Water Futures as a Water Management Practice
Water, perhaps the most precious natural resource, prompts feelings of insecurity for certain geographical areas and raises questions as to best practices for its management, especially as climate change, droughts, pollution and population growth create ongoing water scarcity. California struggles with management decisions that impact not only the state but also the rest of the country as the state ranks first in national agricultural receipts, accounting for 13.5%.[1] Water shortages drive farmers to seek water from others with easier access, but in times of scarcity often prompted by droughts farmers experience colossal price hikes making farming, for some, a cost […]
Raising Rates in San Diego
It has been ten years since San Diego has seen an increase in wastewater rates, but the city is proposing a rate increase over the next four years of 5% starting in January 2022, up to 4% in 2023 and 2024 and up to 3% in 2025 and 2026. Additionally, the Public Utilities Department is proposing a rate hike in water and sewer services of 2%. The motivating forces behind the rate increases are the same for countless water utilities across the country: maintenance, upgrades and future projects. The Public Utilities Department of San Diego serves over 3,400 miles water […]
Expanding the Use of ASR at Lake O
Increased water insecurity is driving creativity on the preservation front. Mitigation efforts range from individual commitments to reduce water consumption (through the use of water efficient appliances, faucets, toilets, shower heads, and reduced irrigation), to local water reduction mandates, to large-scale water reuse projects and technologies. One technology that has been employed for 40 years is Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR), also known as deep injection wells. ASR is the injection of surface water supplies into an aquifer for later recovery and use, such as in times of drought. Florida has used such technology for as long as it has […]
Tackling Water Usage in Data Centers
The seven-year-long California dry spell that finished in mid-2019 paired with the wildfires that followed are only two late occasions that have projected a focus on the extensive outcomes of deteriorating water deficiencies. Those worries have been compounded by a lack of certainty of the impact of climate change on water supplies. Under particular scrutiny is the data center market sector as, just in the U.S., data centers are expected to have consumed an estimated 174 billion gallons of water in 2020[1]. For reference, a 15-megawatt data center can use up to 360,000 gallons of water in just one day. […]
Decreased Water Flow Projected to Colorado River Basin
Colorado is no stranger to drought especially as the current one is closing in on 20 years with no trajectory change in sight. The drought is the second worst 20-year period in the past 1,200 years, according to Bradley Udall, a senior climate and water scientist at Colorado State University’s Colorado Water Center. This summer/fall alone had some of the hottest spells on record and the worst wildfire season ever. “Aridification” is what Udall formally calls the situation that is currently occurring in the western U.S. But perhaps more accurately, he calls it hot drought which is heat-induced lack of […]