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Can Sensor Data Save California’s Aquifers?

/in , , /by /Futurityby Josie Garthwaite

In California, the amount of water exiting aquifers under the state’s most productive farming region far surpasses the amount of water trickling back in. That rampant overdraft has caused land across much of the region to sink like a squeezed out sponge, permanently depleting groundwater storage capacity and damaging infrastructure. The trend—and a 2014 mandate for sustainable groundwater management in the state—has ignited interest in replenishing aquifers in California’s Central Valley through managed flooding of the ground above them. But until now there has been no reliable way to know where this type of remedy will be most effective.

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Westlands Officials Disappointed By Water Allocation Announcement

/in , /by /The Sentinelby Julissa Zavala

While all other Central Valley Project contractors’ allocations were previously increased to 100% of their contract totals in recent months, the Bureau of Reclamation announced Wednesday that agricultural districts South-of-Delta will receive only 65% percent of their historic water allocation. South-of-the-delta cities like Avenal that get water from the Central Valley Project were increased to 90 percent of their contract supply, up from an 80 percent allocation announced in March.

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Calif. Cities Devastated By Wildfires Face New Challenge: Benzene In Water

/in , /by /GV Wire (Fresno)by Erin Mundahl

Last year, the Camp Fire tore across California, devouring forests and incinerating entire neighborhoods. Residents fled the flames, returning to find empty streets where their neighborhoods had been. It came only a year after the Tubbs Fire set records as it destroyed thousands of homes outside Santa Rosa. Now that these cities are starting to rebuild, they are discovering that the damage goes even deeper than that. Soaring temperatures from the wildfires melted the PVC water pipes buried underground, causing the plastic to leech chemicals into the water and leaving the cities facing a complicated and expensive repair.

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Will Newsom End Oil Drilling In California? Many Environmentalists Are Betting Yes

/in , /by /The Los Angeles Timesby Phil Willon

California’s legacy of oil drilling should be just that, many environmentalists argue  relegated to the history books. They are urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to ban new oil and gas drilling in California and completely phase out fossil fuel extraction in one of the nation’s top petroleum-producing and gasoline consuming  states.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom Hits Back At Trump In New Fight Over Who Controls California Water

/in , , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Ryan Sabalow

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is taking unprecedented steps to combat President Donald Trump’s efforts to ship more water to his agricultural allies in the San Joaquin Valley. Saying Trump’s water plans are scientifically indefensible and would violate the state’s Endangered Species Act, the state Department of Water Resources on Friday began drawing up new regulations governing how water is pumped from the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta to the southern half of the state.

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A California Town Could Finally Get Clean Water If Its Neighbor Is Willing To Help

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Cresencio Rodriguez -Delgado

The 80 homes that make up Tooleville nestle against the mighty Friant-Kern Canal, thousands of gallons of fresh water flowing each day past the two-street town. But none of that water can help Tooleville’s decades-old problem of contaminated water, chronicled at the start of this decade in a three-part series by The Bee on the San Joaquin Valley water crisis. Nearby Exeter might, though, giving a rise of newfound hope. The last year has proven to be the most productive in the town’s battle.

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Expect To See A Helicopter Towing ‘Large hexagonal Frame’ Over Marina

/in , /by /The KSBW 8 (Salinas, Calif. )by Josh Copitch

Starting Tuesday, people in Marina might spot a low-flying helicopter towing a large hexagonal frame. The Marina Fire Department posted to Facebook saying that the helicopter will be mapping groundwater aquifers and subsurface geology in the area. The frame beneath the helicopter is designed to map geologic structures and groundwater resources down to approximately 900 feet below the land surface

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Policies Earn RMWD A $78K Rebate

/in , /by /Ramona Sentinel by Julie Gallant

Keeping workers’ compensation claims and other staffing liabilities under control earned the Ramona Municipal Water District a $78,330 rebate from the Association of California Water Agencies Joint Powers Insurance Authority, also known as the ACWA JPIA. RMWD Board President Jim Robinson accepted the rebate check on behalf of the district at the board’s April 9 meeting. The JPIA pools risks and premiums from water agencies in California in an effort to get them the best insurance rates for property, liability, workers’ compensation and employee benefits coverage. The JPIA is not an insurance agency or carrier, but a special district that enables water agencies to share the risks associated with purveying water.

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Nature Can Soften Impacts Of Rising Seas—If We Let It

/in , /by /Long Beach Postby Jason Ruiz

By the end of the century, rising seas will force Long Beach to find ways to protect homes and businesses—or see some of them swallowed by the sea. While seawalls, breakwaters and other barriers are already deployed up and down portions East Coast and West Coast, not all solutions are made of concrete and stone. Some say the future of protecting California’s coasts, and the developments behind them, will include more natural solutions like restoring wetlands and other habitats so they can help slow storm surges and combat other effects of sea level rise.

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Wastewater Facility Renamed In Santa Barbara Because Many Uses Come From Site

/in , /by /KEYT-TV (Santa Barbara) by John Palminteri

The wastewater in Santa Barbara is becoming one of the area’s most valuable resources. It is being converted into several different uses when most people think it goes down the drain and into the ocean. The city has just renamed its water treatment facility and it will now be called the El Estero Water Resource Center. “It will be used for more projects than ever before,” said Santa Barbara Water Resources Manager Joshua Haggmark.

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