Filter By:
Type
State
Priority
Posted On
Search Results
Groundwater Rules!
With all that’s happening right now, it can be difficult to pay attention to anything other than the news of the day. I’m focused on groundwater; how we use it – and use too much; how we protect it from pollution – or don’t; and how we can ensure that it’s available when we need it. And even on a day when we’re not focused on a pandemic, groundwater can be easy to forgot about -- it's our invisible resource. The fact that it’s unseen doesn’t mean groundwater isn’t a critical piece of our lives. In California we depend upon groundwater to ensure that streams continue to flow for all or most of
CA Lagging Behind on PFAS, But Has the Chance to Do it Right
Joint Post with Anna Reade, Staff Scientist with Natural Resources Defense Council The estimated number of Californians affected by water contaminated by toxic PFAS chemicals is rising. Data released just last week confirms that California has cause for worry, and underscores that the state should act now to protect its residents. One way to do that is to pass laws that stop unnecessary use and release of these harmful chemicals and that provide for better testing for them. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, constitute a large class of man-made chemicals used widely in industrial
Protecting Californians from Oil and Gas Production
More than 5 million Californians live near oil and gas production. In Kern County, oil production is wedged between homes and looms over schools and playground. Our communities are under a haze of contaminants due to the gargantuan fields of oil and gas wells bordering towns and scattered along our roads.
Perspectives on Groundwater Sustainability: Erik Ringelberg with the Freshwater Trust
Overview of your organization’s involvement with sustainable groundwater management issues? The Freshwater Trust is most well-known for its work on protecting freshwater river ecosystems. In California, a significant amount of surface water bodies are regulated and diverted through dams and other surface water infrastructure. Surface water bodies also lose flow when the groundwater is depleted. So for our efforts in California, we see as an important role for the Trust to use our understanding of surface waters and apply that to protecting their associated groundwater systems. California is
Perspectives on Groundwater Sustainability: Susan Harvey with North County Watch
How did you get involved with sustainable groundwater management issues? I have been a volunteer activist in the county for 20 years. As irrigated agriculture came in and started planting in the region it started to become obvious that we needed to pay attention to how much groundwater there was. In 2005, the County published a study they’d done of the groundwater aquifer and they published a second one in 2009 or 2010, and then a third one. As irrigated agriculture grew and we faced this drought, residents’ wells started to go dry. In the residential area within the Paso Robles basin (800