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Opinion: 3 Critical Lessons California Offers to Improve Restoration of Land On a Global Scale

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Julie Rentner and Manuel Oliva

2021 presents opportunities for decisive and positive action, including the launch of the United Nations’ Decade on Ecosystem Restoration which reinforces the importance of healing degraded ecosystems around the world before it’s too late.  It gives us great hope to know that California is committed to leadership through investment and sharing lessons learned from decades of experience. Our diverse ecosystems, abundant natural resources and a mild climate have helped attract millions of residents and developed California’s world-class economy.

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Sunlight Powers Portable, Inexpensive Systems to Produce Drinking Water

/in , , /by /Scientific Americanby Prachi Patel

In an increasingly hot and crowded world, clean water is becoming a precious commodity. Two thirds of the global population will have problems accessing fresh water by 2025, and removing salt and contaminants from the oceans and groundwater is one way to slake humanity’s thirst. Today’s large desalination plants, though, cost millions of dollars to build. Most use reverse osmosis, which forces seawater through salt-blocking membranes.

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Ramona Water District Digs Into Roads for Pipe Repairs After County Has Paved Them

/in , , /by /Ramona Sentinelby Julie Gallant

A labyrinth of aging water pipes is putting the Ramona Municipal Water District on the hook for the costs of repairing water leaks and conducting emergency repairs on water mains, which are among the district’s primary responsibilities, but also for costs related to repaving roads after the pipe work is completed.

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Valley Groundwater May Get (Small) Slice of State’s $15 Billion Surplus

/in , , /by /SJV Waterby Lois Henry

The Governor’s proposal for how to spend California’s $15 billion surplus includes $60 million in direct grants to help replenish groundwater in the valley’s most depleted basins.

The measure specifies the money is to be used in “critically over-drafted basins,” which lie mostly in the San Joaquin Valley.

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Helix Water District Reduces Plant Upgrade Costs

/in , , /by /Water News Network

When the Helix Water District received contractor estimates as high as $3.5 million to upgrade the R.M. Levy Water Treatment Plant’s ozone power supply units and generators, it decided to perform the upgrade in-house.

With Suez Water Technologies provided engineering and equipment, Helix employees incorporated new technology and innovative installation practices. The proof of concept pilot project proved the feasibility of the new approach, and a full retrofit is now planned. The estimated upgrade costs to complete the full project is $1.1 million – an approximately 70% cost savings. The upgrade will extend the life of the power supply units and generators at least 15 years.

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Valve Opening Sends Billions of Gallons of Water From Loveland to Sweetwater Reservoir

/in , , /by /NBC 7 San Diegoby Joe Little

A valve at the base of the Loveland Dam near Alpine was opened Monday, allowing billions of gallons of water to thunder down the valley toward Sweetwater Reservoir in Spring Valley. “It’s a spectacle that is hard to forget,” said Hector Martinez, Chairman of the Sweetwater Authority “Very powerful! I almost feel the ground shaking when the water is being released.” The gushing valve is a sight to behold, and thanks to the massive transfer, South Bay water customers might be looking at their water bills with similar amazement.

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Drought-Stricken Colorado River Basin Could See Additional 20% Drop in Water Flow by 2050

/in , , /by /Yale Climate Connectionsby Jan Ellen Spiegel

Colorado is no stranger to drought. The current one is closing in on 20 years, and a rainy or snowy season here and there won’t change the trajectory. This is what climate change has brought. “Aridification” is what Bradley Udall formally calls the situation in the western U.S. But perhaps more accurately, he calls it hot drought – heat-induced lack of water due to climate change. That was the core of research released in 2017 by Udall, a senior climate and water scientist at Colorado State University’s Colorado Water Center, and Jonathan Overpeck at the University of Michigan.

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The Diminishing California ‘Fossil Water’

/in , , /by /Nature World Newsby Austine Rain

A recent study about fossil water from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory suggests that drinking wells that pump fossil water can’t rely on the source being naturally replenished. Situations may even worsen during drought seasons. These might be signs of the diminishing fossil waters in California.

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Climate Change Causing One-Third of Flood Damage in United States, Stanford Study Finds

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

Increasingly strong storms are responsible for more than a third of the nation’s flood costs, swelling the tab by billions of dollars a year as climate change continues to fuel more extreme weather, according to new research at Stanford University.

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Water Use in the West Can Hurt…or Help…the Energy Sector, Report Says

/in , , /by /PV Magazineby David Wagman

A team of researchers have developed a framework to evaluate complex connections between water and energy, and options for adaptations in response to an evolving climate.

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