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Water Company to Pay $5 Million for Hazardous Waste Violations

A California company that produces Crystal Geyser bottled water was sentenced Wednesday to three years of probation and ordered to pay $5 million in fines for illegally storing and transporting hazardous waste, federal prosecutors said.

Santa Barbara Council Accepts $10 Million Matching Grant to Operate Desalination Plant

The Santa Barbara City Council voted 7-0 on Tuesday to accept a $10 million grant — with the understanding that it will run the plant at full capacity for at least 36 out of the next 40 years. Some environmentalists objected to the council’s decision, citing environmental concerns.

Opinion: Poseidon’s Huntington Beach Desalination Plant Still In Choppy Waters

As Poseidon Water pursues the final government approvals needed to build one of the country’s biggest seawater desalination plants, the company still cannot definitively say who will buy the 50 million gallons a day of drinking water it wants to produce on the Orange County coast.

Another Washington Dam Removal — and 37 More Miles of Salmon Habitat Restored

PILCHUCK RIVER, near Granite Falls, Snohomish County — Washington’s dam-busting summer is still rolling, with two more dams coming down on the Pilchuck River, opening 37 miles of habitat to salmon for the first time in more than a century.

The $2 million dam removal project is a collaboration between the City of Snohomish and Tulalip Tribes, and will benefit multiple species of salmon, including threatened chinook salmon, crucial food for endangered southern resident killer whales.

It’s the state’s second dam teardown project in two months. In July, the city of Bellingham blew up its Nooksack Diversion Dam on the Middle Fork of the Nooksack River, opening 16 miles of habitat for salmon, including chinook.

San Diego Reservoirs Open with Coronavirus Safety Guidelines

All City of San Diego reservoirs previously closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic are now open to the public during regular business hours for walking, jogging, cycling, fishing and boating. Normal fishing and boating fees will apply.

“Overall everything is working well,” said Bryan Norris, the City’s reservoirs and recreation program manager.  “Several reservoirs are experiencing higher than normal visitation since the reopening.”

Old Mines Contaminating Water, Soil at 5,000 California Sites

California has about 47,000 abandoned mines and roughly 5,000 of those are contaminating water, soil, vegetation, and air across the state, according to a state report issued Tuesday.

Climate Change Could Lead to More Incidents Like the Oroville Dam Spillway Failures, Experts Warn

Nearly 200,000 people were evacuated when the spillways failed at Oroville Dam in 2017, an infrastructure disaster that cost around a billion dollars to repair.

Three years later scientists say events that partially led to the incident could become more frequent. It comes down to how and when snow and rain fall.

Oceanside Competes in Nationwide Water Conservation Contest

Oceanside Mayor Peter Weiss is among mayors across the country who are urging their communities to use water wisely and join Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation.

Major Role for Wastewater Epidemiology in Tackling Covid-19

Wastewater-based epidemiology has a significant part to play in identifying ‘silent’ Covid-19 cases in the community, research presented at the latest Water Action Platform webinar demonstrates. The regular webinars, which are open to all, are hosted by Isle chairman Dr Piers Clark and look at the new coronavirus and global pandemic through a water industry lens.

Portfolio Outlines Actions to Address Water Problems

Now that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration has released a final California Water Resilience Portfolio, farm organizations say they will monitor progress on implementing the plan’s proposals—and on resolution of ongoing state-federal conflicts that complicate achieving some of its goals.