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On the calendar today …
- WEBINAR: Aerial Data and Remote Sensing for Water Resource Management from 11am to 12pm. Aerial data collection and remote sensing are improving the way we support water resource management. Join INTERA’s upcoming webinar to hear our panel of experts walk you through the benefits of using aerial data, from cost-effectiveness to improved data access, and demonstrate how various technologies like Airborne Electromagnetic Survey, LiDAR, and machine learning can improve water resource assessments and management. Click here to register.
- PPIC: Is California Ready for Climate Change? from 11:30am to 1:30pm. Each year brings more record-breaking heat to California—and rising temperatures already are affecting water for the state’s communities, farms, and ecosystems. Is California ready for the effects of a warming planet? We gather a panel of experts to envision how the state can best adapt to the changes already underway. Join us for a special lunchtime program. Attend online or in person Click here to register.
In California water news today …
Will La Niña emerge this year? The forecast is starting to shift
“The odds of La Niña have decreased again, according to a monthly update by the Climate Prediction Center on Thursday. The agency reports a 57% chance that La Niña develops during the period from October to December. That’s a decrease from an update last month, when forecasters announced a 71% probability that La Niña would be present during that same three-month period. For now, the climate pattern is expected to be in place through January-March 2025 and still has the potential to influence California weather this winter. … “The tropical Pacific Ocean has not cooled as much as expected, and it’s getting late in the year for La Niña to develop,” Emily Becker, a member of the center’s forecasting team, said by email. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle (gift article).
California braces for more active weather — including snow, rough surf and storms
“An active weather pattern continues on Thursday for California, with thunderstorms, snowfall and rough surf in the wake of a cold front that swept through the state late Wednesday night.An upper-level low will swing across the state, creating what meteorologists call an unstable atmosphere. A pocket of frigid air aloft, plunging to minus-20 degrees Fahrenheit at 18,000 feet, will clash with surface temperatures in the 50s and 60s. This sharp contrast primes the atmosphere for action, resulting in isolated thunderstorms, Sierra snowfall and hazardous coastal conditions. Isolated rain showers and thunderstorms will be a threat across the Bay Area from the morning onward on Thursday. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Returning a piece of the Delta to nature’s blueprint
“Standing on the levee road, surrounded by trees and an inert slough, it’s hard to get a read on distance or orientation. But that’s the Delta – a mosaic of water, land and sky that harkens to an undiscovered part of California that defies time or categorization. The Delta is critical to Reclamation’s Central Valley Project and the Department of Water Resources’ State Water Project operations – the hub where water flows in California. Improving the health of the ecosystem is equally important, an aim that pushes the construction and completion of ambitious and comprehensive restoration projects. One of those undertakings, the Prospect Island Tidal Habitat Restoration Project, is being recognized this week by state and federal officials. Once part of the Delta’s patchwork of farmland, Prospect Island awaits a transformation that promises to return it to the tidal-driven wetland it was before levees blocked the connectivity. DWR is leading the $69.4 million project, with funding coming from Reclamation to support the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Program. … ” Read more from the Bureau of Reclamation.
SEE ALSO: Reclamation, DWR Celebrate Launch of Key Delta Habitat Restoration Project, press release from DWR
New report: Meeting information needs for water markets: Understanding water diversion and use
“Water scarcity is a growing problem for agriculture and ecosystems across the U.S. Southwest. In many areas, unsustainable water use has overstretched local water supplies, and climate change is making these supplies more volatile. Water markets have the potential to enhance climate resilience by helping water users adapt to short-term variations in water supply and by easing long-term transitions to more sustainable levels of water use. However, this promise can only be realized if markets are truly fair and effective—able to achieve their intended goals without causing negative side effects. Our new report examines a foundational prerequisite for fair and effective water markets: adequate information about water diversion and use. This information is necessary because it defines what can be traded, enables market administrators and participants to track trading transactions and changes in the physical and legal availability of water, and facilitates assessment of the impacts trading has on others. … ” Read more from Legal Planet.
