Monsoon season is in full swing across the parched Southwest, but it’s the remnants of what was once Tropical Storm Juliette in the Eastern Pacific Ocean that could cause some problems in the western U.S. on Thursday.
It’s been a wet and stormy week across the Southwest, and it’s looking like that trend will continue through at least the end of the week.
California’s housing goals could be threatened by a lack of water. The state has a housing crisis, and to make any progress on building more housing, we need to concurrently make progress on water.
Here are four commonsense steps that Sacramento leaders can take to make ensure that water supply doesn’t become a barrier to our housing supply goals:
Faced with new cost overruns, the board of Santa Clara County’s largest water agency on Tuesday voted to kill a plan to build a huge new reservoir in the southern part of the county near Pacheco Pass after eight years of studies and $100 million in public spending.
The board of the Santa Clara Valley Water District voted 6-0 to halt planning and engineering studies, and to withdraw the agency’s application for state bond funds for the Pacheco Reservoir project.
The city of San Diego is in the middle of litigation centered on one of its dams rated in poor condition by the state, and the attorney on the opposing side is one city officials are all too familiar with.
His name is Vincent Bartolotta, and he’s representing a company called El Monte Nature Preserve, LLC.
The demand for water from the Colorado River is of paramount importance out West and the focus of some big battles. It’s been especially critical for farming and agriculture. In California’s Imperial Valley, there are growing questions over the use of that resource and whether bigger changes are needed. Science correspondent Miles O’Brien reports.
Earlier this year, several environmental groups sent a petition to the federal government with a seemingly simple message: Ensure that water from the imperiled Colorado River is not wasted and only being delivered for “reasonable” and “beneficial” uses.
The organizations urged the Bureau of Reclamation to use its authority to curb water waste in the Lower Basin states: California, Arizona and Nevada. They argued it was necessary to help address the river’s water shortages.
As the United States passes a tipping point in water security, new research reveals that millions of Americans now face a growing crisis in accessing clean, affordable water.
“Our research shows water insecurity in the U.S. is not just a problem of pipes and infrastructure—it’s a human issue that affects health, daily life and dignity,” Jepson said.
When it comes to determining the fate of big water projects in California, there is no bigger influencer than the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Metropolitan is the largest water wholesaler in the nation, supplying water to 26 water districts throughout the region that in turn keep the taps flowing to 19 million people. As such, the agency is often the 800-pound gorilla in the room when big-ticket water infrastructure projects are looking for investors in California.
As Metropolitan’s board represents communities from Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties, it should be no surprise that its members do not always see eye-to-eye on the best way to provide economically and environmentally sustainable water supplies to the region. And as much of the state’s gray infrastructure ages and climate change worsens, the agency will continue to face tough choices about which investments to prioritize in a world with limited resources and escalating climate concerns.
Tuesday could be a historic day for progressives who have long wanted to unleash the county’s massive reserve fund.
County supervisors will vote today on whether to amend the county’s reserve policy, which could allow the county to dip into more of its big rainy-day fund to combat impending federal cuts.
A dry summer in Colorado and across the Colorado River Basin is ratcheting up the pressure to cut back on water use, fast, but one federal conservation program has been stalled in Congress since June.
The reason why isn’t clear to U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, a Democrat who represents Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District.
