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Amid Historic Drought, California Expected to Approve $140 Million Desalination Plant

/in , /by /Reutersby Daniel Trotta

A $140 million desalination plant is expected to be approved by California regulators on Thursday as the U.S. state contends with how to convert ocean water into drinking water amid the worst drought in 1,200 years.

Just five months ago, the Coastal Commission by an 11-0 vote rejected a privately owned plant that would have been 10 times the size of the proposed South Coast Water District’s Doheny Ocean Desalination Project in Orange County, just south of Los Angeles.

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California’s Drought Withers Tomatoes, Pushing Grocery Prices Higher

/in , , /by /Reutersby Nathan Frandino , Christopher Walljasper and Aude Guerrucci

A lack of rain and snow in central California and restricted water supplies from the Colorado River in the southernmost part of the state have withered summer crops like tomatoes and onions and threatened leafy greens grown in the winter.

That has added pressure to grocery prices, putting a squeeze on wallets with no end in sight.

The rise in food prices this year has helped drive U.S. inflation to its highest levels in 40 years. California’s drought conditions, on top of Hurricane Ian ravaging citrus and tomato crops in Florida, are likely to push food costs even higher. Drought in an area known as the U.S. salad bowl has not only impacted fresh produce, but also pantry staples like pasta sauce and premade dinners.

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Analysis: As Drought Risks Rise, Investors Eye Thirsty Companies, Solutions

/in , , /by /Reutersby Cole Horton, Ross Kerber and Simon Jessop

As droughts worsen across the world, investors are turning up the heat on companies wasting water and trying to pick winners from a sparse crowd of specialist listed companies looking to address the problem.

From Kenya to California and nearly half of Europe, a shortage of fresh water has grabbed the attention of policymakers and given millions of citizens a fresh window into the stressed state of the planet.

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U.S. Announces $30 Million To Bolster Coasts From Flooding, Rising Seas

/in , /by /Reutersby Ellen Wulfhorst

The U.S. government’s oceans and waterways agency will provide $30 million to improve coastal resilience, officials said, aiming to reduce the impacts of worsening storms, flooding and rising seas in nearly half of U.S. states.

Grants through the program are designed to restore or expand coastal wetlands, dunes, reefs, mangroves and barrier islands that are key to coastal protection, said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in an announcement.

Coastlines worldwide are being damaged or threatened by more extreme and destructive weather, higher temperatures and rising seas that scientists attribute to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

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World Unprepared For Impact of Climate Change On Mountain Water Supplies: Experts

/in , , /by /Reuters by Emma Farge and Cecile Montavani

The world faces increased flooding, droughts and possible conflicts due to the effects of climate change on fresh water supplies drawn from mountains but is “woefully unprepared” to tackle these risks, experts said.

Mountain-sourced water supplies, which provide about half of all drinking water worldwide, is becoming more unpredictable as warmer temperatures melt glaciers and change precipitation patterns and river levels, affecting countries unevenly.

In some areas, such as the Alps, extra water from glaciers has caused flash floods while shrinking snow cover in the Andes has led to droughts in places like Chile.

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Breakingviews – Wall Street Mistakes Water For A Business Washout

/in , /by /Reuters by Antony Currie

Stockholm’s architecture, waterways and balmy climate make Sweden’s capital a tourist haven in the summer. Throw in the networking appeal of almost 4,000 people in town for the annual World Water Week confab, including government officials and executives from big companies like Diageo, Apple and Nestlé, and it’s hard to imagine Wall Street types not flooding the event. But most stay away.

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In Los Angeles ‘Water Colony’, Tribes Fear A Parched Future

/in , , /by /Reuters by Laurie Goering

When the first white settlers arrived in California’s remote eastern Owens Valley, the name given to its indigenous tribes was Paiute, or “land of flowing water” in the local language. But for more than a century, the water in the valley has flowed in just one direction: toward Los Angeles, nearly 300 miles (480 km) away. In the early 1900s, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) quietly bought up broad swathes of ranchland and its associated water rights in the once-lush valley, fringed by snow-capped peaks.

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States Say Half Of Wetlands Would Lose Protection Under EPA Proposal

/in , , /by /Reuters by Valerie Volcovici

Fourteen states, including New York and California, and the District of Columbia said the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to replace an Obama-era water regulation would end federal protection for half of wetlands and 15 percent of streams across the country. The attorneys general issued a joint statement on Monday critical of the EPA’s proposal to narrow the scope of protections in the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule that President Barack Obama’s administration expanded in 2015 to cover a wide range of water bodies.

 

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