You are now in California and the U.S. Home Headline Media Coverage category.

USMCA Trade Pact Includes $300M for U.S.-Mexico Border Sewer Woes, But Critics Fault Deal

/in , , /by /Palm Springs Desert Sunby Ian James

When lawmakers in the House of Representatives approved the Trump administration’s new trade deal with Mexico and Canada last month, they authorized $300 million to help fix failing sewer systems that send raw sewage and toxic pollution flowing into rivers along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The decision could bring an infusion of funding to help clean up the badly polluted New River, Tijuana River, and other rivers that flow across the border into the U.S.

Full Story

Water Portfolio Lays Out State’s Long-Term Plans

/in , , /by /Ag Alert (Sacramento, Calif.)by Christine Souza

Farm organizations welcomed a new water planning document from state agencies while they analyzed the document’s proposed strategies.

Titled the California Water Resilience Portfolio and released last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration described the document as an effort to guide water management in a way that works for people, the environment and the economy.

Full Story

San Diego County Water Authority Makes Settlement Offer to End Litigation

/in , , /by /California Water News Daily Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority
Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) sent a comprehensive settlement offer to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) last month that would end nearly a decade of ongoing litigation over rates between the two agencies.

For over a year, SDCWA had been meeting in confidential settlement discussions with MWD to find an equitable resolution to litigation over MWD’s rates.

Full Story

Newsom Wants An Extra $220 Million For Salton Sea Plan In Upcoming California State Budget

/in , , /by /Desert Sunby Sam Metz

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year will include an additional $220 million for the Salton Sea Management Program, a 10-year plan to reduce the environmental and public health hazards plaguing the communities that surround the fast-drying body of water.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year will include an additional $220 million for the Salton Sea Management Program, a 10-year plan to reduce the environmental and public health hazards plaguing the communities that surround the fast-drying body of water.

 

Myth About Huge California Fines For Shower And Laundry Usage Won’t Die. Here’s What’s True

/in , , /by /The Sacramento Bee by Phillip Reese

California will impose new limits on water usage in the post-drought era in the coming years — but a claim that residents will be fined $1,000 starting this year if they shower and do laundry the same day isn’t true.

It wasn’t true when the state’s new conservation laws were enacted in 2018, and it isn’t true now — despite a recent report on a Los Angeles television station that riled up conservatives on social media and prompted the state Department of Water Resources to issue a statement debunking the claim.

Full Story

‘Multiheaded Hydra’ of PFAS Products Under California Scrutiny

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

California has its eye on “forever chemicals,” and is taking a closer look at safer alternatives in common consumer products, including stain-resistant coatings for boots and food packaging items.

The state this year could require rug and carpet makers to come up with safer alternatives for their stain- and water-resistant products. After-market treatments with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that help consumers protect their boots, clothes, and other textiles from rain, snow, and grease could also face the same fate.

Full Story

Year Starts With New-Average Snow, Storage

/in , , /by /Ag Alertby Kevin Hecteman

A wet December has left its mark in the mountains, and many of the state’s reservoirs remain at or above average storage levels as 2020 begins.

The state Department of Water Resources took its first snow survey of the year at Phillips Station in El Dorado County last week, and found 33.5 inches of snow and a snow-water equivalent of 11 inches, about 97% of average for the location. Statewide, DWR found a snow-water equivalent of 9.3 inches, or 90% of average.

Full Story

Vallecitos Water District Training Preps Firefighters for Wastewater Plant Emergencies

/in , , /by /Water News Network

North San Diego County fire agencies teamed up in November with the Vallecitos Water District for confined space training drills. The drills, held over a two-week period, prepare firefighting professionals to respond to emergencies in facilities such as wastewater treatment plants and maintain their confined space certification.

Full Story

Opinion: A Desalination Plant Can Transform The Monterey Peninsula And Help Avert A Water Crisis

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Jeff Davi

Nobody likes to look out to the Pacific Ocean and see oil derricks on the horizon. That’s why California wisely banned new offshore oil drilling 50 years ago.

But in Monterey County, coastal views are limited by a relic of a bygone era: a giant, industrial sand plant right on the dunes between Highway One and the ocean.

In 2017, the California Coastal Commission reached an agreement with the sand plant for operations to shut down by 2020 and for all buildings and equipment to be removed by 2023.

Full Story

Fecal Bacteria In California’s Waterways Increases With Homeless Crisis

/in , , /by /California Healthlineby Anna Almendrala

President Donald Trump, a self-described germophobe, has made no secret of his disgust with California’s growing homeless problem, which he has called a “disgrace” and “inappropriate” and equated to “living in hell.”

“We should all work together to clean up these hazardous waste and homeless sites before the whole city rots away,” Trump tweeted about San Francisco on Oct. 26. “Very bad and dangerous conditions, also severely impacting the Pacific Ocean and water supply.”

Full Story