Tag Archive for: Drinking Water

‘Forever Chemicals’ Found in Groundwater Near Military Bases

/in , , /by /AP Newsby John Flesher

High levels of toxic, widely used “forever chemicals” contaminate groundwater around at least six military sites in the Great Lakes region, according to U.S. Department of Defense records that an environmental group released Tuesday.

The Environmental Working Group said PFAS, an abbreviation for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, have oozed into the Great Lakes and pose a risk to people who eat fish tainted with the chemicals.

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Federal Judge Throws Out Trump Administration Rule Allowing the Draining and Filling of Streams, Marshes and Wetlands

/in , , /by /The Washington Postby Dino Grandoni and Brady Dennis

A federal judge Monday threw out a major Trump administration rule that scaled back federal protections for streams, marshes and wetlands across the United States, reversing one of the previous administration’s most significant environmental rollbacks. U.S. District Judge Rosemary Márquez wrote that Trump officials committed serious errors while writing the regulation, finalized last year, and that leaving it in place could lead to “serious environmental harm.”

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Running Out of Water, Drought-stricken Communities Find Creative Ways to Conserve

/in , , /by /KSBYby Amanda Brandeis

As unprecedented drought conditions plague much of the West, reservoirs are running dry. Communities reliant on these sources for drinking water are tightening restrictions to preserve adequate supplies.

“This is the first time it’s been this severe,” said Tom Colbert of Healdsburg, California. “It’s disheartening. We’ve had friends move out of California because of the drought and the wildfires.”

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Biden Aims to Remove All Lead Pipes. Will EPA Follow Suit?

/in , /by /E&E Newsby Hannah Northey

President Biden has made a push to remove the nation’s lead pipelines a cornerstone of his infrastructure agenda, but a requirement to make that happen is noticeably MIA in EPA’s current rule.

Advocates hope that changes.

“If EPA doesn’t require them to do it, our concern is that, frankly, utilities have had decades to replace their lead service lines or even to identify their lead services lines,” said Erik Olson, head of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s health program. “The ball has been in their courts for decades, and they’ve not done what’s needed.”

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Megadrought to Pit Fish Lives Against Human Needs in U.S. West

/in , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Bobby Magill

Water cuts aimed at farmers amid the West’s megadrought have set the stage for bitter legal and political fights over one of the most overlooked water uses—the right of water to remain in streams to sustain fish and endangered species, lawyers say.

The drought is poised to call that right into question, pitting drinking water providers and food growers against conservationists who want to keep streams wet so that fish can survive.

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California Enacted a Groundwater Law 7 Years Ago. But Wells Are Still Drying Up — and the Threat Is Spreading

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

Kelly O’Brien’s drinking water well had been in its death throes for days before its pump finally gave out over Memorial Day weekend.

It wasn’t a quiet death at O’Brien’s home in Glenn County, about 100 miles north of Sacramento.

Spigots rattled. Faucets sputtered. The drinking water turned rusty with sediment. In the end, two houses, three adults, three children, two horses, four dogs and a couple of cats on her five acres of land were all left with no water for their sinks, showers, laundry, troughs and water bowls.

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Are Water, Wastewater Bills About to Rise?

/in , /by /NBC7by Consumer Bob and Nicholas Kjeldgaard

While water rates have increased in the past few years, it’s been longer since wastewater rates changed.

“We have not had an increase in over a decade, more than 10 years,” said Shauna Lorance, director of the city of San Diego’s Public Utilities.

Drinking water rates did increase about two years ago, and under this proposal, they will likely be going up another 2%. The biggest change will be for wastewater charges.

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A Watershed Moment

/in , /by /Politicoby Catherine Boudreau

A “mega-drought” across the Southwest will force the federal government to declare a water shortage on the Colorado River this month. The decision would be historic for the watershed, which serves 40 million people in seven states: California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming. The river system provides irrigation that turns desert into farmland and is an important source of drinking water and hydroelectric power. The looming first-ever declaration will be triggered when the country’s largest reservoir, Lake Mead, dips below a certain level.

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Forever Chemicals: California Unveils Health Goals For Contaminated Drinking Water

/in , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

California took a major step today towards regulating dangerous “forever chemicals” in drinking water by proposing new health limits for two of the most pervasive contaminants.

State environmental health officials recommended goals of one part per trillion and less — a minuscule amount 70 times smaller than the federal government’s non-binding guideline for drinking water nationwide.

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A Delta in Distress

/in , , /by /Inside Climate Newsby Liza Gross

Global warming has already left its mark on the backbone of California’s water supply, and represents a growing threat to its first developed agricultural region, state experts have warned in a new study.

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta fuels California’s $3 trillion economy, including its $50 billion agricultural industry, sustains more than 750 plant and animal species and supplies 27 million people with drinking water.

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