Topic: Drinking Water

Overview

Drinking Water

Finding and maintaining a clean water supply for drinking and other uses has been a constant challenge throughout human history.

Aquafornia news PIRG

Blog: We’re campaigning for microplastic free waters

Plastic fragments have been found at the top of the Alps, in the deepest parts of our oceans and likely, in your local waterways. Some of this microplastic is in the form of nurdles. You may not be familiar with them, but these lentil-sized plastics pose a huge threat to our waters and wildlife. Nurdles, also called plastic pellets, are the building blocks of plastic manufacturing. At plastic factories, pellets that fall on the floor or get contaminated with dirt are sometimes washed down drains. Because they’re small and lightweight, nurdles are often spilled during transport too. … Plastic pellets are extremely difficult to clean up once they reach our waterways, and often polluters are not held accountable.

Aquafornia news Fresno State News

New study: Study explores groundwater recharge areas near local communities

To address the concern of historic groundwater overdraft in the San Joaquin Valley, the California Water Institute at Fresno State, with assistance from students and faculty, conducted a feasibility study to explore the potential for groundwater recharge within disadvantaged communities. … The analysis identified four potential locations for the design and construction of recharge basins near or in the cities of Kerman, Raisin City, Caruthers and Laton. 

Aquafornia news SF Gate

South Lake Tahoe and Truckee ban common grocery store item

Two Tahoe towns are saying no to plastic water bottles. South Lake Tahoe’s ban on single-use plastic water bottles and paper cartons is slated to go into full effect next month, soon after neighboring Truckee passed an ordinance to implement a similar ban. … The League to Save Lake Tahoe found that single-use plastic bottles are one of the top five types of litter in the Tahoe Basin, Truckee’s news release states. 

Aquafornia news HortiDaily

New study: US scholars highlight the environmental health implications of plastic use in agriculture

Plastics are also … used in agriculture. Macroplastics are used as protective wraps around mulch and fodder; they cover greenhouses, shield crops from the elements, and are used to make irrigation tubes, sacks, and bottles. … While there are significant benefits to using plastics in agriculture, there are emerging concerns regarding the risks associated with agricultural plastics. Over time, macroplastics slowly break down, fragmented by wind and sunlight into ever-smaller pieces to generate microplastics and nanoplastics. These tiny plastic particles seep into the soil, changing its physical structure and limiting its capacity to hold water. 

Aquafornia news AP News

South Africa water crisis: Taps dry in Johannesburg

For two weeks, Tsholofelo Moloi has been among thousands of South Africans lining up for water as the country’s largest city, Johannesburg, confronts an unprecedented collapse of its water system affecting millions of people. Residents rich and poor have never seen a shortage of this severity. While hot weather has shrunk reservoirs, crumbling infrastructure after decades of neglect is also largely to blame. The public’s frustration is a danger sign for the ruling African National Congress, whose comfortable hold on power since the end of apartheid in the 1990s faces its most serious challenge in an election this year.

Aquafornia news CBS 8 - San Diego

More San Diego customers dealing with water bill problems

CBS 8 is Working for You to get to the bottom of water billing problems in the City of San Diego. It’s been four months since Mission Hills homeowner Ken Perilli received a notice in the mail that his water bills were being withheld, pending an investigation by the city of San Diego into “abnormal water use.” “The first reaction is to panic that you have a leak under a slab, and that you’re going to be facing an expensive plumbing repair bill,” said Perilli. He called a plumber and checked for water leaks, but nothing seemed abnormal. “I investigated the abnormal reading. And you can see that there is dirt in front of the meter. So, the abnormal reading is that there was no reading taken, I believe,” said Perilli. On the social media site Next Door, Perilli said he found dozens of similar complaints by neighbors.

Aquafornia news Arizona Daily Star

Opinion: Arizona utilities deplete our water resources

“Water is Life,” was the Lakota rallying cry at Standing Rock as thousands weathered severe freezing conditions to stop an oil pipeline threat to their water. In Arizona water is life too but here we’re way beyond having our water resources threatened. They’re right now being needlessly and excessively plundered for corporate profit as the Arizona Corporation Commission rolls out the red carpet for fossil fuel energy, depletes our precious water resources and ends up maximizing utility shareholders’ dividends. Now most of us can wrap our heads around this — burning fossil fuels to make electricity causes and worsens climate change, but it’s harder to wrap your head around just how much water is consumed in the process. Here’s how much water is used by different energy sources to produce 1 megawatt hour of electricity.
-Written by Rick Rappaport, a member of Tucson Climate Coalition, Tucson Chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby and Arizonans for Community Choice Energy

Aquafornia news Ridgecrest Independent

Water District moves towards consolidating water company

At the Indian Wells Valley Water District board meeting on March 11, the Water District board moved forward in learning about the process of consolidating the Dune 3 water mutual company into their service area. Some negotiation and planning still needs to happen before any decision is finalized, but for the moment the board is willing to cautiously move forward in the process. The IWV Water District serves water to IWV residents by pumping water out of the IWV groundwater basin. However, they are not the only ones doing so. Dotted all across IWV are domestic well owners and even a few other public or private organizations resembling a water district. If one of those organizations fails, an obligation still exists to serve water to the people in that region. 

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Aquafornia news KCRW - Los Angeles

The industrialization of water made it safe but also made it taste like nothing

Imagine putting billions of dollars into creating something that tastes like nothing. When it comes to municipal water systems the world over, that’s what water companies strive to provide — no bad or off flavors, no assertive minerals, just bland safety. It’s a miracle, and one we shouldn’t take for granted. In The Taste of Water, author Christy Spackman looks beyond the glass to ask how our water should and shouldn’t taste. Spackman, a professor at Arizona State University, is also the director of the Sensory Labor(atory), an experimental research collective dedicated to disrupting longstanding sensory hierarchies. Through her work, she became interested in why people eat what they do and how the management of taste and smell done by food scientists and engineers, shapes the experiences we often take for granted.

