Tag Archive for: Drinking Water

California County Shuts Down Fifth of Water Wells Over PFAS

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Environmentby Emily C. Dooley

California wants to slash the allowable levels in drinking water for two “forever chemical” compounds, immediately prompting agencies supplying water to 2.5 million residents in Orange County to remove a fifth of their wells from service.

The State Water Resources Control board Thursday said it planned to dramatically lower its response levels for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), though actual drinking water standards are still years away.

The response levels require water suppliers to install treatment, and remove wells from service if they exceed the thresholds. Notifying customers is required if districts plan to keep wells in service without treatment for an extended period.

Orange County oversees the area’s groundwater basin and provides water to 19 agencies, which rely on underground supplies for 77% of deliveries. The remainder comes from the Colorado River and Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which supplies water to 19 million people in the region.

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As Forests Burn Around the World, Drinking Water is at Risk

/in , /by /The Associated Pressby Tammy Weber

Fabric curtains stretch across the huge Warragamba Dam to trap ash and sediment expected to wash off wildfire-scorched slopes and into the reservoir that holds 80% of untreated drinking water for the Greater Sydney area.

In Australia’s national capital of Canberra, where a state of emergency was declared on Friday because of an out-of-control forest fire to its south, authorities are hoping a new water treatment plant and other measures will prevent a repeat of water quality problems and disruption that followed deadly wildfires 17 years ago.

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State Sen. Toni Atkins receives CMUA Safe Drinking Water Champion Award January 27, 2020 in Sacramento

Atkins Receives Safe Drinking Water Champion Award

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California State Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins of San Diego on Monday received the 2019 Safe Drinking Water Champion Award from the California Municipal Utilities Association in Sacramento.

“The award recognizes Senator Atkins’ leadership to work collaboratively with her colleagues in the Senate, Assembly and Governor’s office in securing funding for communities that do not have access to safe drinking water,” said Danielle Blacet-Hyden, CMUA director for water, as she presented Senator Atkins with the award.

Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund of 2019

In her role as leader of the Senate, Atkins was instrumental in bringing California together to find consensus and common ground that resulted in passage of the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund of 2019. This long-term funding solution – a total of $1.3 billion over the next 10 years – will help ensure safe drinking water for the estimated 1 million Californians who currently lack it, and also fix failing water systems in vulnerable communities. 

“Lack of clean water is something that seems almost unimaginable in 21st century California – yet there still are communities that do not have pure, wholesome, and potable water to drink, bathe, and use in their daily lives,” said Atkins during the award presentation. “Last year we passed a law that includes an ongoing source of funding to provide safe and affordable drinking water to communities suffering from contaminated supplies, without any new taxes or charges on working Californians or on our farming industry.”

Safe water without a drinking water tax

Atkins worked to secure safe water without adding a water tax. Water industry groups, including the San Diego County Water Authority, were among the broad coalition of water, business and civic interests that opposed the tax.

“Her leadership was vital to securing the funding needed to provide safe drinking water for the communities in California where unhealthy water is a problem,” said Glenn Farrel, director of government relations for the Water Authority.

Representing San Diego, Atkins was elected to the Assembly in 2010 and became Assembly Speaker in 2014. After one year in the Senate, in March 2018 she was sworn in as Senate President pro Tempore, becoming the first woman to lead the Legislature’s upper house.

The CMUA represents its members’ interests on energy and water issues before the California Legislature, the Governor’s Office and regulatory bodies, such as the California Energy Commission, the California Air Resources Board, the Department of Water Resources, the California Independent System Operator, and the State Water Resources Control Board. It was initially formed in 1932 to represent California’s community-owned electric utilities.

Toxic PFAS “Forever Chemicals: Found in Water Supplies Across U.S., But Trump Threatens to Veto Regulatory Bill

/in , /by /East County Magazineby Miriam Raftery and Rebecca Jefferis-Williamson

The 2019 movie “Dark Waters” alerted the public to health hazards posed by perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, also know as PFOA and PFOS) that contaminated water and groundwater around manufacturer DuPont’s facility in Parksburg, West Virginia. The chemicals have been linked to deaths, cancer and more–and they are pervasive, found in 97% of Americans tested, PBS reports, citing a U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination study in 2015.

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‘Forever Chemicals’ in Orange County Drinking Water to Force Widespread Well Closures

/in , /by /Los Angeles Daily Newsby Martin Wisckol

The Orange County Water District, which serves 2.5 million county residents, expects to see nearly a third of the 200 groundwater wells in its service area shut down by year’s end because of the presence of toxic PFAS, a chemical family linked to cancer, liver and kidney damage, low birth weight and other health problems.

