Gold rush-era mercury mine closed in 1972 is still contaminating: “Nearly half a century after a Gold Rush-era quicksilver mining operation shut down in northern California, mercury continues to flow into a nearby creek, and federal officials blame the mine’s state landmark status for cleanup delays. In its heyday, the New Idria mercury mine was the second most productive mine of its kind in the U.S. By the time the mine closed in 1972, it had produced more than 38 million pounds of mercury. Today, the site is a remote ghost town 135 miles southeast of San Francisco where history buffs visit, but less than 10 people live nearby. ... ” Read more from Bloomberg Law here: Gold rush-era mercury mine closed in 1972 is still contaminating
Lake Tahoe’s aspens face dangerous new threat: “On the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, situated off the shoulder of Spooner Pass that connects South Lake Tahoe to Carson City in the valley below, an old reservoir doesn’t seem like the type of place tourists would glom on to during the height of tourism season. In fact, during the summer, the parking lot at the Nevada state park that affords access to Spooner Lake is often half or three-quarters full, as most visitors flock to Tahoe to stake a claim on the shores of North America’s largest alpine lake. But the arrival of autumn brings a different story: the story of aspen. ... ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service here: Lake Tahoe’s aspens face dangerous new threat
Water quality agency fines Phillips 66 refinery, again, for polluting bay: “State water regulators have issued a $285,000 penalty against the Phillips 66 refinery for releasing millions of gallons of industrial wastewater into San Pablo Bay early last year. The penalty, part of a settlement agreement that became public late last week, is the 11th issued by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board in the last 17 years against the Houston-based oil company. Its refinery sits on the bay shore in Rodeo, just south of the Carquinez Strait and Vallejo. ... ” Read more from KQED here: Water quality agency fines Phillips 66 refinery, again, for polluting bay
Pipelines assessed in record time with latest technology: “The San Diego County Water Authority’s asset management team recently celebrated the completion of a comprehensive condition assessment of more than 27 miles of the agency’s oldest pipelines. The assessment was performed in record time over just 16 months. The work was part of a package of rehabilitative efforts on a portion of the First Aqueduct, which includes Pipelines 1 and 2 in North San Diego County. Built in 1947 and 1952, the two pipelines deliver treated water to the region and were constructed using various materials, including reinforced concrete and steel. … ” Read more from KQED here: Pipelines assessed in record time with latest technology
Americans shift eating habits amid pandemic: “Americans have rapidly changed the ways they buy, cook and eat food in just four months, leaving everyone from farmers to restaurants unable to match their pivot. U.S. consumers, whose previous food preferences were stable enough that farmers could often make reliable planting decisions years in advance, have shifted their habits at a torrential pace during the coronavirus pandemic. That includes cooking more at home, buying more organic food, purchasing in bulk, forgoing brand-name treats and eating smaller meals due to fewer trips to restaurants with their often oversized portions. ... ” Read more from the Western Farm Press here: Americans shift eating habits amid pandemic
Future changes in the trading of virtual water: “Water stressed regions rely heavily on the import of water-intensive goods to offset insufficient food production driven by socioeconomic and environmental factors. The water embedded in these traded commodities, virtual water, has received increasing interest in the scientific community. However, comprehensive future projections of virtual water trading remain absent. Here we show, for the first time, changes over the 21st century in the amount of various water types required to meet international agricultural demands. Accounting for evolution in socioeconomic and climatic conditions, we estimate future interregional virtual water trading and find trading of renewable water sources may triple by 2100 while nonrenewable groundwater trading may at least double. Basins in North America, and the La Plata and Nile Rivers are found to contribute extensively to virtual water exports, while much of Africa, India, and the Middle East relies heavily on virtual water imports by the end of the century.” Read this article in Nature Communications here: Future changes in the trading of virtual water
New survey polls U.S. confidence in tap water: “Four in five Americans served by a water utility (77 percent) say the quality of their tap water is excellent or good, although Black and Hispanic respondents report a lower level of satisfaction, according to a survey conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the American Water Works Association (AWWA). The June 2020 poll, titled “Public Perceptions of Tap Water,” included 1,940 Americans served by water utilities. “It’s encouraging to see that overall confidence in tap water is high in the United States,” said AWWA Chief Executive Officer David LaFrance. “We hope this survey helps water professionals better understand consumer perceptions – both positive and negative – so they can continue to address concerns and strengthen public trust.” … ” Read more from Water Finance & Management here: New survey polls U.S. confidence in tap water
This week in water: “Methane emissions are skyrocketing and the two biggest sources are fossil fuels and cows that release gas when they burp. COVID-19 is making weather forecasting less accurate. A new study says the world’s paved roads are releasing potentially toxic pollutants into the environment. How your car’s tires and brakes are shedding plastic into oceans thousands of miles away. They can check out any time they like—(but hopefully) they never leave.” Read stories/listen to podcast from H2o Radio here: This week in water
FEDERAL LEGISLATION/ROLLBACKS
Trump slashed a major environmental rule. That’s just the beginning. “On Wednesday, President Trump achieved a longstanding goal in weakening environmental protection: The administration significantly narrowed the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a law that requires the government to study the impact of federal projects on the communities and wild areas around them. By skipping steps and shortening deadlines, these changes help to fast-track fossil fuel infrastructure like pipelines and highways, a move that leaves out the voices of poor neighborhoods and people of color on the pollution in their communities. … ” Read more from Mother Jones here: Trump slashed a major environmental rule. That’s just the beginning.
