When Freddie Botur, 45, whose ranch spans 72,000 acres outside of Pinedale, Wyoming, first heard about a program that was paying ranchers to let water run down the river instead of irrigating with it, he was skeptical. But Nick Walrath, a project coordinator for Trout Unlimited, told him he’d receive about $200 for every acre-foot of water saved by not watering hay on his Cottonwood Ranch.
A day before Hurricane Harvey inundated Houston, an obscure arm of the California Department of Water Resources delivered a report detailing the impact of the Central Valley deluge that surely will strike, and how best to prepare for it. We in this reclaimed city and in this re-engineered valley need to pay heed. Even in this past week of wilting heat, storm clouds are gathering. In issuing its flood protection plan, the Central Valley Flood Protection Board achieved a rare feat. It called for more taxes and more land use regulations, yet won the support of both farmers and environmentalists.
Bryan Brock stared out at a rice field on Twitchell Island, nestled between the meandering river paths of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Brock, a senior engineer with California Department of Water Resources’ West Delta Program, rubbed his goatee and pointed at foot-tall emerald stalks. The plots were drenched in about 4in of water. Medium-grain rice was planted here in 2009 as a research project to see if rice could help the Delta survive the impacts of subsidence. The results have yielded both good and bad news.
When Freddie Botur, 45, whose ranch spans 72,000 acres outside of Pinedale, Wyoming, first heard about a program that was paying ranchers to let water run down the river instead of irrigating with it, he was skeptical. But Nick Walrath, a project coordinator for Trout Unlimited, told him he’d receive about $200 for every acre-foot of water saved by not watering hay on his Cottonwood Ranch.
Two of San Diego’s biggest water treatment plants are in North County. Both are having some problems. First, there’s the desalination plant in Carlsbad. It’s the largest facility of its kind in the country that takes ocean water and makes it drinkable. Over the last year, the privately owned Carlsbad plant failed to deliver nearly a fifth of the water the San Diego County Water Authority ordered from it. Why?
When the Carlsbad desalination plant opened in December 2015, regional water officials gushed about how reliable it would be. San Diego could now drink from the endless Pacific Ocean rather than be stuck depending on rain and snowmelt to come from hundreds of miles away. So far, though, the plant has not been as reliable as promised. Over the last year, the privately owned plant failed to deliver nearly a fifth of the water the San Diego County Water Authority ordered from it.
A Flex Alert was issued and Schools across the county had minimum-day schedules Tuesday as the “unrelenting” heat wave that has sent temperatures soaring across San Diego County was expected to peak Tuesday. Record-setting temperatures are forecast in Chula Vista, Ramona and San Diego, with the high temperatures now expected to last into the end of the week, the NWS said. As a public safety measure, an excessive-heat warning for the county’s inland valleys, western foothills and deserts was extended through 10 p.m. Friday after it was initially slated to expire Wednesday.
The heat wave hitting Southern California isn’t going away. The National Weather Service says the Southland will continue to swelter well into next week, bringing triple digit temperatures to inland valleys along with elevated fire danger and the potential for power outages. An excessive-heat warning will be in effect through Friday night, but the heat wave is likely to persist until the following Thursday, according to the weather service. Palmdale, Lancaster and Woodland Hills are facing the brunt of the heat: All three locations are forecast to stay in the triple digits through Labor Day.
A coalition of government agencies and advocates for sustainable fisheries came together Tuesday to launch a long-term effort to save California’s beleaguered salmon populations in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems. The Central Valley Salmon Habitat Partnership will include 21 members — state and federal water and wildlife agencies, plus groups representing conservationists, farmers, water suppliers and the fishing industry — seeking to study, develop and fund projects to restore and protect vital habitats.
Water officials in San Diego County have come out against a proposed state law that would impose a new monthly fee on all residential and commercial water users in California, to pay for programs that provide access to clean and safe drinking water in communities where water sources are contaminated. Opponents of the legislation have called the proposed fee a “water tax,” while supporters said it is “vitally needed” to deal with a state health crisis.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
