After two decades of drier conditions in the west, the concern for the Federal Government is how to keep the Colorado River flowing in the long term.
Kimberly Hunt is live in Oceanside at the Pure Water Facility.
The facility opened last year and is a first of its kind water treatment plant that turns waste water into drinking water.
The power and technology behind the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant, which turns seawater into drinking water, is described in this video report from Reporter Trason Bragg.
The Carlsbad Desalination Plant is the largest, most technologically advanced and energy-efficient desalination plant in the nation, and it has produced more than 100 billion gallons of drinking water for San Diego County since operations began in December 2015.
Camp Pendleton leaders on Monday sent a public notice to thousands of service members and civilians who live and work on the base’s north end alerting them that recent testing revealed their drinking water contained a higher-than-desired level of PFAS, a potentially carcinogenic chemical that has been found in much of Southern California’s groundwater supply.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluorinated substances, can be found in cleaning products, water-resistant fabrics, grease-resistant paper and non-stick cookware, as well as in products such as shampoo, dental floss and nail polish.
An appeals court in Sacramento on Thursday upheld a California environmental agency’s standards for limiting the presence of the chemical perchlorate in the state’s drinking water.
In the appeal brought by plaintiff California Manufacturers and Technology Association, Judge Elena Duarte ruled the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment properly considered iodide uptake inhibition and established its public health goal “at the level at which no known or anticipated adverse effects on health occur, with an adequate margin of safety.”
Tiny pieces of plastic shed from food wrappers, grocery bags, clothing, cigarette butts, tires and paint are invading the environment and every facet of daily life. Researchers know the plastic particles have even made it into municipal water supplies, but very little data exists about the scope of microplastic contamination in drinking water. After years of planning, California this year is embarking on a first-of-its-kind data-gathering mission to illuminate how prevalent microplastics are in the state’s largest drinking water sources and help regulators determine whether they are a public health threat.
The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed the first federal limits on harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water, a long-awaited protection the agency said will save thousands of lives and prevent serious illnesses, including cancer.
The plan would limit toxic PFAS chemicals to the lowest level that tests can detect. PFAS, or per- and polyfluorinated substances, are a group of compounds that are widespread, dangerous and expensive to remove from water. They don’t degrade in the environment and are linked to a broad range of health issues, including low birthweight and kidney cancer.
Crews with the El Dorado Irrigation District are working to clear snow and debris from the flumes and canals that deliver water to its customers throughout the latest round of winter weather.
Matt Heape, a hydro operations and maintenance supervisor for the district, said the focus Tuesday was taking care of a 22-mile canal system.
It may not be the most pleasant thought, but the wastewater that flows through the Tapia Water Reclamation Facility in Agoura Hills could one day come out of your faucet.
“We’re taking the water that we would normally discharge into Malibu Creek and we’re going to create a local drinking supply out of this,” said Michael McNutt with the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District.
What happens after you flush your toilet? For 2.6 million county residents, the answer to that question can be found at a 110-acre plant in Fountain Valley operated by the Orange County Sanitation District.
The industrial site, along with a similar setup in Huntington Beach, is where approximately 185 million gallons of sewage is treated in a complex process that essentially digests biologic material into its basic components.
When Eric Seufert brewed a test batch of beer in 2017 with water from recycled sewage, he wasn’t too concerned about the outcome. The engineering firm that approached him about the test explained the process, and together they sipped samples of recycled water. Seufert quickly understood it wasn’t too different from how water is normally handled.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
