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A ‘No Snow’ California Could Come Sooner Than You Think

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Haley Smith

It was 55 degrees and sunny Thursday at Sugar Bowl Resort, where the opening day of the 2021 ski season — already delayed because of warm weather — was still listed as “TBD.”

“Winter hasn’t quite arrived in Tahoe yet,” officials wrote in a note about the postponement. “The team will be working nightly and ready to flip the switch when Mother Nature cooperates.”

But the mountain isn’t the only place feeling the pinch from lack of snow. A new study led by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that dwindling snowpack across California and the western United States could shrink dramatically more — or in some cases disappear — before the end of the century.

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Aqueduct Shutdown December 4 – 15

/in , , /by /The Valley Roadrunner Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

On December 4, 2021, the San Diego County Water Authority will be taking the 74-year old 1st San Diego Aqueduct out of service until December 15, 2021. With the aqueduct being off the district loses water supply to approximately 85% of the District’s its area (see map). 

First Aqueduct shutdown-Map

The Water Authority is taking the 48” diameter pipeline out of service to inspect and make final design decisions on how to make the needed repairs to the three tunnels discovered in the recently completed northern 1st Aqueduct relining project.

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Researchers Work to Keep Imperial Beach Above Water

/in , , /by /NBC 7 San Diegoby Joe Little

Every winter, Imperial Beach finds some of its streets and sidewalks underwater. This week, researchers from San Diego State and UC San Diego started digging groundwater wells to see how sea-level rise plays a role in that flooding. The sea-level impacts how shallow the water table is underneath the city.

“Flooding overall is a very, very big thing in Imperial Beach,” said Hassan Davani, Ph.D.

The SDSU researcher said most studies predict sea-level rise will significantly impact California as early as 2050. However, Davani said Imperial Beach can’t wait that long to protect itself.

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Local Water Districts Call for Urgent Conservation Action

/in , /by /Patch.comby Diane Rumbaugh, Community Contributor

A collaborative of local water districts, Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, Triunfo Water & Sanitation District and Calleguas Municipal Water District, are urging significant water use reductions by their customers after the California Department of Water Resources announced a 0% initial allocation from the State Water Project for the upcoming year.

Major Extra Cuts to Be Made in Arizona Deliveries of Colorado River Water Next Year

/in , , /by /Tuscon.comby Tony Davis

The Central Arizona Project’s governing board took the first steps Thursday toward approving Arizona’s share of a plan to save a half-million acre-feet a year of Colorado River water in order to prop up ailing Lake Mead.

The plan, adopted unanimously by the board, calls for Arizona users of the river water — mostly those on CAP supplies — to shoulder more than 40% of that total, or 223,000 acre-feet in 2022. The cuts are all supposed to be voluntary and temporary, and to be compensated by either state or federal money, totalling $100 million a year for the entire conservation program.

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In the Midst of Drought, Experts Aim to Improve Central Valley Water Usage With Helicopter-born Technology ‘MRI’ Technology

/in , , /by /KGETby Robert Price

When physicians want to take a look at a patient’s vascular system to see things that aren’t visible to the naked eye, they often turn to MRI technology. That is what experts with the California Department of Water Resources are doing to analyze the state’s water system – specifically the underground aquifers that collect and store precipitation and other surface water.

 

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EPA: California to Receive Over $600 Million in Water Infrastructure Funding

/in , , /by /23 ABC News Bakersfieldby Pete Menting

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that California will receive more than $600 million in water infrastructure funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

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Olivenhain Municipal Water District Logo landscape design workshops

OMWD Offers Low-Cost Rain Barrels to Help Customers Save Water

/in , /by

Encinitas, Calif. — Olivenhain Municipal Water District has partnered with neighboring water districts—San Dieguito Water District, Santa Fe Irrigation District, and Carlsbad Municipal Water District—to offer discounted rain barrels to area residents this winter.

Rain barrels ordered by January 31, 2022 will be available for pick up at Solana Center for Environmental Innovation located at 137 North El Camino Real in Encinitas.

Fifty-gallon barrels are on sale for $97, with a final cost of $62 after a $35 rebate from water wholesaler Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Rebates on rain barrels and other water-saving measures are available at www.socalwatersmart.com.

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State Water Project Zeroes Out Allocation for 2022 Other Than for Health, Safety Needs

/in , , /by /FOX5 San Diego by Megan Healy Quoted: San Diego County Water Authori9ty

Most California water districts will receive virtually no water next year from the State Water Project other than for health and safety needs amid “unprecedented drought conditions,” the state’s the Department of Water Resources announced Wednesday.

The announcement to zero out the State Water Project’s allocation for 2022 comes as officials anticipate a third straight dry year in California that has reservoirs at or nearing record lows.

In a statement Wednesday, DWR Director Karla Nemeth said preparations are needed now with a dry winter expected and with drought conditions likely to continue into next year.

“We will be working with our federal partners and SWP contractors to take a conservative planning approach to balance limited water supplies with the needs of residents, businesses, and the environment,” Nemeth said.

But the San Diego region is better off than other parts of the state, including elsewhere in Southern California, officials say. Since the 1990 drought, San Diego water experts have relied on multiple water sources and not just the state’s.

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California Water Districts to Get 0% of Requested Supplies

/in , , /by /APby Kathleen Ronayne

California water agencies that serve 27 million residents and 750,000 acres of farmland won’t get any of the water they’ve requested from the state heading into 2022 other than what’s needed for critical health and safety, state officials announced Wednesday.

It’s the earliest date the Department of Water Resources has issued a 0% water allocation, a milestone that reflects the dire conditions in California as drought continues to grip the nation’s most populous state and reservoirs sit at historically low levels. State water officials said mandatory water restrictions could be coming.

“If conditions continue to be this dry, we will see mandatory cutbacks,” Karla Nemeth, director of DWR, told reporters.

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