California hills under cloudy skies

Abstract Across the world, declining groundwater levels cause wells to run dry, increase water and food insecurity, and often acutely impact groundwater-dependent communities. Despite the ubiquity and severity of these impacts, groundwater research has primarily focused on economic policy instruments for sustainable management or the quantification of groundwater depletion, rather than assessing the impacts of […]

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In March 2023, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) determined that the groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) for six critically overdrafted, high-priority groundwater basins in the Central Valley are inadequate. The six basins with inadequate GSPs, from north to south, are the Chowchilla, Delta-Mendota, Kaweah, Tulare Lake, Tule, and Kern County subbasins (please see map below). […]

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San Francisco: Plaintiffs’ attorneys had a good day at the courthouse on Tuesday, January 16th, in San Francisco, as a pre-trial hearing wrapped up before the start of a 9-day federal trial over the neurotoxicity of fluoridation chemicals, according to the Fluoride Action Network (FAN). Key Moments: The trial will take place in person in San […]

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The Fluoride Action Network (FAN) applauds the utilities staff and decision makers of Branson, Missouri–as well as the local residents who spoke up–for taking action to protect the community and public employees from the serious risks posed by the practice of water fluoridation.  On November 14th, the Branson Board of Alderman voted unanimously to repeal their municipal ordinance that allowed […]

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BY HAYLEY SMITH STAFF WRITER SEPT. 19, 2023 UPDATED 6:57 AM PT A water district best known for supplying the celebrity-studded enclaves of Calabasas and Hidden Hills could soon become famous for a very different reason. The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District recently partnered with California-based OceanWell to study the feasibility of harvesting drinking water from desalination pods placed on […]

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Dec. 15, 2022 The Las Virgenes district, which supplies about 75,000 people, is almost entirely reliant on imported water from the State Water Project, a vast network of reservoirs, canals and pipelines that feeds dozens of agencies across the state. But the district faces routine challenges during times of drought, especially when state officials are […]

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June 7, 2022 But getting the desalination project past regulators will be a significant hurdle. The California Coastal Commission, the State Lands Commission, the State Water Resources Control Board, the Division of Drinking Water, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers are just some of the agencies that could be involved […]

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fluoride toxicity in drinking water

At Thursday’s status hearing for our federal lawsuit against the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the neurotoxicity of fluoridation chemicals, the Judge acknowledged that “justice delayed is justice denied,” ultimately ruling against the EPA’s request for additional delay of the trial. The Court also set a timeline for the final phase leading up to a verdict. […]

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By Lela Nargi, November 20, 2022  Deepak Palakshappa became a pediatrician to give poor kids access to good medical care. Still, back in his residency days, the now-associate professor at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem was shocked to discoverthat a patient caring for two young grandchildren was food insecure. “Our clinic had set up […]

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The TSCA Fluoride Lawsuit Update

BIG NEWS! The Court ruled in favor of our motion, and the lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in federal court is moving forward, bringing us another step closer to a final ruling. The court recorded the proceedings and will release it to the public. I was waiting to include a link to the recording in this bulletin, but it hasn’t been released yet. When it is, the Fluoride Action Network […]

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Researchers looked in the wrong place. Couldn’t find IQ loss that other studies found. In a classic Mutt & Jeff comic a drunk is crawling around on the ground under a streetlight, looking for his dropped coin.  A cop asks, “Did you drop it here?” and the drunk replies “No, but the light is better here!”  […]

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water pump

By Janny Choy and Geoff McGhee Groundwater is back in the spotlight. Largely invisible, lightly regulated and used by 85% of California’s population and much of the state’s $45 billion agriculture industry, groundwater is a crucial reserve that helps stave off catastrophe during drought periods like we’ve experienced over the past three years. Unheralded, Underregulated and Overused, […]

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Vacaville, California city limit sign.