Aquafornia news Reuters

US warns that hackers are carrying out disruptive attacks on water systems

The U.S. government is warning state governors that foreign hackers are carrying out disruptive cyberattacks against water and sewage systems throughout the country. In a letter released Tuesday, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan warned that “disabling cyberattacks are striking water and wastewater systems throughout the United States.” The letter singled out alleged Iranian and Chinese cyber saboteurs. Sullivan and Regan cited a recent case in which hackers accused of acting in concert with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had disabled a controller at a water facility in Pennsylvania. They also called out a Chinese hacking group dubbed “Volt Typhoon” which they said had “compromised information technology of multiple critical infrastructure systems, including drinking water, in the United States and its territories.”

Aquafornia news UC San Diego

New study: Say hello to biodegradable microplastics

Microplastics are tiny, nearly indestructible fragments shed from everyday plastic products. As we learn more about microplastics, the news keeps getting worse. Already well-documented in our oceans and soil, we’re now discovering them in the unlikeliest of places: our arteries, lungs and even placentas. Microplastics can take anywhere from 100 to 1,000 years to break down and, in the meantime, our planet and bodies are becoming more polluted with these materials every day. Finding viable alternatives to traditional petroleum-based plastics and microplastics has never been more important. New research from scientists at the University of California San Diego and materials-science company Algenesis shows that their plant-based polymers biodegrade — even at the microplastic level — in under seven months. The paper, whose authors are all UC San Diego professors, alumni or former research scientists, appears in Nature Scientific Reports.

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Aquafornia news USA Today

EPA: PFAS forever chemicals found in drinking water systems for 70M

At least 70 million Americans get their water from a system where toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” were found at levels that require reporting to the Environmental Protection Agency.  That’s according to new data the EPA released in its ongoing 5-year review of water systems across the nation. The number will almost certainly grow as new reports are released every three months. … Found in drinking water, food, firefighting foam, and nonstick and water-repellent items, PFAS resist degradation, building up in both the environment and our bodies. Salt Lake City; Sacramento, California; Madison, Wisconsin; and Louisville, Kentucky, were among the major systems reporting PFAS contamination to the EPA in the latest data release.

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Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Opinion: Ours is the most wasteful civilization in history. Here’s how to stop that

What if the looming calamities of climate change, plastic pollution, the energy crisis and our whole environmental doom-scroll are symptoms of just one malady and it’s something we actually can fix? That’s right, the planet is fighting a single archvillain: Waste. Americans live in the most wasteful civilization in history. … Waste is so deeply embedded in our economy, products and daily lives that it’s hard to see clearly, or to see at all. … How is it “normal” that 40% of what our industrial farm and food system produces ends up as garbage? … The average American throws out three times more trash today than in 1960. Pin much of that garbage growth on plastic waste, so pervasive now that tiny bits of it are in food, water, beer and even human hearts, lungs and newborn babies’ poop.
-Written by Edward Humes, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. His latest book, “Total Garbage: How We Can Fix Our Waste and Heal Our World,” will be published in April.

Aquafornia news Bloomberg

Regulation of PFAS chemicals in water supply strains city budgets

Hastings, Minnesota, is staring down a $69 million price tag for three new treatment plants to remove PFAS chemicals from its water supply, ahead of new US federal regulations limiting the amount of so-called forever chemicals in public drinking water — which could come as early as this month. … [T]he project amounts to a “budget buster,” says city administrator Dan Wietecha. Operation and maintenance costs for the new plants could add as much as $1 million to the tab each year … Cities across the US are bracing for costly upgrades to their water systems as the Environmental Protection Agency moves to finalize the first-ever enforceable national drinking water standards for PFAS — or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — a large group of man-made chemicals used for decades in manufacturing and in consumer products.

Aquafornia news The Washington Post

New study: How the Flint water crisis set schoolchildren back

School-age children affected by the water crisis in Flint, Mich., nearly a decade ago suffered significant and lasting academic setbacks, according to a new study released Wednesday, showing the disaster’s profound impact on a generation of children. The study, published in Science Advances, found that after the crisis, students faced a substantial decline in math scores, losing the equivalent of five months of learning progress that hadn’t recovered by 2019, according to Brian Jacob, one of the study’s authors. The learning gap was especially prevalent among younger students in third through fifth grades and those of lower socioeconomic status. There was also an 8 percent increase in the number of students with special needs, especially among school-age boys. 

Aquafornia news SJV Water

Allensworth residents feel abandoned by company that makes water out of thin air

Allensworth is one of the testing grounds for a hydropanel that creates drinking water out of thin air. But two years into the program, community members say the hydropanel company has left them high and dry while many of the hydropanels have broken down. Allensworth has struggled with arsenic-laced groundwater for decades. In 2021, Source Global, the company behind the hydropanels, installed two in Allensworth to test out the technology. Each panel generates about a gallon of drinking water per day by condensing water vapor in the air into liquid form.  In 2022, a philanthropic organization bought 1,000 hydropanels to be installed throughout the Central Valley. Allensworth now has about 42 panels, according to Source Global.

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Aquafornia news Cal Coast News

SLO receives $6.6 million grant to clean up contaminated groundwater

The California State Water Resources Control Board issued a $6.6 million grant for a city of San Luis Obispo project intended to clean up contaminated groundwater. Presently, the city does not use groundwater for its drinking water supply. SLO’s potable water supply comes from Whale Rock Reservoir, Santa Margarita Lake and Nacimiento Reservoir.  City officials have sought to diversify the water supply in an attempt to achieve “greater drought and climate change resiliency.” Previously, contamination from tetrachloroethylene, or PCE, served as a barrier to doing so. PCE is a toxic chemical produced by dry cleaning and industrial activities, which took place in the city decades ago. The cleanup project will consist of the city building two new groundwater supply wells that are expected to be fully operation in 2026. 

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

As water rates soar, legislators seek funding for assistance

In California and across the country, household water rates have been rising as utilities invest to upgrade aging infrastructure, secure future supplies and meet treatment standards for clean drinking water. As monthly water bills continue to increase, growing numbers of customers have been struggling to pay. New federal legislation would establish a water assistance program to help low-income families pay their bills and prevent shutoffs of water service. The bill, introduced by Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla, would make permanent a federal program that Congress authorized in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program provided more than $1 billion in assistance, but it’s expiring.

