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Life Heat Waves, Wildfires, Snow: California Endures a Summer of Extremes

/in , /by /Times of San Diego

An unusually cold weather system from the Gulf of Alaska interrupted summer along the West Coast over the weekend, bringing snow to mountains in California and the Pacific Northwest and prompting the closure of part of a highway that runs through a national park.

Parts of Highway 89 through Lassen Volcanic National Park in California were shut down after an estimated 3 inches of snow fell Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

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Authority Hosts Women in Water

/in , /by /The Star Newsby Albert Fulcher

Sweetwater Authority held its San Diego Women in Water meeting at is Robert A. Perdue Water Treatment Plant on Aug. 14. Co-sponsored by the Authority, Otay Water District, Santa Fe Irrigation District, and Olivenhain Municipal Water District, the event brought more than 150 water professionals and elected officials together to share ideas and connect with industry professionals.

Guest speaker Dr. Maria-Elana Giner, P.E., shared her career journey that led her to be appointed by President Joe Biden as Commissioner of the United States International Boundary Commission in 2021. Giner is the second woman, and first Latina, to hold this position. Attendees were also provided with an in-depth tour of the Authority’s treatment facility, given and insider-look at the agency’s operations.

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Fearing Trump, California is Preparing to go its Own Way on Water

/in , /by /Politicoby Camille Von Kaenel

Gov. Gavin Newsom is making moves to keep control of California’s water — and protect the state’s endangered species from a potential second Trump administration.

With federal and state officials in the midst of renegotiating how they manage a 400-mile system of reservoirs, pumps and canals that moves water out of the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta to deliver it to taps and farms across the state, California water officials are taking steps to adopt guidelines from the state’s own wildlife officials rather than federal ones.

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New Regulations to Cement Conservation as a “California Way of Life”

/in , /by /Daily Journalby Wendy Y. Wang and Samuel Johnson

For nine out of the last 13 years, California was in a state of drought. The five-year drought from 2012 and 2016 is one of the top five most severe droughts California experienced in the last 120 years. Many wells went dry during this period; farmers fallowed land; some rural communities had no running water; and trees died in mass in the Sierra.

Against this backdrop, Governor Jerry Brown issued a record number of executive orders and emergency proclamations regarding drought and water conservation during this period.

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BLOG: How Did Water Authority’s Unicorn Become an Endangered Species?

/in , /by /SoCal Water Warsby John Earl

Shortly after the California Coastal Commission’s stunning rejection of Poseidon Water’s $1.4 billion ocean desalination plant proposal for Huntington Beach, Poseidon’s long—time VP of development, Scott Maloni, quipped on Facebook about the “unjust decision,” which put an end to big ocean desal in California for the foreseeable future.

“The silver lining,” he wrote, “San Diego has a water unicorn. The Carlsbad Desalination Plant is a one-of-a-kind treasure that will never be replicated again in the state of California.”

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Repairing a Critical Calgary Feeder Main Line After a Catastrophic Failure

/in , /by /ES&E Magazineby David Nesseth Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

While the process of paving over underground repairs and refilling the feeder main line brought a collective sigh of relief in Calgary, critical water quality tests loomed as workers focused on the finish line in the dwindling days of June.

The more than three-week ordeal of repairing the nearly 50-year-old, 11 kilometre-long, two-metre diameter feeder main was a significant challenge for Calgary’s Water Services Director, Nancy Mackay, her team, and other municipal departments, not to mention the city’s 1.6 million residents.

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Could Tijuana Recycle its Wastewater to Solve Water Shortages?

/in , /by /Coronado Timesby Megan Kitt

Mexico is facing a growing water shortage, leading to unpredictable, often lengthy water shut-offs in Tijuana.

Meanwhile, millions of gallons of wastewater are dumped from Tijuana into the Pacific Ocean each day. In the future, that water could be recycled, putting a significant dent in the country’s water supply issue.

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US Government Report Says Fluoride at Twice the Recommended Limit is Linked to Lower IQ in Kids

/in , /by /AP Newsby Mike Stobbe

A U.S. government report expected to stir debate concluded that fluoride in drinking water at twice the recommended limit is linked with lower IQ in children.

The report, based on an analysis of previously published research, marks the first time a federal agency has determined — “with moderate confidence” — that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in kids. While the report was not designed to evaluate the health effects of fluoride in drinking water alone, it is a striking acknowledgment of a potential neurological risk from high levels of fluoride.

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Violence Over Water is on the Rise Globally. A Record Number of Conflicts Erupted in 2023

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

In Pakistan, two groups of farmers started arguing in the fields and attacked each other with axes, clubs and bricks in a bloody fight over water. In South Africa, hundreds of people protesting a water shortage blocked roads with burning tires and hurled rocks at police. In Ukraine, Russian attacks on infrastructure left a city of nearly 1 million people without water.

These are some of the 347 water-related conflicts that researchers have documented during 2023, a year that saw violence over water increase dramatically worldwide. The number of incidents reached a new record last year, far surpassing the 231 conflicts recorded in 2022 and continuing a rising trend that has persisted over the last decade.

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Boiling Point: Heat, Fires, Floods — Extreme Weather has Affected 99% of Americans

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

Extreme weather alerts for dangerous heat, wildfires, storms, flooding and other hazards have affected nearly everyone in the United States over the past few months.

Tracking data from the National Weather Service, the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists has found that since the beginning of May, extreme weather alerts have been issued for 99% of the country’s population.

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