You are now in California and the U.S. Home Headline Media Coverage category.

Climate Change is Hitting the Colorado River ‘Incredibly Fast and Incredibly Hard’

/in , , /by /AZ Centralby Ian James

Beside a river that winds through a mountain valley, the charred trunks of pine trees lie toppled on the blackened ground, covered in a thin layer of fresh snow.

Weeks after flames ripped through this alpine forest, a smoky odor still lingers in the air.

The fire, called the East Troublesome, burned later into the fall than what once was normal. It cut across Rocky Mountain National Park, racing up and over the Continental Divide.

Full Story

FPUD Working to Reduce Electricity Costs

/in , /by /Village Newsby Joe Naiman

The Fallbrook Public Utility District is working with the California Public Utilities Commission to secure CPUC grant funding which will reduce FPUD’s electricity costs.

A non-voting item at FPUD’s Dec. 7 board meeting addressed FPUD’s efforts to reduce electricity expenses. The program would utilize Tesla battery walls and is expected to save FPUD more than $100,000 annually in electricity expenses.

Full Story

Rainbow MWD Approves Change Order with Kennedy/Jenks

/in , /by /Village Newsby Joe Naiman

Tom Kennedy, general manager of Rainbow Municipal Water District, is not related to the principal with the Kennedy/Jenks consulting firm which has a contract with the district for the design of lift station projects. The contract had been for $1,434,485 and was scheduled to expire Dec. 31, but a 5-0 Rainbow board vote, Dec. 8, approved a change order increasing the contract to $1,674,108 while extending the contract until July 30, 2021.

Full Story

Detachment Committee Introduces Consultant

/in , /by /Village Newsby Joe Naiman Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority
Quoted: Sandra L. Kerl

San Diego’s Local Agency Formation Commission has an Advisory Committee on the Fallbrook/Rainbow Detachment which met Dec. 7, and the focus of that meeting was to introduce consultant Michael Hanemann and provide feedback on his proposed approach.

Full Story

California’s Water Wars Serve As a ‘Bellwether’ for Colorado River Negotiations

/in , , /by /Agri-Pulseby Brad Hooker

After three decades of water wars in Southern California, policy experts hope a new era in collaborative management will offer inspiration for the ongoing and complex negotiations over Colorado River allocations amid a historic and deepening drought.

“Those lessons need to catapult us forward,” said Patricia Mulroy, former head of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, during the fall meeting for the Association of California Water Agencies in December. “These states, these constituencies, these communities cannot afford for these discussions to crater. Failure is not an option.”

Full Story

Drought is the Sleeper Weather Story You’ll Hear More About in 2021

/in , , /by /The Washington Postby Andrew Freedman and Hannah Dormido

Drought is an insidious climate threat — by the time it has a hold of a region, impacts on ecosystems and water supplies can be locked in. It may not grab extreme weather headlines like the disrupted polar vortex or record hurricane season, but drought during 2020 and heading into 2021 is a looming story likely to grow in importance.

Full Story

Follow Four Key Principles for Successful Sustainable Landscaping

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Efficient water use is an important responsibility that comes along with the benefits of living in San Diego County’s beautiful Mediterranean climate.

No matter whether your landscaping is just a few square feet alongside a small front porch, or covers many acres on a luxury estate, San Diego County residents have learned to embrace sustainability as a central principle for creating or renovating their landscapes. Irrigation is among the highest uses of water for most homeowners.

Full Story

Desert Pipeline Tests Colorado River’s Future

/in , , /by /S&P Globalby Richard Martin

West of Lake Powell, along the Utah-Arizona border, lies a sparsely populated territory of high desert, deeply scored canyons and barren mesas. Here, Utah officials want to build a 140-mile-long pipeline to bring precious Colorado River water west to the thriving town of St. George, in the state’s far southwestern corner.

Full Story

New Discovery Could Lead to Cheaper and More Efficient Water Desalination

/in , , /by /Science Alertby David Nield

Removing salt from seawater to make it safe to drink means overcoming a number of scientific challenges, including optimizing the membrane used for the desalination process – and new research into these membranes promises to make the whole operation cheaper and more accessible in the future.

Full Story

Work On Valley Water’s Largest Reservoir Moves Forward

/in , , /by /The Silicon Valley Voiceby Jacob Bourne

The Santa Clara Valley Water District has been lowering the water level on the Anderson Dam since Oct. 1 to keep the region safe from potentially catastrophic flooding in the event of a major earthquake.

The Anderson Reservoir can hold up to 90,000 acre-feet of water and is now at three percent capacity, which is the lowest feasible level given the position of the existing outlet tunnel. At its current level, even a heavy rainy season would not pose dam failure and flooding risk; keeping some water in the reservoir helps preserve some wildlife habitat. Beyond immediate safety, one of the main reasons for lowering the water level is to allow for construction to begin on a major seismic retrofit project for the dam. The reservoir has been closed for recreational use since October and is expected to remain shuttered for the duration of the project.

Full Story