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Aquafornia news Santa Maria Sun

LA Superior Court rules on Cuyama Valley Groundwater Basin boundaries

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge confirmed that the Cuyama Valley Groundwater Basin is one connected basin—not separate subbasins—allowing for the groundwater adjudication to move forward following a year-and-a-half of delays and litigation. … The Cuyama Valley Groundwater Basin is one of California’s 21 critically overdrafted basins that was required under the 2014 California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) to create a groundwater sustainability agency (GSA) and corresponding groundwater sustainability plan. After the California Department of Water Resources approved the sustainability plan, which called for a 60 percent water use reduction in 20 years, agricultural corporations Bolthouse Farms and Grimmway Farms filed a groundwater adjudication against every landowner in the Cuyama Valley in August 2021. 

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

New study: Microplastics may be risk factor for cardiovascular disease

Add one more likely culprit to the long list of known cardiovascular risk factors including red meat, butter, smoking and stress: microplastics. In a study released Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, an international team of physicians and researchers showed that surgical patients who had a build-up of micro and nanoplastics in their arterial plaque had a 2.1 times greater risk of nonfatal heart attack, nonfatal stroke or death from any cause in the three years post surgery than those who did not. … Petroleum-based plastics do not biodegrade. Over time, they break down into smaller and smaller pieces — known as microplastics, microfibers and nanoplastics — and have been found in household dust, drinking water and human tissue and blood.

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Aquafornia news KJZZ - Tempe, AZ

Some Cochise County residents blame Arizona Rep. Gail Griffin for blocking groundwater conservation progress

At a recent listening session hosted by Attorney General Kris Mayes, Cochise County residents called on state officials to do more to protect Arizona’s groundwater — and pointed the finger at one rural lawmaker for blocking progress.  Cochise County residents such as Anne Carl reported that mega farms, dairies and lithium mines are sucking the groundwater out of the earth and leaving it dry which causes the ground to shake and crack. … Residents blamed Rep. Gail Griffin (R-Hereford), the powerful chair of the House Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee, for blocking bills that they say would protect their water rights. Mayes, a Democrat who’s spoken strongly against drill permits previously awarded to foreign-owned companies, suggested they vote her out and vowed to act if the Legislature will not. 

Aquafornia news SJV Sun

Valadao secures $55 million for 15 community project funding requests

Rep. David Valadao (R–Hanford) has secured $55 million in direct funding for community improvement projects.  Fifteen projects throughout Congressional District 22 will receive federal grants, per Valadao’s request. The big picture: The largest project on the list is $9 million to construct a new homeless shelter campus in Bakersfield. … Delano’s Well 42 project will receive $6 million to fund the creation of a new city well and treatment plant to provide clean and contaminant free water. … Here’s a look at the rest of the projects that Valadao secured funding for: … $1.75 million for the city of Lindsay to replace an old main pipeline to improve water quality. $3.25 million for the Arvin-Edison groundwater recharge project to reduce landowner’s groundwater pumping and provide in-lieu groundwater recharge.

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Aquafornia news Forbes

Opinion: Innovation that can solve housing’s water scarcity challenge

So many hurdles are impacting new home construction, yet one is quickly growing more urgent and critical—access to water. In more and more places across the country, access to healthy, safe, and sustainable water supply is causing restrictions on new home building permits and challenging current homeowners with new water use policies. This challenge is triggering states and municipalities to reconsider new developments, halting them or shutting them down completely at a time when housing supply is at critically low levels. Groundwater shortages have shut down new permits in parts of Arizona where new homes would rely on wells. A large development with thousands of homes north of Las Vegas also was shut down due to concerns over water supply.
-By Jennifer Castenson, vice-president of ambassador and industry partner programs at Buildxact, providing leadership and collaboration across the various verticals involved in custom homebuilding and remodeling. 

Aquafornia news The Associated Press

Trillions of gallons leak from aging drinking water systems, further stressing shrinking US cities

Water bubbles up in streets, pooling in neighborhoods for weeks or months. Homes burn to the ground if firefighters can’t draw enough water from hydrants. Utility crews struggle to fix broken pipes while water flows through shut-off valves that don’t work. … Across the U.S., trillions of gallons of drinking water are lost every year, especially from decrepit systems in communities struggling with significant population loss and industrial decline that leave behind poorer residents, vacant neighborhoods and too-large water systems that are difficult to maintain.

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Aquafornia news SJV Sun

Water Blueprint taps Eddie Ocampo as chairperson

Eddie Ocampo has been elected as the new chairperson of the Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley.  The Water Blueprint is an initiative consisting of agriculture, industry, government and nonprofit stakeholders working to develop sustainable water management in the Central Valley. … Ocampo is currently the Director of Community Sustainability at Self-Help Enterprises, a local organization that develops affordable housing. Along with Ocampo, Daniel Hartwig and Priscilla Rodriguez have joined the Water Blueprint’s board. 

Aquafornia news Law360

Split Calif. panel backs drinking water regs on oil operators

A split California appellate panel threw out a trial court ruling finding drinking water regulations put in place by the California Geologic Energy Management Division are invalid, saying, instead, the challenged regulations are consistent with …

Aquafornia news KSBY - Central Coast

Proposed bill could help low-income families struggling with increased bills

Residents in Grover Beach are feeling the pinch as water rates surged this month, but a new bill could ease their burden. “We had a rate increase of $26, which we were billed once every two months,” said Dave Browning, who lives in Grover Beach. “That was roughly $13 per month.” Grover Beach residents recently felt the impact of a long-discussed water rate hike. “We did send a couple of letters, and I know they’ve received quite a few from what I was being told,” Browning said. And while many still have strong opinions about it moving forward, those facing the reality of the hike now are concerned about how they’ll pay for it.

Aquafornia news Yale E360

New study: Boiling, filtering water can get rid of microplastics

A new study finds that boiling and then filtering tap water can remove up to 90 percent of microplastics. Minute particles of plastic, no larger than a grain of sand, have been found in every corner of the globe, from the bottom of the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Mediterranean, to the clouds floating over Mount Fuji, in Japan. Shed from car tires, fleece sweaters, and myriad other plastic items, microplastics and even smaller nanoplastics are getting into our food and drinking water, and even the air we breathe. Scientists have found microplastics in blood and breast milk and in the lungs of people undergoing surgery — all troubling discoveries as microplastics have also been shown to damage human cells.

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Aquafornia news Monterey County Weekly

Cal Am fires its first defensive legal volley against the water district in public buyout case.

