Tag Archive for: Water

State Addresses Urgency to Prepare Roads, Water Systems for Rising Sea

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

Guidelines for how cities and local agencies should adapt roads, railways and water systems to accommodate rising seas were unanimously approved Wednesday by the state Coastal Commission.

The 230-page document sets a controversial benchmark by urging communities to prepare for the Pacific Ocean to rise 10 feet by 2100, a projection so far beyond current calculations that climate scientists haven’t yet determined the probability of it occurring.

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Opinion: Will California Step Up on Water?

/in , , /by /Bakersfield.comby Jason Giannelli

California is experiencing a devastating water crisis, by some accounts the worst in the last 1,200 years. Drought is hammering the two primary water delivery systems on which millions of Californians rely — the Colorado River and the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Most of the state — and especially the south San Joaquin Valley and Kern County — is suffering badly. Extensive planning, and solid investments funded by large coffers, have enabled large portions of Southern California to get through 2021 without rationing. But the experience here in the Central Valley is far different. Thousands of acres fallowed. Jobs lost and hours cut. Multiple cities with water restrictions. Wells running dry. These disparate outcomes are highlighting the current inequalities in drought preparedness and a broken system. There is also the sobering reality that Southern Californians may too be thirsty again soon.

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San Jose: New Drought Rules and Water Fees Go Into Effect — What They Mean for Your Bill

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

October storms helped this winter’s rainy season get off to a good start across Northern California. But they weren’t enough to erase the two very dry previous years: 80% of California remains in an extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly federal report.

Reservoir levels are very low and groundwater tables are depleted because the past two years had the least rainfall in Northern California of any two-year period since 1976-77.

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How Safe Is LA’s Water? Environmental Group Says Legal Standards Still Pose Health Risks

/in , /by /ABC7by Carlos Granda

You turn on the tap and expect clean water. But what exactly is in that water?

Analysts at EWG, a nonprofit environmental group, found a number of chemicals that are known to cause cancer.

“We want people to understand that there are health risks,” says Sydney Evans, an EWG science analyst. “You might not take a drink of your tap water today and get sick tomorrow but down the road there are going to be heightened risks.”

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This City’s Recycled Wastewater is Too Pure to Actually Drink

/in , , /by /Mother Jonesby Matt Simon

On a dusty hilltop in San Diego, the drinking water of the future courses through a wildly complicated and very loud jumble of tanks, pipes, and cylinders. Here at the North City Water Reclamation Plant, very not-drinkable wastewater is turned into a liquid so pure it would actually wreak havoc on your body if you imbibed it without further treatment.

First the system hits the wastewater with ozone, which destroys bacteria and viruses. Then it pumps the water through filters packed with coal granules that trap organic solids.

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These Small Fresno County Farmers Are Struggling to Get Water From Their Wells Amid the Drought

/in , /by /Valley Public Radioby Madi Bolanos

June Moua started growing cherries, tomatoes and grapes in east Fresno County 10 years ago. Now she grows a few different types of crops. But her most profitable are the water-intensive Asian greens like mustard greens and bok choy.

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Opinion: The Southwest Must Fight for its Water and its Future

/in , , /by /The Hillby Jonathan Overpeck

For over 30 years, I’ve been a climate scientist who has focused intensely on the causes and consequences of drought and climate change. I’ve done my research all over the planet, but my No. 1 focus has been on interactions of drought and climate change in the Southwest United States and on how drought and climate change are impacting the Colorado River. Seven states in the U.S. and Mexico depend on the Colorado River for water, yet I worry most about one state: Arizona.

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Southwest States Facing Tough Choices About Water as Colorado River Diminishes

/in , , /by /60 Minutesby Bill Whitaker

This past week, California declared a statewide drought emergency. It follows the first-ever federal shortage declaration on the Colorado River, triggering cuts to water supplies in the Southwest. The Colorado is the lifeblood of the region. It waters some of the country’s fastest-growing cities, nourishes some of our most fertile fields and powers $1.4 trillion in annual economic activity. The river runs more than 1,400 miles, from headwaters in the Rockies to its delta in northern Mexico where it ends in a trickle. Seven states and 30 Native American tribes lie in the Colorado River Basin. Lately, the river has been running dry due to the historically severe drought.

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Unchecked Oil and Gas Wastewater Threatens California Groundwater

/in , , /by /Inside Climate Newsby Liza Gross

California has a reputation as a leader on climate and environmental policy. So it doesn’t advertise the fact that it allows the oil and gas industry to store wastewater produced during drilling and extraction in unlined pits in the ground, a practice that began in the early 1900s.

Now, though, researchers have revealed the environmental costs of California’s failure to regulate how its $111 billion oil and gas industry manages the wastewater, known as produced water.

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In This California County, One Town Has No Water. Another Has Enough to Share.

/in , /by /The Washington Postby Scott Wilson

This town took a big step toward making fresh water along the rocky, wild North Coast of California.

As its wells ran dry this month, town officials looked to technology as an emergency measure, hoping to keep both residents and a lifeblood tourism industry with running faucets. The town spent $335,000 on a desalination plant, a small machine of tubes and pumps that officials christened earlier this month. Turning brackish water into useful water, the plant now provides a quarter of the local supply.

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