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Another Danger From Overpumping Groundwater: Arsenic

/in , /by /KQED (San Francisco)by Amel Ahmed

Sinking land caused by intensive groundwater pumping in the San Joaquin Valley is releasing trapped arsenic — a known carcinogen — into aquifers that supply irrigation and drinking water for a million people, according to a new study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications. Arsenic, a naturally occurring chemical in the Earth’s crust, is undetectable by the human senses and has been linked to a host of diseases including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Researchers at Stanford University say residents should be concerned about arsenic levels in their water supply.

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Californians Approve Bond Measure That Will Provide $200 Million For Salton Sea

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Ian James

Californians approved the $4.1 billion bond measure Proposition 68 on Tuesday, giving a boost to California’s long-delayed and underfunded effort to build thousands of acres of wetlands around the shrinking Salton Sea.  A total of $200 million for Salton Sea projects is rolled into the statewide ballot measure, which will also provide money for a variety of water projects, state and local parks, and wildlife conservation programs.

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Why Emergency Drought Assistance Will Be Needed In California For Years

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Tess Townsend

Gov. Jerry Brown declared the end of California’s five-year drought in April 2017 after a wet winter replenished shrinking reservoirs. But the lingering impact of the drought, especially on groundwater supplies, means some still rely on emergency water tanks while they wait for long-term solutions. This is particularly true in the San Joaquin Valley, where more than 300 domestic well users whose taps have run dry continue to use tanks provided by the state through a program originally slated to end in June.

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OPINION: This Is California. We Should Be Able To Drink The Water. Lawmakers, Fix This Disgrace

/in , /by /The Fresno Bee

In the world’s fifth-largest economy, in the richest state in the richest nation, some 360,000 Californians have water that is unsafe to drink. That’s the equivalent of about three and a half Flint, Michigans, and it’s an outrage. Worse, it’s a fixable outrage, and the fix is being blocked by vested interests. This stalemate has gone on for more than a year now at the state Capitol while vulnerable families, many of them in the Central Valley, have lived as if this is a Third World country. Enough is enough. Let’s deal with this.

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OPINION: Taxing Your Drinking Water Is No Solution

/in , /by /The Daily Journal (San Mateo)by Dave Warden

As a local water agency, the Mid-Peninsula Water District (MPWD) is committed to delivering safe and reliable water to our customers. We are among the vast majority of Californians with access to safe drinking water. Unfortunately, some in the state, who live in small, rural, disadvantaged communities, do not have access to safe drinking water. While we support the goal of ensuring safe drinking water for all Californians, the latest proposal to impose new state taxes on our drinking water is the wrong solution to a problem that we agree must be solved.

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SDG&E To Add Five New Battery Storage Facilities

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Rob Nikolewski

In California’s quest to blend more renewable energy sources into the power grid, energy storage has repeatedly become one of the answers the state’s policymakers have turned to. Late last week, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved a proposal from San Diego Gas & Electric to build five new energy storage projects, each using lithium-ion battery technology, at facilities in San Diego, Poway, Escondido, Fallbrook and San Juan Capistrano. The projects will total 83.5 megawatts — enough to power about 55,000 homes for four hours.

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An Erratic Water Supply Strains ‘Old Country’ Crops, Friendships Cultivated Over Decades On A Patch Of Soil In San Pedro

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Joe Mozingo

The old Italian men pass their mornings near the top of the hill, tending thick grapevines and rows of fava beans, smoking crumbling Toscano cigars, staying out of the house. If you try to call Francesco “Frank” Mitrano at home, his wife will brusquely tell you that he’s at “the farm.” The farm is a patch of soil by the 110 Freeway, where he harvests enough tomatoes from his crop to make spaghetti sauce for his family’s weekly Sunday dinner. “Twenty-one people,” he exclaims.

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Desal Project Touts No ‘Significant’ Impacts

/in , /by /Laguna Beach Independentby Allison Jarrell

Plans for an ocean desalination plant in Dana Point are moving forward with the recent release of a draft Environmental Impact Report and an upcoming public meeting to review the report’s findings, which state that if built, the project will not have any “unavoidable significant environmental impacts.” South Coast Water District, which provides water to several south-county cities and some Laguna Beach residents, released the draft report for the Doheny Ocean Desalination Project on May 23, which begins a 60-day public review period. The analysis evaluates the possible environmental impacts of producing desalinated drinking water.

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OPINION: Brown May Leave With Two Big Projects On The Bubble

/in , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Dan Walters Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

During Jerry Brown’s first stint as governor four decades ago, he was openly disdainful of big public works projects, often citing British economist E.F. Schumacher’s 1973 book, “Small is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered.” Brown’s attitude manifested itself in a virtual halt to highway construction, which led to constant bickering with his fellow Democrats in the Legislature who wanted projects in their districts.

 

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OPINION: Finding The Right Water Fixes For Orange County

/in , /by /The Orange County Registerby Paul A. Cook

A recent column in these pages accurately described how climate fluctuations every few years can affect water supply in Southern California. And yes, supply variations must be addressed by water resource agencies. A solution being considered by the Orange County Water District, purchasing desalinated seawater from Poseidon Resources, would create a continuous supply of new water — even in the years when we don’t need it. Since we know that the problem is the variability of our water supply, why commit to a $1 billion alternative that does not address the problem of water supply variability?

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