An effort toward a public takeover of the private water utility California American Water has taken years to get to this point. Activists asked voters to approve a ballot measure to that end in 2005, and it failed. They tried again in 2014, and lost again. They prevailed in 2018 with the passage of Measure J, which compelled the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District to acquire Cal Am’s local system “if and when feasible.” More than five years later, the matter has moved to the courts. In October 2023, the board of the water district determined that yes, it was feasible—and that it would pursue acquisition of Cal Am’s system. Because the utility company had rejected the public district’s previous offer of $449 million to buy it, the district would proceed by filing an eminent domain case. 

Aquafornia news Office of Senator Alex Padilla

News release: Padilla introduces bill to create permanent, national water assistance program

Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, introduced the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) Establishment Act, legislation that would establish a permanent, nationwide water assistance program to help families afford their water bills. 

Aquafornia news E&E News

Lawmakers urge restraint on microplastics regulations

Senators agree more research is needed to understand how microplastics affect human health, but they’re split on what actions should be done in the meantime. During a joint hearing Tuesday of two Environment and Public Works subcommittees, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) urged lawmakers to move “with caution.” “We have to be careful that we’re not getting ahead of, as we would say, the science and burden these municipalities that are trying to meet today’s regulations,” said Mullin, ranking member of the Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice and Regulatory Oversight Subcommittee.

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Aquafornia news The Guardian

Microplastics found in every human placenta tested in study

Microplastics have been found in every human placenta tested in a study, leaving the researchers worried about the potential health impacts on developing foetuses. … [T]he most common plastic detected was polyethylene, which is used to make plastic bags and bottles. A second study revealed microplastics in all 17 human arteries tested and suggested the particles may be linked to clogging of the blood vessels. Microplastics have also recently been discovered in human blood and breast milk, indicating widespread contamination of people’s bodies. The impact on health is as yet unknown but microplastics have been shown to cause damage to human cells in the laboratory. 

Aquafornia news Route Fifty

EPA expands water program to help more disadvantaged communities apply for grants

The Biden administration announced Thursday that it will be expanding a program offering small disadvantaged communities help in applying for $50 billion in infrastructure act funding to improve drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, disadvantaged and underserved communities often struggle to access federal funding because they lack the money to do the assessments required to apply for grants. To try to help, the EPA said it will now be offering engineering assistance to communities to identify water challenges, develop plans, build capacity and develop their application materials through its WaterTA program. The program is free, and local governments, water utilities, state and tribal governments, and nonprofits are eligible for the assistance.

Aquafornia news Oregon State University

New study: Cooler, wetter parts of Pacific Northwest likely to see more fires, new simulations predict

Forests in the coolest, wettest parts of the western Pacific Northwest are likely to see the biggest increases in burn probability, fire size and number of blazes as the climate continues to get warmer and drier, according to new modeling led by an Oregon State University scientist. Understanding how fire regimes may change under future climate scenarios is critical for developing adaptation strategies, said the study’s lead author, Alex Dye. Findings were published today in JGR Biogeosciences. … Forests in all of the affected areas are linchpins of multiple socio-ecological systems in the Northwest, Dye said, meaning more fire will likely put pressure on everything from drinking water sources and timber resources to biodiversity and carbon stocks.

Aquafornia news CalMatters

California’s polluted communities could miss out on billions under state’s flawed system

The system that California uses to screen neighborhoods at risk of environmental harm is highly subjective and flawed, resulting in communities potentially missing out on billions of dollars in funding, according to new research. The study, by researchers who began the project at Stanford University, investigated a tool that the California Environmental Protection Agency developed in 2013 as the nation’s “first comprehensive statewide environmental health screening tool” to identify communities disproportionately burdened by pollution. … CalEnviroScreen evaluates 21 environmental, public health and demographic factors to identify which neighborhoods are most susceptible to environmental harm. Among the factors considered: air pollution and drinking water contaminants, pesticide usage, toxic releases, low birth weight infants, poverty and unemployment rates.

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Aquafornia news Capital Public Radio

Nevada County rejects controversial gold mining project

After years of controversy, the Nevada County Board of Supervisors unanimously struck down a Grass Valley gold mining project. … Rise Gold first submitted an application to resume gold mining operations at the Idaho Maryland Mine, which is in Grass Valley, in 2019. The site had been inactive since its closure in the 1950s, but Rise Gold said it had untapped potential.  But the company was quickly met with mass opposition. Christy Hubbard, a Grass Valley resident and volunteer for a couple local groups opposing the project … said she was particularly concerned with the potential for mining operations to contaminate or otherwise negatively impact local groundwater supply. As a member of the Wells Coalition, a local group of well owners, and an owner of a well herself, she worried mining could reduce water flows or contaminate them. 

Aquafornia news Natural Resources Defense Council

Blog: New analysis shows widespread PFAS contamination of tap water in CA

Toxic “forever” PFAS chemicals are a serious environmental health issue in California and across the globe, linked to numerous health harms. California has been a leader in addressing PFAS, including banning PFAS use in multiple products (such as fire-fighting foam and textiles). Yet PFAS continue to be used in hundreds of different consumer and industrial products and our new analysis, released today, shows drinking water sources serving up to 25 million Californians are or have been contaminated with PFAS.  A bill by Senator Nancy Skinner, also introduced today, proposes a much needed comprehensive, efficient, and health-protective approach to phasing out the use of these highly problematic chemicals. Such preventative legislation will be key to helping to address the PFAS crisis. We also need to tackle current contamination by setting drinking water standards for PFAS.

Aquafornia news KVCR News

Judge rules to allow Arrowhead Spring bottler to continue taking water from San Bernardino mountains

A judge ruled last month to allow the company that bottles Arrowhead Spring Water to continue taking water from the San Bernardino National Forest. Activists are now calling on the Forest Service to stop the company’s operations. Fresno County Court Judge Robert Whalen on January 25 ruled to pause the state water board’s cease and desist order against BlueTriton Brands. BlueTriton took over Nestle’s operations in the national forest in 2021. The board last September stopped the company from extracting water from Strawberry Creek — the watershed in the forest that feeds local rivers, creeks and streams.