REPORT SUMMARY: Five Guiding Principles for Effective Voluntary Agreements
“California has increasingly focused on developing voluntary agreements (VAs) with water users to achieve regulatory goals in some watersheds. Ideally, voluntary agreements combine the protectiveness of regulation with the creativity and flexibility of negotiation, potentially achieving better outcomes faster and with less conflict than traditional regulatory methods. These potential benefits include faster implementation of measures, reduced conflict among stakeholders, and the ability to adapt to changing conditions. However, this ideal has only sometimes been realized in practice. The report, Five Guiding Principles for Effective Voluntary Agreements, was written to help agencies, potential signatories, and the interested public assess proposals for voluntary agreements and forge a viable path toward achieving critical regulatory goals. Written by former chair of the State Water Board Felicia Marcus (Visiting fellow at Stanford University), Nell Green Nylen (Berkeley Law), Dave Owen (UC Law San Francisco), and Michael Kiparsky (Berkeley Law), the report details concern for the voluntary agreements as proposed, and outlines five policy recommendations for moving the process forward to a successful outcome. … ” Read more from Maven’s Notebook.
Defending the public trust at Mono Lake, 30 years on
“In September the Mono Lake Committee hosted members and supporters in Lee Vining to celebrate Mono Lake and present the Committee’s Defender of the Trust Award. The award honors individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to championing Mono Lake and advocating for the Public Trust. This year was special: the event took place on the 30th anniversary—to the day—of the California State Water Resources Control Board’s Decision 1631 establishing the 6,392-foot protection mandate for Mono Lake. And so too was the award recipient: Marc Del Piero, who served as the attorney member of the State Water Board from 1992 to 1999 and ran the lengthy Mono Lake hearing that led to D1631. The hearing 30 years ago lasted for 46 days and many nights. It involved 14 formal parties, 17 attorneys, and more than 125 witnesses. Over 1,000 exhibits were introduced into the evidentiary record, and the transcripts ran to 30,000 pages. … ” Read more from the Mono Lake Committee.
Column: Green hydrogen or greenwashing? Mojave water scheme takes new twist
Sammy Roth writes, “Cadiz Inc. has been called a “zombie,” a “poison pill” and a scheme to “suck the desert dry” by draining a delicate groundwater aquifer north of Joshua Tree National Park and selling the water to wealthy coastal cities. Now the political power brokers behind the California company have a new gambit. It involves one of the few climate-friendly technologies that might find favor with the second Trump administration: green hydrogen. Two weeks before the election, Cadiz announced a deal to supply groundwater to Spanish developer RIC Energy. RIC would build a solar farm at Cadiz’s Mojave Desert Ranch, 160 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, and use the electricity to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The energy developer would sell the clean-burning hydrogen for combustion in cars, trucks and power plants, to replace planet-warming fossil fuels. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Cadiz to repurpose steel from terminated Keystone XL pipeline for California water project
“Cadiz Inc. announced plans to acquire 180 miles of steel pipe from the terminated Keystone XL Pipeline, repurposing the materials for a new water delivery pipeline. This new infrastructure will connect the company’s groundwater bank in California’s Mojave Desert to major water networks across the Southwestern U.S., with construction expected to begin in 2025. The steel will join Cadiz’s existing pipeline assets, which include 220 miles acquired from El Paso Natural Gas in 2021. Once operational, this expanded pipeline network will create the largest groundwater bank in the Southwest. … ” Read more from Pipeline & Gas Journal.
Reclamation and partners complete negotiations for the B.F. Sisk Dam Raise and Reservoir Expansion Project, advancing water supply reliability in California’s Central Valley
“The Bureau of Reclamation and the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority today announced a negotiated consensus has been met for the B.F. Sisk Dam Raise and Reservoir Expansion Project. The joint project creates an additional 130,000 acre-feet of storage space in San Luis Reservoir, the nation’s largest off-stream reservoir, producing additional water supply for two million people, over one million acres of farmland and 135,000 acres of Pacific Flyway wetlands and critical wildlife habitat. Reclamation signed the Record of Decision for the project on Oct. 20, 2023, the first approval of a major water storage project in California since 2011. Significant provisions of the agreement include cost sharing and space management for the federally-funded and authority-funded shares of the expanded reservoir. A $25 million investment to the project under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was announced in October 2022 and an additional $10 million in July 2023. An additional $60 million was authorized for project construction from the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, for a total of $95 million in federal contributions to date in construction costs. … ” Read more from the Bureau of Reclamation.
