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Water news you need to know

A collection of top water news from around California and the West compiled each weekday. Send any comments or article submissions to Foundation News & Publications Interim Director Doug Beeman

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Aquafornia news San Diego Union-Tribune

Ramona water district reports community’s water system is lead-free

The Ramona Municipal Water District has announced that the community’s water system does not contain lead after an inventory of service lines. The water district reviewed the service lines to determine the material of those lines and fittings in response to federal regulations aimed at protecting communities from lead exposure, the agency announced Dec. 20. As part of compliance requirements with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Revised Lead and Copper Rule, the water district has been conducting an inventory of underground water service lines that connect the water main lines to plumbing in homes and businesses. “None of the district’s water main lines contain lead,” the water district said in a statement.

Aquafornia news WaterWorld

Key takeaways from EPA’s potable reuse and PFAS Q&A document

According to the document, PFAS are a large class of chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products since the 1940s. People can be exposed to the chemicals through consumer products, occupational contact and/or by consuming food or water that contains PFAS. The U.S. EPA announced in April 2024 the final National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for six PFAS chemicals. The regulation will apply to public drinking water systems when fully implemented. … The EPA document states that potable reuse facilities can closely monitor different chemicals that enter the system. The systems can leverage the Clean Water Act or upgrade their treatment systems to prevent PFAS from entering the system.

Aquafornia news Arizona Republic

Opinion: Arizona water use isn’t where we thought. What do we do now?

We missed the goalpost. Most of Arizona’s urban areas were supposed to reach “safe yield,” the point where we are replenishing roughly as much groundwater as we pump, by 2025. But we’re not anywhere close. The state’s five initial groundwater Active Management Areas (AMAs), including Phoenix, still pump more water than they replace. And, if anything, are moving further away from their management goals, which were set four decades ago. So, what do we do now? That remains the great unanswered question.
—Joanna Allhands writes opinions primarily about Arizona water and the Colorado River.

Aquafornia news Monterey County Now

Monterey One Water is upgrading its infrastructure so it can sell renewable natural gas.

As the Monterey Peninsula becomes increasingly dependent on recycled water, the cost of water is going to rise, and already has. Although recycling water is cheaper than desalinating it, it’s still energy intensive. Add to that, energy from the grid can be unreliable – Monterey One Water, which treats wastewater and recycles some of it for potable use, lost power in 2022 for a total of 65.2 hours at its treatment plant in Marina, as the PG&E substation supplying energy to the plant experienced interruptions. While generators were able to keep things humming, it’s not an ideal scenario for the facility – wastewater is constantly flowing, and needs to be treated before being discharged out to sea. 

Aquafornia news CalMatters

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Wildfires in January? Here’s why California wildfire season is worse

As climate change warms the planet, wildfires have become so unpredictable and extreme that new words were invented: firenado, gigafire, fire siege — even fire pandemic. California has 78 more annual “fire days” — when conditions are ripe for fires to spark — than 50 years ago. When is California’s wildfire season? With recurring droughts, it is now year-round. Nothing is as it was. Where are the worst California wildfires? All over. Whatever NIMBYism that gave comfort to some Californians — never having a fire in their community before — no longer applies to most areas.  Los Angeles County is the latest victim. 

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Aquafornia news KJZZ (Phoenix, Ariz.)

Tucson approves plan for $86 million treatment facility turning wastewater into drinking water

Tucson officials are moving forward on a plan to create southern Arizona’s first water treatment facility that turns wastewater into drinking water. Tucson City Councilmembers voted to approve a proposal to use some $86 million worth of Bureau of Reclamation funding to build the new treatment facility and save Colorado River water as a result. Tucson Water Director Jon Kmiec says things began about 16 months ago, when the water utility asked the agency to fund an advanced water purification plant in Tucson’s northwest side.

Other Colorado River articles:

Aquafornia news Associated Press

New research shows a quarter of freshwater animals are threatened with extinction

Nearly a quarter of animals living in rivers, lakes and other freshwater sources are threatened with extinction, according to new research published Wednesday. “Huge rivers like the Amazon can appear mighty, but at the same time freshwater environments are very fragile,” said study co-author Patricia Charvet, a biologist at Brazil’s Federal University of Ceará. Freshwater habitats – including rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, bogs and wetlands – cover less than 1% of the planet’s surface, but support 10% of its animal species, said Catherine Sayer, a zoologist at the International Union for Conservation of Nature in England. The researchers examined around 23,500 species of dragonflies, fish, crabs and other animals that depend exclusively on freshwater ecosystems. They found that 24% were at risk of extinction – classified as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered – due to compounding threats from pollution, dams, water extraction, agriculture, invasive species, climate change and other disruptions.

