On the calendar today …
- MEETING: Delta Stewardship Council beginning at 9am. Agenda items include the 2023 Annual Report, Delta Lead Scientist’s report, and an update on the Delta Independent Science Board. Click here for the meeting notice and remote access instructions.
In California water news today …
Historic California rain could foreshadow more extreme rainfall in coming weeks
“Southern California may have just experienced a historic amount of rainfall, but more extreme precipitation is headed toward the region. More than a month’s worth of rain fell in a span of three hours in San Diego on Monday, according to the National Weather Service. The city saw its wettest January day on record and wettest overall day in nearly 100 years on Monday with 2.73 inches of rain on Monday. Typically, San Diego sees an average 1.98 inches of rain in the entire month of January, records dating back to 1850 show. … While the area got a much-needed reprieve beginning on Tuesday, there is growing concern for multiple rounds of heavy rain targeting these same areas in California and other parts of the West beginning later next week and lasting through early February, forecasts show. … ” Read more from ABC News.
SoCal sees two ‘thousand-year’ storms within weeks. More could be coming
“Weather officials had been warning Californians about the wrath of El Niño for months — even as some residents had begun to think the typically soaking climate pattern had gone AWOL. But after an anemic start to the state’s rainy season, those admonitions have come to bear in brutal fashion as fast-moving storms have inundated portions of Ventura, Los Angeles and San Diego counties, flooding neighborhoods, spurring water rescues, triggering evacuations and stunning experts with their strength and magnitude. … Both were called “thousand-year events” — or events with 0.1% likelihood in a given year — and prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare states of emergency. Now, as Southern Californians continue to recover from the buffeting, some experts warn that El Niño, climate change and seasonal patterns have made such storms more likely to occur than ever. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
How our recent wet weather is making an impact across Northern California
“Over the last week, Northern California has gotten a great dose of moisture. From heavy rain, isolated thunderstorms, and snow in the Sierra, it’s been an unsettled pattern. But how has this wet weather helped us so far this month and season? … ” Read on at CBS Sacramento.
Lake Shasta three-quarters full. Confidence builds that reservoir will fill up this year
“A series of soakers that has drenched areas north of Redding has pushed Lake Shasta close to the point where officials will start increasing releases from the dam. Shasta Dam has received more than 13 inches of rain in January, and nearly 10 inches of that has come in the last week, said Don Bader, area manager of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The water level in the lake has shot up 12 feet in just over a week, bringing the state’s largest reservoir to just under 10 feet from where officials will start increasing flows from the dam, Bader said. … ” Read more from the Redding Record Searchlight.
In winter, California is for the birds
“Blackbirds flit between reeds jutting out of the marshy waters. A bald eagle perches in a tree, far above clusters of bobbing ducks. In a mesmerizing display, hundreds of snowy white geese take flight in an undulating swarm that mottles the gray sky. This is the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, one of a number of spots in California for birds traveling along the Pacific Flyway, a migratory path that stretches from Alaska to the tip of South America. Millions of migratory birds, representing more than 100 species, visit or pass through the Golden State each year. “If you’re interested in migratory birds for any reason, California is the place to be,” John Eadie, who teaches conservation biology at the University of California, Davis, told me. … ” Read more from the New York Times.
A ranch, rewilded: The transformation of California’s next state park
“On a bright morning in early January near the confluence of the San Joaquin and Tuolumne rivers in Central California, John Cain looks out over a small, curved lake. The trees are mostly bare for winter, but Cain, senior director of conservation of the nonprofit organization River Partners, points out that the wild landscape in front of him is buzzing. Bright white egrets swoop lazily down into the water while terns whiz by in the air. A California rose bush clings onto bright red rose hips. The low-lying plain across the water is dense with gray branches of adolescent trees. For more than four months last year, as California was inundated with a series of major storms, this part of Dos Rios Ranch Preserve, about 20 miles west of Modesto, was submerged under water. That’s exactly what it was designed for. And when the floodwaters recede, Cain says, “It’s just an explosion of life out here.” … ” Read more from Reasons to be Cheerful.
