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Could LA Water Recycling Be a Miracle for Parched West?

/in , , /by /E&E Newsby Jeremy P. Jacobs

With severe drought strangling the West, the country’s largest water provider has embarked on a multibillion-dollar project that could help them cope with increasingly frequent shortages exacerbated by climate change.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California wants to recycle Los Angeles’ wastewater, creating a new supply stream that would significantly reduce the city’s reliance on imported water from Northern California and the Colorado River.

It would mark a new paradigm in Western water infrastructure. Instead of the dam-building and constructing massive pipelines and aqueducts to connect far-flung rivers to cities, Metropolitan’s proposal focuses on producing “new” water locally. And it seeks to utilize what has historically been wasted; Los Angeles’ wastewater is currently treated and discharged into the Pacific Ocean.

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Major Energy Storage Project Proposed Near Lebec Along California Aqueduct

/in , , /by /Bakersfield.comby John Cox

California’s energy future keeps pointing to Kern.

The latest 10-figure energy storage proposal in the county is a damlike “pumped hydro” project connected to the California Aqueduct that would store and release 3,500 gigawatt-hours of power per year on or near Tejon Ranch.

There’s no money yet for it or a similar proposal the same Los Angeles County engineering and development group disclosed in December that would be located next to Isabella Lake.

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Column: You Do Know That, in Most Cases, Bottled Water Is Just Tap Water?

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby David Lazarus

Since the start of the pandemic, thirsty Americans have drowned their sorrow in bottled water. Even before the coronavirus blew into all our lives, bottled water was, and has been for years, the No. 1 beverage in the United States, surpassing soft drinks as the choice of increasingly health-conscious consumers. The COVID-19 pandemic only accelerated things.

According to a recent report from the International Bottled Water Assn., sales of bottled water exploded last year “as consumers stocked up in order to stay home amid the coronavirus crisis.”

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San Diego’s Water Recyclers and High Bill Payers Draw Pool Noodles

/in , , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The cost of getting water from the drought-stressed Colorado River is spiraling and parts of San Diego County with some of the highest bills and big water recycling projects on the horizon seem to be drawing pool noodles together.

That is, in any case, the rough sense that stuck out to me as I re-shuffled through my notes from last week’s story about huge, forecasted increases in the price of Colorado River water, which is controlled by San Diego County Water Authority.

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Borrow Tree Watering Tips from Mother Nature

/in , , /by /Water News Network

As drought continues to affect California, homeowners must balance two needs: preserving landscaping with irrigation while doing so as efficiently as possible to conserve water.

Even when not in a drought, trees planted in a Mediterranean climate often need additional water. For the most effective irrigation, mimic the way Mother Nature provides water.

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Ever Wonder Where Your Drinking Water Comes From? A Reader Asked and We Answer

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Rachel Schnalzer

Until the first half of the 20th century, some areas in Los Angeles County had very high groundwater and springs that residents could use as a water source, said Madelyn Glickfeld, co-director of the UCLA Water Resources Group.

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In Search of ‘Lithium Valley’: Why Energy Companies See Riches in the California Desert

/in , , /by /The Guardianby Aaron Miguel Cantú

Standing atop a pockmarked red mesa, Rod Colwell looks out at an expanse of water that resembles a thin blue strip on the horizon. The Salton Sea, California’s largest lake, has come and gone at least five times in the last 1,300 years, most recently in 1905, when floodwaters from the Colorado River refilled its basin.

A mid-century resort destination, the lake has since become an environmental disaster zone.

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A ‘Thirsty’ Atmosphere is Propelling Northern California’s Drought Into the Record Books

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Paul Duginski

Increasing evaporative demand is escalating summertime drought severity in California and the West, according to climate researchers.

Evaporative demand is essentially the atmosphere’s “thirst.” It is calculated based on temperature, humidity, wind speed and solar radiation. It’s the sum of evaporation and transpiration from plants, and it’s driven by warmer global temperatures, which can be attributed to climate change.

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Importing Water for Drought Fix Huge Project

/in , , /by /Arizona Capitol Timesby Obren Manjencich

Importing muddy water from the Mississippi River to save Arizona from drought could be as simple as landing a man on the moon.  

As droughts force local communities to find alternative solutions to water shortages, Arizonans could turn to importing flood water in the future.    

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Drought Forces West to Turn to Fossil Fuels That Helped Cause It

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Tripp Baltz

An unlikely energy sector is emerging as a winner from the West’s megadrought: fossil fuels, whose heavy use has been blamed for creating the conditions causing the drought in the first place.

The drought has slashed the electricity-generating capacity of major hydroelectric dams, forcing buyers to spend millions of dollars to buy extra power from an expensive sellers’ market.

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