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Utilities Aim to Keep Specially Trained Employees Healthy and Working

/in , , /by /NPRby Clay Masters Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Some municipal water utilities are taking emergency measures to sequester some employees to assure that they can keep the water flowing as the coronavirus spreads.

In this country, millions of Americans can follow advice to stay at home so long as the electricity stays on and the water and the phone service. Utility workers need to keep moving about. And to stay on the job, they also need to stay safe. Iowa Public Radio’s Clay Masters reports that some utilities are taking extraordinary measures, including locking in employees at work.

MASTERS: After two weeks, a new group of workers with the same set of skills, who are currently sitting at home, will switch with the current onsite crew. Something similar is happening at a desalination plant in Carlsbad, California, that produces 50 million gallons of water a day. Ten workers are living there for three weeks. Sandy Kerl is general manager for the San Diego County Water Authority.

SANDY KERL: “These are critical services, highly trained individuals, not easily replaceable, so they have to be protected to ensure that water continues to flow.”

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EPA Urges States to Support Water, Wastewater Operations During COVID-19

/in , , /by /Water World

In a letter to Governors in all 50 states, territories and Washington, D.C. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler asked states to ensure that drinking water and wastewater employees are considered essential workers.

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Coronavirus: Is the Drinking Water Supply Safe?

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

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, water agencies across the Bay Area and California are taking unprecedented steps to keep the water flowing that millions of people need for drinking and washing their hands, but which is also critical for fighting fires, serving hospitals, running sewer systems and other vital uses.

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California Rules Anger Water Agencies, Environmental Groups

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Adam Beam

California regulators on Tuesday set new rules about how much water can be taken from the state’s largest rivers, angering water agencies for restricting how much they can take and environmental groups for not making those limits low enough to protect endangered species.

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The Future of Water: Onsite Desalination for Hyperlocal Reuse

/in , , /by /Bay Area Monitorby Robin Meadows

People have dreamed of turning salty water into drinking water since the early 1960s, when President John F. Kennedy famously said, “If we could produce fresh water from saltwater at a low cost, that would indeed be a great service to humanity, and would dwarf any other scientific accomplishment.” Today this technology is routine worldwide, with about 120 countries operating desalination plants. Now, Peter Fiske wants to take desalination technology even further than Kennedy envisioned.

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Colorado River Flow Dwindles as Warming-Driven Loss of Reflective Snow Energizes Evaporation

/in , , /by /U.S. Geological Geological Surveyby USGS

New USGS research indicates that streamflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) is decreasing by about 5% per degree Fahrenheit as a consequence of atmospheric warming, causing a 20% reduction over the past century.

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The State’s New Delta Water Rules Don’t End Conflict with Washington

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Bettina Boxall

When the Trump administration rolled back endangered species protections in the Bay Area delta that serves as the hub of California’s water-supply system, the state decided to go its own way.

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Water Agency to Sell 360 Acres in El Monte Valley

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Karen Pearlman

Nearly 340 acres of open space in Lakeside’s El Monte Valley is going to be put up for sale and interested parties are already raising their hands.

The five-member board of the Helix Water District unanimously voted earlier this month to sell the land along Ashwood Street and Willow Road, a lot it is splitting into three separate parcels. It purchased the land between 1926 and 1953.

Most of the property, more than 230 acres, is zoned for agricultural use, an additional eight acres are leased to the River Valley Equestrian Center and the third parcel contains a bit more than 100 acres of land zoned for either agriculture or sand extraction.

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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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