California’s aging water infrastructure desperately needs an upgrade.
Shorter, more intense rain storms, less snowpack and more prolonged stretches of drought reflect the reality of climate change. There’s no one project, no single action, that will save California from a dry and unreliable water future.
When the Thomas Fire reached Ventura city limits early on Dec. 5, 2017, a critical tool to help curb the flames quickly disappeared: water.
Some of the more than 500 people who ultimately lost their homes sued Ventura over that lack of water, though they later directed their energy at Southern California Edison, which investigators found caused the fire.
After much analysis and debate, a panel of industry veterans has selected the winners of ENR’s 7th annual Global Best Projects competition. Like ENR’s successful regional and national U.S. competitions, Global Best Projects identifies and honors the project teams behind outstanding design and construction efforts of the past year.
Property owners along the Buena Vista Lagoon, which has become more like a shallow, stagnant lake, have agreed after years of negotiations to remove the weir that keeps out the ocean.
The California State Assembly has approved a bill that would spend up to $130 million a year to improve drinking water.
About a million people in California don’t have access to clean drinking water. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a tax on residential water bills to fix that. But lawmakers rejected it.
South Coast Water District General Manager Rick Shintaku recalls the California drought from 1987 to 1992 as a pivotal moment in his career in water resources. “Where was I in 1991? I was back in college sharing a house with four other guys. We weren’t flushing our toilets and we weren’t washing our clothes very much,” Shintaku said at a SCWD public hearing for the Doheny Desalination project on June 27. Shintaku reflected on the major changes in the water world and the conservation mandates that rolled out.
The fourth time was the charm for Randy Siegel, a 71-year-old Santee resident whose color photograph of a sunrise over a Lakeside reservoir took top honors in the eighth annual Lake Jennings Spring Photo Contest overseen by the Helix Water District. Siegel’s winning shot, “Sunrise Over Lake Jennings,” was judged best in the adult category by a panel of judges who volunteered their time to the district. The contest asked shutterbugs to take their best photograph at the Lakeside reservoir between March 1 and May 31 keying on this year’s theme “Life at the Lake.” Now in its eighth year, the contest drew 60 entries from throughout San Diego County – 51 from adults and nine from youths.
California is a leader in renewable energy, and the state has pledged to use only clean sources for electricity, including wind and solar power, by 2045. One hurdle is energy storage, but an old solution involving water may help the state reach its goal of zero emissions. The solution is “pumped storage,” which uses water in reservoirs at different elevations to smooth the fluctuations of intermittent power from the wind and sun, and makes electricity available when it is needed. California has mandated 60% renewable energy sources for its power generation by 2030, and all zero-emission sources by 2045, which could include nuclear generation along with renewables.
A soon-to-be-created citizens advisory committee will provide the Sweetwater Authority governing board with input on issues related to the operations of the South Bay water agency. The goal is for the seven-member governing board to be in a position to “make better, more informed and well-rounded decisions” by allowing ratepayers to be involved in the decision-making, said Steve Castaneda, chair of the board. “It’s something that I think will enhance the process and hopefully make us more responsive to the needs of the folks we serve,” Castaneda said. The board last week instructed staff to draft a policy to govern the composition and work of the committee.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
