Posts

Groundwater Beneath Your Feet Is Rising With the Sea. It Could Bring Long-Buried Toxins With It

/in , /by /KQEDby Laura Klivans

Rising seas can evoke images of waves crashing into beachfront property or a torrent of water rolling through downtown streets. But there’s a lesser-known hazard of climate change for those who live along shorelines the world over: freshwater in the ground beneath them creeping slowly upward. For many Bay Area residents who live near the water’s edge, little-publicized research indicates the problem could start to manifest in 10-15 years, particularly in low-lying communities like those in Oakland, Alameda and Marin City.

Full Story

Proposed Agreement Could Boost Funds to Fix Friant-Kern Canal

/in , /by /SJV Waterby Lois Henry

In what was hailed as a “landmark agreement,” farmers in an area of southern Tulare County blamed for sinking the Friant-Kern Canal from excessive groundwater pumping will chip in a hefty amount to help pay for a fix.

How hefty could be decided by their payment choice.

A longer term payment option would be $200 million.

Full Story

BuRec Looks to Possible End of Paradox Desalination Project

/in , /by /The Daily Sentinelby Dennis Webb

A highly effective but problematic Colorado River desalination project in western Montrose County’s Paradox Valley could come to an end due to the federal Bureau of Reclamation’s difficulty finding an acceptable means of continuing it. The agency on Friday released a final environmental impact statement that included analysis of three new approaches for removing salty groundwater from the valley to keep it from eventually reaching the Dolores River and ultimately the Colorado River.

Full Story

California’s $16 Billion Climate-Hardy Water Tunnel Moves Ahead

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

California’s plans to build a new tunnel to move water from the northern Delta to the thirsty, populous south of the state advanced a step Tuesday, when a key partner agreed to help fund some of the effort. The board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the largest treated water supplier in the nation, voted to pay nearly $59 million in 2021 and 2022 to the state Department of Water Resources to help move the project forward.

 

Full Story

The Rancher Trying to Solve the West’s Water Crisis

/in , /by /Politicoby Annie Snider

Paul Bruchez’s family has ranched cattle in Colorado for five generations. And twice in his lifetime, his generation has nearly become the last. The first time, it was the city of Denver that squeezed them out. By the 1990s, when Bruchez was still in high school, the city’s fast-growing suburbs had swept north and totally surrounded their roughly 2,000 acres in Westminster.

Full Story

New Research Explains Why Salmon are Dying in the Pacific Northwest. The Danger Lurks in California, Too

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

In research published Thursday, a team of university and government scientists identify a toxic material derived from tire treads that is washing into rivers and creeks as the killer of as many as 90% of the coho salmon in parts of the Puget Sound.

Full Story

US EPA Recommends Testing Wastewater for PFAS

/in , /by /Chemical & Engineering Newsby Cheryl Hogue

Some facilities may have to test for the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in their wastewater, under a new strategy from the US Environmental Protection Agency. The effort could eventually help reduce the level of environmentally persistent and toxic PFAS in drinking water drawn downstream of such facilities as well as in fish and river sediment.

Full Story

How Safe is the Water Off the Coast of the San Onofre Nuclear Plant?

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Rob Nikolewski

Though many may not know it, throughout its existence the San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station has discharged wastewater that contains very low levels of radiation. All nuclear plants release some effluents, though the nature and amounts can vary by plant site and configuration.

Full Story

La Nina Contributes to Dry Weather in Northern California

/in , /by /Fox40by Dennis Shanahan

The days are dry, the Sierra snowpack is thin and the forecast is unfavorable for a wet season in Northern California. Welcome to La Nina. “It might be best just to hope that we get somewhere close to normal,” said meteorologist Craig Shoemaker with the National Weather Service in Sacramento.

Full Story

What a Strengthening La Niña Tells Us About SoCal’s Winter Weather Outlook

/in , , /by /NBC 4by Belen De Leon

Winter is usually the wettest season in Southern California, but due to a strengthening La Niña pattern in the Pacific, this winter is looking warmer and drier than normal. La Niña and El Niño are opposite phases of what’s known as the El Nino-Southern Oscillation cycle. La Niña is the cold phase and develops due to below average temperatures in the equatorial Pacific.

Full Story