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California Pilot Plant Could be Churning out ‘Sustainable’ Lithium as Early as 2023

/in , /by /Energy Storage Newsby Andy Colthorpe

Following recent reports that newly accessed geothermal power resources in California could also provide access to lithium as a valuable by-product, a pilot facility is now in development.

Resource developer Controlled Thermal Resources recently signed a power purchase agreement for 40MW of geothermal energy with Imperial Irrigation District, a water – and energy – provider in Southern California.

CTR is also now creating Hell’s Kitchen Co, facilities for lithium extraction and chemical processing at its geothermal plant at Imperial Valley’s shallow, saline Salton Sea. CTR has now partnered with technology provider Lilac Solutions, which has its own proprietary ion exchange technology, to open up a pilot plant to extract lithium from the run-off geothermal brine

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Imperial County Officials Say They’re Prepared To Prevent Spread Of Coronavirus

/in , /by /inewsource (San Diego)by Jennifer Bowman

For Luis Olmedo, environmental justice work must continue during a pandemic — especially in Imperial County.

The executive director of Comite Civico de Valle was on his way Tuesday morning to a county Air Pollution Control Board meeting, where he planned to watch on his phone outside and wait to enter the building until his organization’s agenda item came up. He was doing his part to help stop the spread of coronavirus by keeping his distance from others.

 

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San Diego Region’s Water Supplies Safe to Drink

/in , , /by /Water News Networkby Ed Joyce Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego region’s water supplies remain safe to drink.

The San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies have increased regional coordination and communication to ensure the coronavirus pandemic does not impact safe and secure water service for San Diego County.

Public water supplies in the San Diego region remain safe to drink due to numerous robust treatment processes used by local and regional water providers.

Despite widespread fears about coronavirus, there’s no evidence that the virus is transmitted through treated water. The U.S. EPA recommends that Americans continue to use and drink tap water as usual.

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Groups Bring Suit Over Secret Approval Process for PFAS Chemicals

/in , , /by /Courthouse News Service (Pasadena, Calif.)by Megan Mineiro

Bemoaning the government’s clandestine process of approving widely unregulated PFAS chemicals, environmentalists brought a federal complaint Wednesday to make the chemical program transparent.

Short for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS are a class of chemicals ubiquitous in commercial products and disturbingly linked to cancer, infertility, pregnancy complications and other toxic effects.

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California Mountains Blanketed in Snow After March Storms

/in , , /by /Associated Press (Sacramento Bee)by John Antczak

California mountains are blanketed in snow and much of the state has had plenty of rain in a remarkable March turnabout from the extremely dry first two months of the year.

The most recent statewide storm started during the weekend and, despite diminishing, snow snowfall and showers were still occurring here and there.

In the Sierra Nevada, Homewood Mountain Resort on the west shore of Lake Tahoe reported late Tuesday a storm total of 114 inches (289.5 centimeters) of snow at its summit and 74 inches (188 centimeters) at the base.

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Coronavirus: California Issues Warning About Disinfecting Wipes

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

As Americans stockpile disinfecting wipes and paper towels to clean their homes more often to reduce the risk of coronavirus, California’s state water regulators on Tuesday urged them to keep one thing in mind: Don’t flush them down the toilet.

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INSIGHT: EPA Seeks to Expand Federal Role in Water Reuse

/in , /by /Bloomberg Environmentby William M. Alley

The Environmental Protection Agency recently released its National Water Reuse Action Plan to promote more water reuse in the U.S. William M. Alley, director of science and technology for the National Ground Water Association, says the plan focuses on low-hanging fruit and states and associations will likely remain the leaders and innovators in water reuse.

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California Storm Dumps Up to 70 Inches of Snow, Making Small Dent in Massive Snowpack Deficit

/in , /by /The Washington Postby Matthew Cappucci

The week started with extreme snow in the Sierra Nevada, where a powerful high altitude storm system brought more than 60 inches of snow to California’s highest peaks. Winds over 100 mph battered the Sierra Ridge as fee of snow piled high, sparking avalanche concerns and forcing the closure of Interstate 80. Visibility at time plummeted to near zero.

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Coronavirus Doesn’t Jeopardize Tap Water, but it Might be Carried in Raw Sewage

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

Tap water is more strictly regulated than the bottled water being hoarded, officials say. Tap water is treated specifically to remove infectants like the new coronavirus, which “is a type of virus that is particularly susceptible to disinfection and standard treatment,” according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website.

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America Thrived by Choking Its Rivers with Dams. Now It’s Time to Undo the Damage.

/in , /by /Popular Scienceby Kate Morgan

Across the nation, the scenario repeats. Atlantic sturgeon, once a hallmark of the eastern seaboard, can reach only about half of their historic spawning grounds. Some 40 percent of the 800 or so varieties of freshwater fish in the US, and more than two-thirds of native mussels, are rare or endangered, in part because man-made barriers have altered their ecosystems. Reservoirs disrupt currents, altering water’s velocity and temperature. That can harm its quality and interrupt the reproductive cycles of aquatic creatures. Stanching a river stops the distribution of sediment and the formation of logjams, two things critical to creating healthy habitat. It also eliminates floodplains and natural meanders, both of which prevent the banks from overflowing.

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