Other fish article:

Aquafornia news San Diego Union-Tribune

Is push for Tijuana River Valley Superfund designation dead? County weighs options

The push to explore a potential Superfund designation for the Tijuana River Valley hit a snag Wednesday when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told San Diego County leaders that the federal agency’s priority is to control the flows of sewage and trash that spill over from Mexico. Investigating potential contamination in the border region was best left to the state, they said. Last week, the federal agency denied a petition to review whether a six-mile stretch of the lower river valley qualifies as a Superfund site, a determination it made based largely on data from 2018 and 2019. That data, collected by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the International Boundary and Water Commission, found concentrations of hazardous chemicals in water and sediment, but not at levels that exceeded the EPA’s regional screening levels for human health concerns.

Aquafornia news Inside Climate News

To save the Great Salt Lake, farmers will have to grow less alfalfa

… The decline of the Great Salt Lake drew increased scrutiny in recent years, after the lake hit record lows in 2022. At the time, experts warned that if conditions continued, the lake could be completely dry within 5 years. Environmentalists sued the state over the lake’s decline, arguing it has violated its public trust obligations by threatening a public health crisis and ecological collapse and also filed an Endangered Species Act petition to protect a bird whose declining population is heavily reliant on the Great Salt Lake during its annual migration.  But the last two years have been wet years, leading to policymakers, including the state’s governor, to downplay the issue, despite continued concern over the future of the lake from academics and environmentalists.

Aquafornia news Los Vaqueros Reservoir JPA

News release: Statement from Chair Anthea Hansen on Los Vaqueros Reservoir

Today, the Los Vaqueros Reservoir Joint Powers Authority (JPA) approved the resolution to officially dissolve the JPA and directed staff to proceed with all actions to support this decision. Without question, this is a significant and somber day for the JPA and the Phase 2 Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion Project (Project). As we move forward with the dissolution process, it is important to document the contributions and lessons learned from this effort.

Related article:

Aquafornia news Palo Alto Online

Extracting precious resources from wastewater

To find chemical engineering problems to solve, William Tarpeh uses a simple formula. “Name a wastewater, either where it comes from or something about it. Name a pollutant you want to get rid of, and then name a product you’d be interested in making,” said Tarpeh, an assistant professor of chemical engineering in the Stanford School of Engineering. This combination has fueled Tarpeh’s interests since he was a Stanford undergraduate. Now, it shapes his vision for finding innovative ways to extract value from wastewater, including new research that involves designing and refining ways to reclaim ammonia from nitrate-contaminated wastewater streams.

Aquafornia news Hoover Institution

Blog: California adopts permanent water rationing

California implemented permanent water rationing for urban water users on January 1. The California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) designed the regulations, which will affect about 405 water providers serving about 95 percent of the state’s population. These providers in turn will need to determine how to meet their SWRCB quotas. The stringency of the rationing varies across locations. Newsweek reports estimated water delivery reductions of 92 percent for the City of Vernon, 58 percent for the City of Atwater, and 43 percent for the City of Glendora by 2040. It also reports that by 2040, about 36 percent of water suppliers will need to cut water delivery by an estimated 10 percent or more. About 31 percent of suppliers are estimated to avoid any cuts by 2040. Fines for noncompliance could reach $10,000 per day, though compliance apparently won’t be enforced until 2027.

Aquafornia news Daily Kos

Blog: California Water Impact Network: Bay/Delta Plan is against the law!

The draft State Water Resources Control Board Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay / Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Watershed (WQCP) is “both illegal and morally indefensible,” said water policy experts from the California Water Impact Network (C-WIN) in a press statement. “The draft plan would illegally delegate responsibility for maintaining healthy rivers and vibrant communities to water contractors serving corporate agriculture,” said Max Gomberg, a C-WIN board member and the former Climate and Conservation Manager for the State Water Resources Control Board. “It is morally indefensible for the Water Board to rubber stamp backroom deals that deliberately exclude tribes, environmental justice communities, and scientific experts.”

Aquafornia news Herald and News (Klamath Falls, Ore.)

Restoration at former John C. Boyle Dam featured in talk

Ongoing efforts to revegetate areas along the Klamath River in the former John C. Boyle dam’s “footprint” were among items discussed during a Monday night meeting of the Native Plant Society’s Klamath Basin Chapter. Robert Roninger, a fish biologist with the Bureau of Land Management’s Klamath Falls Field Office, presented two publicly available videos about the dam removal and multi-year plans to restore about 2,500 acres of land that had been created as reservoirs by the Iron Gate, Copco 1, Copco 2, and Boyle dams. In a power point presentation, Roninger focused on restoring about 275 acres that had resulted from the John C. Boyle Dam Project Area and the faster than expected return of fall Chinook and Coho salmon to the Klamath River in Oregon.