Aquafornia news The Arizona Republic

Commentary: Water regulation in Arizona has now devolved into a game of chicken

Water regulation in Arizona has devolved into a game of chicken. The governor and farmers are rivals revving their engines, hoping their opponent will flinch first. Caught in the middle is Gila Bend, a groundwater basin south of Buckeye, where the state could decide to impose its most stringent form of regulation, whether folks like it or not. Both sides are using Gila Bend as a bargaining chip to win support for competing legislative proposals. But to what end?
- Written by Joanna Allhands, Arizona Republic digital opinions editor 

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Aquafornia news JFleck at Inkstain

Blog: Senate hearing Thursday on tribal access to clean water: it takes more than just a pile of money

The U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee is holding an important hearing Thursday on S. 2385, a bill to refine the tools needed to help Tribal communities gain access to something that most non-Indian communities in the western United States have long taken for granted: federally subsidized systems to deliver safe, clean drinking water to our homes. … This is the sort of bill (there’s a companion on the House side) that makes a huge amount of sense, but could easily get sidetracked in the chaos of Congress. The ideal path is for the crucial vetting to happen in a process such as Thursday’s hearing, and then to attach it to one of those omnibus things that Congress uses these days to get non-controversial stuff done. Clean water for Native communities should pretty clearly be non-controversial.

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

As climate hazards converge, health risks rise in California

State health officials know that extreme heat can cost lives and send people to the hospital, just like wildfire smoke. Now, new research finds that when people are exposed to both hazards simultaneously — as is increasingly the case in California — heart and respiratory crises outpace the expected sum of hospitalizations compared to when the conditions occur separately. … The study joins a growing body of research about the intersection of different climate risks. Last month, California-based think-tank the Pacific Institute published a report about how converging hazards — including wildfires, drought, flooding, sea level rise and intensifying storms — are harming access to drinking water and sanitation in California and other parts of the world. The deadly 2018 Camp fire in Butte County impacted an estimated 2,438 private wells, the report said.

Colorado River Shortages Drive Major Advances in Recycled Sewage Water Use
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Phoenix, Southern California betting on purified sewage to fill drinking water needs

After more than two decades of drought, water utilities serving the largest urban regions in the arid Southwest are embracing a drought-proof source of drinking water long considered a supply of last resort: purified sewage.

Water supplies have tightened to the point that Phoenix and the water supplier for 19 million Southern California residents are racing to adopt an expensive technology called “direct potable reuse” or “advanced purification” to reduce their reliance on imported water from the dwindling Colorado River.

Aquafornia news Fresnoland

Most of state’s unsafe water systems in California’s Central Valley

… A state audit from the California Water Resources Control Board released last year found that over 920,000 residents faced an increased risk of illness–including cancer, liver and kidney problems–due to consuming unsafe drinking water. A majority of these unsafe water systems are in the Central Valley. The matter has prompted community leaders to mobilize residents around water quality as politicians confront imperfect solutions for the region’s supply. Advocates point out that impacted areas, including those in Tulare County, tend to be majority Latino with low median incomes. … This year’s extreme weather has only worsened the valley’s problems. The storms that hit California at the start of this year caused stormwater tainted with farm industry fertilizer, manure and nitrates to flow into valley aquifers. 

Testing at the Source: California Readies a Groundbreaking Hunt to Check for Microplastics in Drinking Water
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Regulators and water systems are finalizing a first-of-its-kind pilot that will determine whether microplastics are contaminating water destined for the tap

Image shows a test jar filled with microplastic debrisTiny pieces of plastic waste shed from food wrappers, grocery bags, clothing, cigarette butts, tires and paint are invading the environment and every facet of daily life. Researchers know the plastic particles have even made it into municipal water supplies, but very little data exists about the scope of microplastic contamination in drinking water. 

After years of planning, California this year is embarking on a first-of-its-kind data-gathering mission to illuminate how prevalent microplastics are in the state’s largest drinking water sources and help regulators determine whether they are a public health threat.

Could Virtual Networks Solve Drinking Water Woes for California’s Isolated, Disadvantaged Communities?
WESTERN WATER SPOTLIGHT: UCLA pilot project uses high-tech gear in LA to remotely run clean-water systems for small communities in Central California's Salinas Valley

UCLA’s remote water treatment systems are providing safe tap water to three disadvantaged communities in the Salinas Valley. A pilot program in the Salinas Valley run remotely out of Los Angeles is offering a test case for how California could provide clean drinking water for isolated rural communities plagued by contaminated groundwater that lack the financial means or expertise to connect to a larger water system.

New EPA Regional Administrator Tackles Water Needs with a Wealth of Experience and $1 Billion in Federal Funding
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Martha Guzman says surge of federal dollars offers 'greatest opportunity' to address longstanding water needs, including for tribes & disadvantaged communities in EPA Region 9

EPA Region 9 Administrator Martha Guzman.Martha Guzman recalls those awful days working on water and other issues as a deputy legislative secretary for then-Gov. Jerry Brown. California was mired in a recession and the state’s finances were deep in the red. Parks were cut, schools were cut, programs were cut to try to balance a troubled state budget in what she remembers as “that terrible time.”

She now finds herself in a strikingly different position: As administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 9, she has a mandate to address water challenges across California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii and $1 billion to help pay for it. It is the kind of funding, she said, that is usually spread out over a decade. Guzman called it the “absolutely greatest opportunity.”

In the Heart of the San Joaquin Valley, Two Groundwater Sustainability Agencies Try to Find Their Balance
WESTERN WATER SPECIAL REPORT: Agencies in Fresno, Tulare counties pursue different approaches to address overdraft and meet requirements of California’s groundwater law

Flooding permanent crops seasonally, such as this vineyard at Terranova Ranch in Fresno County, is one innovative strategy to recharge aquifers.Across a sprawling corner of southern Tulare County snug against the Sierra Nevada, a bounty of navel oranges, grapes, pistachios, hay and other crops sprout from the loam and clay of the San Joaquin Valley. Groundwater helps keep these orchards, vineyards and fields vibrant and supports a multibillion-dollar agricultural economy across the valley. But that bounty has come at a price. Overpumping of groundwater has depleted aquifers, dried up household wells and degraded ecosystems.

