An archive of articles that where displayed on the River Watch main home page.
By JET PROPULSION LABORATORY APRIL 9, 2022 Researchers have untangled puzzling patterns of sinking and rising land to pin down the underground locations where water is being pumped for irrigation. Scientists have produced a new method that holds the promise of improving groundwater management – critical to both life and agriculture in dry regions. The method sorts […]
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Petaluma River Brims With ‘Fecal Bacteria’
The river winding through downtown Petaluma might be the city’s single most defining feature. The city’s annual rivertown revival festival features views of the river and, farther south, recreationists use the water for entertainment and exercise every day.
Yet, since 1975, the state has designated the water a contaminated water body due to excessive levels of bacteria tied to fecal […]
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They think returning beavers to our floodplains should be a part of our climate action plans. When beavers are allowed to do what beavers do, it’s good for us and the climate. That’s the conclusion of northwest researchers who are looking to improve water quality and curb our carbon output. Chris Jordan, biologist with NOAA’s northwest fisheries science center, co-authored a paper on how beavers should be a part of our climate action plan. He says […]
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“He should have never been detained for even one day,” said an Amnesty International official, “as it has been clear the whole process against him has been in retaliation for his human rights work that exposed corporate wrongdoings.” Jake Johnson,April 25, 2022 Human rights lawyer Steven Donziger walked free Monday after 993 days of detention […]
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On April 6th, the Supreme Court reversed a 9th Circuit decision that limited the ability of states to protect rivers from the harmful effects of hydropower dams under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. The rules adopted by the prior administration limited information available to the states, the time for review, and the scope of conditions that states can require in the licensing of […]
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The fate of one critically endangered natural resource – our precious wetlands – could spell either failure or success for all that we do to protect clean water.
Without healthy wetlands, our clean water goals would be nearly impossible to achieve.
Mar 23, 2022 Have you ever wondered where exactly your drinking water comes from? To help land managers and the public understand where their water comes from and what affects it, the USDA Forest Service launched an interactive map called Forests to Faucets 2.0. The map shows that forests are a critical link in providing […]
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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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On Tuesday afternoon, the Federal Court in San Francisco held a status hearing for our lawsuit against the EPA. The hearing was brief, as the Judge reiterated his longstanding desire to wait until the National Toxicology Program (NTP) has published the final version of their review on fluoride’s neurotoxicity before continuing with the trial. The NTP communicated to the […]
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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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February 25, 2022 Panama City, Panama: On February 24, 2022, Laurentino Cortizo, President of Panama, signed http://files.harmonywithnatureun.org/uploads/upload1168.pdf. Panama now joins a number of countries who recognize the Rights of Nature at the national level. The list also includes Bolivia, which passed the Law of the Rights of Mother Earth (071) in 2010 and Law of […]
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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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The U.S. Centers For Disease Control (CDC) has partnered with the chemical industry to target 19 million residents in 32,000 small and medium sized communities across the United States that do not add fluoridation chemicals to the public drinking water. Using your tax dollars, the CDC provided funds to private business to develop a fluoridation delivery product […]
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By Ian James, Staff Writer Feb. 13, 2022 California’s mountain snowpack is shrinking, and climate change is intensifying the severe drought. Streams have dwindled and reservoirs have declined as vast quantities of water are diverted for farms and cities. Endangered fish are struggling to survive. And in farming areas in the Central Valley, hundreds of families are […]
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With farms, ranches and rural communities facing unprecedented threats, a worrying trend leads to a critical question: Who owns the water? Eli Francovich, Columbia InsightDec. 15, 2021 Ghost cattle — 200,000 made-up heifers. A massive fraud rocking eastern Washington’s arid ranching communities, leading to criminal charges and bankruptcy. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and […]
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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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Wildlife officials and ecologists say urgent and drastic measures are needed to eradicate mice, a threat to island’s endemic speciesMaanvi Singh in San FranciscoFri 17 Dec 2021 A plan to eradicate a “plague-level infestation” of invasive mice on California’s Farallon Islands by dropping poisoned bait from helicopters has been approved by state officials. After hours of impassioned […]
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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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A controversial plan to poison rodents on the Farallon Islands is coming up for a key vote after years of debate. The federal government proposes to airdrop poison pellets on the islands to kill tens of thousands of invasive house mice that have wreaked havoc on seabirds and the local ecosystem. The islands are a wildlife refuge with the largest seabird breeding colony in the contiguous United States. In a twist, the plan has […]
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By the time she turned 25, Kimberly Burr had lived in at least ten places. Growing up as an “Air Force brat,” she moved frequently: Alabama to Maine, England to Germany, California to Florida, Colorado to Wyoming. “There were benefits, like learning to make new friends and having opportunities to reinvent yourself, but it was […]
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By Sofia Andrade Aug 12, 20214:11 PM — After spending more than 700 days under house arrest, a human rights and environmental lawyer was found guilty last month of criminal contempt in a legal saga that has demonstrated the deep-rooted conflicts of interest layered throughout the judicial system when it comes to climate justice. In Steven Donziger’s conviction, the initial judge who referred him to trial, the second judge who was asked to lead the trial, and the private prosecutors who tried him all had deep ties to Chevron, the company Donziger had won a landmark multibillion-dollar ruling against.
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Geneva (Sept. 29) – The United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights – the top human rights legal body in the world — has issued a stunning ruling in favor of U.S. human rights attorney Steven Donziger on the eve of his sentencing on a highly controversial criminal contempt charge filed after he won a $9.5 billion pollution judgement against Chevron on behalf of Amazon […]
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“…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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NOAA is announcing $15.2M in funding for harmful algal bloom (HAB) research projects throughout U.S. coastal and Great Lakes waters. HABs can produce toxins or cause other harmful effects that can damage ecosystems, disrupt our seafood supply, impact economies, and threaten human health. Marine and fresh waters of the United States are increasingly impacted by […]
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Posted on September 26, 2021 by andrewrypel by Jeanette Howard, Kirk Klausmeyer, Laura Read, and Julie Zimmerman Droughts are extreme, but not necessarily extreme events — at least not in the way we humans usually experience events as discrete, episodic occurrences. Droughts are continuous and exhausting; they can come out of nowhere and take us on a rollercoaster of waiting […]
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Steven Donziger has spent the last 800 days under house arrest with a government tracking device around his ankle.His crime? Well, Donziger is the lawyer who successfully sued the oil giant Chevron on behalf of the people of Ecuador for deliberately discharging 16 billion gallons of toxic waste in the Ecuadorian Amazon between 1964 and 1992. Donziger and his colleagues succeeded and won a $9.5 billion judgment on behalf of the indigenous and poor […]
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Amy Graff, SFGATE Oct. 5, 2021 Fisheries biologist Pat Higgins said he was shocked when he discovered on Sept. 17 a section of the largest tributary in California’s third-largest watershed was dry. Higgins explained there was no water flowing above ground in the section of the South Fork Eel River where it meets the main stem in Dyerville […]
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While a drought has raged, there have been exceptions to conserving potable water from irrigating trees for nuts that will be largely exported out of the state. See these videos to learn more.
Read More Summary The panel vacated the district court’s summary judgment in favor of the City of Vacaville and remanded for further proceedings in a citizen suit brought by California River Watch under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. River Watch claimed that the City’s water wells were contaminated by a carcinogen called hexavalent chromium, which in […]
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September 19, 2021 California is famous for beaches and craggy shorelines that draw visitors from around the world and fuel local economies. The coastal wetlands, seagrass meadows and kelp forests that also dot our coastline are perhaps less famous but are equally vital to our state. These aquatic gardens provide food and shelter for fish […]
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