These days it can feel almost cliche to throw around the word “dystopian.” But it’s hard not to use it while standing on the narrow road crossing the Hoover Dam as tourists gawk at the hulking structure’s exposed columns that for decades were underwater.
The hottest days this summer pushed California’s power grid to its limit. People were asked multiple days to conserve energy to avoid rolling blackouts.
In 2016, the City of San Francisco was the first American municipality to ban the sales of water that comes in plastic bottles. At the time it was called a bold move that was building on a global movement to reduce the huge amount of waste from the billion-dollar plastic bottle industry.
South Lake Tahoe was an early adopter of the single-use plastic bag ban, as well as bans of single-use plastic, styrene, and straws.
The devastating drought is continuing to ravage the Central Valley and is creating more of a water crisis for farmers.
Right along the edge of West Fresno County sits miles and miles of uprooted almond trees. Farmer Joe Del Bosque says he’s never seen it like this.
Before Rick Lemos and the other directors of the Shasta River Water Association broke the law, they made a decision that under most circumstances might be considered unusual: they sent a letter to authorities spelling out exactly what they intended to do.
Over the past two years, Silicon Valley’s largest water provider, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, has had a long list of challenges and setbacks.
In 2020, the federal government ordered its largest dam, Anderson, near Morgan Hill, drained for earthquake repairs. The price tag has since doubled to $1.2 billion.
San Diego Coastkeeper announced this week that Phillip Musegaas will take over in October as the water-quality nonprofit’s new executive director. He’s moving from Washington, D.C., where he worked for more than seven years as the Potomac Riverkeeper Network’s vice president of programs and litigation.
A developer’s proposal to build a surfing lagoon in the Coachella Valley desert has been rejected by the city of La Quinta after residents raised concerns about noise, lighting and the resort’s substantial water footprint in a time of severe drought.
New officers for the San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors were elected today, with Mel Katz starting his two-year term as Board chair on Oct. 1. Katz, vice chair of the Board for the past six months as a representative for the City of Del Mar, will serve with incoming Vice Chair Nick Serrano, a Board representative from the City of San Diego, and incoming Secretary Frank Hilliker. Katz will serve as the 27th board chair since the Water Authority’s founding in 1944.
Gary Croucher, who represents the Otay Water District on the Water Authority’s Board, served as chair the past two years. His term ends on Sept. 30. Croucher has served on the Board since 2001.
Water-saving actions by everyone in San Diego County during the current drought can help conserve more of our most precious resource.
While San Diego County continues to have enough water due to long-term investments in water sources and conservation, the region’s long-term supply reliability depends on a continued commitment to water-use efficiency indoors and outdoors by homes and businesses both large and small.