SEE ALSO: Feds approve project to expand San Luis Reservoir, from the San Joaquin Valley Sun
Extreme weather is ramping up toxic nitrate pollution in groundwater: Study
“Climate-driven extreme weather conditions, such as droughts and intense precipitation, may be accelerating the pace at which toxic nitrates are polluting groundwater, a recent study has found. Heavy rains following a drought caused nitrates — byproducts of nitrogen-based fertilizers — to seep 33 feet under Northern California farm fields in as little as 10 days, scientists observed in the study, published in Water Resources Research. “In California, we often say we swing between droughts and floods,” corresponding author Isaya Kisekka, a professor of agricultural water management at the University of California Davis, said in a statement. “These extreme events that come with climate change are going to make the risk of these chemicals ending up in our drinking water much more severe,” Kisekka warned. … ” Read more from The Hill.
$9.2 million in Inflation Reduction Act funds awarded to academic partners for Pacific salmon recovery science
“NOAA Fisheries awarded more than $9.2 million in grants funded by the Inflation Reduction Act to academic partners that will help recover threatened and endangered Pacific salmon. These grants are part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s unprecedented $27 million investment in Pacific salmon recovery science. They will support research that will build upon decades of knowledge from NOAA and its state, tribal, and academic partners. “The Inflation Reduction Act funding allows us to engage our academic partners and make rapid scientific advancement in critical areas,” said Steve Lindley, director of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center’s Fisheries Ecology Division in Santa Cruz, California. … ” Read more from NOAA.
Wildfires burn on both coasts. Is climate change to blame?
“Historically dry conditions and drought in the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern part of the United States are a key factor in the string of wildfires the region has faced in the past weeks, with officials issuing red flag warnings across the Northeast. On the West Coast, California is battling multiple wildfires, where dry conditions and wind have caused explosive fires that have burned more than 200 homes and businesses. It’s not possible to say that climate change caused the fires, but the extreme conditions fueling the fires have strong connections to the effects of climate change, according to David Robinson, the New Jersey state climatologist at Rutgers University. … ” Read more from USA Today.
In commentary today …
Improving our amazing water system in California
David Guy, Executive Director of the Northern California Water Association, writes, “With the recent precipitation that has been emerging in the new water year and the weather whiplash we have seen in California the past several decades, this is a good time to think about the importance of our amazing water system in California, how we can continually modernize and improve our water system, and provide our water resources managers with the tools to effectively prepare for the new water year—not knowing whether this upcoming year will be wet, dry, or another average water year like 2024. … ” Read more from the Northern California Water Association.
Aren’t restoring the San Francisco Bay-Delta and Central Valley salmon California Values?
Dan Bacher writes, “In the face of an incoming Trump administration, Governor Gavin Newsom on Nov. 7 issued a proclamation convening a special session of the California Legislature to “safeguard California values and fundamental rights,’ but those values apparently don’t include restoring the San Francisco-Bay Delta Estuary and Central Valley salmon populations. Newsom said the special session will focus on “bolstering California legal resources to protect civil rights, reproductive freedom, climate action, and immigrant families.” This is the first of several actions by the Newsom Administration, in partnership with the Legislature, as the Governor begins “shoring up California’s defenses against an incoming federal administration that has threatened the state on multiple fronts,” according to the Governor’s Office. … ” Read more from IndyBay.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Salmon and paddlers to make historic descent on the free-flowing Klamath
“… In September 2024, the Iron Gate dam on the Klamath River, the final of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath, came down in what constituted the largest dam removal project in the United States. Indigenous youth from the Yurok, Hoopa, Karuk and other local tribes have been reconnecting with sections of the Klamath river that have not flowed freely for over a hundred years by way of whitewater kayak. The Paddle Tribal Waters Program, organized by nonprofit Rios to Rivers, has Indigenous youth learning whitewater skills in preparation for a 400-mile source to sea journey in Spring 2025. This will be the first whitewater descent of the new Klamath since its undamming. … ” Read more from Paddling Magazine.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Sierra Nevada may hold key to meet California’s ambitious 30×30 goal
“California’s 30×30 goal was a topic at the Sierra Nevada Alliance Conservation Conference held at Lake Tahoe Community College, Nov. 7-8. In 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom committed the state to conserving 30% of lands and coastal waters by 2030, and the key to meeting the ambitious goal could be right here in the Sierra Nevada. “One thing that’s very unique about the Sierra Nevada region is there’s more public lands here than any other region in the state, as I’m sure you all are familiar with,” Madeline Drake with the California Natural Resources Agency said to the full house at the Duke Theater that Friday morning. The assistant secretary for biodiversity and habitat was this year’s keynote speaker and provided an update on the 30×30 initiative. California was one of the first to commit to the goal with the initiative in 2020. In January of 2021, the Biden administration issued an executive order on tackling the climate crisis and committed the United States to 30×30 through its America the Beautiful initiative. The year following, many countries came together for a United Nations in 2022 to agree to a 30×30 goal. … ” Read more from the Tahoe Daily Tribune.
