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19 inches of rain expected to dump on northwestern California this week

/in /by /SF Gateby Kristin Hanes

The same storm that’s expected to dump 1 inch of rain on San Francisco later this week is going to really let loose in Northwestern California. Over 19 inches of rain could fill empty river and stream beds and head toward the Shasta, Whiskeytown and Trinity reservoirs, which need the water. Jan Null, a meteorologist with Golden Gate Weather Services, says this moisture is a result of the Pacific storm Typhoon Songda. He says while this amount of rain is unusual for October, it’s really not that unusual for that part of California.

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Coastkeeper Says Water Board Sends Wrong Message

/in /by /San Diego Readerby Dave Rice Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Despite the state’s ongoing exceptional drought, a recent report shows conservation efforts are easing, particularly along the southern coast. In April 2015, governor Jerry Brown signed an executive order targeting a 25-percent reduction in water use. Initially, those efforts were met, with the state using 27 percent less water in August 2015 than the same month in 2013. By August 2016, however, water use rose to the point that there was just a 17.7 percent reduction over the 2013 baseline. In the state’s south coast region, which includes much of San Diego County, conservation was even lower at 15.4 percent.

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The Ocean Isn’t the Answer in California

/in /by /Bloomberg L.P. (New York)by Justin Fox Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Whenever there’s a drought in California, a seemingly obvious source of new water supply beckons. The state abuts a giant ocean. Why not just take the salt out of some of that seawater? It’s the high-tech, forward-looking thing to do, right? It’s also the really expensive thing to do. Of all the options for increasing the state’s water supply considered in a report out Thursday from the Pacific Institute, an environmental think tank based in Oakland, California, desalination costs the most per acre-foot (325,851 gallons, 1.2 million liters) of water produced:

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