Tag Archive for: environment

Long Beach Gears Up to Fight Upstream Sewage Spills That Pollute Its Coastline

/in , /by /Long Beach Post by Maison Tran

Long Beach had to close its coastline for 63 days over the last five years because of upstream sewage spills, but city staff told council members Tuesday that the total amount of economic or environmental damage caused by the recurring spills is hard to estimate.

Beach closures caused by raw sewage are a perennial problem in Long Beach because the city is downstream from much of Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles and San Gabriel rivers carry debris and pollutants into the ocean, which can make bacteria levels in Long Beach’s water unsafe for use.

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Lake Mead’s Rising Levels This Summer a Mirage Compared to Future

/in , , /by /Nevada Public Radio by Joe Schoenmann

Remember that boat that was sticking up out of the dried-up bed of Lake Mead last summer? Recent photos have shown the water has risen to almost cover the boat again.

So hallelujah, right? Not really.

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Revisiting the Debate: Who Will Build New U.S. Pumped Storage?

/in , , /by /Power Engineering by Elizabeth Ingram

About this time last year, I published an article on Hydro Review where I asked: “Who will build the first new pumped storage hydro in the U.S.?”

In that article, I didn’t really provide an answer to the question. I did list the three projects I saw as the front runners, based on them having operating licenses from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission: 1,300 Eagle Mountain in California, 400 MW Gordon Butte in Montana and 393 MW Swan Lake in Oregon. And I included the 1,200 MW Goldendale project in Washington in the honorable mention position.

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What Would Happen if Tijuana Sewage Crisis is Declared an Emergency?

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Tammy Murga

Saying this is “a pivotal moment that calls for resolute action,” all 18 mayors in San Diego County sent a letter last week to Gov. Gavin Newsom imploring him to declare a state of emergency over the decades-long sewage crisis at the border.

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San Diego Spending $9M on Repairs to Structurally Vulnerable Dams — El Capitan, Lake Morena

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby David Garrick

The San Diego City Council approved $9 million Tuesday for short-term repairs to two city dams found to have cracks and other structural problems during state-ordered assessments in 2019.

The repairs will be completed by Orion Construction on the Morena Dam, which is 63 miles east of the city near Campo and the Laguna Mountains, and El Capitan Dam, which is 7 miles east of Lakeside.

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2023 Has Had More Billion-Dollar Weather Disasters Than Any Other Year on Record

/in , , /by /Huffington Post by Lydia O'Connor

New government data released Monday revealed that the U.S. has already experienced more billion-dollar weather disasters in 2023 than in any other year since authorities started tracking such data 40-plus years ago.

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What Arizona and Other Drought-Ridden States Can Learn From Israel’s Pioneering Water Strategy

/in , , /by /The Conversationby Gabriel Eckstein, Clive Lipchin, Sharon B. Megdal

Arizona is one of the fastest-growing states in the U.S., with an economy that offers many opportunities for workers and businesses. But it faces a daunting challenge: a water crisis that could seriously constrain its economic growth and vitality.

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Water Recycling Grants Program Launched

/in , , /by /Water Finance and Management by WFM Staff

On Sept. 7, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) announced the launch of the Large-Scale Water Recycling Projects Competitive Grants Program, which Congress created in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.

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Can Alfalfa Survive a Fight Over Colorado River Water?

/in , , /by /E&E Newsby Jennifer Yachnin

Dirt roads neatly bisect acres and acres of vibrant green plants here: short, dense alfalfa plants fed by the waters of the Colorado River, flowing by as a light brown stream through miles of narrow concrete ditches.

But on a nearby field, farmer Ronnie Leimgruber is abandoning those ditches, part of a system that has served farmers well for decades.

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California Winemaker Sues Napa County Over Water Rights

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Law by Shayna Greene

Renowned winemaker Jayson Woodbridge is suing Napa County for well policies allegedly restricting access to groundwater at four of his vineyards.

The vineyards, Double Vee Properties LLC, Caldera Ranch LLC, Hundred Acre LLC and Hundred Acre Wine Group Inc., told the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Tuesday that Napa County violated their rights under the Fifth Amendment, which prohibits the taking of private property without due process.

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