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Environment Report: City Poised To End Its Styrofoam Recycling Program

/in , , /by /Voice of San Diegoby Ry Rivard

San Diego looks ready to give up its money-losing plan to recycle plastic-foam food containers and packing material. A few years ago, as other cities were banning the material, commonly called Styrofoam, the San Diego City Council decided it would recycle the stuff instead. It knew then it would likely lose money, at least $90,000 a year. That may have been more palatable a few years ago because the city used to make several million dollars a year by selling other recyclables. City officials — lobbied hard by Dart Container Corporation, a plastics maker — also thought the loss was a small price to pay to make things easier on consumers and restaurant owners who preferred inexpensive, durable and insulating foam.

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OPINION: Our Mojave Water Project Makes Good Sense

/in , , /by /The Wall Street Journal

Cadiz operates a large agricultural property in California’s Mojave Desert at the base of a 1,300 square mile watershed with an aquifer system storing more water than Lake Mead. We currently irrigate the property with groundwater, but it’s a “tipping cup” and what we don’t use migrates to saline playas and evaporates—over 10 billion gallons lost annually. By managing the aquifer and this loss, Cadiz will  sustainably provide new water to 400,000 Californians.

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Does Limited Underground Water Storage Make Plants Less Susceptible To Drought?

/in , , /by /Berkeley Newsby Robert Sanders

You might expect that plants hoping to thrive in California’s boom-or-bust rain cycle would choose to set down roots in a place that can store lots of water underground to last through drought years. But some of the most successful plant communities in the state — and probably in Mediterranean climates worldwide — that are characterized by wet winters and dry summers  have taken a different approach. They’ve learned to thrive in areas with a below-ground water storage capacity barely large enough to hold the water that falls even in lean years.

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If You Haven’t Seen Oroville Dam Repair Work In A While, Here’s The Latest

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby David Caraccio

Crews have finished placement of the structual concrete cap on the emergency spillway at Oroville Dam, according to the California Department of Water Recources.The cap can be seen in a DWR video released June 10, 2019. The work took place from January to May 2019. It’s been over two years since a hole opened up in the spillway, forcing the evacuation of nearly 180,000 people in California.

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Officials Hope A New Treatment Plant Will Help Fix This Small Sacramento County Town’s Drinking Water Issues

/in , /by /ABC10by Carlos Herrera

Unsafe drinking water is common in Northern Californian cities. So common, in fact, that Governor Gavin Newsom called it a crisis during his State of the State address in February. That’s why water officials in Sacramento County are taking steps to solve the problem for residents of Hood, a small town located 20 miles south of Sacramento. Sacramento County Water Resources recently broke ground on the new Hood Water Treatment Plant, providing a new source of safe and reliable drinking water for the community.

 

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Mysterious Freshwater Reservoir Found Hidden Beneath The Ocean

/in , , /by /Fox Newsby Christopher Carbone

Scientists have found a gigantic freshwater aquifer hidden deep below the ocean. The surprising discovery, from a new survey of the sub-seafloor off the northeast U.S. coast by researchers from Columbia University, appears to to be the largest formation of this type anywhere in the world — stretching from Massachusetts to New Jersey and extending continuously out about 50 miles to the edge of the continental shelf. Researchers said that if it was discovered on the surface it would create a lake covering some 15,000 square miles.

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Sustaining Integrated Portfolios For Managing Water In California

/in , , /by /California Water Blogby Jay Lund

Recently Governor Newsom issued a call for a state portfolio of actions to manage water under rapidly changing climate and other conditions.  Portfolio approaches attempt to integrate and balance a variety of actions (supply and demand management, surface water and aquifers) for single purposes (water supply, floods, safe drinking water) and often for multiple benefits, involving multiple interests.  A previous essay reviewed the successes and limitations of portfolio approaches to water management in California

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Padre Dam Board Approves Interim Funding Agreement For Regional Water Purification Project

/in , , /by /East County Magazineby Mike Allen
The board for the Padre Dam Municipal Water District has voted unanimously for a financing package that clearly outlines the costs to each of the four agencies building the East County Advanced Water Purification Project. The approval for an interim $9.4 million funding agreement on June 19 was part of a series of steps the Santee water district took towards constructing a massive water reclamation facility that will cost about $660 million total.
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Can Utah’s Water Supply Keep Up With Its Booming Population?

/in , /by /Desert News (Utah)by Kim Bojorquez

Will Utah’s water supply catch up with the state’s rising population, expected to double by 2065? It was one of the several questions posed at Utah State University’s Research Landscapes series focused on Utah’s waterscapes. The event Tuesday at the O.C. Tanner headquarters in Salt Lake City attracted a mix of state and local government officials, businesses leaders, developers and nonprofit organizations. Rep. Timothy Hawkes, R-Centerville, said now is a great point in time to reflect on Utah’s water, as he remembers a time when talking about water would invoke ridicule or hostility.

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San Diego’s Farmer Of The Year Taps Every Drop

/in , /by /Water News Network Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Growing water-intensive crops like avocados in San Diego County is no small feat. Producing avocados requires the use of innovative farming methods to supply the trees with enough water. It’s the use of innovative farming methods that earned John Burr the title of San Diego County’s Farmer of the Year – an honor he recently celebrated on KUSI-TV with Water Authority Board Chair Jim Madaffer as part of the agency’s Brought to You by Water outreach and education program. Over the past few months, the Water Authority partnered with local agriculture industry leaders like the San Diego County Farm Bureau to highlight the importance of safe and reliable water supplies for more than 5,500 local farms that are part of the county’s $4.8 billion agriculture industry.

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