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Are Marine Heat Waves the New Normal for the Pacific Ocean?

/in , /by /OPB Newsby Cassandra Profita

This year brought one of the biggest marine heat waves on record in the Pacific Ocean, and it’s one of several record-setting spikes in ocean water temperatures over the last six years.

The string of warm water events has scientists wondering if this is actually the new normal for the Pacific Ocean.

A series of heat waves started in 2013 with what was nicknamed “the blob,” which brought water temperatures up to nearly 7 degrees Fahrenheit higher than normal across a 1,000-mile stretch of the West Coast.

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SDGE to Add 600 RCS Radios

/in , , /by /Village Newsby Joe Naiman

San Diego Gas & Electric will utilize 600 additional radios as part of the Regional Communications System.

A 5-0 San Diego County Board of Supervisors vote December 8 authorized the execution of an agreement to add the radios for SDG&E, which will pay the county an estimated $5,086,620 for the additional participation, and authorized the county Sheriff to execute amendments, extensions, or revisions which do not materially impact the program or funding level.

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Around Kings County: Big Water News for Central Valley

/in , /by /The Sentinelby John Lindt

Water bills would help fix subsidence damage: A package of water bills passed Congress this week that could offer hundreds of millions to improve San Joaquin Valley water deliveries. Folded into the same bill that will be offering COVID relief was the government’s annual spending bill that included  funding approval for key local canals and dams. Significantly it includes $206 million to rebuild 33 miles of the Friant Kern Canal and monies for the repair of the westside’s California Aqueduct and Delta Mendota Canal — all facing reduced capacity due to subsidence- the sinking of land caused by vigorous water pumping nearby over the years.

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San Diego County Student Artists Shine in 2021 Calendar

/in , /by /Water News Network

Six talented San Diego County artists from the region’s schools are among the 36 Southern California students whose artwork will appear in the 2021 “Water Is Life” Student Art Calendar.

Produced by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the calendar showcases student artwork with imaginative water conservation and water resource stewardship messages. This year, the six regional winners, their families, and member agency representatives participated in a virtual award ceremony to honor their achievements.

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DWR Encourages More Climate Change Collaboration

/in , /by /AgNet Westby Brian German

The California Department of Water Resources is calling for increased climate change collaboration. DWR is encouraging more cooperation between federal, state, and local governments in their efforts to address climate change. As part of the underlying effort to mitigate the impact of climate change, DWR released the “Moving to Action” plan last month. The move aligns with Governor Gavin Newsom’s goals of addressing natural resource concerns through his executive order to establish a Water Resilience Portfolio.

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Federal Lead-Pipe Rule Overhauled for First Time in Decades

/in , /by /The Washington Postby Sarah Kaplan and Brady Dennis

For the first time in three decades, the federal government on Tuesday overhauled a rule aimed at reducing lead in drinking water across the country — a long-standing scourge made worse by the nation’s weathered and crumbling infrastructure.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s lead and copper rule, widely criticized as complicated, poorly enforced and too weak to protect the health of many Americans, has not been revised since 1991, when George H.W. Bush was president.

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Colorado River Tribes Seek Approval From Congress to Put Water On the Market in Arizona

/in , /by /AZ Centralby Ian James

On the Arizona-California border, where the Colorado River pushes against Headgate Rock Dam, churning water pours into a wide canal and runs across the desert, flowing toward the farmlands of the Colorado River Indian Tribes.

This tribal nation is the largest single user of Colorado River water in Arizona, with rights to divert about 662,000 acre-feet per year, more than double the amount of water diverted for the state of Nevada.

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Fallbrook Public Utility District Elects First Female President

/in , /by /The Coast News by Summer Aquirre Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The Fallbrook Public Utility District Board of Directors unanimously elected Jennifer DeMeo to serve as president, making her the first woman in the district’s history to lead the board. DeMeo was officially seated at the Dec. 7 meeting.

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SCV Water’s First PFAS Water Treatment Facility Now Serving Residents

/in , /by /The Signalby Tammy Murga

Santa Clarita Valley residents are now receiving water from one of California’s first facilities that restore groundwater affected by a suspected manmade carcinogen, SCV Water Agency officials announced Monday. The move comes after the agency received the final permit to serve water from its first water treatment plant that combats per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, from groundwater.

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Doheny Desalination Plan Met with Caution, Delays

/in , /by /OC Registerby Martin Wisckol

As it enters its 20th year of planning and preparation, a desalination plant proposed near Doheny State Beach continues to be met with delays and uncertainty.

In mid-2018, officials were predicting that the operation could be turning ocean water into drinking water as soon as 2021. Now, the project will be doing well to simply win all required permits by the end of next year.

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