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Rep. Davis Secures $3.7 Million to Expand Sweetwater Desalination

Rep. Susan Davis‘ efforts to secure federal funding to expand the Sweetwater desalination facility have paid off with a $3.7 million grant. Davis on Wednesday announced the grant from the Department of the Interior that will pay for doubling the capacity of the Richard A. Reynolds Desalination Facility. “This funding will provide some much needed relief from the drought conditions we have been experiencing in California,” said Davis.

 

Groundwater levels still falling

What a difference a year doesn’t make. For anyone who doubts that we’re still in a drought, San Joaquin County’s groundwater “savings account” was even more depleted this spring than last, despite improved rainfall over the course of the winter. Routine surveys of hundreds of wells across the county revealed water levels had dropped about 2 feet on average — not as severe as the 3-foot drop seen the previous spring, but still a decline.Officials had hoped the results might be a little better.“But we weren’t expecting an instant turnaround,” said Fritz Buchman, deputy director of county Public Works.

Going, going, GONE — California’s snowpack has vanished

After El Niño failed to deliver salvation from California’s epic drought, it has now come to this:

Statewide, snowpack is down to just 6 percent of normal for this time of year.

For all intent and purposes, this vital source of water for tens of millions of Californians, and one of the world’s most productive agricultural economies, has vanished prematurely. The culprit: a sunny and warm spring.

And with La Niña probably on the way, things could get worse before they get better.

California’s Street Trees Are Worth About $1 Billion

It’s hard to motivate meaningful responses to abstract environmental problems. That’s why some scientists have thrown their weight behind putting dollar signs on nature. Their hope is that if people better grasp the dividends society reaps from rivers, forests, soil, and the atmosphere, they might support investing in protecting it. Certainly, that’s the philosophy the U.S. Forest Service has adopted in the agency’s work with urban canopies.

California Water Crisis Could Get Worse

Deputy Secretary Mike Connor of the U.S. Interior Department heads to California this week to discuss the state’s worsening water crisis.

Politico reports that he will meet with state officials and water users as the water challenges continue to get bigger. California water users and their legislative allies were surprised by a couple of proposals that aim to protect endangered fish species.

After the Drought

The small town of Stratford, Calif., has been ravaged by drought for years. In this short film, director Joris Debeij talks to locals, hearing the personal stories of how they’re affected by the drought.

These conversations point to heartbreaking effects of this environmental disaster. A local farmer has to sell his land to earn money because he can’t farm without water. “It’s land that I worked with my dad, and it’s gone,” he says.

SoCal’s top water provider says it has enough supply for three more years of drought

Based on calculations required under a  state-mandated “stress test,” the agency said it had enough water to satisfy anticipated demand over those years.

“We’re not projecting a shortfall based on this stress test,” the Metropolitan Water District’s Brandon Goshi said. “I think the results show that under those challenging conditions, we have available water supply.”

The agency anticipates its customers would require 5.2 million acre feet of water, if the drought lasts another three years. Tallying up resources from the State Water Project, Colorado River Aqueduct and from storage, the MWD anticipates it can meet every drop of that demand.

There’s enough water for three years, but don’t dare change your saving ways

Thanks primarily to residents’ conservation efforts, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California announced Wednesday that it has sufficient supplies to meet the water demands of its member agencies for the next three years.

But don’t relax your efforts to save water: Officials say the need to conserve is definitely not over yet.

MWD officials said the analysis of its water supplies was mandated by the State Water Resources Control Board, which ended its mandatory conservation program last month and asked agencies throughout the state to review their supplies for the next three years.

OPINION: Tree Mortality Demands Swift, Aggressive Actions

California is ramping up for what may be another challenging year for wildfires. Though welcome rain occurred during the winter, it was already too late for the millions of trees that have died due to the historic drought and epidemic bark beetle infestation.

Though natural disturbance agents such as wildfire, drought, insects and disease eventually restore a balance in natural ecosystems, the drastic and periodic disturbances of catastrophic wildfires and large-scale tree mortality from bark beetles are not compatible with a population of 38 million people, many of whom like to live in a forested environment.

There’s Enough Water for Three Years, but Don’t Dare Change Your Saving Ways

Thanks primarily to residents’ conservation efforts, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California announced Wednesday that it has sufficient supplies to meet the water demands of its member agencies for the next three years.

But don’t relax your efforts to save water: Officials say the need to conserve is definitely not over yet. MWD officials said the analysis of its water supplies was mandated by the State Water Resources Control Board, which ended its mandatory conservation program last month and asked agencies throughout the state to review their supplies for the next three years.