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Vast Swath of US at Risk of Summer Blackouts, Regulator Warns

/in , /by /Bloombergby Naureen S Malik and David R Baker

A vast swath of North America from the Great Lakes to the West Coast is at risk of blackouts this summer as heat, drought, shuttered power plants and supply-chain woes strain the electric grid.

Power supplies in much of the US and part of Canada will be stretched, with demand growing again after two years of pandemic disruptions, according to an annual report. It’s among the most dire assessments yet from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, a regulatory body that oversees grid stability.

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Congressman Levin Introduces Bill to Fund Coastal Protection

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Deborah Sullivan Brennan

San Diego County lagoons and wetlands may get more funding for protection and restoration under the Resilient Coasts and Estuaries Act, introduced Tuesday by Reps. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano, and Brian Mast, R-Fla.

The bill would authorize $60 million per year through 2026 for the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program, which distributes money to preserve the “conservation, recreation, ecological, historical, and aesthetic values of estuaries,” Levin stated

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San Gabriel Valley Water Supplier Issuing Water Conservation Kits to Residents

/in , /by /ABC 7by Carlos Granda

Steve Bray lives in Monrovia and is already doing what he can to save water. He has installed Wi-Fi-connected sprinklers.

“It can be controlled by an app, but we can only water once a week so I totally turned off my sprinklers,” he said.

The Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District worries state’s historic drought will get worse.

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UN Floats Plan to Boost Renewables as Climate Worries Mount

/in , /by /AP Newsby Jamey Keaten

The United Nations chief on Wednesday launched a five-point plan to jump-start broader use of renewable energies, hoping to revive world attention on climate change as the U.N.’s weather agency said greenhouse gas concentrations, ocean heat, sea-level rise, and ocean acidification reached record highs last year.

“We must end fossil fuel pollution and accelerate the renewable energy transition before we incinerate our only home,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. “Time is running out.”

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San Diego Files Lawsuit Over Toxic PFAS Chemicals in Water

/in , /by /CBS 8by Jasmine Ramirez

The City of San Diego is suing more than 20 companies over decades-long water contamination from toxic chemical called PFAS.

The lawsuit claims manufacturers like 3M, DuPont, and Raytheon made firefighting foam that contained PFAS and alleges the companies concealed “knowledge about the grave environmental and human health dangers of these compounds.

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Sweetwater Authority Recognizes Student Photography Showcasing Water

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Twelve talented photographers from South Bay schools won honors for their work creatively showcasing the importance and beauty of water in the Sweetwater Authority annual High School Photo Contest. The winners were selected from 65 students who submitted more than 150 entries in two categories: black and white and color photography.

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California’s Drought, Relentless and Inexorable, Takes its Toll

/in , , /by /California Weeklyby Will Shuck

With the rainy season come and gone, drought’s withered hand remained firmly fixed on California this month, as it has been, with few exceptions, for the last decade.

Woes pile up. Rain didn’t save us, the snowpack is all but gone, the Coastal Commission says no desalinating sea water, and urban-interface fires have already begun.

It’s almost summer in the Golden State.

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Opinion: Did Wastewater Recycling Help Defeat the Huntington Beach Desalination Plant?

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Michael Smolens Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

For some time, California seemed well on its way toward a water future made more secure by desalination plants up and down the coast.  A dozen are currently in operation, including the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant, which upon opening in 2015 became the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.  Ten more plants are being planned.

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Gov. Newsom Pushes Need for Conservation During Visit to SoCal Water Recycling Facility

/in , , /by /ABC 7

Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging Californians to find ways to reduce their water use in an effort to combat the historic drought and said upcoming conservation mandates are a priority.

The governor visited a water recycling facility Tuesday afternoon in Carson.

It was originally built as a demonstration project to recycle household wastewater and replenish groundwater supplies.

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East County’s $950M Water Recycling Project Could be in Jeopardy as San Diego Nixes Pipeline Deal

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith

East County officials fear a $950 million sewage recycling project could get flushed down the drain because of a pipeline deal gone awry.

Leaders spearheading the endeavor blame San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria — who signed off on building an eight-mile “brine line” as recently as last year but has since reneged on that commitment.

The pipeline would prevent concentrated waste generated by the East County project’s reverse osmosis filtration system from entering into the city’s own $5 billion Pure Water sewage recycling project now under construction. Instead the byproduct would be routed into the city’s larger wastewater system.

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