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As California Begins Monitoring Microplastics in Water, Experts Brace for Health Impacts

/in , /by /San Francisco Examinerby Jessica Wolfram

Microplastics, or the small fragments of plastics and polymers from clothing, packaging and cosmetics, are now found virtually everywhere on Earth — from the highest peaks to the depths of the ocean.

At five millimeters long or less, these tiny specks are also cropping up in the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink. Microplastics have been detected in commercially farmed shellfish and, recently, in beef and pork, with little known about how much plastic we’re ingesting — or the impacts of this material on our health or the health of the planet.

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Water Use Cut in Half, Rancho California Water District Official Says

/in , , /by /Patchby City News Service

Riverside County water suppliers told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday that conservation efforts are aiding the region in weathering the current severe drought, but their future ability to meet demand will depend on new infrastructure and changes in consumption habits.

“As the watersheds dry up in the Southwest, we need to be concerned about some things,” Beaumont-Cherry Valley Water District Manager Dan Jaggers told the board during a presentation on the drought emergency. “As the drought continues, we will begin to have further restrictions. People need to know how serious this is.”

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Marina Coast Water District Plans to Restart Desalination Plant Dormant Since 2003

/in , , /by /KSWB by Josh Copitch

The Marina Coast Water District (MCWD) announced at a meeting of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors that it is going to restart its long-dormant desalination plant.

Remley Scherzinger, general manager for MCWD, told the supervisors that to augment their current water supply they’ll need to return to their already-built desal plant.

The desal facility was built in 1997 and was operated until 2003.

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Opinion: California’s Water Usage was Built on a Historic Lie. The Cost is Now Apparent

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Michael Hiltzik

It’s human nature to mark big-number anniversaries, but there’s a centennial looming just ahead that Californians — and other Westerners — might not want to celebrate.

It’s the 100th anniversary of the Colorado River Compact, a seven-state agreement that was signed Nov. 24, 1922.

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Rare September Rains Bring Respite to Drought-Stricken Inland California

/in , /by /Washington Postby Zach Rosenthal

Much-needed rainfall and thunderstorms are hitting central and northern parts of California, bringing relief to places that typically see little precipitation in September. An upper-level low-pressure system, an occurrence more likely in winter, is churning off the coast of Northern California. It follows unprecedented heat across much of California at the start of September, when a prolonged heat wave shattered thousands of records across the West.

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Western Reservoirs Could Run Dry in 3 Years, Top Official Warns

/in , , /by /E&E Newsby Jennifer Yachnin

A top Centennial State official warned Colorado River Basin states that the system’s federal reservoirs could effectively empty in a few short years barring aggressive reductions to water demands.

Colorado River Water Conservation District General Manager Andy Mueller painted a bleak future for the basin’s seven states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — on Friday, during his organization’s annual conference in Grand Junction, Colo., on the river’s future.

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UCSB Scientists See the End of ‘Normal’ Climate

/in , , /by /Santa Barbara Independentby Kit Stolz

In August, Governor Gavin Newsom and officials from the Department of Water Resources released a new Water Supply Strategy, saying that because of California’s “hotter, drier climate,” the state needed to find at least 10 percent more water to supply its farms, cities, and industry by 2040.

“We are experiencing extreme, sustained drought conditions in California and across the American West caused by hotter, drier weather,” states the plan. “Our warming climate means that a greater share of the rain and snowfall we receive will be absorbed by dry soils, consumed by thirsty plants, and evaporated into the air.”

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Temporary Watering Ban Lifted in Los Angeles County as Pipeline Repair Completed Early

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

Southern California water officials on Monday lifted a temporary ban on outdoor watering in portions of Los Angeles County after completing emergency repairs on a critical pipeline two days early.

The 36-mile Upper Feeder pipeline, operated by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, is a major conduit for supplying water to the region from the Colorado River. Officials shut it down Sept. 6 so they could address a leak, and called on nearly 4 million residents to halt all outdoor irrigation — including sprinkling and hand watering — for 15 days while they did the work.

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City Finds More Issues at 104-Year-Old Hodges Dam, Repair Timeline Pushed Back to 2023

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Elizabeth Ireland Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

While repairing parts of Hodges Reservoir Dam, city workers found additional defects that need to be addressed, likely delaying the completion of repairs by several months, the city announced Monday.

During a prior inspection, city workers identified areas in the dam wall that required repair and needed to be sealed. To access areas on the dam for repair, the water level of the reservoir was lowered 18 feet to an elevation of 275 feet by transferring water to other reservoirs and treatment plants, officials said.

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City Council Considers Raising Price of Water in San Diego

/in , /by /KUSI TVby KUSI Newsroom

In the coming year San Diegans may be made to pay up to 3% more for running water. Tuesday, Sept. 20 San Diego City Council voted on whether or not to move forward with rate increases.

A rate hike could be the second time in the last two years the price for water could go up.

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