Posts

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.

Full Story

City Council to Vote on Water Rate Increase Tuesday

/in , /by /FOX 5by Sara Barker Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

City council is expected to vote on a nearly 20% increase to water rates for San Diego residents.

If approved, this would increase rates 10.2% beginning Dec. 1, 2023, then up to an additional 8.7% beginning Jan. 1, 2025.

Mayor Todd Gloria said this would equate to an approximate $12 increase to the average residents’ monthly bill.

Full Story

San Diego Expected to Approve Water-Rate Hikes of Almost 20%

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby David Garrick Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

San Diego water bills would rise nearly 20% under a rate-increase proposal the City Council is scheduled to consider Tuesday.

The increase, which city officials began studying last fall, would be the first comprehensive rate hike approved by the council in nearly eight years. It would include a 10.2 increase this December and an 8.75% jump in January 2025.

Full Story

Rep. Peters Seeks $100 Million Annual Construction Funding to Fix South Bay Sewage Plant

/in , , /by /Times of San Diego by Chris Jennewein

Rep. Scott Peters introduced legislation Tuesday to provide $100 million in annual construction funding to rehabilitate and expand the dilapidated International Wastewater Treatment Plant that is contributing to pollution closing nearby South Bay beaches.

Full Story

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.

Full Story

As the Colorado River Declines, Some Upstream Look to Use It Before They Lose It

/in , , /by /Inside Climate News by Wyatt Myskow

The fossil fuel industry once boomed here.

Oil pump jacks dot the landscape around the community and serve as a reminder of the town’s origins. Prairie dogs race across the two-lane highway outside of town that is filled with thousands of Mormon crickets during the summer.

Full Story

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.

Full Story

Why Water Rates in Yreka Could Be Going Up

/in , /by /The Siskiyou Daily Newsby Skip Descant

Residents and businesses in Yreka could face increased water rates as the city considers a staggered rise in rates to keep track with the increasing cost of water delivery and treating sewerage.

Full Story

California Regional Water Usage Declines as Statewide Water Stores Remain Above Average

/in , , /by /California Globe by Evan Symon

According to new data released by the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB),  average monthly residential water use sharply declined in the first half of 2023, with water stores in reservoirs and other places continuing to remain well above average.

Full Story

The World’s Largest Dam Demolition Has Begun. Can the Dammed Klamath River Finally Find Salvation?

/in , , /by /Cal Mattersby Rachel Becker

Oshun O’Rourke waded into the dark green water, splashing toward a net that her colleagues gently closed around a cluster of finger-length fish.

The Klamath River is wide and still here, making its final turn north to the coast as it winds through the Yurok reservation in Humboldt County. About 150 baby chinook salmon, on their long journey to the Pacific, were resting in cool waters that poured down from the forest.

Full Story