Category Archives: General

Efforts Underway to Replenish Dying Salton Sea in Imperial Valley

On July 14, 2022, Hydrowonk was interviewed by KUSI News Anchor Logan Byrnes on Good Evening San Diego about current efforts to restore the Salton Sea. The interview included why it’s important to restore the Salton Sea, an overview of Sea-to-Sea Bi-National Canal Company’s plan to bring 1 million acre-feet per year from the Sea of Cortez, why there’s been a delay in restoration efforts at the state level, and next steps.

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How Long Can the Salton Sea Wait for a Long-Term Solution?

Over two years ago, a Los Angeles Times Editorial stated: “The Salton Sea is a disaster in the making. California isn’t doing anything about it.”

The State of California has finally commissioned this summer (2021) a review of proposals submitted over three years earlier (March 2018). What is the state’s schedule for addressing the rapidly deteriorating conditions at the Salton Sea? The current plan is for the review to be completed by December 2022. And then?

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What is California’s Tab for 1,2,3-TCP Groundwater Contamination?

On July 18, the State Water Resources Control Board adopted a drinking water standard for the regulation of the contaminant 1,2,3-Trichloropropane (TCP).  The Division of Drinking Water set the standard for TCP at 5 parts per trillion (ppt) as a maximum contaminant level.  If public water systems exceed the standard, they will be required to notify their customers and take corrective action.  Based on recent actions taken by the City of Bakersfield to correct their TCP problems, the total tab for California’s public water systems will exceed $4 billion.

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Changes in North Dakota’s Water Laws Potentially Open up More Water Supply for Hydraulic Fracturing

While many areas of the United States are recovering from drought conditions, there is one area which is headed deeper into extreme drought: the Northern Plains. While a series of storms in May and June caused widespread flooding and damage in Oklahoma, these storms largely missed the Dakotas and Montana. According to the most recent US Drought Monitor as of August, Montana and North Dakota were the only states in the US that had any exceptional drought. Currently, 99.59% of the Roughrider State is in some form of drought, and 43.84% of the state faces either extreme or exceptional drought. At the beginning of the calendar year, only 6.13% of the state had some form of drought, and there was no drought more severe than “abnormally dry,” the least severe drought designation.

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