California officials weakened proposed rules that would have reduced urban water use. To the dismay of environmentalists, the state is giving city and county water districts an extra five years to reduce outdoor irrigation. Learn more at #HealthyWorldForAll.
Court upholds state plan to require more water in California rivers
California water officials will set goals focusing on a portion of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta watershed for increasing river flows to help rapidly declining populations of chinook salmon and steelhead trout. Learn more at #HealthyWorldForAll
DYK: Clothing is made with highly toxic dyes and heavy metals that pollute clean water streams, rivers and aquifers. In addition, 85% of all textiles go to the dump each year and significant amounts of microplastics from them go into the go into the ocean. Learn more at #HealthyWorldForAll.
Celebrate Earth Day on April 22 and help protect our planet by participating in local events. This year’s theme is Planet vs. Plastics and promotes awareness on the health risk of plastics and phasing out single-use plastics. The goal is a 60% reduction in the production of all plastics by 2040. Visit earhday.org. Learn more at #HealthyWorldForAll.
DYK: Drinking-water sources serving up to 25 million Californians are or have been contaminated with PFAS toxic forever chemicals. PFAS pollution is more prevalent in disadvantaged communities with up to 8.9 million Californians in those communities potentially impacted.sLearn more at #HealthyWorldForAll.
California’s organic waste recycling program seeks to slash by 75% the amount of organic waste it sends to landfills by 2025 from 2014 levels. The goal is to keep waste from piling up in landfills, and instead turn it into compost or biogas. The program is behind schedule. Learn more at #HealthyWorldForfAll.
Wasted energy: Record rain won’t stop California water woes
DYK: Despite record rainfall in California,s80% of the water is lost to the oceans due to inadequate infrastructure. Learn more at #HealthyWorldForAll.
DYK: In 2024, 35 states will introduce policies banning PFAS forever chemicals, according to Safer States, a national alliance of environmental health organizations and coalitions. PFAS are found in numerous consumer products, providing heat, oil, stain, and grease resistance; they also pose serious human health concerns. Learn more at #HealthyWorldForAll.
DYK: Extreme February rainfall created a temporary lake in Death Valley National Park at Badwater Basin. Informally called Lake Manly, it is about 6 miles long, 3 miles wide and 1 foot deep. Learn more at #HealthyWorldForAll.
Rainfall from atmospheric rivers in February resulted in 2.7 billion gallons of stormwater captured by Los Angeles County Public Works. That’s enough water for 65,600 residents for a year. Learn more at #HealthyWorldForAll.
DYK: Flash flooding is the deadliest severe weather in the U.S., killing more people per year than hurricanes, tornadoes, and lightning. Almost half of flood deaths are vehicle related. Learn more at #HealthyWorldForAll.
In January, record rain brought dangerous flooding to San Diego where businesses and homes were destroyed, vehicles were swept away, and roads were closed. Emergency crews rescued injured and displaced residents. Learn more at #HealthyWorldForAll.
Thanks to rain from recent atmospheric rivers, Lake Shasta reservoir water levels rose 5 feet to 1,020 feet. Last winter’s atmospheric rivers raised water levels by 135 feet from January to May 2023. Learn more at #HealthyWorldForAll.
SoCal water officials test cloud seeding in effort to increase region's water supply
California state officials launched a four-year pilot program that aims to increase precipitation by 5% to 15%. The plan is to release silver iodide into the atmosphere through cloud seeding generators located near the base of mountains surrounding the Santa Ana River watershed basin. Learn more at #HealthyWorldForAll.
Despite long opposition by environmental groups, California officials recently approved construction of the Delta Tunnel. The proposed 45-mile-long tunnel is to be built beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and would pipe water from the Sacramento River, bypassing the Delta, and redirect it into the Bethany Reservoir on the California Aqueduct, and then deliver it to Southern California. Learn more at #HealthyWorldForAll.
DYK: According to a new study of 83 U.S. cities, formerly redlined areas (which are still predominantly Black, brown, or low-income) experience higher noise levels which can damage hearing after less than two hours of exposure. The noise also affects animals in the area. Learn more at #HealthyWorldForAll.
Would you drink toilet water? California approves wastewater for human consumption
California will allow agencies to recycle filtered wastewater into drinking water for homes, schools and businesses. California would be the second state to allow this, following Colorado. State officials say most people are already drinking recycled water: most wastewater treatment plants put their treated water back into rivers and streams, which then flow down to the next town so they can drink it.sLearn more at #HealthyWorldForAll.
Officials are preparing for yet another critical water year in California as the state – along with most of the American west – remains mired in drought.
On the dusty outskirts of Bakersfield, Rosa Perez and her family are living without a basic housing amenity — clean water. Though they pay the water bill each month, what comes out of the taps is laced with a chemical that California admits could make the family of four more likely to develop cancer. Perez, 43, would rather spend some of her meager farmworker income on bottled water than see that come to pass.