Western Water California Water Map Gary Pitzer

Meet the Veteran Insider Who’s Shepherding Gov. Newsom’s Plan to Bring Climate Resilience to California Water
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Former journalist Nancy Vogel explains how the draft California Water Resilience Portfolio came together and why it’s expected to guide future state decisions

Nancy Vogel, director of the Governor’s Water Portfolio Program, highlights key points in the draft Water Resilience Portfolio last month for the Water Education Foundation's 2020 Water Leaders class. Shortly after taking office in 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom called on state agencies to deliver a Water Resilience Portfolio to meet California’s urgent challenges — unsafe drinking water, flood and drought risks from a changing climate, severely depleted groundwater aquifers and native fish populations threatened with extinction.

Within days, he appointed Nancy Vogel, a former journalist and veteran water communicator, as director of the Governor’s Water Portfolio Program to help shepherd the monumental task of compiling all the information necessary for the portfolio. The three state agencies tasked with preparing the document delivered the draft Water Resilience Portfolio Jan. 3. The document, which Vogel said will help guide policy and investment decisions related to water resilience, is nearing the end of its comment period, which goes through Friday, Feb. 7.

Western Water Layperson's Guide to Groundwater Douglas E. Beeman

Water Resource Innovation, Hard-Earned Lessons and Colorado River Challenges — Western Water Year in Review
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK-Our 2019 articles spanned the gamut from groundwater sustainability and drought resiliency to collaboration and innovation

Smoke from the 2018 Camp Fire as viewed from Lake Oroville in Northern California. Innovative efforts to accelerate restoration of headwater forests and to improve a river for the benefit of both farmers and fish. Hard-earned lessons for water agencies from a string of devastating California wildfires. Efforts to drought-proof a chronically water-short region of California. And a broad debate surrounding how best to address persistent challenges facing the Colorado River. 

These were among the issues Western Water explored in 2019, and are still worth taking a look at in case you missed them.

Western Water Layperson's Guide to Climate Change and Water Resources Gary PitzerDouglas E. Beeman

As Wildfires Grow More Intense, California Water Managers Are Learning To Rewrite Their Emergency Playbook
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: Agencies share lessons learned as they recover from fires that destroyed facilities, contaminated supplies and devastated their customers

Debris from the Camp Fire that swept through the Sierra foothills town of Paradise  in November 2018.

By Gary Pitzer and Douglas E. Beeman

It’s been a year since two devastating wildfires on opposite ends of California underscored the harsh new realities facing water districts and cities serving communities in or adjacent to the state’s fire-prone wildlands. Fire doesn’t just level homes, it can contaminate water, scorch watersheds, damage delivery systems and upend an agency’s finances.

Western Water California Water Map

Your Don’t-Miss Roundup of Summer Reading From Western Water

Dear Western Water reader, 

Clockwise, from top: Lake Powell, on a drought-stressed Colorado River; Subsidence-affected bridge over the Friant-Kern Canal in the San Joaquin Valley;  A homeless camp along the Sacramento River near Old Town Sacramento; Water from a desalination plant in Southern California.Summer is a good time to take a break, relax and enjoy some of the great beaches, waterways and watersheds around California and the West. We hope you’re getting a chance to do plenty of that this July.

But in the weekly sprint through work, it’s easy to miss some interesting nuggets you might want to read. So while we’re taking a publishing break to work on other water articles planned for later this year, we want to help you catch up on Western Water stories from the first half of this year that you might have missed. 

Western Water California Water Map Gary Pitzer

Can Providing Bathrooms to Homeless Protect California’s Water Quality?
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: The connection between homelessness and water is gaining attention under California human right to water law and water quality concerns

A homeless camp set up along the Sacramento River near downtown Sacramento. Each day, people living on the streets and camping along waterways across California face the same struggle – finding clean drinking water and a place to wash and go to the bathroom.

Some find friendly businesses willing to help, or public restrooms and drinking water fountains. Yet for many homeless people, accessing the water and sanitation that most people take for granted remains a daily struggle.

Western Water Layperson's Guide to California Wastewater Gary Pitzer

As Californians Save More Water, Their Sewers Get Less and That’s a Problem
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Lower flows damage equipment, concentrate waste and stink up neighborhoods; should water conservation focus shift outdoors?

Corrosion is evident in this wastewater pipe from Los Angeles County.Californians have been doing an exceptional job reducing their indoor water use, helping the state survive the most recent drought when water districts were required to meet conservation targets. With more droughts inevitable, Californians are likely to face even greater calls to save water in the future.

Western Water California Water Map Gary Pitzer

California’s New Natural Resources Secretary Takes on Challenge of Implementing Gov. Newsom’s Ambitious Water Agenda
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Wade Crowfoot addresses Delta tunnel shift, Salton Sea plan and managing water amid a legacy of conflict

Wade Crowfoot, California Natural Resources Secretary.One of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first actions after taking office was to appoint Wade Crowfoot as Natural Resources Agency secretary. Then, within weeks, the governor laid out an ambitious water agenda that Crowfoot, 45, is now charged with executing.

That agenda includes the governor’s desire for a “fresh approach” on water, scaling back the conveyance plan in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and calling for more water recycling, expanded floodplains in the Central Valley and more groundwater recharge.

Western Water California Groundwater Map Layperson's Guide to Flood Management Gary Pitzer

Southern California Water Providers Think Local in Seeking to Expand Supplies
WESTERN WATER SIDEBAR: Los Angeles and San Diego among agencies pursuing more diverse water portfolio beyond imports

The Claude “Bud” Lewis Desalination Plant in Carlsbad last December marked 40 billion gallons of drinking water delivered to San Diego County during its first three years of operation. The desalination plant provides the county with more than 50 million gallons of water each day.Although Santa Monica may be the most aggressive Southern California water provider to wean itself from imported supplies, it is hardly the only one looking to remake its water portfolio.

In Los Angeles, a city of about 4 million people, efforts are underway to dramatically slash purchases of imported water while boosting the amount from recycling, stormwater capture, groundwater cleanup and conservation. Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2014 announced a plan to reduce the city’s purchase of imported water from Metropolitan Water District by one-half by 2025 and to provide one-half of the city’s supply from local sources by 2035. (The city considers its Eastern Sierra supplies as imported water.)