Democrats weigh options for undoing Trump rollbacks: “For two days in a row, President Trump touted his regulatory rollbacks at campaign-flavored events. On Capitol Hill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) yesterday chided Trump and bemoaned his attacks on public health and the environment. Her comments came as Democrats prepare for the possible end of the president’s time in office and ponder their own plans for erasing his legacy. “I yearn for other Republican presidents,” Pelosi told reporters yesterday. “While we may have disagreed on many points, at least we had a shared commitment to the governance of our country.” … ” Read more from E&E News here: Democrats weigh options for undoing Trump rollbacks
House FY21 spending bill includes no new direct WIFIA appropriations: “As the start of the federal Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) rapidly approaches on October 1st, the U.S. House has begun working to advance its annual Appropriations (funding) bills through their committee process. Last week, the House Appropriations Committee passed its Interior and Environment bill to fund the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and core clean water programs. The House EPA bill for FY21 is in most respects a uniquely strong package for water, aiming to address the nation’s clean water investment need. The package builds upon the robust funding increases clean water has seen in recent fiscal years and further provides an emergency critical infrastructure investment of well over $12 billion for clean water and drinking water, including nearly $8 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). ... ” Read more from Water Finance & Management here: House FY21 spending bill includes no new direct WIFIA appropriations
ENVIRONMENT/CLIMATE
Essential’ but unprotected: how the United States fails its most important fish habitats: ““No wetlands, no seafood,” reads a popular bumper sticker in coastal North Carolina. This argument is simple, eye-catching and undeniably true from a scientific perspective: if we want healthy populations of fish, crabs and shrimp, we need to protect key habitat where they live, breed and feed. But do we? The answer to that question, according to new report from the Center for American Progress, is a resounding no. ... ” Read more from The Revelator here: ‘Essential’ but unprotected: how the United States fails its most important fish habitats
Court’s ruling against Trump elevates debate on climate metric: “A federal district judge’s decision striking down the Trump administration’s rollback of methane emissions standards could fuel other litigation over an obscure tool used to study the impacts of climate change. California Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers last week rebuked the Bureau of Land Management for eliminating Obama-era restrictions on releases of the potent greenhouse gas from oil and gas infrastructure on public and tribal lands. Her opinion included a detailed assault on how the land agency used a metric called the social cost of methane, calling the approach “riddled with flaws.” ... ” Read more from Bloomberg Law here: Court’s ruling against Trump elevates debate on climate metric
This weekend in California water news:- Could “angel investors” buy a piece of the Friant-Kern Canal?;
- How a marsh restoration could help preserve Lake Tahoe’s famed blue hue;
- Water hyacinth acts like ‘plastic wrap’ on the Delta;
- Long criticized for inaction at Salton Sea, California says it’s all-in on effort to preserve state’s largest lake;
- Klamath dams license transfer partially approved, but PacifiCorp to remain;
- IID retains control over Colorado River water in legal tussle with farmer Michael Abatti;
- Unpaid bills spiking at some water utilities;
- New petition demands water be put back in Kern River in Bakersfield;
- Federalism and Water: The California Experience;
- A proposed new Central Valley Dam could have big impacts on the Trinity River;
- and more …
Click here to read the Weekend Daily Digest.
Image credit: CA streamflow assessment map, courtesy of Belize Lane. From this paper: Lane, B. A., Dahlke, H. E., Pasternack, G. B., & Sandoval‐Solis, S. (2017). Revealing the diversity of natural hydrologic regimes in California with relevance for environmental flows applications. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 53(2), 411-430.
