Rosemary Márquez wrote that Trump officials committed serious errors while writing the regulation, finalized last year, and that leaving it in place could lead to “serious environmental harm.”

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Running Out of Water, Drought-stricken Communities Find Creative Ways to Conserve

/in , , /by /KSBYby Amanda Brandeis

As unprecedented drought conditions plague much of the West, reservoirs are running dry. Communities reliant on these sources for drinking water are tightening restrictions to preserve adequate supplies.

“This is the first time it’s been this severe,” said Tom Colbert of Healdsburg, California. “It’s disheartening. We’ve had friends move out of California because of the drought and the wildfires.”

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Private Entity Sought to Develop San Diego Pumped-Storage Energy Facility

/in , , /by /ASCEby Jay Landers Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority
Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

In 2018, the state of California updated its Renewables Portfolio Standard to call for obtaining 60% of its power from renewable energy sources by 2030. At the same time, the state also mandated that its electricity system be powered solely by carbon-free, renewable energy sources by 2045. Meeting these ambitious targets will require no shortage of technological developments, particularly batteries or other means of storing electricity generated by intermittent, renewable energy sources, especially solar and wind power.

As part of its recently enacted budget for 2021-22, California included funding to help foster the development of one such storage method, known as pumped-storage hydropower. In particular, the budget provided $18 million to the city of San Diego and the San Diego County Water Authority for use in advancing their planned joint project known as the San Vicente Energy Storage Facility.

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Many California Farmers Have Water Cut Off, but a Lucky Few are Immune to Drought Rules

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ari Plachta

Driving between her northern Central Valley rice fields with the family dog in tow, fifth-generation farmer Kim Gallagher points out the window to shorebirds, egrets and avocets fluttering across a thousand-acre sea of green flooded in six inches of water.

“People say agriculture uses so much water, but if you knew who lived in these areas and if you saw the animals taking advantage of it, you’d think there’s a lot more going on here,” Gallagher said. “This is where you’re going to find a Great Blue Heron. If you don’t want that type of bird then we shouldn’t be growing rice.”

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Southern California Desert Farmers Will Earn Millions to Fallow Fields, Save Colorado River Water

/in , , /by /Palm Springs Desert Sunby Janet Wilson

California farmers near the Arizona border with the oldest rights to Colorado River water will reap $38 million over three years to not plant some of their fields and leave extra water in the rapidly declining Lake Mead reservoir.

Located roughly halfway between Los Angeles and Phoenix, growers near the City of Blythe in Riverside County have first priority to the river water. They hold rights that stretch back to 1877, superseding 40 million customers in eight states who also depend on it.

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Water-Starved Colorado River Delta Gets Another Shot of Life From the River’s Flows

/in , , /by /Water Education Foundationby Gary Pitzer

Water is flowing once again to the Colorado River’s delta in Mexico, a vast region that was once a natural splendor before the iconic Western river was dammed and diverted at the turn of the last century, essentially turning the delta into a desert.

In 2012, the idea emerged that water could be intentionally sent down the river to inundate the delta floodplain and regenerate native cottonwood and willow trees, even in an overallocated river system.

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Opinion: How to Make Your Voice Heard on the Future of the Threatened Salton Sea

/in , , /by /Palm Springs Desert Sunby Chuck Parker

The 22-year-long drought in the Colorado River Basin is growing more severe. The levels of Lake Mead and Lake Powell are lower than they have ever been. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has ordered mandatory cutbacks of water deliveries in 2022 with more cuts predicted in the following two years.

Experts are acknowledging that the river has changed fundamentally: “No doubt climate change is real. We’re seeing it on the Colorado River every day,” as an official quoted in an Aug. 17 Desert Sun article said.

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Opinion: The Colorado River Is Sending Us a Message

/in , , /by /The Pagosa Springs Sunby Gary Wockner

It feels like an apocalypse in the southwest — wildfires, floods, drought, heat, smoke. This was not the norm when I moved to Colorado 35 years ago. Climate scientists may have predicted the arrival of these extreme events, but many admit their predictions have come true faster than they expected.

One outcome they pinpointed was the impact of heat and drought on water flows in the Colorado River. For the last 20 years, this new climate, combined with booming human population growth, has parched landscapes, drained reservoirs and incited talk of water wars across the region. Lake Powell on the Colorado River and Glen Canyon Dam, which creates the reservoir, have become casualties of this strained environment.

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