When it rains in Pescadero, Irma Rodriguez gets to work —
lining up containers on her patio to catch as much water as she
can. … The small rural town has one public water system, and
it serves less than half of the population. Now, San
Mateo County is preparing to raise rates for that system —
potentially tripling costs — deepening concerns among residents
already struggling to get by and not addressing those who
have no clean running water at all. … Of the seven
public water systems within 2 miles of Pescadero assessed by
the California State Water Resources Control Board in 2024, six
were either failing or at risk of failing. Only one — County
Service Area No. 11, or CSA-11 — was deemed to have “no
risk.” The “no risk” rating doesn’t reflect how many
people in the area actually get their water from creeks or
private wells that may never be tested, leaving their water
safety uncertain.
It’s not uncommon nowadays to fill a glass of water from your
tap and wonder what chemicals and contaminants may be lurking
in there. That’s because research has increasingly revealed
that heavy metals, radioactive substances, and harmful PFAS
(“forever chemicals”) are present in our water
systems. … The Environmental Working Group (EWG) found
that roughly 60% of the U.S. population—about 200 million
people—are served by water systems that have the chemicals PFOA
or PFOS in their drinking water at a concentration of 1 part
per trillion or higher, which is the maximum limit for PFAS in
drinking water endorsed by the EWG. Knowing there are
chemicals in your water is one thing—but should you be worried?
And is there anything you can do to reduce your exposure?
Here’s everything you need to know, according to experts who
spoke with Fortune.
It’s been a little over a year since the Environmental
Protection Agency rolled out the first legally-enforceable
limits on some PFAS chemicals in drinking water. The
regulation came after years of research tying the human-made
chemicals to a range of health issues. … Under the EPA’s
first formal limits last year, drinking water can have no more
than four parts per trillion of the PFAS listed. … Tucson is
already in compliance. But (Tucson Water Director John) Kmiec
estimates the city has spent some $70 million of its own money
to get there. Additional federal funding came down for
communities nationwide last year — including a roughly $33
million for Tucson. That’ll be used to build a new treatment
plant Kmiec says will bring a handful of wells back online and
some 3.3 million gallons of drinking water back into the
system. … But some things are changing now, under the Trump
administration. A directive released by the EPA in May drops
four out of the six compounds listed in 2024. Only PFOA and
PFOS will remain regulated for now.
… While stakeholders wait to see how the EPA’s
announcements will develop into specific actions, one
particular area of continued uncertainty relates to PFAS in
drinking water. … Following its request to stay legal
challenges to these two Biden-era actions to allow the new EPA
leadership to review these rules, the EPA on May 14 announced
that it would maintain the current national primary drinking
water regulation for PFOA and PFOS and introduce a proposal to
extend the compliance date to 2031. At the same time, the EPA
said it would rescind regulations and reconsider regulatory
determinations for PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA (commonly known as
GenX), and the hazard index mixture of these three, plus PFBS,
citing compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act as its
rationale.
Yesterday, the unincorporated community of West Goshen in
Tulare County hit a key milestone to achieve their Human Right
to Water by breaking ground on their safe drinking water
project. Many families in this area currently rely on drinking
water contaminated with concerning levels of contaminants
including nitrate, 1,2,3-trichloropropane, and uranium.
… In 2021, residents formed the community based
organization West Goshen Water for Life. … Through an
alternatives analysis funded by State Water Board technical
assistance funding, the community decided that connecting to a
safe piped water supply from the California Water Service (Cal
Water) Visalia system was the most sustainable long-term
drinking water solution. Their efforts to implement that
solution were met with collaboration from Tulare County,
California Water Service, and funding from the Department of
Water Resources through a $3.4 million grant aimed at emergency
drought relief.
San Lucas residents, who have been without clean drinking water
for nearly 14 years, may soon see a resolution as local leaders
approve a plan to bring affordable water to the community. In
the small, rural town of San Lucas, with a population of a
little over 400 people, residents struggle with a basic
essential: water. They have lived without proper drinking
water for over a decade, with the cost of clean drinking water
being their biggest obstacle. Now, county leaders, along with
the San Lucas Water District, have a solution. ”We were
able to bring in a partner, CalWater, to be able to be that
water provider, and in doing so the average monthly bill in the
community is expected to be around 90 dollars. But the benefit
beyond that is anybody who is low-income, which we know 90% of
that community is, will only pay about 60% of that bill, so
they are going to average around 50 to 60 dollars a month. As a
water bill, that is doable,” said Monterey County Supervisor
Chris Lopez.
The EPA announced that it will provide $26 million in grant
funding to U.S. states and territories to reduce lead in
drinking water at schools and childcare centers. The funding is
part of the EPA’s ongoing efforts to support testing and
remediation of lead-contaminated water at locations where
children learn and play. Since 2018, the agency has distributed
more than $200 million toward reducing exposure to lead in
drinking water. … Grants will be issued through the Voluntary
School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program.