California’s ‘ARkStorm’: Historic 1000-year floods of 1861-62 featured 8 weeks of atmospheric rivers
“Imagine Disneyland under feet of water for weeks. Rivers swelling to levels never seen before and never seen since. Days of rain stretch into weeks as floodwaters rise to epic levels. California may have endured an onslaught of tropically-infused atmospheric river storms that filled the calendar for months at the end of 2022 and the start of 2023 and is staring at another atmospheric river this weekend, but those storms pale in comparison to the historic floods during the winter of 1861-1862. Colloquially today known as an “ARkStorm” – a deft reference to an “atmospheric river (AR) 1,000 (k) year storm” – the storms were a recipe for disaster for a young region that had recently been settled. Abraham Lincoln was president at the time, and America was embroiled in the first months of the Civil War. But out West, California’s population was bulging to about a half million in the wake of the great Gold Rush about a dozen years prior. … ” Read more from Fox Weather.
Column: California’s most improbable water project rebrands itself as a crusader for environmental justice
Columnist Michael Hiltzik writes, “It’s hard to think of a California company that carries more toxic baggage than Cadiz Inc. The Los Angeles firm has been trying for more than 20 years to advance a plan to siphon water from under the Mojave Desert and pump it to users throughout Southern California. It has long been stymied by environmental objections, but kept on life support by wielding political influence and regular financings such as private stock placements and junk bond-rated debt. Now Cadiz is trying a new tack. Under its newly installed chief executive, the veteran government aide Susan Kennedy, it has affiliated itself with the so-called human right to water movement, which ties the inaccessibility of clean water for disadvantaged communities to other social justice quests such as developing more affordable housing. … ” Read more from the LA Times. | Read via Yahoo News.
Environmentalists, local agencies file lawsuits against California Delta tunnel project
“A month after California’s water regulator gave its seal of approval to a controversial water infrastructure project that could replumb the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the plan is coming under renewed legal fire. Eight lawsuits filed by several counties, local water agencies and a coalition of environmental advocates claim the Department of Water Resources violated laws protecting the beleaguered estuary when it approved the project. The complaints allege the Delta tunnel project, formally called the Delta Conveyance, would imperil the region’s environmental health and human survival, from endangered and threatened fish species to low-income residents and multigenerational farms. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee. | Read via Yahoo News.
US EPA files comments on Bay-Delta Plan
“US EPA Region 9 has filed an administrative comment with the California State Water Resources Control Board. The comment responds to the Board’s Draft Staff Report for the Phase II Update of the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan (Bay-Delta Plan). Meanwhile, the Delta Tribal Environmental Coalition (DTEC) Civil Rights Complaint and Petition for rulemaking is ongoing. On January 19, 2024, US EPA Region 9 urged the State Water Board to update, adopt, and implement a Bay-Delta Plan that incorporates Tribal Beneficial Uses and numeric flow objective supported by the best available science for the protection of estuarine species, communities, and economies. Additionally, EPA recommends the Board to incorporate new scientific studies published after 2017. … ” Read more from Restore the Delta.
Californians suing state over contaminated groundwater
“Some farming communities in California in the US have long been plagued by contaminated drinking water due to nitrates and other contaminants in the groundwater that feed wells in their communities. Now, the San Jerardo co-operative, 161km southeast of San Francisco, together with environmental organisations are suing the state, and demanding stricter rules about how much fertiliser farmers can use. “We understand crops need these chemicals to grow, but you don’t need to put that much in the groundwater,” Ileana Miranda, who manages the co-op, told AP News. “It is essentially poisoning the groundwater that we need to live.” … ” Read more from Farmers Weekly.
Working with nature: Managing California’s water resources through green infrastructure
“Water is critical to the California’s economy and society. The state’s water system is highly engineered, consisting of various huge reservoirs and long conveyance systems, and have helped the state thrive. Unfortunately, the state’s highly variable climate is causing risks to its water supply and reliability. California should leverage green infrastructure to manage its water resources, and here is how the state can do so and why. … ” Continue reading at the Northern California Water Association.
Water regulation in the Western states: California’s 2023 legislative proposal highlights
“An ongoing, historic drought in California has compelled California state legislators to rethink the state’s long-standing treatment of water rights. While the recent heavy snowpack and wet spring and summer have alleviated the extreme drought conditions for now, the changing climate leaves California susceptible to future long and extreme droughts. Due to these realities, the California legislature has proposed numerous bills this session that address water rights. Senate Bill (SB) 389, Assembly Bill (AB) 779, AB 1337, AB 460, and AB 1205 were proposed during the 2023 legislative session to increase the regulatory power of the California State Water Resources Control Board (the State Board). Although each bill was weakened over the course of the legislative session and only one became law, they reflect a desire to address the current water rights system in place. … ” Read more from the National Law Review.
