You are now in California and the U.S. category.

The best guess about the weather forecast for the next several months is that its anybody’s guess. There could be more rain and snow, less rain and snow or a neutral amount of precipitation. Up until a month ago, forecasters thought the state might experience a La Niña weather pattern. Predictions are based upon water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along the equator. La Niña is a cooler weather pattern that often results in above normal precipitation in the Pacific northwest, dry conditions elsewhere.

In a guest post by Controlled Thermal Resources, the company highlights how they as a developer are well positioned towards the recently announced renewable energy procurement by the federal government in the U.S. The federal government made an announcement on its commitment to the Salton Sea Restoration and to renewable energy at the annual Lake Tahoe Summit on August 31^st.  Following the announcement, a Request for Information (RFI) was issued by the Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the Federal Energy Management Plan (FEMP) on the deliverability of newly developed geothermal energy from the Salton Sea.

My neighbors and I received an attention-catching letter this summer about our water rates: Because we’ve done such a great job conserving water in the past year, our water rates are going up. California is experiencing a historic drought, and last year, for the first time in history, Gov. Jerry Brown mandated cities to reduce their water consumption by 25 percent. We all had to do our part by curtailing outdoor use of water, taking shorter showers and letting cars go with less frequent washings.

Stormwater capture is becoming a big deal in California. Once viewed merely as a nuisance – or worse, a flooding threat – runoff from storms is now embraced as a water supply that can be captured.The State Water Resources Control Board recently announced $9.5million in grants for stormwater capture projects. Water board chairwoman Felicia Marcus said utilizing this water supply is “a smart investment in the future.”It may be a new idea to some, but making use of storm flows is a longstanding practice in Los Angeles.