A lawsuit accusing Vacaville of endangering its residents with tap water polluted with hexavalent chromium — the cancer-causing chemical made infamous in the film “Erin Brockovich” — was dismissed Friday by a federal appeals court, which said the city merely carried the water in its pipes and isn’t responsible for contamination caused by others. The city was […]

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Image online meeting coffee computer notes

Notice of public workshops and opportunity for public comment on administrative draft of the proposedIn light of CRW’s legal action for high levels of hexavalent chromium in some municipal water, supporters for clean water may want to join the workshops either by Zoom using links below or in watch only mode using the link above Language Access.  Tuesday, […]

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tap water

Hexavalent chromium, or chromium-6, is the cancer-causing chemical that poisoned the community of Hinkley, Calif., made notorious by the 2000 film “Erin Brockovich.” Chromium-6 is a form of the element chromium that is usually produced by industrial processes but can occur naturally. It is commonly used for anti-corrosion metal coating, wood preservation and textile dyeing. It […]

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Water racing down stream. Free to use under the Unsplash License.

Dec. 16, 2021 Harder and other lawyers in the group said they expect to face resistance but hope the unrelenting drought may help build support for changing California’s water laws. The group said in a 43-page report detailing their recommendations that they’re suggesting a “focused approach to updating existing laws, regulations, and funding.” They recently presented their recommendations during a webinar organized by the Planning […]

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water bottle in foaming water

By Sharon Udasin – 01/10/22  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must take immediate action to address a class of endocrine-disrupting compounds, called phthalates, that continue to plague American food packaging, the House Oversight and Reform Committee demanded in a letter on Monday.  “FDA is tasked with ensuring the safety of our nation’s food supply, but over multiple administrations the […]

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This study reveals key disinfection byproduct (DBP) toxicity drivers in drinking water across the United States. DBPs, which are ubiquitous in drinking water, form by the reaction of disinfectants, organic matter, bromide, and iodide and are generally present at 100–1000× higher concentrations than other contaminants. DBPs are linked to bladder cancer, miscarriage, and birth defects […]

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fluoridation info graphic

“…toxicologists worry that dental-health gains have come at a cost.”  One of the world’s most important scientific journals has published a special news feature on water fluoridation, focusing on the Fluoride Action Network’s federal court case against the U.S. EPA and quoting our legal counsel along with several accomplished neurotoxicity researchers.  It’s a well-balanced piece that we […]

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Folsom Lake, California

Sep 3, 2021 California’s re-emerging drought is placing unprecedented strain on the state’s intricate water system, threatening mass agricultural production and basic drinking water in a way experts say is more severe than in years past. Federal officials on Aug. 16 declared a first-ever water shortage from the Colorado River — which supplies drinking and irrigation water […]

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Dry stream in San Bernadino National Forest

Emily DennyApr. 28, 2021 California water officials have accused Nestlé of draining more water out of southern California’s Strawberry Creek in the San Bernardino National Forest than permitted. The drafted cease-and-desist order, which was sent to the company on Friday, asked Nestlé to stop draining millions of gallons of water out of the forest every […]

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George Plaven, Capital PressFeb 19, 2021 When it comes to critical water infrastructure in the West, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet says it is about more than dams, pipes and canals. Water security begins in the forest, along streams and rivers that flow through farms and communities, Bennet, D-Colo., said during the Family Farm Alliance annual […]

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When the COVID-19 outbreak swept across the U.S., toilet paper, hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes flew off store shelves. But shopping carts have also been full of something that most Americans get supplied straight to their home: water. Shoppers emptied store shelves of bottled water while stockpiling during the initial months of the pandemic. Even Amazon ran […]

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drop of water

By Kim Chipman – December 6, 2020. Water joined gold, oil and other commodities traded on Wall Street, highlighting worries that the life-sustaining natural resource may become scarce across more of the world. Farmers, hedge funds and municipalities alike are now able to hedge against — or bet on — future water availability in California, the biggest U.S. agriculture market and world’s fifth-largest economy. […]

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Girls drinking from water bottle

Caitrin Chappelle | October 20, 2020 Over-pumping of groundwater has caused domestic wells to go dry in the San Joaquin Valley. Yet many of the first round of plans prepared to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) do not yet propose ways to address this problem. We explored groundwater planning with three members of […]

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