What a hand-cranked drill just revealed about the West’s ‘megadrought’
“For the past several summers, Karen King crisscrossed the western United States in search of trees. Using a hand-cranked drill, she bored into towering spruces high in the Rockies, Sierra Nevada and other mountains to unsheathe blocks of wood. She wanted to learn about the region’s past dry spells — to understand the current “megadrought” gripping the region. “Your left bicep is a lot larger than your right bicep by the end of the summer,” said King, an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. “I’m not kidding.” All that hand-cranking paid off in a paper published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances. She and her colleagues found the West’s two-decade drought is inextricably linked to climate change, adding to the evidence that human-caused emissions are reshaping the region in profound ways. … ” Read more from the Washington Post.
SEE ALSO:
- Water-guzzling ‘hot drought’ in the West is unprecedented in at least 5 centuries, study suggests, from CNN
- Western US Seeing Extreme Weather ‘Unprecedented’ in 500 Years, from Newsweek
New USGS map shows California is at high risk for damaging earthquakes
“The latest version of the U.S. Geological Survey’s earthquake hazard model, issued last week, shows “a chance for greater shaking” from earthquakes in California than previous iterations, the agency said. The model is a forecasting tool to help predict where future earthquakes are most likely to occur. USGS geophysicist Mark Petersen told SFGATE the increased risk is not “alarmingly higher” and is mainly the result of two factors being incorporated into the model that hadn’t been included before. The update takes into account thick layers of sediment in certain areas of the state that can make the shaking in an earthquake more intense. It also looks at the likelihood of earthquakes occurring on complicated faults that are lesser-known than the big players, such as the San Andreas and Hayward. … ” Read more from SF Gate.
Changing climate behind sharp drop in snowpack since 1980s
“Scientific data from ground observations, satellites, and climate models have not agreed on whether climate change is consistently chipping away at the snowpacks that accumulate in high-elevation mountains and provide water when they melt in spring. This complicates efforts to manage the water scarcity that would result for many population centers. A new Dartmouth study cuts through the uncertainty in these observations and provides evidence that seasonal snowpacks throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere have indeed shrunk significantly over the past 40 years due to human-driven climate change. The sharpest global warming-related reductions in snowpack—between 10% to 20% per decade—are in the Southwestern and Northeastern United States, as well as in Central and Eastern Europe. The study was funded in part by NIDIS through the NOAA Climate Program Office Modeling, Analysis, Predictions, & Projections (MAPP) program. … ” Continue reading from NIDIS.
In commentary today …
Gov. Newsom is accelerating California’s extinction crisis
By Jon Rosenfield, PhD, SF Baykeeper science director; and Eric Buescher, SF Baykeeper managing attorney, write, “California is at the forefront of a global crisis known as the Anthropocene extinction. This rapid eradication of living diversity is not caused by meteor strikes or volcanic eruptions, but by human activity. No animal group is more at risk than fishes. Researchers recently concluded that our state is a world leader in the number of freshwater fishes likely to become extinct by the end of the century. Governor Newsom’s water policies are accelerating this race to oblivion. Many of California’s imperiled native fishes live in San Francisco Bay, including five species that are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. Baykeeper recently sued the US Fish and Wildlife Service to add the Bay’s population of longfin smelt to that list. And, late last year, we and our partners petitioned state and federal agencies to protect the Bay’s white sturgeon population as threatened after decades of decline. … ” Click here to read this commentary.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Fourth dam breached on the Klamath River
“Construction crews blasted a hole in the Copco No. 1 dam on Tuesday. It’s the final dam of four that will be removed in the hydroelectric reach of the Klamath River this year. Video of the event shows a small explosion at the foot of the century old, 120-foot tall cement dam, followed by a plume of brown water being released downriver. “We observed, within just a matter of a few seconds after the explosion, the initial push of water and sediment coming from the reservoir,” said Mark Bransom, the CEO of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, the organization in charge of removing the four dams. … ” Read more from Jefferson Public Radio.