All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and four U.S.
territories are eligible for funding. A separate allocation for
tribal entities is expected to be released soon. The EPA’s
broader efforts include the “3Ts” program — Training, Testing,
and Taking Action — which provides guidance for local and state
officials to implement voluntary lead reduction
initiatives.
The regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”)
in drinking water remains one of the primary focuses for
legislatures and agencies at both the state and federal levels.
In May 2025, the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(“EPA”) affirmed Maximum Contaminant Levels (“MCLs”) of 4 parts
per trillion (“ppt”) for two PFAS substances, perfluorooctanoic
acid (“PFOA”) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (“PFOS”). Many
states have already regulated PFAS compounds in drinking water
but have done so in a variety of different ways, and at
different levels. The result is a patchwork of regulations and
standards which presents significant operational and compliance
challenges to impacted drinking water systems. This client
alert surveys MCLs, as well as guidance and notification
levels, for PFAS compounds in drinking water across the United
States.
The plight of a tiny community in eastern Colorado will soon be
the subject of a congressional hearing. Colorado U.S.
Congresswoman Lauren Boebert is coming to the aid of a small
water district in Morgan County, where toxic black sludge
passes for drinking water. The Prairie View Ranch Water
District is 50 miles northeast of the Denver metro area, and it
has been a colossal disaster 20 years in the making. Residents
say without drinkable water, their homes are
worthless. Boebert — who represents the residents in
Washington D.C. — is asking the House Appropriations Committee
for a $5 million grant to help overhaul the water
system. … Morgan County Board of County
Commissioners approved the water district as a private
for-profit company despite special districts being tax-exempt
public entities, allowing developers to run the district for 16
years while residents were in the dark.
The Biden Administration took a firm approach when it came to
regulating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The
administration set Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for
certain PFAS chemicals in drinking water, designated PFOA and
PFOS as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive
Environment Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA),
and proposed listing PFAS as hazardous constituents under the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced plans to
rescind and reconsider some of the MCLs, but the two strictest,
PFOA and PFOS, are expected to remain. The compliance deadline
for drinking water systems to meet these MCLs has been extended
by two years, from 2029 to 2031. This extension is still an
announcement and not a final rule. … Potential funding
sources for PFAS treatment include federal grants, settlements
from class actions against PFAS manufacturers, and separate
litigation under CERCLA against polluters.
Attendees of a tap water conference voted Denver has the best
tap water in the U.S. and Canada, but judges from the
organization disagreed. The American Water Works Association
just awarded Henrico, Virginia, the accolade at the annual AWWA
Annual Conference and Exposition in Denver. The region near
Richmond faced off against cities and communities across the
country, including Denver, but ultimately beat Denver, along
with other communities’ tap water. Three judges tasted samples
from 26 water utilities across the U.S. and Canada. Denver
scored a first-place spot in the “People’s Choice” category –
voted on by all conference attendees — but failed to place in
the top three among the judges in the “Best of the Best”
category.
Water pouring from the faucets of at least 42 million Americans
is contaminated with unacceptable levels of “forever
chemicals,” according to a USA TODAY analysis of records the
Environmental Protection Agency released on June 2. Per- and
polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a family of manmade
chemicals engineered to be nearly indestructible. Studies have
shown they can accumulate over time in human bodies, leading to
certain cancers and other health complications. Over the past
two years, the EPA has collected complete sets of test results
from about 6,900 drinking water systems, with thousands more
expected as the PFAS testing initiative continues another year.
USA TODAY’s analysis of these systems with complete results
shows nearly a quarter of large water utilities serving at
least 100,000 customers exceeded limits the EPA approved last
year on two chemicals: PFOS and PFOA.
Facing its largest seasonal algal bloom in 20 years, the
Sweetwater Authority may need to buy water to address the
problem. At its May 28 board meeting, the South Bay agency
agreed to increase its budget for the year in case it must
purchase more water to dilute the water supply. The agency says
doing so would help mitigate changes to the water’s taste and
odor caused by the algae. … For the past six months
Sweetwater has been grappling with a number of pollutants in
its main reservoir and has been using its water surplus to
dilute the problem. Earlier this year, the authority
transferred water to the Sweetwater Reservoir from Loveland
Reservoir to lower levels of chemicals, known as PFAS, detected
in the water. Now, in what they say is a separate issue,
the agency would either use purchased water to dilute the algal
bloom, or may also sell the purchased water to customers rather
than diluting its own.
More than 100 residents in the tiny unincorporated town of West
Goshen can weather the summer months knowing that by the end of
it, the water flowing through their faucets will be safe for
drinking, cooking and bathing thanks to a new connection to
California Water Service. Residents along with local and state
officials marked that monumental step at a groundbreaking
ceremony Thursday evening in West Goshen, west of Visalia and
Highway 99 in Tulare County. … California Water Service
provides water to Visalia residents. It was able to connect
West Goshen through an emergency consolidation project. West
Goshen residents had relied for years on bottled water after
they discovered groundwater from private wells was laced with
uranium, nitrates and other contaminants. The 60-day
connection project will require a crew of eight to lay more
than 8,000 feet of pipe.
