California water regulators on Wednesday recommended tighter oversight of agricultural irrigation and a permanent ban on over-watering urban lawns, a first step toward developing a long-term conservation plan amid ongoing drought.The proposal comes as nearly two-thirds of the state heads into a fifth year of severe drought despite a wet fall and heavy rains last winter that have ameliorated conditions in many areas.
California water agencies have drawn up plans to keep drought conservation measures in place permanently. They say the aim is to make saving water a way of life. State Water Resources Control Board member Max Gomberg says local water utilities can expect tough restrictions on water use “We’re going to give all these water agencies a budget, and we’re going to say, ‘you have to be in your budget, and your budget is going to be x-gallons of water.
The California story on this historic drought is about to add another chapter. The next 90 days will be telling since about half of the state’s annual precipitation happens between December and February. Epic rain in October and a decent November has set up parts of northern California to ease some of the drought conditions. Extreme northern California has continued to stay out of drought since mid-October. Southern California has not seen the same plentiful precipitation, and so much of that part of the state remains in exceptional drought.
California officials crafting a new conservation plan for the state’s dry future drew criticism from environmentalists on Thursday for failing to require more cutbacks of farmers, who use 80 percent of the water consumed by people. Gov. Jerry Brown ordered up the state plans for improving long-term conservation in May, when he lifted a statewide mandate put in place at the height of California’s drought for 25-percent water conservation by cities and towns. Ben Chou, a water-policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council, criticized state planners for not mandating any new water-savings by farm water districts.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony at Flora Vista Elementary School on Nov. 28 celebrated the beginning of operation of the Olivenhain Municipal Water District (OMWD) Village Park Recycled Water Project. OMWD Board President Edmund Sprague cut the ribbon — while Encinitas City Council member and Board Chair of the San Diego County Water Authority Mark Muir and Encinitas Mayor Elect and Board Chair of the San Elijo Joint Powers Authority Catherine Blakespear were also in attendance — at the Encinitas elementary school, which will be the first OMWD customer to receive this new source of recycled water for landscape irrigation, now that the project’s pump station and seven miles of pipeline are in service.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin is emerging as President-elect Donald Trump’s leading contender for interior secretary, three people close to Trump’s transition team told POLITICO. Fallin, a Republican who was in contention to serve as Trump’s vice president, has been the governor of Oklahoma since 2011. Before that, she served in the U.S. House. She also chaired the National Governors Association from 2013 to 2014.
California is finally embracing its rivers. It may be a choking embrace. We Californians have long celebrated our coastal splendor and beautiful mountains. But our rivers were seen as mere plumbing for our hydration convenience.
Now California’s communities, seeking space for environmental restoration and recreation (and some desperately needed housing), are treating rivers and riverfronts as new frontiers, and are busily reconsidering how these bodies of water might better connect people and places. A state bond passed in 2014 offers billions for water-related projects, and the epic drought is inspiring imaginative thinking about our waterways.
Christine Boyle was working on her PhD at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, when she first developed the idea for Valor Water Analytics– a startup that uses innovative software to help water utilities analyze their data, detect revenue loss and make more efficient decisions. Since receiving her doctorate in water resource planning in 2011, Boyle has developed an award-winning company that works with utilities in different states and recently received $1.6 million in seed funding.
In a case that could have statewide ramifications, a group of multimillionaire Hillsborough residents, including an early funder of Microsoft, has sued the town claiming that its drought rules and penalties intended to keep people from over-watering big lawns are illegal.
The nine residents who are taking the town to court say that by imposing tiered water rates, and a $30 penalty for each unit of water used over the allotted amount, Hillsborough water officials violated Proposition 218, a state law that makes it illegal for government to charge more for a service than it costs to provide.
Stanislaus, Merced and San Joaquin county officials delved into the pages of a controversial proposal to cut water use – a proposition they oftentimes referred to as a threat to the region’s “lifeblood” – during a public meeting Friday, Nov. 18 with State Water Resources Control Board representatives in Modesto.
“Certainly there are a lot of unknowns here. We’re trying to understand what you did and your thought process,” said Rod Smith, president of Stratecon, which is a consulting firm that specializes on water resources. “I appreciate this forum; this is a great opportunity, rather than people just reading documents.
