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Drought-Stricken Western Ventura County May Need More Than Planned $45M Pipeline As A Fix

/in , /by /Ventura County Starby Cheri Carlson

Heading into an eighth year of drought, Ventura County water agencies teamed up to try to import water into Ventura. But a fix — a proposed seven-mile pipeline from Camarillo to Ventura — will still leave gaps in water supplies. “I think it’s very important that this area begin to look at its next step for sustainable water supply,” said Steve Wickstrum, general manager of Casitas Municipal Water District, which supplies drinking water to much of the Ojai Valley and parts of Ventura.

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Los Angeles Wants To Use The Hoover Dam As A Giant Battery. The Hurdles Could Be More Historical Than Technical

/in , /by /The Conversationby Anthony F. Arrigo

Los Angeles is looking into whether it should spend an estimated US$3 billion on a massive, 20-mile underground pumped hydropower storage system that would be connected to the iconic Hoover Dam on the Colorado River outside of Las Vegas. If it does get built, this system would essentially serve as a giant battery to store power. Having written a book about the aggressive propaganda program behind the Hoover Dam’s construction in the 1920s and 1930s, I can say that the technical and financial challenges of this plan are sure to pale in comparison to the legal and political roadblocks that will have to be overcome.

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Water Department Has Backlog Of Repairs Needed

/in , /by /NBC 7 (San Diego)by Dorian Hargrove, Consumer Bob and Tom Jones

New issues continue to surface from inside San Diego’s Water Department. The latest: a backlog of broken water meter boxes citywide. NBC 7 Responds has learned that the water department needs to repair or replace 21,605 boxes holding water meters across the city. The city confirmed this number to NBC 7 Responds days before the City Auditor is expected to release its own audit looking into the backlog.

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OPINION: California’s Energy Future: Are We Ready For 100?

/in , /by /Capitol Weekly (Sacramento)by Patrick Hayes

Imagine a California powered solely by renewable energy – it may be within reach as the California Legislature considers Senate Bill 100, which would put the state on the path towards 100% fossil-fuel free electricity by 2045. On Tuesday, the bill passed the state Assembly, and it now heads to the state Senate for a final vote before reaching Gov. Brown’s desk by the end of the week. The likely passage of SB 100 has sparked a statewide debate around one question: Are we ready for 100?

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In Rare Move, Federal Judge Presiding Over Tijuana Sewage Lawsuit Tours Border

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith

Federal court judge Jeffrey T. Miller toured the Tijuana River Valley for several hours on Tuesday to observe pumps and canyon collectors along the border intended to prevent sewage from spilling into San Diego. The unusual move comes as the result of a contentious legal battle in which Miller must decide whether the Trump administration is doing enough to stop sewage that routinely pours into the United States from Mexico.

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California Assembly Advances 100% Clean Energy Bill

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Liam Dillon

California would set some of the nation’s strongest clean energy goals under legislation that cleared a key vote in the Assembly on Tuesday, bringing the state a step closer to ending its reliance on fossil fuels by phasing out their use to generate electricity. The bill, which would require California to obtain 100% of its power from clean sources by 2045, has been debated by lawmakers for nearly two years as it faced cost and feasibility concerns. This week, high-profile state and national politicians gave the cause a push by arguing the plan would strengthen California’s leadership on the environment.

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California Committee OKs Bill On Desert Water-Pumping Plan

/in , /by /The Associated Press by Kathleen Ronayne

A last-minute effort to require more state oversight of a company’s plan to pump water from underneath the Mojave Desert passed a key committee Tuesday, advancing in the final days of the legislative session. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Gov. Jerry Brown and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is running for governor, all urged lawmakers to pass it. At issue is a proposal by the Los Angeles-based Cadiz Inc. to pump water from its wells below the Mojave Desert, transfer it through a 43-mile pipeline to the Colorado River Aqueduct and distribute it to customers in Southern California.

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This NASA Image Shows How California’s Wildfires Are Affecting The Atmosphere

/in , /by /CNBCby Catherine Clifford

As wildfires continue to burn in California, NASA has released a visualization that illustrates one of the ways in which the fires are affecting the atmosphere. NASA’s Earth Observatory, the arm of the space agency that shares with the public images of the Earth and its climate, created the map (embedded above, and below with captions) which shows aerosols in the atmosphere. Aerosols are the solid particles and liquid droplets in the air. “If you have ever watched smoke billowing from a wildfire, ash erupting from a volcano, or dust blowing in the wind, you have seen aerosols,” says a blog post accompanying the image.

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OPINION: State Lawmakers May Ask Us To ‘Donate’ A Monthly Fee To Fund Clean Drinking Water. Bad Idea

/in , /by /The Tribune (San Luis Obispo)

Everyone in California — and everywhere else, for that matter — deserves clean drinking water. But relying on charity to upgrade failing water systems in low-income California communities is not the way to meet a basic human need. Yet that’s essentially what state Sen. Bill Monning is proposing in SB 845. The bill would require water purveyors throughout the state to offer their customers the “opportunity” to pay a monthly fee of 95 cents per household.

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In Rare Move, Federal Judge Presiding Over Tijuana Sewage Lawsuit Tours Border

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith

Federal court judge Jeffrey T. Miller toured the Tijuana River Valley for several hours on Tuesday to observe pumps and canyon collectors along the border intended to prevent sewage from spilling into San Diego. The unusual move comes as the result of a contentious legal battle in which Miller must decide whether the Trump administration is doing enough to stop sewage that routinely pours into the United States from Mexico. The cities of Imperial Beach and Chula Vista, as well as the Port of San Diego, sued the federal government in March, alleging violations of the Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

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