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OPINION: A New Rule Requires Lead Pipes to be Gone Within a Decade. It Won’t be Easy

/in , /by /The Washington Post

It is almost impossible to be against a rule announced by the Environmental Protection Agency this month requiring utilities to replace all lead pipes within a decade. After all, who opposes the swift removal of a deadly toxin from drinking water? But there’s a tricky road ahead, and it’s an expensive one to travel.

The 9 million or so service lines across the United States pumping poison through our homes and into our bodies cause all manner of maladies, such as high blood pressure, kidney malfunction, cognitive disability and hyperactivity. The EPA estimates that, in a country without lead pipes, 1,500 fewer people every year would die early of heart disease and about 900,000 fewer infants would suffer from low birth weight. The shift could even prevent 200,000 lost IQ points in children annually.

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Escondido Unveils California’s First Agricultural-Only Water Reuse Facility

/in , /by /Smart Water Magazine

With the recently completed AgX MFRO, the new $64M two-million-gallon-per-day facility membrane filtration (MF) and reverse osmosis (RO) water reuse treatment plant, the City of Escondido has achieved an important milestone in its goal of creating a high-quality alternative to potable water for local agriculture growers.

With this facility beginning operations, the City and its partners the Filanc Brown and Caldwell (FBC) Joint Venture, held a dedication ceremony on August 28, 2024. Among the more than 100 attendees were Director of Utilities Angela Morrow, Mayor Dane White, City Manager Sean McGlynn, Deputy City Manager Chris McKinney, and other city representatives along with State Water Resources Control Board representatives, and key members of the FBC team and agriculture community. The ceremony concluded with a ribbon cutting and a facility tour.

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Amid Controversy, California and the Biden Administration are Preparing New Water Plans

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

The Biden and Newsom administrations will soon adopt new rules for California’s major water delivery systems that will determine how much water may be pumped from rivers while providing protections for imperiled fish species.

But California environmental groups, while supportive of efforts to rewrite the rules, are criticizing the proposed changes and warning that the resulting plans would fail to protect fish species that are declining toward extinction in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and San Francisco Bay.

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One Issue will Decide Arizona’s Future. Nobody’s Campaigning on it.

/in , /by /AZ Mirrorby Jake Bittle

The morning temperature is nearing 100 degrees Fahrenheit as Keith Seaman sweats beneath his bucket hat, walking door to door through the cookie-cutter blocks of a subdivision in Casa Grande, Arizona. Seaman, a Democrat who represents this Republican-leaning area in the state’s House of Representatives, is trying to retain a seat he won by a margin of around 600 votes just two years ago.

He wants to know what issues matter most to his constituents, but most of them don’t answer the door, or they say they’re too busy to talk. Those that do answer tend to mention standard campaign issues like rising prices and education — which Seaman, a former public school teacher, is only too happy to discuss.

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RIP, Los Vaqueros

/in , /by /Politicoby Camille Von Kaenel

With cities and farmers across the state trying to secure water supplies in an age of climate change extremes, the expansion of Los Vaqueros Reservoir was supposed to be a slam dunk.

Water agencies looking to it as a beacon of what’s still possible as supplies dwindle and costs rise are still scratching their heads at its unexpected demise last month.

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California Reservoirs are Full, but Water Politics May Trump Hydrology

/in , /by /Mountain View Voice

Most of us operate on the calendar year — the 12 months that begin on January 1 and end on December 31. Many governments and major corporations use the fiscal year — typically beginning on July 1 and running until June 30 of the following year. However the federal government’s fiscal year, which began on July 1 for 132 years, was shifted in 1974 to an October 1 start to accommodate federal officials’ insistence on a month-long escape from Washington’s steamy summer weather.

In California, the most important calendar may be the “water year,” which also begins on October 1, because how much the state’s reservoirs have in storage and how much nature provides in the form of rain and snow are existential factors in the lives of nearly 40 million people.

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California Increases Fines for Unauthorized Water Diversions and Uses

/in , /by /The National Law Reviewby Tara E. Paul and Ryan Chen

As California prepares for future cycles of water scarcity, the Legislature continues to prioritize enhancing regulations to address critical water supply needs, secure the rights of diverse water holders, and protect essential environmental resources.

On September 22, 2024, Governor Newsom signed AB 460 into law, a bill that significantly increases fines for unauthorized water diversions and other violations of state orders related to water use.

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Proposition 4 Climate Bond Seeks to Avoid Future Costs with Current Investment

/in , /by /The Press Democratby Mary Callahan

A bond measure on the Nov. 5 ballot that would provide $10 billion dollars for climate mitigation and resiliency projects around California gives voters a pretty stark choice, according to supporters. Pay now, or pay later.

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California Water Agency Extends Manager’s Leave of Absence While Investigation Continues

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

The board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California voted to allow more time to complete an investigation into accusations against General Manager Adel Hagekhalil, who was placed on leave more than four months ago in response to harassment allegations by the agency’s chief financial officer.

The board’s decision will extend Hagekhalil’s leave of absence until an investigator has finished interviews and submitted a report on the findings.

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PODCAST: How U.S. Water Infrastructure Became a ‘Huge’ Cyber Target

/in , /by /Statescoop

On the latest episode of StateScoop’s Priorities podcast, Samuel Alva, a technical adviser with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, explains the “huge” threat facing the nation’s tens of thousands of water utilities, and what they can do to protect themselves. “Water is a single point of failure. So that’s why it has been under attack,” he says.

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