SEE ALSO: BOOM! Copco 1 Dam Blast Sends Middle Klamath River Flowing Freely For the First Time in a Century, from the Lost Coast Outpost
Anglers cheer dam removals
“There are two large-scale dam removal projects underway in Northern California that give those of us who enjoy fishing for trout, steelhead, and salmon hope that these precious fish may yet survive all the forces that have been driving them toward extinction. The Eel River dam removal project is the one closest to us here in Sonoma because one of the dams that will be removed is the one in Potter Valley that is connected to Lake Mendocino. The Eel River once supported runs of up to a million salmon and steelhead each year, but those numbers have plummeted to a fraction of historical numbers. Scientists recognize that a healthy and free-flowing Eel River has the potential to play a key role in the rebound of these fisheries throughout the North Coast region. … ” Read more from the Sonoma Index-Tribune.
BAY AREA
Valley Water advocates for federal funding during visit to Washington, D.C.
“A changing climate has increased the demand for sustainable water solutions and infrastructure in Santa Clara County. As inflation pushes costs for construction projects for water supply, flood protection and environmental stewardship higher, Valley Water is determined to work with our partners to help reduce the burden on ratepayers. That’s why Valley Water’s leaders visit Washington, D.C. twice a year to raise awareness of the need for water infrastructure while seeking financial support. … ” Read more from Valley Water News.
CENTRAL COAST
How much water does the Peninsula need to remove the shackles of water poverty?
“Outside of rare situations involving historic water rights, the State Water Board has prohibited California American Water from setting new water meters – or upsizing existing ones – since it imposed a cease-and-desist order on the company’s overpumping of the Carmel River in 2009. That means housing projects on the Peninsula have largely been impossible, along with, say, adding another bathroom to an existing house. Cal Am, the investor-owned utility that delivers water to the Peninsula’s taps, maintains a desalination project is necessary right now to meet demand, and to get the state to lift its order. The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District has long disagreed with that assessment, and its staff believes that, with expansion of recycled water project Pure Water Monterey that will come online in 2025, there is more than enough water to supply Cal Am’s local service area for at least the next 30 years. … ” Read more from Monterey Weekly.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Atmospheric river to impact the Central Valley
“Our Action News weather team and other local meteorologists are tracking an atmospheric river that is expected to reach Central California by the end of the month. This next storm system has a high risk of bringing hazardous rain to the area. Compared to last year’s historic rain season, this year has been off to a slow start, but the National Weather Service is warning of an atmospheric river bringing high risk of hazardous rainfall. “Right now, the weather prediction center has put the San Joaquin Valley at a 60% chance, which is a high risk of heavy rain,” said JP Kalb, Meteorologist with the National Weather Service. … ” Read more from KFSN.
California Water Institute awarded grant to bolster regional climate resilience
“The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research has awarded nearly $569,000 to the California Water Institute’s Research and Education Division at Fresno State for a project that addresses drought and flooding by planning for sustainable use of surface and groundwater. The project, “Climate Resiliency through Regional Water Recharge in the San Joaquin Valley,” will educate rural communities on groundwater recharge and establish a collaborative response team and plan for effective floodwater management, ensuring vulnerable communities are prioritized. “Climate problems happen by regions and watershed. Therefore, we believe solutions should also be regional in nature — which is why we proposed this project,” said Laura Ramos, interim director of the California Water Institute’s Research and Education Division. “We are very excited to work on a comprehensive solution for the region.” … ” Read more from Fresno State.
Over $500K awarded to the Water Institute at Fresno State
“A $569,000 grant was awarded to the California Water Institute’s Research and Education Division at Fresno State for a project that addresses drought and flooding by planning for sustainable use of surface groundwater, officials announced on Wednesday. Officials say the grant was awarded by the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research. The project, “Climate Resiliency through Regional Water Recharge in the San Joaquin Valley,” will educate rural communities on groundwater recharge and establish a collaborative response team, as well as a plan for effective floodwater management, ensuring vulnerable communities are prioritized. … ” Read more from Your Central Valley.
Water Leadership Institute seeks to cultivate community water leaders in the Delta Mendota Subbasin
“Environmental Defense Fund and Rural Community Assistance Corporation are accepting 2024 Water Leadership Institute applications for communities in the Delta Mendota Subbasin, including Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera and Fresno counties. The Institute will run from March 9 to June 12, with four in-person Saturday sessions. Participants will gain skills and knowledge to make informed, innovative, and equitable water decisions in communities facing mounting water issues, including groundwater decline and worsening flood, drought, and water quality risks. The Institute helps underrepresented and disadvantaged communities engage in effective local groundwater management and water decision-making. Such community participation is critical as groundwater-dependent regions of California are finalizing plans to manage their groundwater supplies more sustainably. … ” Read more from the Environmental Defense Fund.
