There’s No Need to Stockpile Water During Coronavirus Pandemic
During the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, worried consumers have been snapping up bottled water as soon as it hits grocery store shelves.
Tag Archive for: Water Supply
Unsung Heroes: Carlsbad’s Desalination Plant Workers
The Carlsbad Desalination Plant turns seawater into clean safe drinking water.
In an effort to keep delivering 50 million gallons of fresh water to the county daily the plant has gone on complete lockdown.
As of March 19, 10 workers volunteered to quarantine themselves inside the Carlsbad plant for the next three weeks. The company said workers will continue to monitor and adjust gauges and switches, watching for leaks – doing whatever is needed to safeguard San Diego County’s only significant local source of drinking water.
California’s Winter Goes Down as one of the Driest, Thin Snowpack Shows
When California snow surveyors trekked into the Sierra Nevada on Wednesday, they officially logged this past winter as one of the driest in state history.
NASA, University of Nebraska Release New Global Groundwater Maps and U.S. Drought Forecasts
NASA researchers have developed new satellite-based, weekly global maps of soil moisture and groundwater wetness conditions and one to three-month U.S. forecasts of each product. While maps of current dry/wet conditions for the United States have been available since 2012, this is the first time they have been available globally.
Utilities Aim to Keep Specially Trained Employees Healthy and Working
Some municipal water utilities are taking emergency measures to sequester some employees to assure that they can keep the water flowing as the coronavirus spreads.
In this country, millions of Americans can follow advice to stay at home so long as the electricity stays on and the water and the phone service. Utility workers need to keep moving about. And to stay on the job, they also need to stay safe. Iowa Public Radio’s Clay Masters reports that some utilities are taking extraordinary measures, including locking in employees at work.
MASTERS: After two weeks, a new group of workers with the same set of skills, who are currently sitting at home, will switch with the current onsite crew. Something similar is happening at a desalination plant in Carlsbad, California, that produces 50 million gallons of water a day. Ten workers are living there for three weeks. Sandy Kerl is general manager for the San Diego County Water Authority.
SANDY KERL: “These are critical services, highly trained individuals, not easily replaceable, so they have to be protected to ensure that water continues to flow.”
Select Download File to hear the 3-minute story as featured on National Public Radio.
Coronavirus: Is the Drinking Water Supply Safe?
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, water agencies across the Bay Area and California are taking unprecedented steps to keep the water flowing that millions of people need for drinking and washing their hands, but which is also critical for fighting fires, serving hospitals, running sewer systems and other vital uses.
California Rules Anger Water Agencies, Environmental Groups
California regulators on Tuesday set new rules about how much water can be taken from the state’s largest rivers, angering water agencies for restricting how much they can take and environmental groups for not making those limits low enough to protect endangered species.
Colorado River Flow Dwindles as Warming-Driven Loss of Reflective Snow Energizes Evaporation
New USGS research indicates that streamflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) is decreasing by about 5% per degree Fahrenheit as a consequence of atmospheric warming, causing a 20% reduction over the past century.
The State’s New Delta Water Rules Don’t End Conflict with Washington
When the Trump administration rolled back endangered species protections in the Bay Area delta that serves as the hub of California’s water-supply system, the state decided to go its own way.
Water Utilities Aim to Keep Specially Trained Employees Healthy and Working
Some municipal water utilities are taking emergency measures to sequester some employees to assure that they can keep the water flowing as the coronavirus spreads.
In this country, millions of Americans can follow advice to stay at home so long as the electricity stays on and the water and the phone service. Utility workers need to keep moving about. And to stay on the job, they also need to stay safe. Iowa Public Radio’s Clay Masters reports that some utilities are taking extraordinary measures, including locking in employees at work.
Water utilities take special steps to keep water flowing
MASTERS: I’m standing next to Fleur Drive, which leads into downtown Des Moines. And normally, this is a pretty busy road. It’s not right now because, well, a lot of businesses are shut down. And right next to it is the Des Moines Water Works treatment facility. And what’s different about the grounds right now is that there are 10 campers just parked out front on the lawn.
Water treatment process effective
TED CORRIGAN: At our three treatment plants, we have a total of 21 people who will be living onsite 24/7 in those campers that we’ve placed.
MASTERS: That’s Ted Corrigan. He’s the interim CEO for the Des Moines Water Works that provides drinking water for more than half a million customers. He says they’ve gone deeper into their contagious disease response plan than ever before.
CORRIGAN: But the treatment process is unchanged. It’s unaffected by what’s going on. And it is very effective against viruses, to be sure.
MASTERS: Behind the tall, barbed wire fence, a skeleton crew of operators is doing things like running the control centers and testing the water. Kyle Danley heads water production here. He’s part of the crew that’s putting in at least 12 hours a day before leaving the facility and walking to his isolated camper for the night. He says while some of the workers aren’t used to camper life, the utility can’t take the risk that they get sick. And he says most of the jobs require unique skills and licenses.
KYLE DANLEY: We’re in a specialty field. There’s always a shortage of operators throughout the country, trying to get people interested in this field, but it certainly is something that takes months and years to be able to get those licenses needed. And then just even if you have a license, every plant is specific.
Workers sequester-in-place at Carlsbad Desalination Plant
MASTERS: After two weeks, a new group of workers with the same set of skills, who are currently sitting at home, will switch with the current onsite crew. Something similar is happening at a desalination plant in Carlsbad, California, that produces 50 million gallons of water a day. Ten workers are living there for three weeks. Sandy Kerl is general manager for the San Diego County Water Authority.
SANDY KERL: “These are critical services, highly trained individuals, not easily replaceable, so they have to be protected to ensure that water continues to flow.”
