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Feds Consider Initial CVP Water Allocation for Farms, Cities

/in /by /Capital Press (Salem, Ore.)by Tim Hearden

The return of rain and snow to California “could be helpful” to prospects for bringing federal water to farms this year, but officials could still be a couple of weeks from making that determination, a spokesman says.

The Central Valley Project typically makes its initial allocations to cities, farms and other entities in late February, but hydrologists and other officials aren’t ready to predict how much water they’ll be able to deliver this spring and summer, spokesman Louis Moore said.

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There’s a Lawsuit in San Diego That Began in 1951

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Kristina Davis Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

There is a lawsuit in San Diego County that is as old as “I Love Lucy.” It was filed the same year a disc jockey coined the term “rock ‘n’ roll,” a gallon of gasoline cost 27 cents, and turn signals were still optional in cars.
And it is still being waged in San Diego federal court today.

In 1951, the U.S. government sued thousands of landowners in and around Fallbrook in a move to secure Camp Pendleton’s water rights. It is the oldest, ongoing civil case in the county.

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Senator, Residents Critical of State Government

/in /by /Ramona Sentinelby Karen Brainard Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Road safety, government regulations and corruption, high-speed rail, medical marijuana and state-mandated water restrictions were just some of the topics brought up at Sen. Joel Anderson’s community coffee Thursday evening.

The state senator said the money that is being spent on the state’s high-speed rail, which is supposed to run from the Silicon Valley to the Central Valley, would be better spent on new technology for vehicles, road infrastructure or water projects.

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Rainbow MWD Approves Strategic Plan

/in /by /Fallbrook/Bonsall Village Newsby Joe Naiman

The Rainbow Municipal Water District board approved the district’s strategic plan at the Jan. 26 board meeting.

A 3-0 board vote, with Jack Griffiths abstaining and Bob Lucy having resigned prior to the meeting, adopted the strategic plan.

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OPINION: Water, growth and a little history

/in /by /The Bakersfield Californianby Lois Henry

Last Sunday, I had a column that asked what I thought was a simple question: How much more development can our water supplies sustain?
I figured planners must be looking at this issue considering the drought and new groundwater legislation that requires a holistic attitude toward our basin as opposed to the “I got my straw, go get your own” way we’ve always done things.
Nope.

Even with about 58,000 new homes either in some phase of construction or approved to be built in and around Bakersfield, no one is looking at how all that new demand will affect our aquifer.

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How California Residents Are Changing the Water Landscape

/in /by /The Christian Science Monitorby Pete Spotts

For Carrie Wassenaar, a modest single-story house for sale a half a mile from the Burbank-Bob Hope Airport had the landscaping she was looking for in a home: tidy green lawns front and back, and trees, including an iconic orange tree. The greenery virtually sealed the deal for the Wisconsin native before she ever stepped through the front door.

Today, the animation producer’s front yard is a part of the California water revolution.

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In Northern California, Skiers and Water Officials are Grateful for the Recovering Snowpack

/in /by /The Los Angeles Timesby Rosanna Xia

Here at one of the snowiest places in the country, Ed Bischoff marveled at a view that had been absent for years.

A number of early winter storms, strengthened by El Niño conditions, had covered the northern Sierra Nevada in white. Fresh snow weighed down towering evergreens along Interstate 80. On local roads, street signs peeked out of snowbanks more than 7 feet high.

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Storm Water, Long a Nuisance, May Be a Parched California’s Salvation

/in /by /The New York Timesby Adam Nagourney

The winter rains finally arrived in Southern California, bringing drenching relief this week to a part of the nation suffering one of the worst droughts in history. But the El Niño storms brought something else as well: a reminder of lost opportunity, on display in this coastal city, as millions of gallons of storm water slipped down the usually dry Los Angeles River and out into San Pedro Bay.

After a year in which Californians cut water use by 25 percent, storm water has become the next front in what amounts to a fundamental restructuring of Southern California’s relationship with its intricate water network. More than 200 billion gallons of storm water, enough to supply 1.4 million households for a year, could be captured statewide — but instead end up spilling down sewers, drains and into the ocean, as was on display Thursday, in the hours after the rainfall had ended, at the spot where the Los Angeles River ends

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Dear Drought Fighter: Live Landscape Has Many Benefits

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune

Q: For water conservation and the environment, is it better to install artificial turf or drought-tolerant plants?

A: Think holistically. When choosing between artificial turf and drought-tolerant plants, consider multiple factors, including environmental sustainability.

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Dud El Niño is Weakening, But Could Still Go Out With a Bang

/in /by /Curbed Los Angelesby Bianca Barragan

The promised “second peak” of this year’s El Niño still hasn’t really shown up, and instead of prolonged torrential rains, Southern California has instead gotten some heavy winds and a freaky-hot February. Now, says the Associated Press, El Niño is “weakening ever so slightly.” The World Meteorological Organization says that, as far as El Niño goes, the phenomenon has passed its peak in terms of wind/temperature/pressure conditions. Yes, like an old racehorse, “It’s still strong, but it has reached a peak value and it’s starting its decline,” says a meteorology professor at the University of Oklahoma.

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