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San Diego Company Awarded EPA Grant To Develop Water Quality Testing Tech

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Debbie L. Sklar

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday that it awarded a $100,000 contract to a San Diego-based technology company to develop technology to monitor water quality. The grant, awarded to 2W iTech LLC, is one of nearly two dozen awarded by the EPA through its Small Business Innovation Research program. The EPA awarded grants worth a combined $2.3 million to 21 companies across the country to develop technologies to improve environmental and human health, monitor air and water quality and clean contaminated areas. With its grant, 2W iTech will develop a low-cost method to identify trace amounts of perfluoroalkyl substances in water at a rate as small as 10 parts per trillion.

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When Will California Become Too Hot To Grow Wine Grapes?

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Esther Mobley

We know that climate change is going to alter wine. In fact, we know that it already has. But we are still working toward a deeper understanding of what it will look like — and what can be done about it. The latest step toward that understanding is a study published Tuesday by the Union of Concerned Scientists, one of the most detailed forecasts to date of extreme heat across the U.S. As The Chronicle’s environmental correspondent Kurtis Alexander reported, the study warns that most of the country will see more than double the number of days with a 100 degree heat index by 2050, unless something drastic is done.

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Dozens of Environmental Groups Want To Contribute To Newsom’s Water Portfolio Plan

/in , , /by /The Independent by Ron McNicoll

A coalition of 55 environmental, fishing, and water policy groups has written Gov. Gavin Newsom, backing his Water Portfolio planning process, and announcing that they plan to take an active part with their own proposals for the plan.

Newsom announced his Water Portfolio on April 29. He ordered three state agencies — Natural Resources, EPA, and Food & Agriculture — to prepare “a water-resilience portfolio that meets the needs of California’s communities through the 21st Century.”

 

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California Department Of Water Resources Approves Nine Alternatives To Groundwater Sustainability Plans

/in , , /by /Sierra Sun Times

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) today announced approval of nine alternatives to groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) submitted by water agencies to meet requirements of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).

SGMA requires local agencies throughout the state to sustainably manage groundwater basins. Basins ranked as medium- or high-priority are required to develop GSPs or submit an alternative.

An alternative may be an existing groundwater management plan that demonstrates a reasonable expectation of achieving sustainability within 20 years. It may also be a basin adjudication with existing governance and oversight, or a 10-year analysis of basin conditions showing sustainable operations with no undesirable results such as subsidence, saltwater intrusion, or degraded water quality.

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Salmon Study May Foil Trump’s Plan To Boost Water Deliveries To Central Valley Farms

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Bettina Boxall

Federal biologists worked frantically this year to meet a deadline to assess the environmental impacts of Trump administration plans to send more water to Central Valley farmers.

But the biologists’ conclusion — that increased deliveries would harm endangered Chinook salmon and other imperiled fish — would foil those plans. Two days after it was submitted, a regional federal official assembled a new review team to improve the documents.

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No Earthquake Damage To Dams

/in , , /by /Kern Valley Sun (Lake Isabella, Calif.)by Kathe Malouf

Shortly after two major earthquakes rocked buildings and rattled nerves in the Kern River Valley earlier this month, U.S. Army Corps of Engineer officials reported that it was “business as usual” at Isabella Dam, stating that the 6.4 magnitude earthquake on July 4 and 7.1 magnitude earthquake on July 5 did not cause any structural damage or safety concerns. Safety inspections on Isabella Dam were conducted immediately following the two earthquakes that were both centered outside of Ridgecrest with the use of both digital technology and on-the-ground inspections. Due to the ongoing construction that has been underway for the past three years at Isabella, Corps officials have been monitoring both Main and Auxiliary dams for seismic activity on a regular basis.

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LA’s Kern County Sludge Farm To Stop Receiving Free Bakersfield Water

/in , , /by /Bakersfield.comby Sam Morgen

It was a match made in heaven, at least for the residents of Los Angeles, but it will soon be coming to an end. For around 20 years, Los Angeles has shipped a large portion of “biosolids” from its toilets to fertilize a farm it owns just west of Bakersfield. Bakersfield, in return, has been providing an annual load of 18,000 acre-feet of free water to the farm, Green Acres, in a deal that was meant to benefit both cities. However, Bakersfield is choosing not to renew the water contract with LA, and the farm will have to find another source to irrigate its crops.

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California’s 2019-2020 Budget Has Millions For Water Projects And Healthcare Programs

/in , , /by /The Sun - Gazzete

Water and healthcare was forced into the State’s 2019-2020 budget as a priority this year.

With a $22 billion surplus and $215 billion in spending, the southern region of the Central Valley got the financial OK needed from the State’s budget to get some projects off the ground. Brokered in large part by rookie state senator for California’s 14 Senate District, Melissa Hurtado, the southern portion of the Valley has gained tens of millions of dollars of investment in drinking water, asthma mitigation, aging and disability resource centers and Valley Fever research.

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California Pledges Millions To Battle Enormous, Destructive Swamp Rats

/in , , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Cat Ferguson

A growing menace in the form of 15-pound swamp rodents is threatening Delta waterways, and the state is throwing money, hunting dogs and birth control at the invasive pests which have the potential to destroy crops and wetlands.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has received $10 million in new funding for the eradication of nutria, or coypu, which are native to South America and have found their way to the Golden State after wreaking havoc in Louisiana and other places. Louisiana has lost hundreds of thousands of acres of wetlands to the rodent, a voracious herbivore with a largely indiscriminate palate

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DWR Releases Final California Water Plan Update 2018

/in , , /by /California Department of Water Resources

On Tuesday, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) released the Final 2018 Update to the California Water Plan. Update 2018 presents a vision for greater collaboration and alignment among water sectors and institutions, sound strategies, and long-term investments needed for the sustainable management of the California’s water supply.

As directed by California Water Code, DWR publishes an update to the California Water Plan every five years that incorporates the latest information and science, serving as the comprehensive strategic plan for how water is managed throughout the state.

 

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