Other Klamath River article:

Aquafornia news CBS 8 (San Diego)

San Diego County water supply stable despite dry season, lack of rain

Even in San Diego, it’s typical to get some rain in the winter. Except this year, the San Diego County Water Authority said it’s the third driest start to the rainy season in 150 years. “Typically, we should have about three to four inches of precipitation around the county, and we’re at around less than a quarter of an inch,” Senior Water Resource Specialist Efren Lopez said. This doesn’t mean we’re in trouble. The Water Authority said we have plenty of water in our reservoirs. The Olivenhain Dam and Reservoir in Escondido is at full capacity. It stores emergency water and water imported from the Colorado River, plus it collects rain. … The SD Water Authority said the San Diego region has 21 reservoirs with a total of about 719,000 acre-feet of storage.

Related article:

Aquafornia news U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

News release: Service awards $3 million to protect and restore coastal wetlands in California

… The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is awarding $3 million to support three projects in California under the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program. Coastal wetlands are vitally important in protecting us from floods, filtering our water, supporting recreation and local economies, and providing habitat for fish and wildlife. Despite their importance, there has been a steady loss of coastal wetlands, and California is no exception.  Nationwide, the Service is awarding $25.7 million to support 28 projects in 11 coastal states, which will restore or enhance over 10,000 acres of coastal wetlands and adjacent upland habitats and more than eight miles of streams and shoreline. State, local and Tribal governments, private landowners, conservation groups and other partners will contribute $16.8 million in additional funds to support these projects nationwide.  

Aquafornia news Daily Pilot/Los Angeles Times

Newport Beach trash interceptor nearing completion

During a storm, garbage carelessly discarded in the street in Lake Forest or Irvine doesn’t stay there. Each year, between 100 to 300 tons of trash winds up flowing up to 15 miles downstream along San Diego Creek, ultimately polluting the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve. … That’s why the Newport Beach City Council approved construction of a garbage interceptor at the end of San Diego Creek in July 2023. It’s a preventive waste management system similar to Baltimore’s two Mr. Trash Wheels, which use floating containment booms to direct debris toward a conveyor belt powered by a water wheel and solar panels. The $5.5-million project is about 90% complete, with it’s conveyor belt barge and other components already positioned at the creek, Kappeler said. Crews were in the process of installing its solar panels and battery Monday. The trash wheel could be up and running as soon as late February.

Aquafornia news Sierra Nevada Conservancy

News release: Landscape grant pilot update

… Together, CAL FIRE, the SNC, and the US Forest Service committed $10 million, meeting nearly half of the estimated $23 million needed to complete shovel-ready, wildfire-resilience projects in the Crystal Basin over the next 5-10 years. Those funds support a strategic portfolio of fuel reduction and recreation infrastructure improvements in the Crystal Basin, a scenic island of green forest and mountain lakes in the Eldorado National Forest that is surrounded by large, high-severity burn areas created by the 2014 King Fire and 2021 Caldor Fire. As a result of this catalyst funding, HELP is already seeing early, unanticipated successes.

Aquafornia news NUG Magazine

Environmental concerns: How cannabis cultivation laws are evolving

… One major environmental concern associated with cannabis cultivation is the excessive demand for water. Cannabis plants require a large amount of water, particularly in arid regions where many grow operations are located. Data from the California Department of Water Resources show that legal cannabis cultivation can consume more water than many other crops, which puts additional strain on already limited water supplies, especially in drought-stricken areas. In response, certain states have begun adopting regulations to mitigate water usage by requiring specific water allocations for cannabis farms. For instance, California, which produces nearly 70% of the nation’s cannabis, instituted stricter water regulations in response to prolonged droughts. Under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, cannabis cultivators must now develop and implement water conservation plans that align with broader resource management strategies.

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: As Pacific Palisades burns, firefighters report hydrants coming up dry: ‘Water supply just dropped’

As fires raged across Los Angeles on Tuesday, some firefighters battling the Palisades fire reported on internal radio systems that hydrants in Pacific Palisades were coming up dry. “The hydrants are down,” said one firefighter. “Water supply just dropped,” said another. … A spokesman for the Department of Water and Power acknowledged reports of diminished water flow from hydrants but did not have details on the number of hydrants without water or the scale of the issue. In a statement, the DWP said water crews were working in the neighborhood “to ensure the availability of water supplies.” “This area is served by water tanks and close coordination is underway to continue supplying the area,” the DWP said in its statement.

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