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Groups Battle Nestlé Water Bottling in California

Eldred Township is not the only place where people are protesting a proposed Nestlé bottled water extraction project. If approved, the beverage company would withdrawal some of 200,000 gallons of water per day at the site in Monroe County.

More than 280,000 members of the California-based Courage Campaign Institute, The Story of Stuff Project, Food and Water Watch, Care2, CREDO, SumOfUs and the Daily Kos have submitted comments to the U.S. Forest Service requesting the Forest Service not approve Nestlé’s new permit for water bottling in the San Bernardino National Forest, a press release from the groups said.

OPINION: Temperance Flat is Answer to Environmental Groups’ Doubletalk

As described in The Bee’s April 25 story “Lawsuit claims Delta fish harmed by relaxed water standards,” the Natural Resources Defense Council, Bay Institute and Wildlife Defenders are shopping for a federal court decision that would strip California of having the final say about its water resources.

The groups have a long history of talking out of both sides of their mouths. As lead plaintiff in 2006, the NRDC famously reneged on the San Joaquin River settlement. It first agreed not to seek modification of the settlement’s terms, then was caught simultaneously suing to overturn it.

Rain to Return to Southern California Through the Weekend

Another bout of rainy weather is expected to drench the Southland beginning late Wednesday. According to the National Weather Service, a low pressure system will bring rounds of showers and thunderstorms into Southern California over the next few days.

Weather experts have forecast drizzle on Wednesday growing to a 40-percent chance of showers Thursday evening and increasing through Sunday across the San Bernardino area and the Inland Valley, according to the NWS website. “A few thunderstorms could occur… especially Friday when the system is overhead,” according to an NWS report.

 

After an Average April, Chance of Rain in Cards Again in Sacramento

After another warm spring day expected on Tuesday, the next several days could have lots of rain or none at all.

A slight chance of showers is predicted for Wednesday through Saturday as an approaching storm system heads toward California. With chances of precipitation at only around 20-30 percent, it could be that Sacramento gets only a drop or two. However, if afternoon thunderstorms develop, rain could come in buckets.

The Data Center Powering California’s Water Management

In California, water management is a big deal, and the IT infrastructure at the California Department of Water Resources needed a major refresh.

Managing the state’s entire water delivery system requires CDWR to coordinate data across federal, state and local government organizations, run environmental impact studies and provide customer service. CDWR, however, had limited data sharing and recovery abilities, which affected security and operational and decision making processes.

 

As Lake Mead Sinks, States Agree to More Drastic Water Cuts

Three years ago, state hydrologists in the Colorado River Basin began to do some modeling to see what the future of Lake Mead — the West’s largest reservoir — might look like. If the dry conditions continued, elevations in Lake Mead, which is fed by the Colorado River, could drop much faster than previous models predicted.

For decades, the West’s big reservoirs were like a security blanket, says Anne Castle, the former assistant secretary for water and science at the Interior Department. But the blanket is wearing thin. Under normal conditions, Lake Mead loses 1.2 million acre-feet of water every year to evaporation and deliveries to the Lower Basin states plus Mexico, which amounts to a 12-foot drop.

Late-Week Western US Rain to Bring Needed Dousing to Drought Zone

A storm will deliver several days of much-needed rain to the drought-stricken western United States late this week. However, rain could be heavy enough to cause flash flooding and travel delays.

Rain is desperately needed across most of the Southwest and parts of the Northwest. According to an April 26 report by the U.S. Drought Monitor, an estimated 45 million people are being affected by drought in the West. Over 50 percent of California is in extreme or exceptional drought.

 

Sacramento Residents Cut March Water Use by Nearly 40 Percent

Water districts across the Sacramento region and California posted big conservation savings in March, aided in large part by cool, wet weather, the State Water Resources Control Board reported Tuesday.

Sacramento-area residents used 37 percent less water in March than during the same month in 2013, a decline of about 3.6 billion gallons. Statewide, water use fell 24 percent. California water districts still must conserve or face financial penalties. The water board recently adopted amended standards for urban districts that lowered the statewide conservation target to 20 percent, down from 25 percent, compared with the same months in 2013.

Many of California’s Trees are in Serious Danger of Sudden Death

If you haven’t heard about Sudden Oak Death, it’s a fungal disease that can wipe out a variety of California’s tree species, it’s spread by wind and rain, and after first becoming an epidemic here in 2002, it’s now gotten to the point where any efforts to stop it will likely not help. SFist first wrote about the problem in 2004 (in the first year this site existed) when the disease, with the Latin pathogenic name of Phytophthora ramorum, was first recorded in Golden Gate Park, killing trees in the AIDS Memorial Grove.

Lake Cachuma Faces Depletion by Year’s End

Lake Cachuma, the county’s main reservoir, could be at its lowest water level in history by the end of the summer and fully exhausted by the end of the year.

The new developments were revealed Tuesday by Tom Fayram, Santa Barbara County’s deputy director of water resources, during a presentation before the Board of Supervisors proclaiming May as Water Awareness Month.