UCR Assistant Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering Haizhou Liu was recently awarded a competitive National Science Foundation grant this past summer to study and improve the current approach used to purify water for reuse. Through the utilization and study of compounds known as chloramines, Liu hopes to optimize the current model of water purification and lessen the constraints on California’s current water supply.
As California recovers from the drought, it is troubling that there is a push by certain interest groups to establish permanent water conservation regulations beyond this emergency. It seems like these groups are focused more on their ideologies or political agendas than on the real impacts that such a permanent state of emergency will have on other people’s lives and livelihoods. Obviously, a one-size-fits-all blanket-approach solution in California does not work.
The remnants of a soaking weekend storm moved across the Sierra Nevada early Monday, dusting roads with white powder and forcing commuters to put on tire chains.Snow was seen for the first time this season at a National Weather Service observation station in Kingvale, located at 6,200 feet. But the powder was so light that it was not measurable, according to Travis Wilson, a weather service meteorologist in Sacramento. At Mount Rose Ski Resort outside Reno, the storm dumped 7-18 inches of fresh snow.
Think of the Delta floodplain as a giant bathtub. Now imagine you’ve got a plug that you can insert or take out at will, allowing you to control the amount of water that fills up the plain, creating ideal conditions to grow the aquatic plant life that supports salmon and other fish species. Finally, imagine that you can do all this without causing any harm to Central Valley farmers. Such is the vision of a reconstructed floodplain according to ecologist and fisheries expert Jacob Katz.
Despite last weekend’s rainstorms, California is still faced with a serious drought. So it’s perhaps not surprising that state regulators are talking about ways to return to state-mandated conservation targets and preparing for even stricter measures. Regulators are planning to roll out California’s first-ever water budgets — budgets for each district’s allowable supply. The long-range requirements will require permanent adjustments to new water efficiency measures — and a shift in the way each Californian lives.
Another weak cold front moved through Southern California on Monday morning, bringing the first rain of the season to a large swath of the state. Drivers were met with light rain and slick roads that jammed traffic in parts of Los Angeles and caused multiple crashes. A collision on the 710 Freeway caused a major closure near Atlantic Boulevard in Vernon. The crash occurred around 2:30 a.m. and was cleared just before 4 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. Another crash on the eastbound 91 Freeway in Long Beach left all lanes closed around 2 a.m., the CHP said.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) offered turf rebates like many other water suppliers, but it ended up funding one company that, according to many observers, left only gravel wastelands in its wake. The turf removal company known as Turf Terminators has been surrounded with controversy for some time, with a groundswell of area residents disapproving of their methods and others accusing the company of bribing the Los Angeles mayor. The company originally started as an environmentally focused investment startup called Carbon Venture Partners.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is mounting a major PR campaign in San Diego County – including an Oct.3 commentary in the SDBJ – based on its assertion that “we need California WaterFix” to ensure a reliable water supply for Southern California. This advocacy effort is being conducted by MWD staff and consultants even though MWD’s Board of Directors has not voted on whether to support the WaterFix, a proposal by the state to address challenges in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta at the cost of at least $ 17 billion.
An article “State eyes new water rules as users cut back less” (Oct. 16) reports new rules are being considered as voluntary conservation isn’t working. What does the state expect when it relaxed rules on conservation in June? The time to conserve is when you have something to conserve.
Flint, Mich., is not the only place in the U.S. facing a devastating, preventable public health disaster. In January 2018, water that had been flowing into the Salton Sea will be diverted from the Imperial Valley and sent to urban water districts. As a result, the Salton Sea will shrink rapidly, leaving behind vast areas of dry lake bed. These exposed beaches will be a source of highly toxic, wind-blown dust affecting the health of hundreds of thousands of Californians living in the Coachella and Imperial valleys.
