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Opinion: Your Tap Is The Safest Source of Water During This Pandemic

/in , , /by /Times of San Diego by Mark A. Gracyk

As we Americans face these unprecedented times, many are rushing to the store to stock up on bottled water and other supplies. At Helix Water District, we want to remind you that your tap water is still safe and reliable.

While it’s always advisable to have a reasonable amount of emergency water on hand, the coronavirus outbreak is not a situation that will require a stockpile of bottled water. You will still have access to safe, clean water from your tap, as always.

There is no evidence that COVID-19 is transmitted through water. The illness primarily transfers from person to person through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

At Helix Water District, we work diligently 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure your water is safe to drink, meeting all state and federal quality regulations. We collect and analyze 200 water samples a day to ensure our treatment process is effective. Our water treatment process includes disinfecting the water with ozone to chemically deactivate and physically remove viruses, bacteria and other organisms.

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Largest US Dam Removal Stirs Debate Over Coveted West Water

/in , , /by /Associated Pressby Gillian Flaccus

KLAMATH, Calif.  — California’s second-largest river has sustained Native American tribes with plentiful salmon for millennia, provided upstream farmers with irrigation water for generations and served as a haven for retirees who built dream homes along its banks.

With so many demands, the Klamath River has come to symbolize a larger struggle over the American West’s increasingly precious water resources, and who has claim to them.

Now, plans to demolish four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath’s lower reaches — the largest such demolition project in U.S. history — have placed those competing interests in stark relief. Tribes, farmers, homeowners and conservationists all have a stake in the dams’ fate.

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Officials to Hoarders: Quit Buying Bottled Water

/in , , /by /The Aspen Times (Aspen, Colorado)by David O. Williams

Municipal water providers in Aspen, Vail, Steamboat and other communities say there is no threat from COVID-19 in their water supplies and that people do not need to hoard bottled water — provided that the employees who operate the various water plants can still come to work.

And yet, two weeks into Colorado’s crisis, you still see people exiting the state’s grocery stores with shopping carts brimming with multipacks of 4-ply Charmin or Angel Soft toilet paper. And buried under the TP, you’ll spot the 48-bottle cartons of Arrowhead or Fiji water.

Toilet paper aside, water systems operators around the state — including ski towns, which are among the hardest-hit areas for the novel coronavirus pandemic — do not understand why people think they need to stock up on bottled water.

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Opinion: Welcome to Water Chaos, California

/in , , /by /The Sunby Wayne Western

I’d wager most Californians have never heard the term, “Incidental Take Permit.” It sounds innocuous, right. In the most basic water-speak, it is a permit to lawfully operate infrastructure, as defined by Endangered Species Act.

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Can Carbon Credits Save Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Islands and Protect California’s Vital Water Hub?

/in , /by /Water Education Foundationby Gary Pitzer

The islands of the western Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta are sinking as the rich peat soil that attracted generations of farmers dries out and decays. As the peat decomposes, it releases tons of carbon dioxide – a greenhouse gas – into the atmosphere. As the islands sink, the levees that protect them are at increasing risk of failure, which could imperil California’s vital water conveyance system.

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Water Shutoffs in Sharp Focus Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union Tribuneby Kat Stafford

The advice is simple and universal: Washing your hands with soap and water is one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of the coronavirus. But for millions of people across the country, that’s not simple at all: They lack running water in their houses due to service shutoffs prompted by overdue bills.

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Regional Water Agencies Continue to Provide Safe, Quality Water

/in , , /by /California Water News Daily
Amid the growing concerns over COVID-19 (novel Coronavirus), water providers in the San Bernardino basin continue to provide safe, quality drinking water to residents and businesses without interruption. San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, San Bernardino Municipal Water Department and East Valley Water District confirm safe water supply during this period of concern surrounding the coronavirus.
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Ten Carlsbad Water Plant Employees Live at Work for 21 Days

/in , , /by /NBC 7 San Diegoby Joe Little Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Millions of Californians are staying home.  Millions are working from home.

Ten are living at work.

“We have locked down the site out here. We have ten employees that are doing the job of those 42 employees,” said Poseidon Director of Communications Jessica Jones.

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Water Authority Partners with San Diego Food Bank to Fight Hunger

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

In addition to ensuring a safe and reliable water supply, the Board leadership of the San Diego County Water Authority has joined regional efforts to fight the economic impacts of the pandemic by setting up a virtual food drive in partnership with the San Diego Food Bank.  

The San Diego Food Bank helps feed hundreds of thousands of hungry people each year – and the numbers are growing rapidly as economic impacts of coronavirus closures ripple across the region.

The Water Authority’s virtual food drive allows donors to select and purchase items such as canned meats, vegetables, fruits, peanut butter and oatmeal for distribution to needy residents.

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COVID-19: Water Associations Reassure Public Tap Water Safe to Drink

/in , , /by /Water News Networkby Treatment Plant Operators Magazine

As the global COVID-19 outbreak continues to develop and reports of bottled water shortages make headlines, the National Association of Water Companies, the American Water Works Association and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies recently issued a joint statement about the quality of tap water in North America.

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