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Feast For Eyes And Palate: Dining Amid The Flower Fields At Carlsbad Ranch

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Stone

The abundance of winter rain produced bigger, earlier blooms at The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch. Starting Thursday, an event will try to make the most of the 13 colors of ranunculus and area businesses. Organized by Visit Carlsbad, the third annual Petal to Plate runs through Sunday, April 14, partnering with area resorts, spas, restaurants and breweries. Guests are invited to tour the fields and taste the delights of spring back in town with participating bars and restaurants, including Cape Rey Carlsbad, a Hilton Resort, Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, Barrel Republic and Park 101.

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‘A California Water Supply Dream’: Record Snowpack Measured In Sierra Nevada, Lake Tahoe Region

/in , , /by /Capital Public Radio (Sacramento)by Ezra David Romero

California received some good news on Tuesday for the state’s water supply: The Sierra Nevada snowpack is well above normal, at 162 percent of average. This amount of snow is thanks to the more than 30 “atmospheric rivers” that brought storms this winter and spring. Chris Orrock, with the California Department of Water Resources, says the cold storms have helped preserve the snow. “The snowpack is nice and cold. It’s a little different than 2017, where it was warmer winter … and [the snowpack] melted quicker,” Orrock said while reporting measurements at Phillips Station near Lake Tahoe. His crew found 106.5 inches of snow at the spot. As it melts and ends up in reservoirs, the snowpack provides about 30 percent of the state’s water supply, and water managers use the snowpack-measurement data to plan releases from the state’s reservoirs.

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California Turns To Dam’s Spillway For 1st Time Since Crisis

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Rich Pedroncelli and Olga R. Rodriguez

An epic winter of rain and snow has refilled California’s reservoirs and pressed into service a spillway at the nation’s tallest dam Tuesday, a $1 billion structure that drained excess water for the first time since it crumbled two years ago and drove hundreds of thousands to flee the threat of catastrophic flooding. Water flowed down the spillway and into the Feather River as storms this week and melting snowpack are expected to swell the lake behind Oroville Dam in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, said Molly White, principal engineer with the California Department of Water Resources.

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One More ‘Atmospheric River’ As Rainy Season Continues

/in , , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.)by Mark Gomez

A series of storms this week in the Bay Area, including a weak ‘atmospheric river’ system Friday expected to bring widespread rain to the region, should allow San Francisco and San Jose to reach their annual rainfall totals. Since the start of the water year Oct. 1, San Francisco has received 23.27 inches of rain, just shy of its annual average of 23.65 inches. San Jose has received 14.82 inches (annual average is 14.90) and Oakland 18.57 inches (20.81 average).

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Oroville Dam Holds Up As Officials Christen New Spillway Two Years After Near Disaster

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hannah Fry and Alejandra Reyes-Velarde

Bystanders were met with the rumble of rushing water as Oroville Dam’s gates released millions of gallons of water down a newly reconstructed concrete spillway on Tuesday for the first time since the structure failed two years ago. In February 2017, people who live downstream in Oroville watched in disbelief as millions of gallons of water eroded the main spillway of the nation’s tallest dam, sending a deluge of water cascading down a hillside and forcing thousands of residents to evacuate. That scenario was exactly what bystanders watching the first water flow from the newly rebuilt spillway hoped to avoid.

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Politicos Ask For $100.4 Million To Help Rebuild Whittier Narrows Dam Before A Breach Endangers 23 Cities

/in , /by /Pasadena Star-Newsby Steve Scauzillo

Frustrated by continual delays in refurbishing the Whittier Narrows Dam, U.S. Rep. Grace Napolitano summoned the commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to her office in Washington D.C. last week. Her tete-a-tete with Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite produced the same refrain the agency has been telling the 1 million people threatened by flooding if the eroding dam were to fail: The $500 million project will be completed in 2025 — at the soonest. Not satisfied, Napolitano, D-El Monte, who is 82, said she’s been working on getting the Army Corps to hasten the project for the last 12 years and wondered if she’d be alive by the time it gets finished.

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California’s Water Works An Engineering Wonder That Made The Golden State What It Is Today

/in , /by /Oakdale Leader (Oakdale, Calif.)by Dennis Wyatt

California — without a doubt — has the most intricate and massive water storage and transfer system man has ever created. It is the largest, most productive, and most controversial water system in the world that harnesses nature using man’s ingenuity. At its northernmost reaches it captures the snow run-off of the Modoc Plateau — volcanic highlands in northeast California and southeast Oregon — that is drained by the Pit River, Snow blanketing the hills of the Modoc Plateau today will melt in the coming weeks and start a long journey in the form of water. The journey’s end for water — that makes it that far — are faucets and water taps in San Diego less than a mile from the border of Mexico.

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The Fresh Water Crisis And Desalination Plants

/in , /by /Interesting Engineeringby Marcia Wendorf

Global warming is causing increased droughts throughout the world, and this has brought some areas to the brink of a water crisis. February 2, 2018, was supposed to be “Day Zero” for Cape Town, South Africa, the day on which the city was set to run out of water. That date was subsequently reset to July 15, 2018, after area fruit growers used up their allotment of water, and through conservation measures. For many areas, overdevelopment, population growth, and climate change have upset the balance between water usage and supply, and areas from North America to South America, and from Australia to Asia, are increasingly facing threats of drinking-water shortages.

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Avalanches, Snow Slides and Chain Controls: Storms Keep Pounding Northern California

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Michael MCgough

There’s no weekend reprieve in store for Northern California after a wet start to the week. In fact, it should only get wetter. National Weather Service says Friday and Saturday will see a “stronger, wetter” storm than the one passing through Monday and Tuesday, with as much as 1 to 2 feet of snow possible near summit passes this weekend. Rain and snowfall were expected to be light during this week’s first storm, but Caltrans and sheriff’s departments have reported a snow slide incident Monday afternoon and an avalanche Tuesday morning, both of which closed stretches of highways.

 

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Mild Week Ahead, With Light Rain Possible On The Weekend

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Robert Krier

Another powerful storm is expected to barrel into California later this week, but once again, San Diego should be on the southern fringe and get very little rain. In the meantime, mild weather is forecast for the workweek in San Diego County, with minor fluctuations in temperature and the reach of the low clouds. Up north, it’s a different story. An extremely wet storm, with seven times the amount of moisture usually seen this time of year, is expected to pound the Bay Area Thursday through Saturday with a couple inches of rain. National Weather Service forecaster Joe Dandrea said the Sierra could get 4 to 6 inches — a welcome, late-season addition to the state’s water supply after a subpar winter.

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