Safe drinking water is a human right and essential during the COVID-19 crisis. And California must do more to ensure water service during concurrent health and economic emergencies.
In April, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order placing a moratorium on water shutoffs and requiring reconnections for households disconnected after March 4. But months into a crisis, the state lacks data on the impact of the moratorium.
Decades of inadequate investment in water infrastructure has exacerbated the economic challenges faced by water and wastewater utilities in the era of COVID-19, according to a new report released Aug. 26 by the American Society of Civil Engineers and the U.S. Water Alliance’s Value of Water Campaign.
Programs to help renters facing eviction, additional homeless services, and new traffic signals are the additions that San Diego County supervisors are proposing for the budget for the new fiscal year. Supervisors recently heard two days of public testimony about the proposed $6.4 billion budget and are scheduled to deliberate and adopt the spending plan at their next meeting, scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Millions of families in America risk losing running water over unpaid bills as moratoriums on shutoffs expire across the country, despite record levels of unemployment and mounting fatalities from the coronavirus pandemic.
Running water had been guaranteed to about two-thirds of Americans as hundreds of utilities suspended disconnections amid warnings from public health experts that good hygiene, particularly hand-washing, was crucial to curtailing the spread of the virus.
If California lawmakers set aside climate concerns like sea level rise, and focus only on the pandemic, the state could be setting itself up for an even worse economic hardship, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office cautioned in a report Monday.
The state will suffer dire long-term consequences if lawmakers set aside concerns about rising seas to focus solely on COVID-19, the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office warned Monday.
Sea level rise will likely put at least $8 billion in property underwater by 2050, and could affect tens of thousands of jobs and billions in gross domestic product, according to studies cited by the office.
Following reports of large parties that violate health orders aimed at slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Wednesday that he will authorize the city to shut off water and power services to residents who hold such gatherings.
Wastewater-based epidemiology has a significant part to play in identifying ‘silent’ Covid-19 cases in the community, research presented at the latest Water Action Platform webinar demonstrates. The regular webinars, which are open to all, are hosted by Isle chairman Dr Piers Clark and look at the new coronavirus and global pandemic through a water industry lens.
Washing your hands is one of the simplest preventative measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in fighting the spread of the coronavirus. But for thousands of Navajo and Hopi people, a preexisting water shortage now puts them at serious risk during the pandemic.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