Water service line inventory in South Lake Tahoe
“As part of a nationwide effort to protect communities from lead exposure, South Tahoe Public Utility District is encouraging residents to help identify the material of their water service line. While no lead water service lines have been identified in South Lake Tahoe to date, residents with unknown service line materials are urged to follow five easy steps to determine the material their water line. … “Fortunately, lead pipes were not commonly used in California and the District has not seen lead service lines in our water system at this point in time,” said Paul Hughes, General Manager. “To help the District complete our inventory, we are asking residents to test their water service line and complete a quick survey.” … ” Read more from the Tahoe Daily Tribune.
Tuolumne Utilities District awarded nearly $46-million for water treatment plant
“Tuolumne Utilities Districts (TUD) receives one of the largest state grant awards for water system consolidation and will bring cost savings to the district and customers. A $45.6 million State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) grant/loan has been awarded to the district to construct a state-of-the-art 3 million gallons per day (mgd) regional water treatment facility at Sierra Pines in Twain Harte. The Sierra Pines Regional Water Treatment Facility (WTF) Consolidation Project aims to consolidate up to six aging surface water treatment plants, replacing them with advanced technology to ensure enhanced reliability and superior water quality for TUD customers. … ” Read more from My Mother Lode.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
More rain is coming, how is Butte County preparing for flood risk after Park Fire?
“With the recent storms and more rain in the forecast, the potential threat of flooding is likely on the minds of many living in and downhill from the Park Fire burn scar. Butte County Public Works Director Joshua Pack went before the Board of Supervisors during its meeting Tuesday morning to discuss flood risk and mitigation efforts. Pack provided an informational presentation that summarized the Watershed Emergency Response Team’s work so far as well as some longer-term possibilities for decreasing damage risks during flood events as well as a study to determine where a flood event would be the most detrimental. “As part of the recommendations outlined by the study, there were eight locations identified,” Pack said. … ” Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record.
THM levels meet strict drinking water standards in Suisun City
“The city’s drinking water now meets the trihalomethane levels set forth by regulatory agencies. The levels for the past four quarters were below the maximum concentration level of 80 parts per billion. “This progress follows a series of significant updates and process improvements at the water treatment facilities aimed at reducing THM levels and ensuring water quality for Suisun City residents,” wrote City Manager Bret Prebula. Trihalomethanes, a byproduct of chlorine disinfection, can be produced during the pre-chlorination step of the water treatment process. It’s critical for removing organic materials and heavy metals. … ” Read more from the Daily Republic.
NAPA/SONOMA
This large, fast-breeding rodent could become $1 billion problem for North Bay
“A large, fast-breeding rodent that tears through wetlands and crops has raised alarm among Solano County officials and farmers. Nutria, which may grow up to 2 feet long and weigh 20 pounds, were discovered in the Central Valley as early as 2017, after going undetected for 40 years in California. But recently they’ve multiplied. State Fish and Wildlife efforts have captured a total of 5,171 nutria across 10 counties, including Stanislaus, Fresno, San Joaquin, Mariposa, Sacramento, Contra Costa, Madera, Tuolumne and Solano. The fear is they will migrate to other North Bay areas beyond the Suisun Marsh, specifically into sensitive wetlands and watersheds, such as the Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Areas, San Pablo National Wildlife Refuge and San Francisco Bay. The species could cause damage costing the regional economy $1 billion, the Solano County supervisors estimated in an Oct. 25 letter to congressional members. … ” Read more from the North Bay Journal.
