Rounds of heavy rainfall and significant mountain snowfall are occurring across the West, especially in California.
We need the snow, but the heavy rain is causing flooding across lower elevations, burn scars and foothills.
The second wave of a dawdling Pacific storm hit San Diego County before dawn Wednesday, producing 76 mph winds on Palomar Mountain, 50 mph gusts at coast, heavy rain in such cities as Escondido and Valley Center, lightning near Miramar, and snow that’s continuing to fall on Mount Laguna, which could end up with one foot of the white power by late today, the National Weather Service said.
The weather also delayed 28 flights through 7:00 a.m. at San Diego International Airport and dropped enough rain to make freeways slick during the morning rush hour.
Construction on new water infrastructure is moving full steam ahead at Mission Trails Regional Park.
Crews have already completed more than 15% of the pipeline installation for this phase of the East County Advanced Water Purification program. Once finished, the AWP Program will supply up to 30% of East County’s drinking water, using state-of-the-art technology to purify recycled water, marking a big step toward a more reliable local water supply.
The seven Colorado River basin states missed a key federal deadline to reach a new water usage agreement, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is now likely to impose a solution of its own.
Why it matters: The Central Arizona Project (CAP), which transports water from the Colorado River to the interior of the state, is likely to see serious cuts as the feds seek to manage the basin through a “megadrought” that’s persisted for more than 20 years.
The Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has unanimously certified the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for Pure Water Southern California, concluding more than five years of technical studies, public outreach and environmental analysis for the proposed large-scale water reuse initiative.
Certification of the EIR completes the project’s review under the California Environmental Quality Act and allows Metropolitan to move ahead with future deliberations on potential implementation. These upcoming decisions are expected to address issues such as project phasing, funding strategies, design and construction timelines, and will be considered as part of Metropolitan’s Climate Adaptation Master Plan for Water evaluation process and its biennial budget review.
The first of two strong Pacific storms this week began battering Southern California on Monday, generating downpours and gusty winds, along with high surf along the coast.
The storm first hit Northern California before making its way to the southern part of the state, where it is expected to continue pouring rain into early Tuesday morning.
The prospect of a costly and prolonged interstate lawsuit over rights to the Colorado River looms now that the states using the water are blowing past a Valentine’s Day deadline with no water-sharing deal in hand.
With no agreement among the states, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the federal government could no longer delay action and would move forward with work on a set of alternatives outlined late last year.
The leaders of seven states failed to negotiate a deal to share the diminishing waters of the Colorado River by a Trump administration deadline on Saturday, leaving the Southwest in a quagmire with uncertain repercussions while the river’s depleted reservoirs continue to decline.
Former U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said in an interview with The Times that the impasse now appears so intractable that Trump administration officials should take a step back, abandon the current effort and begin all over again.
Four California Congressmen have sent Governor Gavin Newsom a letter expressing concerns over outdated water regulations that could result in the loss of 600,000 acre-feet of water. They argue that these regulations, combined with California’s variable hydrology, could have significant consequences for the state’s agricultural industry, communities, and fisheries.
The letter highlights three primary reasons for California’s water shortages: insufficient precipitation and snowpack, the need for improved water storage and conveyance, and “fixed and outdated regulations that lead to water being used in ways that do not maximize beneficial uses for humans and the environment.
The Mexican government is set to begin construction of the Playas de Rosarito desalination plant at the end of March, marking a key step in Baja California’s efforts to expand its water supply, reports BNAmericas. The project is part of the region’s water infrastructure plan and involves a combined investment of over 14.6 billion pesos (approximately US$840 million) from both federal and state sources, according to Efraín Morales, the general director of the National Water Commission (Conagua).
The desalination plant, expected to be the largest and most modern of its kind in Latin America, will have a production capacity of 2,200 liters per second. This will boost the water supply by up to 45% for the cities of Tijuana and Playas de Rosarito. Morales stated that while Conagua will oversee the plant’s construction, the state government will manage the distribution infrastructure.
