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Dozens of High-Risk Bay Area Dams Lack Required Emergency Plans

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Joaquin Palomino

The Bay Area is dotted with at least 145 dams where failure or misoperation could result in death or property destruction, yet many lack required emergency plans, according to an analysis of state data.

Most of these “high-hazard” dams were built before 1960. While not at a higher risk of failure, they could endanger countless homes and businesses that rest below the aging facilities, making emergency planning and maintenance increasingly important, experts said.

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California Fails to Test 1.4 Million Children for Potential Lead Poisoning

/in , /by /CBS 8by Marcella Lee

A recent report by the California State Auditor revealed lead poisoning remains a big threat to children. It said California is failing when it comes to testing children who are most at risk.

Lead poisoning is known as the silent epidemic. There are typically no symptoms and it can cause irreversible damage to a child’s developing brain.

A startling number of kids are slipping through the cracks when it comes to testing, according to statistics released in the report.

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102- Member Chamber Delegation Heading to Sacramento to Lobby for San Diego

/in , /by /Times of San Diego by Chris Jennewein

The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce will lead a delegation of 102 business, community and civic leaders to Sacramento Tuesday to lobby for legislation benefiting local business and job creation.

The two-day “Leadership Delegation to Sacramento” will be the largest such delegation the chamber has sent to the Capitol.

Jerry Sanders, President and CEO of the chamber, said that the delegation hopes to meet with policymakers from all over the state for the benefit of San Diego’s business community.

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Getting the Lead out of School Drinking Water

/in , /by /KPBSby Maya Trabulsi

You cannot see it, smell, or taste it. But lead in drinking water can be toxic, especially to children. The San Diego Unified School District has a new way to deal with this growing concern with its clean water program.

At Clay Elementary School Tuesday, the San Diego Unified showed off its proposed solution to the problem: Filtered water hydration systems installed in all the district’s schools.

The filtered water flows from either the drinking fountain or the tap above it, which is designed for filling up a water bottle. Laura Deehan is a public health advocate with California Public Interest Group (CALPIRG). She urges schools across the state to follow this model.

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New Safe Drinking Water Plan for San Diego City Schools Approved

/in , /by /KUSI News by Ed Lenderman

The San Diego Unified School Board met today at 5 o’clock and unanimously approved a proposal to have “drinking water-filtration” in all of its schools.

The proposal is the result of something that happened in 2017. The state authorized California’s school districts to ask their water providers for a sampling of the schools’ drinking water.

The City of San Diego Water Department’s sampling of possible lead content in the water, particularly in the district’s older schools, was alarming.  It prompted a concerned district to ask the department to accelerate the testing. In all, 40 schools had to have their drinking water systems remediated because of lead content.

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Westlands Says 15% Water Allocation Is ‘Good News’ in Dry Year

/in , /by /GV Wire (Fresno, Calif.)by Bill McEwen

Despite President Donald Trump’s highly publicized signing of a memo last week directing more water to San Joaquin Valley farmers, the Bureau of Reclamation’s initial allocations announced Tuesday more closely reflected the below-normal Sierra snowpack and scant winter rain.

Farmers in the Friant Division will receive 20% of their Central Valley Project contract allocation while South-of-Delta growers will get 15%, Reclamation officials said.

The state Department of Water Resources reports that as of Monday, the average snow water content in the Sierra was 41% of the April 1 average. Northern Sierra precipitation is about 51% of the seasonal average.

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SDUSD Approves New Filtered Water Stations Across District

/in , /by /NBC 7 (San Diego)by Lauren Coronado

New water filtration stations will be installed at all San Diego Unified School District campuses over the next four years in response to concerns over water quality in the wake of the discovery of high lead levels at several campuses.

Water quality has been a concern for SDUSD since 2017 when NBC 7 Investigates started tracking dangerous levels of lead in schools’ drinking water.

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California Bills Tackle Water Contamination, PFAS, Wildfire

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Environmentby Emily C. Dooley

California could one day have a quick-strike panel focused on spotting emerging contaminants in drinking water to see if they pose a danger and need immediate attention.

The state also could certify labs to increase the amount of so-called forever chemicals that can be tested for in drinking water, aquifers, lakes, and streams.

The two initiatives are among more than 300 bills relating to energy and environment policy filed by California legislators in the 2020 session. They tackle issues like water contamination, wildfires, recycling, air quality, and other matters affecting the state’s nearly 40 million residents.

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Taking a Cooperative Approach to Issues such as Water

/in , /by /AgNet West by Brian German Mentioned: agnetwest.com/taking-cooperative-approach-to-issues-such-as-water/

California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross highlighted the importance of taking a more cooperative approach to address important issues in lieu of an ‘us-versus-them’ mentality between environmental and agricultural interests.  While often the two groups are on opposing sides of a particular issue, both are working toward a sustainable future.  Ross noted that the framework for variable flows is the first step in getting environmentalists and producers on the same page to protect the state’s water.

 

Drought or Dangerous Flooding? Research Aims to Tame Atmospheric River Risks – and Save California’s Rain

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

We were flying about 200 nautical miles off the coast of California when a voice over the headset reported a strong smell of fuel in the back of the plane.

I was in the cockpit with the U.S. Air Force’s “Hurricane Hunters,” who spend the summer and fall flying into the eyes of hurricanes. On a Tuesday at the end of January, though, we flew out of Travis Air Force Base in California toward a different kind of storm: an atmospheric river that was moving east across the North Pacific, toward the West Coast.