Besides producing grapes, a particular vineyard in Sacramento County is playing an important role, said Omuchumme-Hartnell Water District General Manager Mike Wackman, in preparing the greater area for times of drought.
“This field here represents a recharge area,” Wackman said. “So, with the vines being grown out here, we’re able to take water off the Consumer’s River and recharge, and actually flood these fields while the vines go dormant.”
The North Bay saw record rainfall last week, which is good news for the state’s water supply that has been healthy for the past two years after a lengthy drought.
The heavy precipitation was still visible in the increased volume of water flowing in a number of Marin County creeks and waterfalls Tuesday.
A new study from WalletHub just ranked San Diego the greenest city in America for 2024.
The study used 28 indicators, including greenhouse gas emissions, water quality, the availability of green jobs, and renewable energy sources, among many others, to compile a list of the most sustainable, environmentally friendly cities in the country, with San Diego ranked #1.
Ramona and the city of Poway are pursuing an agreement to share drinking water resources when needed.
Both agencies say the exchange of water – by selling water to each other – would save them both money and increase their water supply reliability.
The high-tech surveillance device is called “Scanny.” Previously, SDCWA hired a specialty rope crew at a minimum of $3,000 a day to help perform the steep, slippery work throughout the hills and canyons of its service area. Shutoffs for this type of maintenance can’t surpass 10 days, so the pipe remained slick throughout the job.
Martin Coghill, SDCWA’s operations and maintenance manager, created the Scanny device in his spare time in his garage for less than $6,000. He arranged a series of GoPro cameras and lights on a mobile chassis. Learn more about how Scanny works in this video.
When the California Desert Protection Act was signed into law 30 years ago, the United States pledged to protect the fragile desert lands in the traditional territory of Chemehuevi Native Americans, establishing places now known as Joshua Tree National Park and Mojave National Preserve. It was a turning point for the nation toward a more respectful relationship with the land, aligning with the Chemehuevi people who have stewarded this region since the beginning of time.
Preserving these lands has helped preserve our origins, history, songs, religious ceremonies, ancient sites and trails. When we protect land, it is not only for the benefit of wildlife or the natural environment, but for our well-being.
After the recent discovery of a destructive mussel in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, some experts say California officials have failed to effectively enforce laws designed to protect waterways from invaders carried in ships’ ballast water.
A state law enacted 20 years ago has required California officials to inspect 25% of incoming ships and sample their ballast water before it’s discharged into waterways. But the tests didn’t begin until two years ago — after standards for conducting them were finally set — and testing remains rare. State officials have sampled the ballast water of only 16 vessels out of the roughly 3,000 likely to have emptied their tanks nearshore.
To the long list of issues that demand a company’s attention, it’s time to add the state of our drinking water. Why? Because the quality of water impacts more than just public health—it can influence employee well-being, operational sustainability and a company’s reputation.
Federal standards for water safety haven’t significantly evolved since the Safe Drinking Water Act was enacted nearly 50 years ago, even as industrial and agricultural activities have introduced harmful contaminants to our water supply. As water quality has diminished, the bottled water industry has grown, creating a reliance on plastic. But this also poses potential health risks.
The re-election of Donald Trump in 2024 will likely lead to a notable shift in U.S. water policy, steering away from the sustainability-focused initiatives of the Biden administration. This change is expected to reshape key sectors within the water industry — including infrastructure development, water quality standards, climate change strategies, and water utility operations — by prioritizing economic growth and regulatory relaxation over federally driven environmental protections.
The western U.S.’s plans to decarbonize electricity grids by 2050 may be much more expensive than anticipated, as such targets fail to account for the effects of climate change on water resources, a new study has found.
Shifts in water availability due to warming could decrease hydropower production by up to 23 percent by midcentury, while electricity demand could rise by 2 percent annually, according to the study, published Monday in Nature Communications.
