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Grants Awarded to Restore Safe Drinking Water for Lake Morena Residents—but Process May Take Until 2024

/in , /by /East County Magazineby Karen Pearlman

For more than two years, Lake Morena Village area water users have been drinking bottled water because of formidable nitrate levels in the region’s wells, the main source of water for drinking in the rural San Diego county burg.

In September 2019, the county issued a do-not-drink order for about 125 customers of the Lake Morena Views Mutual Water Company, one of the two main water suppliers in the area.

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EPA Invites 39 New Projects to Apply for Water Infrastructure Loans

/in , , /by /Water & Wastes Digestby Cristina Tuser

Four projects are being added to a waitlist as well. According to the EPA, as funds become available, $6.7 billion in WIFIA loans will help finance over $15 billion in water infrastructure projects to protect public health and water quality across 24 states.

“Far too many communities still face significant water challenges, making these transformative investments in water infrastructure so crucial,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan in the EPA news release. “The WIFIA invited projects will deliver major benefits like the creation of good-paying jobs and the safeguarding of public health, especially in underserved and under-resourced communities. This program is a shining example of the public health and economic opportunities that will be achieved under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”

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San Diego’s Project Clean Water Wins Gold MarCom Award

/in , , /by /The Coronado Times

Project Clean Water, San Diego County’s initiative dedicated to protecting water quality won a gold award at the MarCom Awards, an international creative competition that recognizes outstanding achievement by marketing and communication. The award is for the “52 Ways to Love Your Water” video that was created as part of the 5-year county-wide public education and outreach initiative around stormwater pollution and water quality.

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Tribes Hope Infrastructure Law Means They’ll Finally Get Clean Drinking Water

/in , /by /KPBSby Katia Riddle

Louie Pitt Jr. has a clear memory of a day four years ago when a valve broke on the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon. He was in a meeting with the tribal operations officer when she was interrupted by a phone call.

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As Need to Test Water for Microplastics Increases, California Finds a Way

/in , /by /Spectrum News 1by Parker Collins

Wherever you get your drinking water, there’s a good chance it contains some amount of tiny plastic pieces.

There aren’t a lot of rules or regulations around this particular pollutant because it is considered an emerging contaminant, but that is changing.

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Tarballs Found Along San Diego Coastline, Orange County Oil Spill Suspected

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Large clusters of tarballs were found along beaches in Oceanside and Carlsbad, San Diego County officials said Thursday, with similar reports being made in Encinitas and Del Mar.

The black balls of tar, about the size of a quarter, are suspected to have come from the massive oil spill off the coast of Orange County, where a ruptured pipeline has spewed more than 144,000 gallons of crude oil into the ocean.

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Tar Balls Wash Up in North County Beaches, Prompt County Warning

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby City News Service

The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency Thursday advised the public to be cautious at beaches and avoid contact with tar balls.

There have been increased reports of tar balls washing ashore on North County beaches, the agency reported.

It’s unclear if the increased numbers are directly related to the oil spill off the coast of Orange County, an official said.

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PFAS Water Regulations in California Closer to Becoming Reality

/in , , /by /The National Law Reviewby John Gardella

On September 28, 2021, the state of California (through the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment) held a virtual workshop for proposed Public Health Goals (PHGs) for two types of PFAS – PFOA and PFOS. The release of proposed PHGs is extremely significant for any company situated in California, as PHGs are used to create enforceable drinking water standards and limits for groundwater contamination.

‘Burn Scars’ of Wildfires Threaten Drinking Water in Much of California and the West

/in , /by /Los Angeles Times'/Kaiser Health Newsby Sara Reardon

Colorado saw its worst fire season last year, with the three largest fires in state history and more than 600,000 acres burned. But some of the effects didn’t appear until this July, when heavy rain pushed sediment from damaged forests down mountainsides, causing mudslides that shut down sections of Interstate 70 for almost two weeks.

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S.F. to Pay $600 Million to Keep Low-lying Neighborhoods From Flooding. It Will Probably Take Seven Years

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Michael Cabanatuan

San Francisco has pledged to invest another $600 million into the city’s sewer system in an effort to prevent chronic flooding in low-lying areas as part of an agreement with state water quality officials.

The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board announced the tentative pact, which was negotiated with city officials but needs final approval from the Board of Supervisors and Mayor London Breed. The city’s Public Utilities Commission has recommended approval.

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