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Pandemic Could Complicate Efforts to Upgrade State Drinking Water Systems

/in , , /by /SF Gate/Bay City News Foundationby Kiley Russell

An unprecedented and fledgling statewide effort to shore up hundreds of struggling drinking water systems could face intense pressure from the novel coronavirus pandemic as the program is rolled out in coming months.

For almost a year now, the California Water Resources Control Board has been working to craft the program, and on Tuesday it approved a policy designed to guide the spending of $1.3 billion over 10 years to save some 300 water systems that are failing or at-risk of failing.

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Poop Tests in Sewage Might Predict Coronavirus Surge

/in , , /by /The Orange County Registerby Martin Wisckol

Scientists across the nation are examining Southern California’s poop — maybe even yours — with the hope of more quickly identifying COVID-19 hotspots and better preparing for future surges. The information could also signal when stay-at-home orders can be safely eased in specific communities.

Untreated sewage has been used for years to track viruses as well as to analyze opioid use by neighborhood. Now the race is on to determine whether it can serve as an early warning system for the new coronavirus, particularly since the small fraction of the population receiving swab tests cannot capture the breadth of asymptomatic infections.

“Testing of every individual is very difficult. But if you have 50,000 people in a community, you may be able to determine the prevalence by testing the wastewater,” said Sunny Jiang, a microbiologist leading a pilot project at UC Irvine to identify COVID-19 in sewage systems.

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Well-Known Salton Sea Origin Story Questioned by New Research

/in , , /by /Palm Springs Desert Sunby Mark Olalde

The origin of California’s largest lake is a well-known tale. In an attempt to turn the desert into lush farmland more than a century ago, humans tried — and temporarily but dramatically failed  — to exert control over nature.

“The Salton Sea in south California was created in 1905 when spring flooding on the Colorado River breached a canal,” NASA’s website spells out. For 18 months, the most important river in the West flowed along what appeared to be a novel course through the Salton Basin, which lies 227 feet below sea level.

Being born from an engineering miscalculation on the part of the California Development Company means the Salton Sea has been written off as an “accident” in histories inked on many pages, ranging from The Washington Post to the Daily Mail.

But that framing is too simplistic, new research suggests, arguing that the sea’s formation was inevitable, regardless of the famous canal breach in 1905.

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With People Staying Home, Water Use Has Changed Dramatically Around Boston

/in , , /by /NBC 10 Bostonby Alec Greaney

Life has been different around Boston for weeks during the coronavirus pandemic, and you can see one way it’s changed entire communities in an essential resource: the water supply.

Water use has dropped nearly 6% across the region during the past eight weeks, during the governor’s stay-at-home order, according to figures compiled this week by the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority and cited by the city of Newton. The supplier compared use from March 18 to May 6 against averages from the previous three years.

Non-essential businesses have been shuttered and Boston and Waltham, both home to large commercial districts, experienced heavy drop-offs of 13.7% and 13.1%, respectively. Milton and Nahant have also used significantly less water in their areas, with Nahant down 9.1% from an average year.

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Coachella Valley Water District Rewrites Budget Amid COVID-19, May Cut Spending $40 Million

/in , , /by /The Palm Springs Desert Sunby Mark Olaide

The Coachella Valley Water District has released a revised annual budget for fiscal 2021 that represents the hard economic realities of operating during the coronavirus pandemic.

The new budget, which is currently a staff proposal, proposes a $40 million decrease in spending compared to the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. It will be discussed at board of directors meetings on Monday and Tuesday.

“Though we have a tremendous pent-up demand for facilities repairs and upgrades, we have committed to imposing no rate increases in FY 2021,” the staff presentation about the updated budget proposal says. “Instead, we have cut operating expenses and are temporarily tapping into our emergency reserves.”

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FPUD Adopts Resolution of Emergency

/in , , /by /Fallbrook Village Newsby Joe Naiman

The Fallbrook Public Utility District adopted a resolution declaring a state of emergency due to the coronavirus epidemic.

