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Sunday Special Report: Toxic Dust From Salton Sea Could Complicate Coronavirus Recovery

/in , , /by /KYMAby Lisa Sturgis

Health experts say the Salton Sea poses a health risk to the residents who live around it, especially in the age of coronavirus. The lake’s continued evaporation is already making Valley residents sick, and it could make virus patients even sicker. Farmlands in Imperial County use less water from the Colorado River than ever before. Most of the river’s water now goes to cities like San Diego and Los Angeles. That means less irrigation water drains into the Salton Sea. It’s rapidly shrinking.

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RWQCB Rescinds Waste Discharge Orders for Color Spot, Oak Crest, Rancho Corrido

/in , /by /Village Newsby Joe Naiman

The Regional Water Quality Control Board rescinded waste discharge orders for Color Spot Foliage Inc., the Oak Crest Treatment Plant and the Rancho Corrido Recreational Vehicle Park. The RWQCB actions, Aug. 12, do not eliminate the waste discharge restrictions but rather incorporate those facilities into a general order so that reporting for individual facilities can be consolidated.

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County Crop Report Shows Bountiful 2019 Harvest

/in , /by /KPBS-FM/TVby John Carroll

It’s not quite on the level of tourism or biotech, but agriculture is a major contributor to San Diego County’s economy. The county’s annual crop report was released this week, and it shows agriculture contributed nearly two-billion dollars in 2019.

Statewide, agriculture in California contributes $50-billion a year, much of it coming from industrial-sized operations.

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Waterwise Landscaping Blooms in Escondido

/in , , /by /Water News Network Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

A lush native garden low on water use but not on style won first place in the City of Escondido’s 2020 WaterSmart Landscape Contest.To encourage customers to reduce outdoor water use, the City of Escondido recognizes its customers whose yards best exhibit the beauty of California-friendly, low-water gardening in the annual competition.

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New Border Wall to Cut Through Tijuana River Channel

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Kristina Davis

Plans are underway to build a new section of border wall that will cut through the Tijuana River channel — a concrete culvert where toxic sludge runs into the U.S. and where Border Patrol and caravan migrants violently clashed in 2018.

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New Report Offers Grim Details on Underinvestment in U.S. Water Infrastructure

/in , , /by /Water Finance & Management

According to the new report released this week by the American Society of Civil Engineers  and Value of Water Campaign, the United States is underinvesting in its drinking water and wastewater systems, putting American households and the economy at risk. The report, “The Economic Benefits of Investing in Water Infrastructure: How a Failure to Act Would Affect the U.S. Economy Recovery,” finds that as water infrastructure deteriorates and service disruptions increase, annual costs to American households due to water and wastewater failures will be seven times higher in 20 years than they are today — from $2 billion in 2019 to $14 billion by 2039.

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CPUC Approves Structural Change to Water Bills

/in , , /by /The Bakersfield Californianby John Cox

State utility regulators on Thursday put an end to a system that’s allowed investor-owned water utilities including California Water Service to bill customers the cost difference between expected and actual water usage. The California Public Utilities Commission, siding with its consumer-advocate arm, voted 4-1 to halt what are known as water-revenue adjustment mechanisms, which sometimes resulted in unexpected surcharges on ratepayers’ monthly bills. Commissioner Liane M. Randolph cast the lone vote against the proposal.

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Opinion: Despite Unprecedented Times, Natural Resources Should Remain Important to the Legislature

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Pablo Garza

As if a global pandemic was not enough, the tumultuous legislative session comes to a close as much of the state is on fire. Understandably, lawmakers had already significantly pared down their legislative packages to focus on a response to COVID-19. And, then last week many important bills on environmental justice and natural resources stalled.

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Report: Funding Water Infrastructure Benefits Economy

/in , , /by /WaterWorld Magazine

The United States is underinvesting in its drinking water and wastewater systems — putting American households and the economy at risk, according to a new report released by the American Society of Civil Engineers and Value of Water Campaign.  The report, “The Economic Benefits of Investing in Water Infrastructure: How a Failure to Act Would Affect the U.S. Economy Recovery,” finds that as water infrastructure deteriorates and service disruptions increase, annual costs to American households due to water and wastewater failures will be seven times higher in 20 years than they are today — from $2 billion in 2019 to $14 billion by 2039.

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Pure Water Monterey Supply Set for Extraction, Use on Peninsula

/in , , /by /Monterey Heraldby Jim Johnson

Pure Water Monterey is finally poised to make water available for the Monterey Peninsula, providing a new water supply source for the area while allowing a reduction in Carmel River water usage albeit at a considerably reduced rate to start than was expected.

Last weekend, Monterey One Water announced that it had completed a 1,000-acre-foot recycled water reserve in the Seaside basin and that California American Water could start extracting additional water from the basin equivalent to the amount of recycled water being pumped into the basin beyond the reserve.

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