The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rapped California for allowing “piles of human feces” and other pollution tied to the state’s “homelessness crisis” to foul nearby waterways, opening a new front in a Trump administration battle with the nation’s most populous state.
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler demanded California outline its plans for tackling the problem in a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday.
Former Gov. Jerry Brown famously said last year that California would launch its “own damn satellite” to track climate change in defiance of the Trump administration. On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom will announce a new approach and way to pay for it.
It was 2015 and, as far as John Konda knew, farming still had a viable future in the San Joaquin Valley. So he expanded.
The Tulare County grower planted 75 acres of pistachios, adding to a farm he’s owned since 2003. Two years later, in order to augment his water supply, he drilled two new groundwater wells.
The Imperial Irrigation District and the non-profit Citizens Energy Corp. powered up a 30-megawatt community solar project near California’s Salton Sea that will provide thousands of low-income customers in the region with discounted renewable energy.
The $46 million project is one of the largest community solar installations in the country and uses 107,000 photovoltaic panels on 200 acres, Imperial Board President Erik Ortega said Sept. 25.
With the flipping of the switch low-income customers will be able to say they are part of California’s clean energy revolution, Ortega said.
As water years go, 2019 was all wet. With the new water year beginning Oct. 1, farmers and forecasters hope for more of the same. Tulare County farmer Zack Stuller described 2019 as a “fantastic year” for water.
Elected leaders from around the San Diego region met with the Trump administration on Tuesday to ask for help stopping the sewage-tainted water that regularly flows in the Tijuana River across the border with Mexico.
Specifically, regional leaders tried to persuade federal authorities to fund a more than $400-million plan to capture and treat the pollution — which has shuttered shorelines in Imperial Beach on more than 200 days this year alone.
The City of San Diego Public Utilities Department has been recognized as a “Utility of the Future Today” for its outreach efforts for the Pure Water San Diego Program.
The honor was bestowed today by a partnership of water sector organizations, including the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, the Water Environment Federation, the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation, the WateReuse Association and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The program recognizes the achievements of water utilities that transform from the traditional wastewater treatment system to a resource recovery center and leader in the overall sustainability and resilience of the communities they serve.
“Being named a Utility of the Future Today further demonstrates the City’s commitment to producing a sustainable water supply for our citizens,” said Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer. “The Pure Water Program is a national model for finding an innovative solution to our water needs.”
The City received the award at the Water Environment Federation’s 92nd annual Technical Exhibition and Conference held in Chicago from Sept. 21-25. The San Diego Public Utilities Department was previously honored as a Utility of the Future Today in 2016 for its efforts in community engagement and water reuse.
“We take pride in our work and are very honored to receive this recognition,” said San Diego Public Utilities Department Director Shauna Lorance. “We strive to provide the very best service to our customers, and that includes planning for the future.”
The Utility of the Future Today concept was first introduced in 2013. It celebrates the achievements of forward-thinking, innovative water utilities that are providing resilient, value-added service to communities, particularly in community engagement, watershed stewardship and recovery of resources such as water, energy and nutrients.
Pure Water San Diego is the City’s phased, multi-year program that will provide one-third of San Diego’s water supply locally by 2035. The Pure Water San Diego Program will use proven water purification technology to clean recycled water to produce safe, high-quality drinking water. The program offers a cost-effective investment for San Diego’s water needs and will provide a reliable, sustainable water supply.
To illustrate the pervasiveness of damage caused by California’s rising epidemic of wildfires, researchers are now connecting the problem to an influx of dangerous contaminants in drinking water delivery systems.
Due to increasingly dry conditions, California’s forests are becoming highly susceptible to rampant wildfires, a trend highlighted by the so-called “Camp Fire” in November 2018, the state’s most destructive wildfire on record. In addition to damaging property and jeopardizing lives, this most recent catastrophe presented massive obstacles for drinking water treatment operations.
How will climate change affect California water management, and what steps should the state take to prepare for these changes? The PPIC Water Policy Center was asked by the Newsom administration to submit formal comments outlining key water policy priorities for the state—and ways to integrate actions across state agencies to implement these priorities. Our recommendations will inform the administration’s preparation of a water resilience portfolio. We address two key areas where the state can play a leading role—modernizing the water grid and protecting freshwater ecosystems.
Crews from the Fallbrook Public Utility District are helping rebuild water services in Paradise, Calif. after the devastating November 2018 Camp Fire.
The Camp Fire burned 153,336 acres, destroyed 18,793 structures, caused 85 deaths and three firefighter injuries. The Camp Fire is the deadliest, most destructive fire in California’s history, according to CAL FIRE.
Colter Shannon and Austin Wendt left the FPUD yard Sept. 22 to make the 565-mile, 10-hour drive to Paradise. On Sept. 29, two more FPUD crew members, Toby Stoneburner and Matt Perez, will depart for the Butte County town. Each two-member team will spend two days driving and five days working on repairs for a total of seven days.
