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Environment Report: Doomsday For Colorado River Approaches

/in , /by /Voice Of San Diegoby Ry Rivard

Within the next two years, federal officials may be forced to declare a water shortage on the Colorado River, an unprecedented situation that would reduce the amount of water available to parts of the southwestern United States and Mexico. The thermometer of the river’s health is Lake Mead, formed behind Hoover Dam. When the lake falls below a certain level, a shortage is declared and people begin to lose access to water based on an arcane priority system. The first to receive cuts are Arizona, Nevada and Mexico.

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Plan To Use Reclaimed Tijuana Wastewater In Guadalupe Valley Vineyards Moves Forward

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Sandra Dibbble

A private company’s plan to take Tijuana wastewater, treat it to an advanced level, and pipe it to Baja California’s Guadalupe Valley aims at ending water shortages that confront the celebrated wine-producing region. The proposal is expected to move forward within days as a group of Israeli and Mexican investors finalizes its contract with the state of Baja California to build a sewage treatment plant and a 65-mile aqueduct from southeastern Tijuana to the Guadalupe Valley.

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Carlsbad Investor To Sell Its Stake

/in , /by /Water Desalination Report Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, has reportedly appointed Australia’s Macquarie Capital as financial advisor for a possible sales process of its stake in the 50 MGD (189,250 m3/d) Carlsbad Seawater Desalination Plant. Poseidon Resources partnered with Stonepeak to form Orion Water Partners, the joint venture that built, owns and operates the Carlsbad plant. The project required $922 million in financing, $734 million of which was arranged through the sale of tax exempt bonds issued by the California Pollution Control Financing Authority on behalf of Poseidon and the San Diego County Water Authority.

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Water Main Break Leaves More Than 100 San Marcos Homes Without Water

/in , /by /NBC7

A water main break in San Marcos has left more than 100 homes Coronado Hills residents without water, Vallecitos Water confirmed. All homes east of Indian Ridge are out of water, Vallecitos said. The break happened at Indian Ridge and Washitonia around 7 a.m. Vallecitos crews are excavating the site to get down to the break – which takes time, Vallecitos said, as crews have to jackhammer through granite. and expect wear to be restored around 2 a.m. Monday. The cause of the break is unknown at this time.

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City Bans Private Wells Pending New Groundwater Plan

/in , /by /Santa Monica Daily Pressby Mathew Hall

The City of Santa Monica has temporarily outlawed construction of new private wells in the city while staff work towards adoption of a new set of rules governing the use of groundwater. Council approved a measure banning new construction or expansion of existing wells at their August 14 meeting until the City adopts a comprehensive groundwater management plan that specifically allows such construction. A Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) is required by California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and Santa Monica is in the midst of drafting the rules in partnership with City of Culver City, City of Beverly Hills, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and the County of Los Angeles.

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‘Toilet To Tap’ Water Nearly Matches Bottled H20 In Taste Test, University Researchers Discover

/in , /by /The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, Calif.)by David Downey

Saddled with the “toilet to tap” label, recycled water still has a bit of an image problem. But in a blind taste test, UC Riverside researchers found that people prefer its flavor over tap water and that they like it as much as bottled water. Intuitively, that may sound crazy. But it makes sense, suggests UCR’s Daniel Harmon, lead author on a recent study analyzing the taste test published recently in the journal Appetite. “Bottled water and recycled water go through more or less identical purification processes,” Harmon said. Both, experts said, are subjected to reverse osmosis, which removes most contaminants.

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Climate Change Is Helping Crank Up The Temperatures of California’s Heat Waves

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Bettina Boxall

California suffered through its hottest July on record, while August has pushed sea-surface temperatures off the San Diego coast to all-time highs.

Are these punishing summer heat waves the consequences of global warming or the result of familiar weather patterns?

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Highest Ever Water Temperature Recorded Off San Diego

/in , /by /Newsweekby Nicole Rojas

Water temperature readings off the coast of San Diego on August 9 are believed to be the highest ever measured in California waters.

Two buoys off the coast logged a sea-surface temperature of 81.3 degrees Fahrenheit, surpassing an earlier high temperature set on August 2. The two buoys, the Torrey Pines buoy, located 7.3 miles from the coast, and the Scripps Neashore buoy, located about a mile offshore, are managed by Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California

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81-Degree Reading Likely Sets Record For Highest Temperature Ever Measured in California Waters

/in , /by /SF Gateby Amy Graff

Two buoys off the coast of San Diego last week recorded what researchers believe could be the highest temperature ever measured in California waters.

A sea-surface temperature of 81.3 degrees was logged Thursday by both the Torrey Pines buoy (7.3 miles offshore) and the neighboring Scripps Nearshore buoy (.7 miles from the coast). The buoys are two of 25 managed by Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California.

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Unusually Warm Southern California Ocean Helps Break Temperature Records in San Diego

/in , /by /The Weather Channelby Chris Dolce

Sea-surface temperatures along the coast of Southern California have grown unusually warm in the last month, contributing to record-breaking temperatures and uncomfortable humidity in San Diego.

The ocean temperatures warmed from a hot weather pattern in place across California this summer, which vaulted the state to its warmest July on record. The hotter-than-average conditions are due to a persistent area of high pressure in the upper atmosphere.

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