Coronavirus Outbreak Tests Resilience Of Western Water Workforce
Water agencies throughout the West are changing their operations during the coronavirus outbreak to make sure cities and farms don’t run dry.
Water agencies throughout the West are changing their operations during the coronavirus outbreak to make sure cities and farms don’t run dry.
The coronavirus pandemic is shining a spotlight on the weaknesses of social, economic and health safety nets we’ve long taken for granted, including our water system.
The COVID-19 health emergency has prompted “panic buying” of bottled water that has emptied store shelves and sown confusion over water safety. We talked to Dave Eggerton—executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) and a member of the PPIC Water Policy Center advisory council—about the state’s municipal water supply in light of the ongoing pandemic. ACWA is a statewide association whose 450 local public water agency members are responsible for about 90% of the water delivered in California.
April showers may be more scarce than normal north of Point Conception in California, according to an outlook produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Ramona Municipal Water District is assuring its customers that they can continue to safely use and drink their tap water and that the coronavirus, COVID-19, has no impact on its water supply.
April showers may be more scarce than normal north of Point Conception in California, according to an outlook produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
This area where the probability of precipitation is below normal includes virtually all of Northern California and the crucial northern Sierra Nevada, where the state’s largest reservoirs are located.
While snow cover has increased thanks to a series of March storms, the Northern Sierra 8-Station Index stands at 56% of normal for the season. As of March 24, another 29.25 inches would be needed to reach the season normal of 54.52 inches.
The latest version of the House Democrats’ coronavirus emergency aid package includes $1.5 billion to help Americans pay their water bills during the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it will award nearly $280,000 to four environmental projects benefiting the U.S.-Mexico border region between California and Baja California. With matching funds, the total benefit to the projects will total over half a million dollars.
The toilet paper shortage is leading some people to resort to other ways of wiping and it caused a problem for part of the Redding sewer system Wednesday night.
In an effort to ensure continuity of operations, ten volunteers are sheltering in place at the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant in San Diego County. Poseidon Water‘s Jessica Jones shares this inspiring story of selfless dedication to keeping the water flowing.
“They did volunteer to operate the plant on-site for 21 days,” said Jones. “There were ten recreational vehicles brought in, so each worker has their own RV and food is delivered for them without human contact.”
With the COVID-19 pandemic, Poseidon Water decided to take this step to ensure there is uninterrupted production and delivery of safe and reliable water for San Diego County.