Western Water Gary Pitzer

California Officials Draft a $600M Plan To Help Low-Income Households Absorb Rising Water Bills
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: State Water Board report proposes new taxes on personal and business income or fees on bottled water and booze to fund rate relief program

Filling a glass with clean water from the kitchen tap.Low-income Californians can get help with their phone bills, their natural gas bills and their electric bills. But there’s only limited help available when it comes to water bills.

That could change if the recommendations of a new report are implemented into law. Drafted by the State Water Resources Control Board, the report outlines the possible components of a program to assist low-income households facing rising water bills.

Western Water California Groundwater Map Layperson's Guide to Groundwater Gary Pitzer

Vexed by Salt And Nitrates In Central Valley Groundwater, Regulators Turn To Unusual Coalition For Solutions
WESTERN WATER SPOTLIGHT: Left unaddressed, salts and nitrates could render farmland unsuitable for crops and family well water undrinkable

An evaporation pond in Kings County, in the central San Joaquin Valley, with salt encrusted on the soil. More than a decade in the making, an ambitious plan to deal with the vexing problem of salt and nitrates in the soils that seep into key groundwater basins of the Central Valley is moving toward implementation. But its authors are not who you might expect.

An unusual collaboration of agricultural interests, cities, water agencies and environmental justice advocates collaborated for years to find common ground to address a set of problems that have rendered family wells undrinkable and some soil virtually unusable for farming.

Western Water California Water Map Gary Pitzer

One Year In, A New State Policymaker Assesses the Salton Sea, Federal Relations and California’s Thorny Water Issues
WESTERN WATER Q&A: State Water Board member Joaquin Esquivel

State Water Resources Control Board member E. Joaquin EsquivelJoaquin Esquivel learned that life is what happens when you make plans. Esquivel, who holds the public member slot at the State Water Resources Control Board in Sacramento, had just closed purchase on a house in Washington D.C. with his partner when he was tapped by Gov. Jerry Brown a year ago to fill the Board vacancy.

Esquivel, 35, had spent a decade in Washington, first in several capacities with then Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and then as assistant secretary for federal water policy at the California Natural Resources Agency. As a member of the State Water Board, he shares with four other members the difficult task of ensuring balance to all the uses of California’s water. 

Western Water Layperson's Guide to Integrated Regional Water Management Gary Pitzer

Researchers Aim to Give Homeless a Voice in Southern California Watershed
NOTEBOOK: Assessment of homeless water challenges part of UC Irvine study of community water needs

Homeless encampment near Angel StadiumA new study could help water agencies find solutions to the vexing challenges the homeless face in gaining access to clean water for drinking and sanitation.

The Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA) in Southern California has embarked on a comprehensive and collaborative effort aimed at assessing strengths and needs as it relates to water services for people (including the homeless) within its 2,840 square-mile area that extends from the San Bernardino Mountains to the Orange County coast.

Western Water Gary Pitzer

Millions of Dollars Needed to Help Low-Income Ratepayers with Water Bills, State Water Board Told
Five million Californians have affordability issues

A statewide program that began under a 2015 law to help low-income people with their water bills would cost about $600 million annually, a public policy expert told the California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) at a meeting last week.

Aquapedia background

Potable Water

Photo of drinking water filling a glass over the kitchen sink. Potable water, also known as drinking water, comes from surface and ground sources and is treated to levels that that meet state and federal standards for consumption.

Water from natural sources is treated for microorganisms, bacteria, toxic chemicals, viruses and fecal matter. Drinking raw, untreated water can cause gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea, vomiting or fever.

Aquapedia background

Coliform Bacteria

Coliform Bacteria as Indices

Directly detecting harmful pathogens in water can be expensive, unreliable and incredibly complicated. Fortunately, certain organisms are known to consistently coexist with these harmful microbes which are substantially easier to detect and culture: coliform bacteria. These generally non-toxic organisms are frequently used as “indicator species,” or organisms whose presence demonstrates a particular feature of its surrounding environment.

Product

Colorado River Facts Slide Card

This card includes information about the Colorado River, who uses the river, how the river’s water is divided and other pertinent facts about this vital resource for the Southwest. Beautifully illustrated with color photographs.

Video

A Climate of Change: Water Adaptation Strategies

This 25-minute documentary-style DVD, developed in partnership with the California Department of Water Resources, provides an excellent overview of climate change and how it is already affecting California. The DVD also explains what scientists anticipate in the future related to sea level rise and precipitation/runoff changes and explores the efforts that are underway to plan and adapt to climate.

Video

Stormwater Management: Turning Runoff into a Resource

20-minute DVD that explains the problem with polluted stormwater, and steps that can be taken to help prevent such pollution and turn what is often viewed as a “nuisance” into a water resource through various activities.

Video

Drinking Water: Quenching the Public Thirst (60-minute DVD)

Many Californians don’t realize that when they turn on the faucet, the water that flows out could come from a source close to home or one hundreds of miles away. Most people take their water for granted; not thinking about the elaborate systems and testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to households throughout the state. Where drinking water comes from, how it’s treated, and what people can do to protect its quality are highlighted in this 2007 PBS documentary narrated by actress Wendie Malick. 

Video

Drinking Water: Quenching the Public Thirst (30-minute DVD)

A 30-minute version of the 2007 PBS documentary Drinking Water: Quenching the Public Thirst. This DVD is ideal for showing at community forums and speaking engagements to help the public understand the complex issues surrounding the elaborate systems and testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to households throughout the state.

Video

Protecting Drinking Water on Tribal Lands

This 30-minute DVD explains the importance of developing a source water assessment program (SWAP) for tribal lands and by profiling three tribes that have created SWAPs. Funded by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the video complements the Foundation’s 109-page workbook, Protecting Drinking Water: A Workbook for Tribes, which includes a step-by-step work plan for Tribes interested in developing a protection plan for their drinking water.

Maps & Posters

Carson River Basin Map
Published 2006

A companion to the Truckee River Basin Map poster, this 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, explores the Carson River, and its link to the Truckee River. The map includes Lahontan Dam and Reservoir, the Carson Sink, and the farming areas in the basin. Map text discusses the region’s hydrology and geography, the Newlands Project, land and water use within the basin and wetlands. Development of the map was funded by a grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region, Lahontan Basin Area Office.