New Kern River hearing set and the J.G. Boswell Company fears water in the river for fish will jeopardize its massive ag holdings
“The J.G. Boswell Company fears its agricultural interests – and possibly even the City of Corcoran – could be in jeopardy if water is allowed to remain in the Kern River for fish, according to its request to be admitted as a party to a lawsuit brought by local and statewide public interest groups. That’s just one of several new actions in the ongoing fight over river water. Here’s the rundown … ” Read more from SJV Water.
Water continues to be a driving force in Kern ag land values – and not in a good way
“The latest report on agricultural land valuations in Kern County shows water security continues to be a driving force and the direction is mostly downward. Alliance Ag Services LLC, a brokerage and appraisal firm, has been tracking the value of farmland in Kern County by water source, or sources, for nearly two decades. For about the past eight years, since the crippling 2012-2016 drought and passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), the numbers have been flat to dismal. Even for land with productive orchards and vineyards, values are down, said Alliance Ag Broker Michael Ming. “Ag is not very healthy right now,” he said. “We’re predominantly seeing declines in Kern County but it’s happening to varying degrees up the valley and, really, it has to do with water security.” … ” Read more from SJV Water.
San Joaquin Valley meeting notes
- North Kern Water District discusses nitrate compliance options, from SJV Water
- East Kaweah GSA January 22, 2024, from Water Wrights
- Greater Kaweah GSA Stakeholder Committee January 22, 2024, from Water Wrights
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS.
Column: The lithium revolution has arrived at California’s Salton Sea
Columnist Sammy Roth writes, “I’m finally convinced: California’s Imperial Valley will be a major player in the clean energy transition. After a dozen years of engineering, permitting and financing, the Australian firm Controlled Thermal Resources is ready to start building a lithium extraction and geothermal power plant at the southern end of the Salton Sea, more than 150 miles southeast of Los Angeles. A groundbreaking ceremony is planned for Friday near the shore of the shrinking desert lake. John Podesta, who once served as President Clinton’s chief of staff and is now President Biden’s clean energy advisor, will be at the groundbreaking. When I talked with him ahead of the event, he stressed the importance of the U.S. lessening its reliance on China and other countries for critical minerals such as lithium — and the particular benefits for Imperial County, an agricultural mecca that sits along the U.S.-Mexico border and has some of California’s lowest incomes. … ” Continue reading at the LA Times.
SAN DIEGO
Del Mar may be the solution to San Clemente’s beach replenishment project
“Del Mar may have the solution to San Clemente’s sand problem. A spot in the ocean less than a mile offshore from Del Mar is producing clean, rock-free sand that’s being used to widen a narrow, eroded beach at nearby Fletcher Cove. Planning, permitting and funding for the Fletcher Cove replenishment project in Solana Beach have been in the works for more than 20 years. The job includes carrying sediment from the same offshore source, sometimes called a “borrow pit,” about four miles north to a second spot at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas. Local and federal officials now say there also could be enough clean sand at Del Mar to supply another U.S. Army Corps of Engineers beach replenishment project that began in December, but is now on hold, almost 40 miles to the north at San Clemente in Orange County. … ” Read more from the Del Mar Times.
Another storm is on the horizon. Will San Diego get hit again?
“The pump is primed for another stretch of very stormy weather next week and into early February. What forecasters have yet to fully determine is where the next fire hose of moisture will be aimed: at San Diego again, at points to the north or even at the entire state of California. Forecasters at the Climate Prediction Center in Maryland say something big is brewing in the Pacific. They say that most of California and much of the West have a greater than 70 percent chance of above-normal rainfall as January winds down and February begins. … ” Read more from the Voice of San Diego.