Lawyers for the Sweetwater Authority water agency are demanding
that former authority board member Josie Calderon-Scott retract
claims she made recently to Voice of San Diego that the
authority knew about elevated levels of toxic industrial
chemicals in its main reservoir years before alerting the
public. But Calderon-Scott said she’s not backing down.
And she challenged the authority to produce documents that she
said would settle the issue. In a May 23 letter, lawyers
for the agency’s law firm, Best, Best & Krieger, demanded that
Calderon-Scott retract claims she made in a May 13 Voice
newsletter that the agency knew “for years it had a
PFAS [chemicals] problem in its reservoir” and
that “this problem existed for a long time before [the agency]
notified the public.” Those statements, the lawyers wrote,
“are false and untrue, are defamatory, and create alarming
confusion for residents served by the authority.”
California’s second-largest reservoir, Lake
Oroville, reached capacity Friday, hitting the high
water mark for the third straight year — a first for the
57-year-old reservoir. The milestone comes after a moderately
wet winter in California, with enough snow in the mountains,
particularly in the north, to melt and flush substantial water
into state reservoirs. This week, water storage in California’s
major reservoirs stood at a comfortable 116% of average for the
time of year, ensuring decent supplies for the rest of
2025. At Lake Oroville, about 70 miles north of Sacramento
in Butte County, water levels rose Friday morning to within
inches of the 900-foot elevation mark that state water managers
deem full pool, prompting notice that the reservoir had hit
capacity. At capacity, the lake holds 3.4 million acre-feet of
water, enough to supply more than 7 million households for a
year.
The Orange County Water District (OCWD; the District) and the
City of Tustin celebrated the dedication of a new PFAS
treatment plant, marking a major milestone in ensuring safe and
reliable water for Tustin residents and businesses.
The dedication ceremony brought together local, state and
federal representatives to recognize the proactive actions of
both OCWD and the City of Tustin in addressing PFAS, a group of
manufactured chemicals increasingly found in water sources
across the country, including the Orange County Groundwater
Basin. The new treatment system, implemented at the existing
Main Street Water Treatment Plant, uses ion exchange technology
to treat up to 6,400 gallons of groundwater per minute. The
centralized plant is fed by four offsite wells connected
through approximately 2.5 miles of conveyance pipeline.
All 1,200 scientists and staff at the U.S. Geological Survey’s
biological research arm are on edge this week as they wait to
learn whether they’ll still have jobs come Monday. For weeks,
the biologists who work in the division, known as the
Ecosystems Mission Area, have watched two parallel threats
unfold. Most immediate is the expected firing of most division
staff as soon as next week. … The second threat is even more
serious: If the White House has its way, its proposed 2026
budget would eliminate the Ecosystems Mission Area, or EMA,
altogether. … The elimination of EMA would have profound
consequences. … It would erase bipartisan and widely
respected programs that, for example, monitor waterfowl
populations for game agencies, track contamination in
drinking water, convene time- and cost-saving
collaborations between agencies, universities and nonprofits,
and foster the next generation of fish and wildlife
professionals. … EMA scientists also monitor toxic
chemicals in water, and are one of the only groups looking in
private wells.
Some residents in the San Fernando Valley have reported an
“earthy odor” coming from their drinking water, but officials
say the cause of the smell is not harmful. In a statement
issued Monday, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
said they had received “inquiries and reports” from some
customers regarding the smell and that they began testing which
revealed the “musty” odor is attributable to Geosmin.
Geosmin is a natural compound created from algae, LADWP
explained. … In Monday’s statement, LADWP said it began
increasing its water quality monitoring, sampling and testing
through the Los Angeles Aqueduct System earlier this month.
Elevated Geosmin levels were detected on May 13, and “immediate
adjustments” to treatment and operations were made to control
the situation, LADWP said.
Wastewater and drinking water systems in small and rural
communities across America will receive an extra funding boost
to improve water quality, per an announcement from the
Environmental Protection Agency Tuesday. The EPA will
distribute $30.7 million in technical assistance grants to help
small, underfunded public water systems comply with the Safe
Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act. The funds can also be
used to help private well owners in rural areas improve their
water quality and update small public wastewater septic
systems. “Small and rural communities are the backbone of our
country, and they face unique challenges when it comes to
ensuring clean and safe water,” EPA Senior Advisor Jessica
Kramer said.
Cities across California and the Southwest are significantly
increasing and diversifying their use of recycled wastewater as
traditional water supplies grow tighter.
The 5th edition of our Layperson’s Guide to Water Recycling
covers the latest trends and statistics on water reuse as a
strategic defense against prolonged drought and climate change.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
… 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.
Tiny 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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
Joaquin 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.
A 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 the
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
