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West Basin Water District Releases Final EIR For El Segundo Desalination Plant

West Basin Municipal Water District released on Wednesday, Oct. 23, the final environmental impact report for an El Segundo desalination plant that would convert 20 million gallons per day of seawater into fresh drinking water.

The plant would sit on up to 13 acres next to the El Segundo Generating Station, at 301 Vista del Mar.

The final environmental report includes responses to more than 200 questions submitted during a 91-day public review period that ended June 25, 2018. The district board will consider certifying the report at a special board meeting at 3 p.m. Nov. 18 at Carson Event Center.

Weather Service Warns of Fire Season’s First Major Santa Ana Wind Event

The National Weather Service office in San Diego warned residents that the first major Santa Ana wind event of the season will begin Wednesday night and continue through Friday. The weather service issued a fire weather watch amid a forecast of single-digit humidity and gusty winds of up to 60 mph.

2018 Was A Record-Setting Year For Fresno County Farmers

Fresno County farmers and ranchers shattered the yearly record for the value of what they produced by nearly a billion dollars in 2018.

Despite below-average surface water supplies, their crops and livestock totaled $7.888 billion last year, according to the Fresno County Department of Agriculture’s annual report released Tuesday.

That marked a 12.23% increase from 2017 and was substantially higher than the previous record year of 2014 when total production hit $7.069 billion.

Water Agencies Inaugurate California’s First Hydro Station

Chula Vista, Calif. – The Sweetwater Authority, the Chula Vista Elementary School
District, and the Otay Water District are pleased to announce the opening of the
first Hydro Station in California on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, at the Richard A. Reynolds
Groundwater Desalination Facility (3066 North Second Avenue, Chula Vista, CA 91910).

California’s Planet-Warming Emissions Declined In 2017, Even As Its Biggest Pollution Source Keeps Rising

California’s greenhouse gas emissions declined by about 1% in 2017, with a continued shift toward renewable electricity keeping the state ahead of schedule in meeting its 2020 climate target, according to a report released Monday by air quality regulators. The state Air Resources Board inventory found 2017 was the first year since the state began tracking planet-warming emissions that electricity generated from solar, wind, hydroelectric and other renewable sources surpassed what was generated by fossil fuels. Clean power provided 52% of the electricity California used in 2017, according to the report. The gains came so heavily from the electricity, environmental policy experts say, that the sector is making up for more lackluster areas of the economy, such as transportation and industry.

California Pledges Millions To Battle Enormous, Destructive Swamp Rats

A growing menace in the form of 15-pound swamp rodents is threatening Delta waterways, and the state is throwing money, hunting dogs and birth control at the invasive pests which have the potential to destroy crops and wetlands.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has received $10 million in new funding for the eradication of nutria, or coypu, which are native to South America and have found their way to the Golden State after wreaking havoc in Louisiana and other places. Louisiana has lost hundreds of thousands of acres of wetlands to the rodent, a voracious herbivore with a largely indiscriminate palate

High-Time Flooding Poses Big Problem for US, Federal Scientists Warn

The nation’s coasts were hit with increased tidal flooding over the past year, part of a costly and perilous trend that will only worsen as sea levels continue to rise, federal scientists warned Wednesday.

Worth One’s Salt: Proposed Doheny Ocean Desalination Project Jumps EIR Hurdle

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.

Report: 1 Out Of 5 California Schools Found Detectable Levels Of Lead In Drinking Water

Nearly one out of five California schools found detectable levels of lead in the drinking water, according to recent data from the State Water Board. Lead is linked to learning disabilities, behavior problems and many other health effects.

Water Payments Projected To Exceed Cash Reserves By $3.4M

The ag community at a Friday afternoon IID water conservation meeting wanted to know what the IID plans to change with water conservation payments projected to exceed the budget by $11.7 million. IID’s conservation needs under water transfer agreements with the San Diego County Water Authority and others are 303,000 acre feet. Of that, 103,000 acre feet comes from system conservation. The rest comes from on-farm water conservation.