As Pure Water Oceanside prepares to go online early next year, the facility is gaining worldwide attention for the advanced water technology that will soon create 32% of Oceanside’s water supply.
As water supply continues to raise alarm bells across the American West, Sen. Mark Kelly introduced a bill that would allow central Arizona’s Colorado River Indian tribes to give portions Colorado River shares to other parts of the state.
The Colorado River Indian Tribes are a single tribal nation made up of more than 4000 Chemehuevi, Mojave, Hopi and Navajo members who live along the river in California and Arizona.
An ambitious project to restore tidal wetlands on almost 1,200 acres of delta farmland has just completed its first phase, and the hoped-for transformation already is flourishing: River otters, rare seabirds and a single black bear have all returned to once-drained-out pastureland called Dutch Slough — results that hold promise for similar efforts toward many California environmental goals, including storage of greenhouse gases.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will visit Las Vegas to discuss the worsening drought during a five-day swing in Western states this week to highlight programs in the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, officials said Monday. The secretary will be in Las Vegas on Dec. 12, according to a Department of Interior release. Details of the trip are yet to be announced.
More than 140 water districts in the central San Joaquin Valley have yet to apply for state water debt relief, leaving thousands of customers susceptible to water shutoffs after the state’s moratorium expires on Dec. 31. The deadline to apply is Monday at 5 p.m. California residents who fell behind on paying their water bills during the pandemic are protected from having their water shut off through the end of the year.
Desperation over water scarcity has produced any number of schemes to relieve the crisis. But few are as chuckle-headed as a plan to pump groundwater from beneath the Mojave Desert and transport it 200 miles to urban Southern California.
This is the Cadiz water project, which has been percolating along since the turn of the century.
Four talented San Diego County student artists from the region’s schools are among 37 Southern California students whose artwork will appear in the 2022 “Water Is Life” Student Art Calendar.
Produced by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the “Water is Life” Student Art Calendar showcases student artwork with imaginative water conservation and water resource stewardship messages. Students in grades K-12 submit artwork through participating member agencies after winning their local competition.
The four regional winners were invited to participate in a virtual award ceremony for all students, their families, and teachers to honor their achievements on December 6.
MWD Board Chairwoman Gloria D. Gray told the students, “We’re amazed every year at the beautiful artwork we receive with moving messages that compel us to cherish and protect our precious water supplies. Every day next year, this calendar will remind us how precious water is. In your artwork, I see the future generation of leaders. You have the power to bring about change.”
Third-grade student Lucas Regimbal is the youngest representative from San Diego County in the “Water Is Life” 2022 calendar. Photo: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Third-grader Lucas Regimbal from Christ Lutheran La Mesa School in Helix Water District explained his message. “I think there are so many big things to do to save water and conserve. But there are also many little things we can do as well. A lot of little things come up to some very big things. By fixing drips, each home or business can save hundreds of gallons of water per year. That means a lot if lots of families and business did this one little thing.”
Eighth-grade student Isabella Blakely brought drip irrigation to life as a symbol of conservation. Photo: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
An eighth-grader at Eastlake Middle School in the Otay Water District, Isabella Blakely took inspiration from the drip irrigation in her backyard garden at home.
“My family has always conserved water,” said Blakely. “We have a drip irrigation system in our backyard. I’ve always had a love for plants and animals. I wanted to show that through my drawing by drawing a plant.”
Yaricia Hernandez used a bold caption to call attention to her artwork’s message. Photo: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Yaricia Hernandez, a fourth-grader at Rio Seco School in the Padre Dam Municipal Water District, turned the Earth into a water spigot running dry. Her bold graphic caption for the 2022 calendar reads, “No Water, No Plants, No Oxygen, No Life.”
Sidney Shatwell illustrated good health practices that rely on safe, clean water. Photo: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Fifth-grade student Sidney Shatwell at Allen Elementary School represented Sweetwater Authority with her artwork depicting the critical importance of water in everyday good health practices such as brushing your teeth, washing your hands, and staying hydrated.
Adel Hagekhalil, MWD general manager, praised the efforts of the student artists.
“I’m so grateful seeing the work you have done and how you’re sending the message. Our future is in good hands with you,” said Hagekhalil. “Thank you for leading the way in making our future for water resilient, sustainable, and affordable for everyone. It was a bright day when I looked at your pictures.”
The “Water is Life” Student Art Calendar was initially created 33 years ago. It curates student art submitted from grades K through 12, carrying a vital conservation message about the importance of water.
For the 2022 calendar, 216 entries were submitted by 26 regional water agencies. The annual calendar is distributed to 13,000 recipients each year.
(Editor’s note: The Helix Water District, Otay Water District, Padre Dam Municipal Water District and the Sweetwater Authority, are four of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
Arizona and the West could see their water supplies drop by as much as 30% by the middle of the century as warmer temperatures lead to less snowfall, reducing runoff into rivers and reservoirs, changing vegetation cover and altering wildlife habitat.
Those are the findings of a team of researchers led by Erica R. Siirila-Woodburn and Alan M. Rhoades at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, who published a paper looking at the likelihood of a “low-to-no snow” future. Their analysis, published in the journal Nature Reviews Earth and Environment, also estimates when and where to expect the effects of a low-to-no snow climate disaster.
Hosing off the driveway. Watering lawns within 48 hours of a rainstorm. Washing a car without a shut-off nozzle.
Any of those wasteful practices could soon be illegal in drought-stricken California, with fines of up to $500 for violators.
Seven months after Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency for most counties in California, his administration is moving forward with something water conservation experts said should have happened long ago — crafting statewide rules to ban the egregious wasting of water.
Today, the California Department of Water Resources initiated a $100 million funding program to restore capacity to portions of the California Aqueduct, San Luis Canal, Delta-Mendota Canal, and Friant-Kern Canal lost to land subsidence occurring during the last several decades.
“Fixing these canals is an important foundational piece to ensure a reliable and climate resilient water supply for California,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “It enables us to move water during very wet conditions, which will be essential to adapting to more extreme weather. Restoring capacity in our existing infrastructure provides a critical link in diversifying water supplies by supporting groundwater replenishment throughout the Central Valley and water recycling projects in Southern California. It’s a prudent investment in our water future.”
