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Planned Calif. Desalination Plant Faces Final Permit

/in , , /by /WaterWorld

Poseidon Water has announced its application for a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) for the construction of the proposed Huntington Beach Desalination Facility will soon be considered.

The facility is in the final phase of its permitting process and the CDP is the last major discretionary permit needed to build the long-awaited seawater desalination plant. The permit will be considered by California Coastal Commission staff during its upcoming March hearing.

“Poseidon Water appreciates the thoughtful considering of our Coastal Development Permit application by Commission staff,” said Jessica Jones, Poseidon’s director of communications. “We have a lengthy 15-year history of working cooperatively with the Coastal Commission on the permitting of the proposed Facility. As California continues to grapple with climate change-induced drought we remain committed to building on the success of our Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination facility.”

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The Colorado River Basin’s Water Forecast Looked Good in January. Now Everything Has Changed.

/in , , /by /The Colorado Sunby Chris Outcalt

The past 30 days have at least temporarily erased hopes of above-average spring runoff in the Colorado River Basin, according to the February report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Colorado Basin River Forecast Center.

“Very little precipitation during the last three weeks of January, especially across southern Utah and southwest Colorado,” Cody Moser, a hydrologist with the NOAA forecast center, said Monday during a web briefing to review the agency’s latest monthly water-supply report.

The National Resources Conservation Service maintains snow telemetry (SNOTEL) sites across the Colorado River Basin, which automatically report snow depth and quality. Beginning in December, NOAA produces regular reports based on the SNOTEL data, detailing how that snow might translate into streamflow come spring.

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TID Lands $20 Million Grant to See if Placing Solar Panels Atop Canals Makes Sense

/in , /by /The Modesto Beeby John Holland

The Turlock Irrigation District plans to use a $20 million state grant to demonstrate solar panels atop canals.

TID would be the first water agency in the nation to try such a thing if its board votes Tuesday to accept the money.

The panels would feed electricity into transmission lines already along the canals, helping TID boost the renewable sources for its 103,000 or so power customers. The devices also would shade the water, possibly reducing evaporation losses for farmers.

The pilot project grew out of a study last year at the Merced and Santa Cruz campuses of the University of California. Researchers said installing canal panels throughout the Central Valley could get the state halfway to its goal for climate-safe power.

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Hydropower Turbine Proposal Would Cut Power Costs for Three NorCal Cities

/in , /by /CBS Sacramentoby Laura Haefeli

Three cities in Northern California may see a change in their energy bill if a proposal to buy power from a renewable energy company is approved.

“The prices have moved up here over the years,” said Grace Henderson.

Henderson has lived in Manteca for 25 years and says the place has only gotten pricier.

“Inflation is an issue right now, so all the prices are higher when you go to the gas station and the grocery store so that’s a major issue,” she said.

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Water Authority Greenhouse Gas Emission Tracking Is Climate Leadership Case Study

/in , , /by Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The Water Utility Climate Alliance has added the Water Authority’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to its mitigation case studies library. The case studies provide valuable information and inspiration for greenhouse gas mitigation or sewage thermal energy use projects from concept to implementation for water utilities across the U.S.

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California’s 2022 Water Year – Both Wet and Dry

/in , , /by /California WaterBlogby Jay Lund

After two years of solid drought, and four months into California’s “wet” season, we don’t know if this year will be wet or dry.  This is normal for California.  But this year’s monthly precipitation “whiplash” is unusual.

For northern California, October was the 2nd wettest October in 102 years of record (400% of average October from one 2-day storm!).  November was the 31st driest November (50% of average). December was the 23rd wettest December (160% of average), and January was the 7th driest January on record (16% of average).

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California Desperately Needs Rain. What Are the Chances of a ‘Miracle’ in March?

/in , , /by /SF GATEby Amy Graff

The start of the wet season was promising in California, with a record-breaking atmospheric river in October and an onslaught of storms in December, but the weather forecast has remained persistently dry since the start of the year — with no hope for rain in the immediate future.

The lack of rain during what is usually the wettest time of the year is problematic in a drought-plagued state that needs to replenish its water supply and dampen a wildfire-prone landscape. The last hope that remains for winter is a surge of precipitation in late February and in March. What are the chances of that even happening?

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A Record Dry January in Some Spots, With No Precipitation Currently on Horizon for First Half of February

/in , , /by /Weather Westby Daniel Swain

Well, I don’t need to tell most folks twice: January 2022 was an exceptionally dry month across most of California and Nevada. Some spots saw a bit of rain and snow during the first couple days of the month, but others saw nothing at all; the last 25 days of the month brought essentially zero precipitation to the entire region. As a result, January 2022 will go down in the record books as the driest January on record (since at least 1895) for most of the San Joaquin Valley, the Central and Southern Sierra, and pockets of the Sacramento Valley and western Nevada.

Due to the clear and dry conditions, temperatures were (on average) warmer than usual for January, but with a wide diurnal spread: overnight minimum temperatures were actually slightly *colder* than usual, but daytime high temperatures were significantly above average (and, thus, won out on in the monthly average).

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Local Water District Awarded $4.5 Million in Funding for Desalination Program

/in , , /by /KVCR Newsby Jonathan Linden

In late January, the EMWD (Eastern Municipal Water District) was awarded nearly $4.5 million by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The funds will go towards the water district’s desalination infrastructure. Kevin Pearson is a spokesperson with the EMWD. “EMWD has a portion of its service area that has a salty groundwater basin, it’s naturally occurring, it has a higher salt contents than drinking water standards,” said Pearson.

Pearson says the water district uses reverse osmosis to purify the water and also discussed the award’s significance. The funds will go towards a study on future well sites and improvements to pipeline access.

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Riverside County, State Officials Unveil $19.25M Marina Project on North End of Salton Sea

/in , , /by /Palm Springs Desert Sunby Christopher Damien

State Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella, Riverside County Supervisor V. Manuel Perez and other local leaders revealed a plan Saturday for a recreation and restoration project at the Salton Sea using $19.25 million in state funds.

The Salton Sea North Lake Pilot Demonstration Project is slated to be an approximately 156-acre marina that will be located near the current North Shore Beach and Yacht Club Community Center in the community of North Shore.

“The North Lake Pilot Demonstration Project is an important habitat and dust suppression project and a major investment in state funding to revitalize the northern end of the Salton Sea as well as the community of North Shore,” Perez said in a statement.

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