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Blog: San Diego Region on Track to Receive $15 Million for Water Projects

/in , , /by /Water Education Foundation by Water News Network Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Several regional water supply projects in San Diego County are on track to receive more than $15 million from the California Department of Water Resources, pending a final decision this summer. Money for the projects has been recommended by DWR, which will make the awards after a public comment period. In San Diego County, the funds would support local agencies to advance conservation, environmental enhancements, water purification and other initiatives.

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With $3 Billion PFAS Cleanup Price Tag Looming, Pentagon Looks to Industry for Ideas

/in , , /by /McClatchy DCby Tara Copp

Staring down a $3 billion — and growing — tab to clean up water sources at military installations across the country that are contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals linked to firefighting foam, the Defense Department is now in discussions with private firms about potential cleanup solutions that might reduce the cost.

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Raw Sewage Flowing into the Tijuana River Brings Toxic Sludge to California

/in , , /by /CBS News: 60 Minutesby Lesley Stahl

The term “crisis on the border” typically refers to immigration issues or drugs being smuggled into the country. But it has one more meaning, as we discovered, when we went to the border in early February: tens of millions of gallons of raw sewage that spill every year into the Tijuana River on the Mexican side and flow across the border right into Southern California, polluting the land, air, and sea.

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Alternative Desalination Project to be Studied for Doheny Beach

/in , , /by /Orange County Registerby Martin Wisckol

With its proposed Doheny desalination plant facing hurdles because of costs and a lack of partner water districts, the South Coast Water District board has agreed to spend $73,000 to study a scaled-down alternative. The district has spent $7.9 million so far for the preliminary design, environmental impact report and other early development steps for a standalone four-well plant near Doheny State Beach. And it is continuing its pursuit of necessary permits, which it hopes to have in hand by mid-2021.

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Inland Empire Water Agency Gets $196 Million Loan from EPA

/in , , /by /The San Bernardino Sunby Steve Scauzillo

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, May 28, gave a $196.4 million loan to the Inland Empire Utilities Agency to expand its wastewater treatment plant in Chino. Loan dollars will be used to help finance an expansion of the IEUA’s Regional Water Recycling Plant No. 5, located at 6063 Kimball Ave., the EPA announced.

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Decades in the Making, Buena Vista Lagoon Restoration Plan Finally Approved

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Phil Diehl

A long-sought compromise has been approved that will open the stagnant, reed-filled Buena Vista Lagoon to the sea and restore its native coastal marine habitat, but years of work remain before the transformation begins. Disagreements over whether the lagoon at the border of Carlsbad and Oceanside should remain freshwater or be restored to saltwater have stalled the project for decades.

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Sunniest Spring on Record Raises U.K. Drought Risk

/in , /by /Bloomberg Greenby Rachel Morison and Jess Shankleman

The U.K. had its driest May in 124 years and sunniest spring on record, increasing the threat of a summer drought and compounding conditions that have been made worse by climate change.

The country had 9.6 millimeters of rain in May, which is just 16% of the average for the month and the least since 1896, according to early data by the U.K.’s Meteorological Office. It also recorded 573 hours of sunshine during Spring, which is due to end May 31. That makes it the sunniest spring since records began in 1929.

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Gavin Newsom’s Environmental Budget Cuts Escalate Tensions with California Activists

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Dustin Gardiner

SACRAMENTO — Fewer rebates for electric-car buyers. No new oil and gas industry regulators. Less money to preserve wildlife habitats.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed spending cuts to balance a state budget mauled by the coronavirus pandemic have angered numerous progressive constituencies, but perhaps none more than environmental activists who were suspicious of him even before an estimated $54 billion deficit materialized.

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Farmers Must Diversify in a Post-Pandemic World, Ag Experts Say

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Kate Cimini

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, few industries have been quite as essential to the nation as agriculture.

From pickers crouching for nine hours a day to scoop up strawberries to CEOs making handshake deals to keep their companies afloat, hundreds of thousands of workers are feeding America. But, in many ways, the pandemic is forcing farmers to reevaluate how they do business.

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States are Reopening from Coronavirus Shutdowns. What Happens to Frozen Utility Payments?

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sarah D. Wire, Anna M. Phillips

As states begin to reopen from coronavirus-related shutdowns, a wave of unpaid utility bills coming due will not only saddle Americans still out of work with new debt, it could also drive up rates for everyone.

And the $900 million that Congress provided in the CARES Act to help low-income households pay their utility bills won’t be nearly enough to ease the problem, advocates and experts say.

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