BAY AREA
Chinook Salmon make a surprise appearance at Lake Merritt
“Rarely has anyone ever been so excited by news of a dead fish. On Nov. 2, James Robinson, executive director of the Lake Merritt Institute, got a call from a board member saying someone saw a large salmon-looking fish jumping out of the water. Unsure of the validity of the claim, Robinson eagerly awaited confirmation. Soon the reports came in: Several salmon carcasses had washed ashore on Lake Merritt. Robinson was thrilled. “This is only the second time since I’ve been at the institute that Chinook salmon have been in the lake,” said Robinson. “It’s so many obstacles for [them] to get here, and that’s why it’s so fascinating.” … ” Read more from Oaklandside.
South Bay water agencies prepping for flood protection ahead of winter
“With more rain on the way, water agencies are urging people to prepare for what winter will bring. On Wednesday, Valley Water wanted to make sure South Bay residents were ready when the bigger storms hit. “The rain is coming, winter is coming. We’ve already experienced a little bit of it,” said Brian Garcia, NWS warning coordination meteorologist. The national weather service says there isn’t a strong indicator of whether we’ll see an el Nino or la Nina this winter. While they don’t expect the historic storms the Bay Area and California saw two years ago, the NWS said the winter could prove tough to forecast. … ” Read more from NBC Bay Area.
Coyote Valley: 376 acres once planned for offices and parking lots to become public open space preserve
“Nearly 400 acres of open land that once was planned for offices and parking lots in Coyote Valley, a scenic rural expanse on San Jose’s southern edges, is moving into public ownership to become part of an open space preserve for wildlife, flood control and recreation. The Peninsula Open Space Trust, a non-profit environmental group based in Palo Alto, is selling the 376-acre property, known as Laguna Seca, for $16 million to the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, a government agency in San Jose. That’s a discount: the land trust, commonly called POST, bought it for $21 million five years ago. “These acres belong to the public now,” said Andrea Mackenzie, general manager of the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority. “These lands are officially and forever in public ownership. They belong to the people for generations to come for the benefit of everybody.” … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Turlock Irrigation District talks irrigation rate increases for 2025
“Claiming increased operating costs, aging infrastructure and increased customer demand, Turlock Irrigation District took steps at its Nov. 5 meeting to move forward with increases in their volumetric water rates — the first rate increase since 2015. A TID grower meeting will be held tonight at 5:30 p.m. at TID headquarters, 333 E. Canal Dr. According to a rate study prepared by NewGen Strategies and Solutions, a consulting firm headquartered in Texas, TID would restructure its water-rate design by consolidating tiers 1, 2, 3 into a single rate, while Tier 4 would have a cost-justified rate. Also, garden heads — typically five-acre parcels that are provided water on rotations about every two weeks — would move from a fixed fee to the irrigation rate structure. Finally, TID would establish a minimum fee of $200 per year, per irrigator. … ” Read more from the Turlock Journal.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles set to build facility to transform wastewater into clean drinking water
“Los Angeles will soon begin building a $740-million project to transform wastewater into purified drinking water in the San Fernando Valley, expanding the city’s local water supply in an effort to prepare for worsening droughts compounded by climate change. The city plans to break ground next month to start construction of new facilities at the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys. When completed, the facilities will purify treated wastewater and produce 20 million gallons of drinking water per day, enough to supply about 250,000 people. The drinking water that the plant produces will be piped 10 miles northeast to L.A. County’s Hansen Spreading Grounds, where it will flow into basins and percolate into the groundwater aquifer for storage. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will later pump the water from wells, and after additional testing and treatment, the water will enter pipes and be delivered to taps. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Cool conditions ahead of the weekend to bring chance of showers and snow over local mountains
“Today will be much cooler than Wednesday and we’re looking at a chance of light showers tonight and tomorrow. Along the coast we’re looking at highs in the low to mid 60s for L.A., Ventura and Orange county beaches. In Ventura, there’s a high surf advisory from 9 p.m. to noon Saturday. That means large breaking waves up to 7 feet are expected. Swimmers and surfers should be on the lookout for dangerous rip currents. Inland, we’ll seeing highs in the low to mid 70s for the valleys and the Inland Empire, where temperatures won’t reach past 76 degrees. Temperatures in the high desert will reach the 60s, and up to the upper 70s for the low desert. … ” Read more from the LAist.