SEE ALSO: What was up with that rain?, from the Voice of San Diego
14.5 billion gallons of raw sewage from Mexico entered US during storm
“The storm that hit the San Diego-Tijuana region on Monday sent more than 14.5 billion gallons of untreated raw sewage into California from Mexico, according to figures released by the International Boundary and Water Commission. On Tuesday, as the storm moved out of the area, the amount of sewage entering the U.S. dropped to 845 million gallons. The agency said it has not seen this type of pollution in the area in 30 years. Most of the effluent flows through the Tijuana River Valley along the river, which originates in Mexico, but a lot of the untreated sewage also enters the U.S. via canyons and ravines that feed the river north of the border. … ” Read more from Fox 5.
Along the Colorado River …
Citizen scientists document a recovering Colorado River
“Sitting around a fire at a campsite along the Colorado River in Utah, boater Mike DeHoff flips through old photos of the area. Scientists from the United States Geological Survey circle around him and peer interestedly over his shoulder. … DeHoff, a welder based in Moab, Utah, runs the Returning Rapids Project, which documents annual changes in a section of the Colorado river called Cataract Canyon. The project brings external scientists out to survey species, measure sediment changes in the riverbed and examine the geology of newly exposed rock formations. The team presents this information, along with their own observations, to various organizations across the region and to the public. DeHoff and his team do this work, in part, to help provide important information before officials make crucial water management decisions regarding the river. … ” Read the full story at Smithsonian Magazine.
ADWR considers establishing a groundwater protection area in Gila Bend
“The Arizona Department of Water Resources is considering establishing a new groundwater management area for the first time since 1980. The proposal for a new Active Management Area in Gila Bend would mark the first AMA created by the state government since the passage of the Groundwater Management Act more than four decades ago. Groundwater levels have sharply declined in the Gila Bend basin over the past several years. Between 2000 and 2020, the basin’s median rate of change was negative 3 feet each year and every single well measured saw a decrease. An AMA would regulate groundwater harvesting in Gila Bend for the purpose of conservation. … ” Read more from KJZZ.
Colorado Springs, Western Slope negotiators near deal over Blue River water rights
“A proposed agreement to boost water storage on the Western Slope and send more water to Colorado Springs is in the final stages of approval after years of debate. The deal focuses on water rights on the Blue River, a tributary of the Colorado River that begins in southern Summit County and flows northward into Dillon Reservoir. If approved, the agreement would set in motion a plan to build one new reservoir for Western Slope use and expand Montgomery Reservoir — which will increase the water supply for Colorado Springs. “It’s really important for how we go forward, as we put money into developing this additional infrastructure, that we have this agreement in place,” said Abby Ortega, general manager of infrastructure and resources planning for Colorado Springs Utilities. … ” Read more from the Colorado Sun.
In national water news today …
Can carbon capture solve desalination’s waste problem?
“As the world grapples with rising water use and climate-fueled drought, countries from the United States to Israel to Australia are building huge desalination plants to bolster their water supplies. These plants can create water for thousands of households by extracting the salt from ocean water, but they have also drawn harsh criticism from many environmental groups: Desalinating water requires a huge amount of energy, and it also produces a toxic brine that many plants discharge right back into the ocean, damaging marine life. Recent desalination plant proposals have drawn furious opposition in Los Angeles and Corpus Christi, Texas. But a new startup called Capture6 claims it can solve desalination’s controversial brine problem with another controversial climate technology: carbon capture. … ” Read more from Grist.
Groundwater resources are drying up across the globe. New research suggests we can fight the drip
“Humans rely on groundwater for many things, but especially our food. Roughly 30 percent of all the planet’s available freshwater comes from groundwater, or water that is found underground in the spaces between rocks, soil and sand. It is primarily used for agriculture and billions of humans are dependent on it, facing severe food deprivation without it. A study published this month in Nature Water even details how aquifer depletion also makes it harder to resist historic droughts, such as the record-breaking dry spells unleashed by climate change. … ” Read more from Salon.
Major US, UK water companies hit by ransomware
“Veolia describes itself as the world’s largest private player in the water sector, providing water and wastewater services to tens of millions of people. In a notice posted on its website, Veolia North America revealed that its Municipal Water division was hit by ransomware last week. In response to the incident, the company took down the targeted backend systems and servers, which disrupted online bill payment systems. “This incident seems to have been confined to our internal back-end systems at Veolia North America, and there is no evidence to suggest it affected our water or wastewater treatment operations,” Veolia said. … Across the pond, a ransomware group targeted Southern Water, which provides water services to 2.5 million customers and wastewater services to 4.7 million customers in the South of England. … ” Read more from Security Week.
