There is good news and bad news about the big warm-water “Blob” that has wreaked havoc on the North Pacific for the past three years, an expert told fellow scientists at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium in Anchorage. The good news: The unusual warm conditions that have persisted in the waters off Alaska and the West Coast now appear to be diminishing, said the climatologist who named the water mass the “Blob.”
California’s historic drought may be winding down. But water officials across the Golden State are increasingly exploring a hidden but promising way to add to the state’s water supply: removing salt from the billions of gallons of brackish — or distastefully salty — water that lies deep below the Earth’s surface. A new report by the Pacific Institute that explores the cost of potential water sources in California is spurring hopes that the desalination of brackish water could quickly become a vital tap in the state.
State water managers poked rods into drifts as high as tree branches to measure the snowpack. They found far more snow than at the height of California’s more than five-year drought, when the measurement was done in almost-bare mountain meadows. “The winter storms across California are a welcome relief from five years of record low rainfall for Los Angeles, but Santa Monica’s groundwater, our major supply of water, has been impacted and can take years to rebound.
Water, the lifeblood of California, will be where the state experiences the most severe impacts of climate change. Unfortunately, most water agencies have yet to adjust to this “new normal” and are operating on outmoded assumptions and practices that place the state at risk of water shortages and worse. And while the recent rains may convince some that no action is needed, the science tells a different story.
The National Weather Service predicts three storms are coming to the Sacramento region this week, potentially adding at least 2 1/2 inches of rain to an already saturated season. The first storm will start Sunday night into Monday, bringing gusts of winds between 30 and 50 mph in the valley, said NWS meteorologist Jason Clapp. Stronger winds are expected in the mountains. Snow levels will be between 5,500 and 6,000 feet for the first storm, he said, and some parts of the Sierra could see up to two feet pile up.
California’s rainy winter is already bearing fruit (er, flowers). The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve has passed the minimum rain threshold of seven inches needed to trigger a massive poppy bloom. “We have reached the minimum amount of rain the poppies need, but there are many other factors that can still affect them such as late freezes or early heat waves,” the reserve posted to its website. “If all goes well, we expect the bloom to start in early to mid-March and last until mid-April or later.”
The bucolic orchards of Sutter County north of Sacramento had never seen anything like it: a visiting governor and a media swarm — all to christen the first major natural gas power plant in California in more than a decade. At its 2001 launch, the Sutter Energy Center was hailed as the nation’s cleanest power plant. It generated electricity while using less water and natural gas than older designs. A year ago, however, the $300-million plant closed indefinitely, just 15 years into an expected 30- to 40-year lifespan.
At first glance, it looks like a storage refrigerator you might see in somebody’s garage — and it runs just as quietly. But the GenCell G5rx is a hydrogen fuel cell generator that is part of a compact system using the latest technology to help companies like San Diego Gas & Electric reduce disruptions during power outages. “When the grid is off, this is on,” said Gil Shavit, chairman of GenCell, the company that has contracted to deliver more than two dozen G5rx systems to SDG&E.
Eastern Municipal Water District’s (EMWD) Board of Directors on Wednesday urged Governor Jerry Brown and the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) to declare an end the ongoing Drought State of Emergency and corresponding regulations. EMWD’s Board of Directors approved by a 4-0 vote a resolution requesting an end to the statewide drought emergency status due to the response of customers and drastically improved statewide water supply and snowpack conditions.
On the heels of a storm-tossed January, another atmospheric river is taking aim at Northern California, but there’s a chance it might miss the Bay Area, according to the National Weather Service.The steady flow of moisture from the Pacific is expected to set up Tuesday morning above the North Bay and Northern Sierra Nevada; however, there’s a possibility it could shift south to the Santa Cruz Mountains, according to Steve Anderson, a forecaster with the weather service. Forecasters will have a better idea of its path in the coming days.
