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OPINION: The Cost of State Inaction – The Future of California’s Water Supply

/in , /by /OC Registerby Jay Lund, Josue Medellin Azuara and Alvar Escriva Bou

California’s weather whiplash has left the Golden State in a place of severe uncertainty about its diminishing water supply and increasing human and environmental demands for water.

Research that my colleagues and I published last year, “The Magnitude of California’s Water Challenges” showed that Californians can expect their water supply to shrink 12 to 25% by 2050, up to 9 million acre-feet, or equal to one to two Lake Shastas.

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John Griffith on Strains Facing the US Water Supply

/in , /by /Bloombergby Open Interest

John Griffith, CEO of American Water, joins Open Interest to talk about the need to invest capital in our water infrastructure.

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Officials Turn to Innovative Method to Address Longstanding Emblem of Water Crisis: ‘Difficult Projects Are Possible’

/in , /by /The Cool Downby Jamie Speka

The Salton Sea has long been a worrying emblem of California’s water crisis. Based in the parched, desert-like lands, the decades-long project to bring new wetlands back to the scorched dirt is finally underway. In the midst of the Salton Sea’s years of evaporation, the waters have grown progressively saltier, killing native fish that acted as a food source for dozens of migrating birds like white pelicans, double-crested cormorants, and eared grebes — all of which have faced significant population declines.

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For the Future of Water Conservation, Look to … Los Angeles?

/in , /by /New York Timesby Michael Kimmelman

You’ve probably come across more stories about water woes in California than you can recall, so you may feel you’ve had enough for a while. I understand. There’s no easy or permanent fix. The protagonists don’t divide neatly into good and evil. Water in the state often isn’t where the people are — or, as with the recent fires, isn’t there at all.

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Like Electric Lights, Water Reuse Is Destined to Become a Necessity

/in , /by /Fast Companyby Aaron Tartakovsky

Indoor toilets were once considered a health hazard. Electric lighting sparked fears of deadly fires. Air conditioning was dismissed as an unnatural threat to human health. It seems absurd now, but each of these technologies—now fundamental to modern buildings—was initially met with widespread skepticism and resistance.

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Forever Chemicals Are in Your Drinking Water: Here’s How Worried to Be—And What to Do About It

/in , /by /Fortuneby Ani Freedman

It’s not uncommon nowadays to fill a glass of water from your tap and wonder what chemicals and contaminants may be lurking in there. That’s because research has increasingly revealed that heavy metals, radioactive substances, and harmful PFAS (“forever chemicals”) are present in our water systems.

“It turns out millions of people have PFAS in their drinking water,” Tracey Woodruff, director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at the University of California, San Francisco, tells Fortune.

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OPINION: The Grand Water Bargain

/in , /by /The California Globeby Edward Ring

For the last few decades in California, the conventional wisdom has been that farmers and urban water consumers have to improve efficiency and reduce consumption. To the fullest extent possible, rain and snow falling on watersheds must proceed unimpaired from the mountains to the ocean, and if water is reserved in reservoirs, releases of the stored water must prioritize maintaining flow in the rivers over diversions for agriculture or urban consumption.

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Every Drop Counts: Urban Water Retailers and the Future of California Water Conservation

/in , /by /National Law Reviewby David L. Osias, Tara E. Paul

Beginning January 1, 2025, the “Making Conservation a California Way of Life” regulatory framework requires urban retail water suppliers — not individual households or businesses — to adopt a series of “urban water use objectives.” And beginning January 1, 2027, the regulations require urban retail water suppliers to annually demonstrate compliance with those objectives. The objectives are calculated based on indoor residential water use; outdoor residential water use; commercial, industrial and institutional irrigation use; and potable reuse. Implementation of the objectives includes setting and meeting specific targets for reducing water use per capita, improving system efficiency, and reporting progress to state regulators.

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‘Above-Normal Fire Potential’: SDG&E Prepares for Peak Wildfire Season

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Rob Nikolewski

Buckle up for another potentially dangerous peak wildfire season in the San Diego area.

“We’ve only had about 50% of the normal rainfall, and temperatures are expected to be warm as we get into this summer,” Brian D’Agostino, meteorologist and vice president of wildfire and climate science at San Diego Gas & Electric, said Monday.

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California Achieved Significant Groundwater Recharge Last Year, State Report Says

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

A year of average precipitation gave California’s groundwater supplies a significant boost, according to a state analysis released Tuesday.

California’s aquifers gained an estimated 2.2 million acre-feet of groundwater in the 12 months that ended Sept. 30, the state’s 2024 water year. That’s about half the storage capacity of Shasta Lake, California’s largest reservoir.

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