A 5-0 FPUD board vote, April 27, authorized Jack Bebee, general manager of FPUD, and Dave Shank, the district’s chief financial officer, to submit any necessary requests for emergency-related financial assistance to the state’s Office of Emergency Services or to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“We’re only doing it just because there’s a timeline to submit it,” Bebee said. “Right now, we’re not planning to submit anything.”

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San Diego Food Bank-Virtual Food Bank-Covid-19-primary photo

San Diego Regional Water Agencies Help Fight Hunger During Pandemic

/in , /by

An effort to bolster food bank supplies and fight hunger in San Diego County is getting a helping hand from the region’s public water agencies.

The San Diego County Water Authority and its member agencies are supporting a virtual food drive in partnership with the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank. The campaign allows donors to select and purchase items such as canned meats, vegetables, fruits, peanut butter and oatmeal for distribution to needy residents. To donate, go to www.bit.ly/SDWaterAgencyFoodDrive.

The Water Authority Board leadership launched the effort for staff and Board members in late March, then expanded it by inviting 24 retail member agencies countywide to join the effort to fight hunger. So far, approximately $20,000 has been contributed through donation portals established by the Water Authority and member agencies.

Help fight hunger

In addition, water agencies have partnered with the Food Bank to inform its clients that it is unnecessary to purchase bottled water when convenient, clean drinking water is available 24/7 at the tap for about a penny a gallon.

“The region’s water industry is committed to sustaining our community in this time of acute need,” said Water Authority Board Chair Jim Madaffer. “The San Diego region has come together time and again to meet challenges such as wildfires, and we’re doing the same to provide hunger relief during this crisis.”

Demands for food increase during pandemic

The San Diego Food Bank typically helps feed 350,000 people each month at 200 distribution sites — and demands have skyrocketed as the economic impacts of coronavirus closures ripple across the region.

Donations to the San Diego Food Bank are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. The San Diego Food Bank is a 501(c)(3) organization.

Essential workers on the job

In response to the pandemic, the Water Authority and its 24 member agencies have increased regional coordination and communication to ensure continued delivery of safe and reliable water service for San Diego County. Public water supplies in the region remain safe to drink due to numerous robust treatment processes used by local and regional water providers.

As essential workers, the region’s water and wastewater system employees will continue to work to ensure safe and reliable water services.

Water Costs Rise in Pandemic

/in , , /by /The Acorn (Thousand Oaks, Calif.)by Ian Bradley

The coronavirus pandemic has shut down many parts of life, but there are some things that can’t be put on hold, like the payment of utilities.

Both Las Virgenes Municipal Water District and Triunfo Water and Sanitation District have tentative plans to increase their water rates by the end of the year. The rate hikes would cover an increase in the cost of wholesale water from the Metropolitan Water District, which provides local supplies.

Metropolitan’s board of directors approved a 3% rate increase effective Jan. 1, 2021, and a 4% increase effective Jan. 1, 2022.

 

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Water Quality Issues, Safety Concerns are Significant Drags on Water Utility Customer Satisfaction

/in , , /by /WaterWorld Magazine

As the Environmental Protection Agency moves closer to implementing regulations for PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), commonly referred to as “forever chemicals,” in the U.S. drinking water supply, many Americans are “just saying no” to tap water. According to the J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Water Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study released today, 25 percent of Americans say they never drink their tap water, setting the stage for a serious set of customer satisfaction challenges on the part of regional water utilities.

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Americans Are Told to Wash Hands to Fight Coronavirus. But Some Don’t Trust the Tap

/in , , /by /The Washington Postby Frances Stead Sellers

For the Chavez family and many others in California’s fertile San Joaquin Valley, bottled water is the toilet paper of their coronavirus pandemic — an everyday necessity that vanished from supermarket shelves.

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