San Diego’s water world is very happening right now. As our Scott Lewis reported, San Diego County Water Authority is facing an existential crisis. The high cost of water has one of the water supplier’s most powerful members — the city of San Diego — has leaders who are wondering if it’s time to do something drastic to the Water Authority.
House Republicans passed a measure Thursday that would repeal the government’s decision to place California’s longfin smelt, a finger-sized fish, on the endangered species list. House members passed the resolution, introduced by California Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale), in a 216-195 vote that followed party lines. The resolution now goes to the Republican-controlled Senate.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Senator Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona) today introduced the Water Cybersecurity Enhancement Act, bipartisan legislation to help public water systems protect against and respond to cyberattacks, which have become increasingly frequent in recent years.
Rapid melts across the U.S. West have caused snowpack to disappear up to four weeks early in some areas — wreaking potential havoc on the region’s water supply, federal meteorologists warned Thursday. These conditions have particularly affected parts of Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, causing some basins to shift from above-average snowpack to “snow drought,” according to an update from the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS).
San Diego residents and business owners may need to start making more adjustments, as their next water bills will be soon be more expensive. Starting Thursday, a 5.5% water rate increase goes into effect in the city of San Diego. The city council approved the hike back in March.
Nearly one in five gallons—19.5%—of treated drinking water in the U.S. is lost before it reaches customers or is improperly billed. This growing challenge, commonly known as non-revenue water (NRW), results in more than US$6.4 billion in uncaptured revenues annually for utilities, according to a new report from Bluefield Research, a leading global water market data and insights provider.
The Carlsbad City Council approved a plan last week to increase water, sewer, and recycled water rates by 49% during the next three years following recent cost-of-service studies. The council voted 4-1 to implement the new rate structure starting on July 1 with a 20% increase. Council member Melanie Burkholder cast the sole vote against the proposal.
Southern California cities can expect to receive 50% of their full water allotments this year from the aqueducts of the State Water Project, up from 40% last month, as runoff from this year’s ample snowpack continues to fill reservoirs in Northern California. “Our full reservoirs will allow us to help meet the needs of the State Water Project contractors and their customers this year as well as provide some water supply next year in the event that dry conditions return,” Karla Nemeth, director of the state Department of Water Resources, said in a statement Tuesday.
Florida is poised to become the second state to ban fluoride in public drinking water, over the concerns of dentists and public health advocates who say the mineral is a safe, effective way to protect people of all ages from developing cavities. Florida lawmakers gave final approval to the bill Tuesday after Utah became the first state to pass a ban last month. The Republican-led states are following a push led by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is setting the gears of government in motion to stop fluoridating water.
In pain so bad he couldn’t stand, Chris Meek was rushed to the hospital with a life-threatening ruptured gallbladder. When he emerged from surgery, he learned he had kidney cancer that thankfully hadn’t yet spread.
Meek, a social studies teacher in Wilmington, North Carolina, was 47 at the time. But he remained confused for years about why, as someone seemingly not at risk, he had gotten cancer until Emily Donovan, a parent of students at his school, gave a guest talk about high levels of harmful forever chemicals known as PFAS in North Carolina’s environment. When Donovan mentioned kidney cancer, the possible cause of Meek’s diagnosis finally clicked.