Maps & Posters

Truckee River Basin Map
Published 2005

This beautiful 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, displays the rivers, lakes and reservoirs, irrigated farmland, urban areas and Indian reservations within the Truckee River Basin, including the Newlands Project, Pyramid Lake and Lake Tahoe. Map text explains the issues surrounding the use of the Truckee-Carson rivers, Lake Tahoe water quality improvement efforts, fishery restoration and the effort to reach compromise solutions to many of these issues. 

Maps & Posters

Nevada Water Map
Published 2004

This 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, illustrates the water resources available for Nevada cities, agriculture and the environment. It features natural and manmade water resources throughout the state, including the Truckee and Carson rivers, Lake Tahoe, Pyramid Lake and the course of the Colorado River that forms the state’s eastern boundary.

Maps & Posters

Water Cycle Poster

Water as a renewable resource is depicted in this 18×24 inch poster. Water is renewed again and again by the natural hydrologic cycle where water evaporates, transpires from plants, rises to form clouds, and returns to the earth as precipitation. Excellent for elementary school classroom use.

Publication

Layperson’s Guide to Water Recycling
Updated 2013

As the state’s population continues to grow and traditional water supplies grow tighter, there is increased interest in reusing treated wastewater for a variety of activities, including irrigation of crops, parks and golf courses, groundwater recharge and industrial uses.

Publication

Layperson’s Guide to Integrated Regional Water Management
Published 2013

The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) is an in-depth, easy-to-understand publication that provides background information on the principles of IRWM, its funding history and how it differs from the traditional water management approach.

Publication California Groundwater Map

Layperson’s Guide to Groundwater
Updated 2017

The 28-page Layperson’s Guide to Groundwater is an in-depth, easy-to-understand publication that provides background and perspective on groundwater. The guide explains what groundwater is – not an underground network of rivers and lakes! – and the history of its use in California.

Publication California Water Map

Layperson’s Guide to California Water
Updated 2021

The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to California Water provides an excellent overview of the history of water development and use in California. It includes sections on flood management; the state, federal and Colorado River delivery systems; Delta issues; water rights; environmental issues; water quality; and options for stretching the water supply such as water marketing and conjunctive use. New in this 10th edition of the guide is a section on the human need for water. 

Publication Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Map

Layperson’s Guide to the Delta
Updated 2020

The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the Delta explores the competing uses and demands on California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Included in the guide are sections on the history of the Delta, its role in the state’s water system, and its many complex issues with sections on water quality, levees, salinity and agricultural drainage, fish and wildlife, and water distribution.

Aquapedia background

Water Treatment

Finding and maintaining a clean water supply for drinking and other uses has been a constant challenge throughout human history.

Today, significant technological developments in water treatment, including monitoring and assessment, help ensure a drinking water supply of high quality in California and the West.

The source of water and its initial condition prior to being treated usually determines the water treatment process. [See also Water Recycling.]

Aquapedia background

Surface Water Treatment

A tremendous amount of time and technology is expended to make surface water safe to drink. Surface water undergoes many processes before it reaches a consumer’s tap.

Aquapedia background

Safe Drinking Water Act

Safe Drinking Water Act

The federal Safe Drinking Water Act sets standards for drinking water quality in the United States.

Launched in 1974 and administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Safe Drinking Water Act oversees states, communities, and water suppliers who implement the drinking water standards at the local level.

The act’s regulations apply to every public water system in the United States but do not include private wells serving less than 25 people.

According to the EPA, there are more than 160,000 public water systems in the United States.

Western Water Magazine

Nitrate and the Struggle for Clean Drinking Water
March/April 2013

This printed issue of Western Water discusses the problems of nitrate-contaminated water in small disadvantaged communities and possible solutions.

Western Water Magazine

Preserving Quantity and Quality: Groundwater Management in California
May/June 2011

This printed issue of Western Water examines groundwater management and the extent to which stakeholders believe more efforts are needed to preserve and restore the resource.

Western Water Magazine

Pervasive and Persistent: Constituents of Growing Concern
January/February 2011

This printed issue of Western Water, based on presentations at the November 3-4, 2010 Water Quality Conference in Ontario, Calif., looks at constituents of emerging concerns (CECs) – what is known, what is yet to be determined and the potential regulatory impacts on drinking water quality.

Western Water Magazine

Desalination: A Drought Proof Supply?
July/August 2009

This printed issue of Western Water examines desalination – an issue that is marked by great optimism and controversy – and the expected role it might play as an alternative water supply strategy.

Western Water Magazine

Small Water Systems, Big Challenges
May/June 2008

This printed copy of Western Water examines the challenges facing small water systems, including drought preparedness, limited operating expenses and the hurdles of complying with costlier regulations. Much of the article is based on presentations at the November 2007 Small Systems Conference sponsored by the Water Education Foundation and the California Department of Water Resources.

Western Water Magazine

From Source to Tap: Protecting California’s Drinking Water
November/December 2006

This issue of Western Water looks at some of the issues facing drinking water providers, such as compliance with increasingly stringent treatment requirements, the need to improve source water quality and the mission of continually informing consumers about the quality of water they receive.

Western Water Magazine

Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care Products: An Rx for Water Quality Problems?
July/August 2004

This issue of Western Water examines PPCPs – what they are, where they come from and whether the potential exists for them to become a water quality problem. With the continued emphasis on water quality and the fact that many water systems in the West are characterized by flows dominated by effluent contributions, PPCPs seem likely to capture interest for the foreseeable future.

Western Water Magazine

Confronting a Legacy of Contamination: Perchlorate
May/June 2003

This issue of Western Water examines the problem of perchlorate contamination and its ramifications on all facets of water delivery, from the extensive cleanup costs to the search for alternative water supplies. In addition to discussing the threat posed by high levels of perchlorate in drinking water, the article presents examples of areas hard hit by contamination and analyzes the potential impacts of forthcoming drinking water standards for perchlorate.

Western Water Magazine

Managing the Colorado River
November/December 1999

Drawn from a special stakeholder symposium held in September 1999 in Keystone, Colorado, this issue explores how we got to where we are today on the Colorado River; an era in which the traditional water development of the past has given way to a more collaborative approach that tries to protect the environment while stretching available water supplies.