Nine of those wells have already been closed and 32 more are expected to be closed in coming weeks as state regulators continue to lower acceptable thresholds for the toxins, according to district officials. As many as 31 additional wells could be shut down after testing is expanded later this year.

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Opinion: Drink More Recycled Wastewater

/in , , /by /Natureby Cecilia Tortajada and Pierre van Rensburg Mentioned: City of San Diego

Drinkable water is becoming increasingly scarce. Population growth, pollution and climate change mean that more cities are being forced to search for unconventional water sources. In a growing number of places, drinking highly treated municipal wastewater, called ‘reused water’, has become the best option — and, in some cases, the only one (see ‘What is reused water?’).

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OPINION: California Must Stop Agriculture From Fouling Our Drinking Water

/in , /by /CALmattersby Horacio Amezquita

The San Jerardo housing cooperative in Salinas is home to 60 farm workers and their families. I am its general manager.

The people in my housing cooperative breathe pesticides when neighboring fields are sprayed. When agricultural practices harm wildlife, we see the change in our backyards. The people of San Jerardo also have a stake in moving toward more sustainable agricultural practices.

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Yes, There’s Microplastic in the Snow

/in , /by /Quartzby Zoë Schlanger

This is the year we found microplastic in the snow.

Although microplastics have been popping up everywhere from the waters of Antarctica to our table salt, the idea that it could blow in the wind or fall as precipitation back down to Earth is extremely new. The main mode of microplastic transport, as far as we knew as recently as last year, was water. It had already shown up in drinking water a few years prior. But microplastic in snow suggests something different: Microplastics carried by wind, and settling out of the air along with the frosty flakes.

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Visitors learn about technology used to purify and recycle water at a recent Pure Water Oceanside open house. Photo: City of Oceanside

Pure Water Oceanside Project Construction Slated For 2020

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The City of Oceanside is joining the City of San Diego and East San Diego County in adding advanced purified water to its drinking water supply. The Pure Water Oceanside project is expected to break ground next spring and begin producing advanced purified water in 2022.

The Padre Dam Municipal Water District, Helix Water District and the City of San Diego, are among the water agencies in San Diego County that are developing or expanding water recycling to increase the local water supply.

Pure Water Oceanside tour participants can try filtering water as part of the tour experience. Photo: City of Oceanside

People can try filtering water as part of Pure Water Oceanside tour activities. Photo: City of Oceanside

The Oceanside project launched in March with a “World of Water” community open house attended by more than 400 people. Building on the interest generated at the event, the city opened its doors for the public, schools and scouts to experience Pure Water Oceanside on October 15. The next community event is scheduled for November 9.

“The incredible interest, success and feedback from the community event demonstrated a true thirst for water knowledge and a strong desire to see, first-hand, water facilities located in the community,” said Cari Dale, water utilities director for the City of Oceanside. “Pure Water Oceanside is an important and smart investment and we find tremendous value in educating the public about the importance of diversifying the city’s water supply.”

Technology used to recycle and purify water on display

Water membranes like the ones that will be used as part of the Pure Water Oceanside project are on display during public tours. Photo: City of Oceanside

Water membranes like the ones that will be used as part of the Pure Water Oceanside project are on display during public tours. Photo: City of Oceanside

The tours offer a behind-the-scenes look of the San Luis Rey Water Reclamation and Mission Basin Groundwater Purification Facilities, where guests can take a hands-on approach and learn about the technology used to recycle and purify water.

Pure Water Oceanside will purify recycled water to create a new local source of high-quality drinking water that is clean, safe, drought-proof and environmentally sound. The project will produce enough water to provide 32% of the city’s water supply, or between 3 and 5 million gallons of water per day.

In addition to tours, Oceanside has developed a comprehensive public education program for the water purification project, including a video, fact sheet, FAQ and community group presentations. To experience Pure Water Oceanside and sign up for an upcoming tour, go to: www.PureWaterOceanside.org.

READ MORE: Pure Water Day Delivers Pure Family Fun

 

Wastewater Project Could Create Drought-Proof Drinking Water for 500,000 Homes

/in , /by /Orange County Registerby Martin Wisckol

In its effort to establish a new, drought-proof source of water that could serve a half-million Southern California homes, the Metropolitan Water District on Thursday, Oct. 10 unveiled a $17 million pilot plant that will bring wastewater to drinkable standards.

Water from the trial project in Carson will not be piped to customers – it will be put back with regularly treated wastewater and pumped into the ocean.

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