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California Gears Up for a New Composting Law to Cut Methane Emissions and Enrich Soil

/in , , /by /Inside Climate Newsby Grace van Deelen

California’s jurisdictions have begun reducing organic wastes under a new composting law that takes effect in 2025, changing the landscape of waste management and making compost more accessible to farmers and cities alike.

Senate Bill 1383, passed in 2016 to curtail emissions of methane and other “super pollutants,” requires local governments in California to reduce the amount of green waste (food scraps and yard trimmings) sent to the landfill by 75 percent before 2025.

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Toxic Blue-Green Algae That Can Kill Dogs Spotted in California. How to Identify and Avoid It

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Hanh Truong

With temperatures heating up, it might be tempting to take a dip in the river or let your dog dehydrate at the shore after a walk, but you might want to think twice.

Toxic blue-green algae, known for causing negative health effects in people and animals who’ve been exposed to it, has bloomed in central California at the San Luis Reservoir in Merced County, according to a release from Department of Water Resources on May 31.

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Access to Silver Strand Shoreline’s Water Closed Due to Sewage Contamination

/in , /by /NBC 7 San Diego

A water contact closure in Imperial Beach has been extended north to the Silver Strand shoreline, county environmental health officials said Monday.

The existing water contact closure area includes the Tijuana Slough and Imperial Beach shorelines, but has been extended to Silver Strand after testing confirmed water quality in that area does not meet state health standards.

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How San Diego Secured its Water Supply, at a Cost

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Suman Naishadham Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

As a worsening drought forces millions of Californians to face mandatory water restrictions, one corner of Southern California has largely shielded itself from supply-related woes: San Diego County.

For Western water planners, the path it took to get there serves either as a blueprint or a cautionary tale.

Over the past three decades, San Diego County diversified its water supply, ramped up conservation and invested in big-ticket water infrastructure including the Western hemisphere’s largest desalination plant, which removes salt and impurities from ocean water. As a result, the water agency that serves 24 water utilities including the city of San Diego says it can avoid cuts until at least 2045, even during dry periods.

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Plan For Success: Create A Plot Plan

/in , , /by /Water News Network Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Any WaterSmart landscape makeover starts with observing and recording your property as it exists today. Think of it as a bird’s eye view or satellite map showing your property’s boundaries and physical features. This becomes the basis of all your planning. You need a few basic tools to draw your own plot plan.

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Choosing the Right Plants and Irrigation Are Crucial to a Water-Saving Landscape

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

Before starting your water-saving landscape makeover, there are significant decisions to make, including plant and irrigation choices. First, determine what type of landscape will meet your needs and maximize your water-saving potential.

Eliminating turf is the main target for saving water. Grass requires more water to keep it green than most other plants. In fact, turf needs four times the amount of rain our region gets annually.

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Helix Water District 2022 Student Poster Contest Winners Highlight ‘Water is Life’

/in , , /by /Water News Network

The Helix Water District Board of Directors honored East County student artists for their winning “Water Is Life” posters in an online awards ceremony during its May 2022 board meeting.

Southern California students in kindergarten through eighth grade are invited to participate in their regional water agency’s Student Poster Art Contest to increase awareness about water conservation.

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Former Southern Nevada Water Authority Chief ‘Very Worried’ About Lake Mead Level

/in , , /by /KNPRby Christopher Alvarez and Kristen DeSilva

Lake Mead, the lifeblood of the West, is at an all-time low.

And just this week, officials said it will fall by one-third of its current level by the end of 2023.

Inch by inch, the lake is falling. We’re seeing incredible images of sunken boats now visible.

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Wastewater Recycling Made Sewage Valuable. Now East County and San Diego Are Fighting Over It.

/in , /by /Voice of San Diego by MacKenzie Elmer

The city of San Diego pursued its massive wastewater-to-drinking water recycling program, in part, because the federal government said it had to. Millions of gallons of undertreated sewage enters the Pacific Ocean through the city’s aging Point Loma treatment plant on the regular; Pure Water is the region’s first step toward a solution.

But now, a bloc of eastern San Diego County water agencies is building their own recycling project because, they say, the cost of buying imported water from the drought-ravaged Colorado River is unsustainable.

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Does California Have Enough Water for Lots of New Homes? Yes, Experts Say, Despite Drought

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Liam Dillon

To some, it defies common sense. California is once again in the middle of a punishing drought with state leaders telling people to take shorter showers and do fewer loads of laundry to conserve water. Yet at the same time, many of the same elected officials, pledging to solve the housing crisis, are pushing for the construction of millions of new homes.

“It’s the first question I’d always get,” said Jeffrey Kightlinger, who until last year ran the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the agency that delivers the water ultimately used by half the state’s population.

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