California's struggle for clean water is getting harder Los Angeles Times

Table Of Content

• Tesla sales have peaked in California, industry group predicts
• Want more Southern California in your inbox?
• Why You Should Visit Turkmenistan, Land of Contrasts
• Chuckwalla National Monument would protect swath of California desert and preserve a sacred land
• Mansion Global
• Small-Town America Has a Serious Drinking-Water Problem

Despite this, Congressional Republicans are continuing a decades-long effort to undermine Clean Water Act safeguards. Throughout Earth Week, the Biden-Harris Administration will announce additional actions to build a stronger, healthier future for all. On Monday, President Biden announced the launch of ClimateCorps.gov as well as $7 billion in awards through EPA’s Solar for All program. A recent study estimated that nearly 1.5 million people in the Central Valley rely on public water systems that may have moderate or high levels of arsenic. In California, the State Water Resources Control Board is responsible for enforcing regulations that ensure systems meet federal and state drinking water standards. Historically, farmers pumped just enough groundwater to survive, but in the middle of California’s now five-year drought, nut growers have also used it to expand.

Tesla sales have peaked in California, industry group predicts

David Weisenberger, the general manager of the Banta-Carbona Irrigation District, which claims rights on the San Joaquin River that date back to 1911, said he double-reported the district’s use for years to avoid losing its water rights. Faulty or misleading data can have far-reaching consequences during drought. If lots of growers are double-counting their use, then officials may think less water is available for everybody else than there actually is. “We can’t fix it without stepping on toes,” said David Webb, who has worked for decades to protect the Shasta River in California’s far north, one of many overworked streams statewide.

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Why You Should Visit Turkmenistan, Land of Contrasts

The company’s new, far-reaching health initiative also includes free exercise classes in the employee gym, a weekly on-site farmers market, and a program that pays people up to $2,700 a year to lose weight and keep it off. Since the program began in January 2015, the Wonderful workforce has shed 4,000 pounds. In their section of the valley, the two carrot growers have used more water in recent decades than everyone else combined. Groundwater levels there are projected to fall by as much as seven feet a year, compared with two feet or less in other areas. Daniel T. Clifford, the general counsel for Bolthouse Properties, one of the plaintiffs, said the valley’s groundwater plan had left the companies no choice but to sue. The plan calls for total pumping to be cut by half to two-thirds over the next 15 years.

Monster of the Month w/ Colin Dickey: The "Mutes"

It’s an economic stressor for a family living off some $14,500 a year. Across the state, 81 systems in the last three years have sent 850 notices to customers that their drinking water had high levels of one of the three most common contaminants, according to system-level data obtained by The Times. Also, in March, the State Water Board adopted new protocols for its Expedited Drinking Water Grant Program to fast-track projects in disadvantaged communities. Joe Karkoski, deputy director and head of the board’s Division of Financial Assistance, said officials are hoping to expedite funding approvals from a year or more to four to six months. Kyle Wilkerson, president of the El Adobe Property Owners Assn. who runs its water system on a voluntary basis, said he’s frustrated by the length of time it’s taken to get clean water. Since 2008, the water system in El Adobe, on the outskirts of Bakersfield, has exceeded arsenic standards.

Cyberattacks are targeting US water systems, warns EPA and White House - The Verge

Cyberattacks are targeting US water systems, warns EPA and White House.

Posted: Wed, 20 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

The tunnels would completely bypass the ecologically sensitive Delta, eliminating much of the smelt-endangering pumping—and, by extension, many of the restrictions on Delta water diversions that have crimped the Resnicks’ supply. So like other farmers, the Resnicks have turned to the state’s dwindling reserve of groundwater, sinking wells hundreds of feet deep on their land. Farmers are the main reason that California now pumps nearly seven cubic kilometers of groundwater a year, or about as much total water as what’s used by all the homes in Texas.

Now in his sixth, he’s racked up 51 sacks to go along with three Pro Bowl appearances. On this at least, he and Mr. Wegis, one of the neighboring growers his company is suing, can agree. “The American consumer has grown to absolutely rely” on being able to buy carrots 365 days a year, Mr. Clifford said. The high elevation of the Cuyama Valley makes it possible to produce them when it’s too hot to do so elsewhere. Others in Cuyama suspect that the carrot companies are trying to make as much money as they can in the valley before water restrictions make growing unviable and they move their operations someplace else.

In effort to address failing systems, Gov. Gavin Newsom established the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, which provides $130 million annually until June 2030 for struggling water systems. Similarly, California’s Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience Program, administered by the water board, provides tools — including maps and data, funding sources and regulatory powers — to increase access to clean drinking water. President Biden and Vice President Harris believe that every person should have access to clean drinking water and a healthy environment. Since Day One, the Biden-Harris Administration has worked to secure clean water for all, protect our vital freshwater resources, and ensure every community can count on water free of pollutants when they turn on the faucet.

Plans are underway to connect the trailer park with a larger water system; however, that system is also contaminated. If you’ve watched Chinatown or read Cadillac Desert, you know something about California’s complicated and often corrupt 100-year-old fight over water rights. The state’s laws were designed to settle the frontier, and under the “first in time, first in right” rule, the most “senior” water claims are the last to be restricted in times of drought.

The problem received a burst of fresh attention in the severely dry summer of 2022, when some ranchers in the Shasta Valley flouted state orders to limit water use. Mr. Weisenberger’s father grew beans and grain in the Central Valley. If someone didn’t think they were getting their rightful share, they would go talk to whoever might be taking too much upriver.

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The Administration also recognizes that wetlands and other freshwater resources are critical in our fight against climate change. Many states are already using their own authorities and resources to better protect America’s freshwater systems. For example, North Carolina recently set a goal to protect one million acres of natural lands, with a special focus on wetlands, and to restore one million acres of forests and wetlands within the state. New York state recently enacted statutory changes to its Freshwater Wetlands Act that will safeguard an additional million acres of valuable wetlands. And Washington recently protected almost 1,000 miles of rivers as Outstanding National Resource Waters, one of the highest levels of protection afforded to our freshwater resources.