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Opinion: Proposed Ballot Measure Would Create Water Infrastructure

/in , , /by /Cal Mattersby Edward Ring

Silicon Valley is known for its startup culture where so-called angel investors provide financing to launch companies that aspire to change the world.

Innovations spawned in Silicon Valley have indeed changed the world, and in the process, made the San Francisco Bay Area home to thousands of near-billionaires and billionaires.

With wealth like that comes social responsibility and political power, and many of the individuals wielding this wealth have stepped up. Powerful individuals from Silicon Valley are changing the destiny of the world.

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Major New Reservoir Proposed for Santa Clara County Faces Key Vote

/in , , /by /Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

After more than four years of planning, study and political debate, a proposal to build a $2.3 billion reservoir in Santa Clara County — the largest reservoir constructed in the Bay Area in more than 20 years — will reach a make-or-break moment Wednesday.

The California Water Commission, a 9-member panel appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, is scheduled to vote on whether the project, which would be located near Pacheco Pass, will continue to be eligible to receive $496 million in state funding.

 

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Valley Water Hopes Plan to Expand Wastewater Purification Can Lead Santa Clara County Out of Drought

/in , , /by /ABC 7 News Bay Areaby Dustin Dorsey

Could wastewater be the solution to our drought problems? Valley Water thinks so and they are doubling down on it by expanding their North San Jose advanced water purification center and planning on building a new plant in Los Atos to produce millions of gallons of purified drinking water. In the heart of Silicon Valley, Valley Water is technology to lead the county out of the drought.

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‘Dire Situation’: Silicon Valley Cracks Down On Water Use As California Drought Worsens

/in , , /by /The Guardianby Gabrielle Canon

Santa Clara county, the home of Silicon Valley, issued mandatory water restrictions this week during a severe drought that has already reached historic levels.

The move was championed by analysts and researchers who have pushed for more conservation efforts across California amid concerns that the state will fall deeper into a drought disaster through the hot, dry summer and autumn.

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‘This is Outrageous’: Residents Protest Big Rate Increases from San Jose Water

/in , /by /The Mercury Newsby Maggie Angst

Customers of Silicon Valley’s largest water company are in an uproar after receiving yet another proposal to substantially hike up their monthly water bills. Under a new proposal from San Jose Water, the monthly bill of a typical customer would increase nearly 30% over the next four years — and that’s on top of an about 60% rise in rates since 2015.

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Skyrocketing Coronavirus Levels in California Sewage Point to Rapid Spread of Virus

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby By Rong-Gong Lin II and Luke Money

Sewage data analyzed in Silicon Valley wastewater treatment plants confirms that the latest wave of coronavirus infections is sharply worse than the ones in the spring and summer.

Officials in Santa Clara County have been routinely testing solid waste samples in sewage to detect levels of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 as part of a project funded by Stanford University.

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Coronavirus: Water District Employee Tests Positive, Some Leaders Self-Quarantine

/in , , /by /San Jose Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

An employee at Silicon Valley’s largest water district has tested positive for coronavirus, and at least eight other employees, including CEO Norma Camacho, entered self-quarantine because of it.

The employee at the Santa Clara Valley Water District — a public agency that provides drinking water and flood protection to 2 million residents from Stanford University to San Jose to Gilroy — works in the communications department.

The employee, who began showing symptoms on March 1 and left work March 2, remains hospitalized. The employee is not involved with the treatment or delivery of drinking water, and that service continues uninterrupted, officials at the district, also known as Valley Water, said Monday.

“As Valley Water continues to monitor the outbreak of COVID-19, we want to reassure our community that this virus is not impacting the safety of your drinking water, or our ability to supply water in Santa Clara County, ” CEO Norma Camacho said in a statement.

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Feds Order Anderson Reservoir to be Drained Due to Earthquake Risk

/in , , /by /San Jose Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

In a dramatic decision that could significantly impact Silicon Valley’s water supply, federal dam regulators have ordered Anderson Reservoir, the largest reservoir in Santa Clara County, to be completely drained starting Oct. 1.

The 240-foot earthen dam, built in 1950 and located east of Highway 101 between Morgan Hill and San Jose, poses too great of a risk of collapse during a major earthquake, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates dams, has concluded.

“It is unacceptable to maintain the reservoir at an elevation higher than necessary when it can be reduced, thereby decreasing the risk to public safety and the large population downstream of Anderson Dam,” wrote David Capka, director of FERC’s Division of Dam Safety and Inspections, in a letter to the Santa Clara Valley Water District on Thursday.

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‘Things Will Blow Up’ If You Ignore Climate Risks — CEO

/in , /by /E&E News by Edward Klump

Rich Sorkin, CEO of Jupiter Intelligence, sees more than raging fires, rising seas and damaging winds in a warming world.

He also sees a business opportunity.

Sorkin, a longtime technology entrepreneur who’s worked in financial services and energy, is leading Jupiter, a Silicon Valley startup that analyzes physical and financial risks tied to climate change.

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