SAN DIEGO
King tides will hit San Diego beaches this weekend
“Higher-than-normal (and lower-than-normal tides) are headed back to San Diego’s coasts this weekend, according to NBC 7 meteorologists. King tides — the phenomenon that describes what are typically some of the highest tides of the year — are happening Friday, Saturday and Sunday. These uniquely high tides are caused by a stronger-than-normal gravitational pull from the moon and sun. On top of that, Friday’s full moon is also a supermoon. This November full moon is known as the “Beaver Moon”. The highest tides of the month come during the full and new moon. A supermoon means that the moon is closer to earth than usual, further strengthening the moon’s gravitational pull on earth’s oceans, said NBC 7 meteorologist Greg Bledsoe. … ” Read more from Channel 7.
Chula Vista city council declares state of emergency over South Bay sewage crisis
“Chula Vista has joined other cities in declaring a state of emergency over the Tijuana River sewage crisis. The city council voted unanimously to approve a resolution introduced by Mayor John McCann Tuesday evening. Mayor McCann says people in the city have been complaining about the smell. He says most complaints come from people in the southwest portion of the city. The mayor says the proclamation is meant to raise awareness about the problem and hopefully attract the attention of the state and federal governments, which would, in turn, lead to more funding to fix it. … ” Read more from Channel 10.
SEE ALSO: Sewage pollution affecting Chula Vista, not just border communities. So city leaders declare state of emergency, from the San Diego Union-Tribune
Along the Colorado River …
Colorado River basins could face tipping point, drought study warns
“Water from Colorado’s West Slope basins plays a vital role in supporting the economy and natural environment across seven western U.S. states, but a new study finds that even under modest climate projections, the basins face a potential tipping point where traditional water delivery levels to Lake Powell and other critical areas may no longer be sustainable. The study, published Nov. 9 in the journal Earth’s Future, is the largest and most comprehensive exploratory modeling analysis of drought vulnerability in the Colorado West Slope basins – six watersheds along the Colorado River that feed the Lake Powell reservoir and support a $5 billion annual agriculture economy. The finding comes at a critical time as state and federal policymakers negotiate water-sharing agreements set to expire in the coming years. … ” Read more from the Cornell Chronicle.
SEE ALSO: Lake Powell at existential risk as river basins head for ‘tipping point’, from Newsweek
Mayes to sue using public nuisance laws to stop groundwater pumping from corporate farms
“Attorney General Kris Mayes announced she’ll file a lawsuit in the coming weeks to halt the pumping of groundwater in two rural areas by corporate farms. She focused on Riverview Dairy in Cochise County and the Saudi Arabian company Fondomonte, which cultivates alfalfa farms in La Paz county and sends the crop back for cattle. One of Fondomonte’s leases was terminated but not all. … ” Read more from KJZZ.
NASA images reveal massive early-season snowpack in Colorado
“In a striking start to the winter season, a powerful early-November snowstorm blanketed Colorado and northeastern New Mexico, depositing feet of snow that significantly boosted the region’s snowpack. The snowstorm, captured in satellite images released by the NASA Earth Observatory on Wednesday, swept through from November 5 to 9, covering not only the high Rockies but also the Great Plains, where snowfall totals shattered monthly averages for some areas. The imagery, captured on November 10 by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite on the NOAA-20 satellite, showcases the widespread snow cover stretching across eastern Colorado and New Mexico. An impressive white expanse is visible across the Plains, with a dense coating of snow draping the mountainous regions to the west. … ” Read more from Newsweek.
In national water news today …
Machine learning predicts highest-risk groundwater sites to improve water quality monitoring
“An interdisciplinary team of researchers has developed a machine learning framework that uses limited water quality samples to predict which inorganic pollutants are likely to be present in a groundwater supply. The new tool allows regulators and public health authorities to prioritize specific aquifers for water quality testing. This proof-of-concept work focused on Arizona and North Carolina but could be applied to fill critical gaps in groundwater quality in any region. Groundwater is a source of drinking water for millions and often contains pollutants that pose health risks. However, many regions lack complete groundwater quality datasets. … ” Read more from Water Online.
