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BLOG: Price of Water 2016: Up 5 Percent in 30 Major U.S. Cities; 48 Percent Increase Since 2010

/in /by /Circle of Blueby By Brett Walton

America’s water systems were built to last. Philadelphia is one of the older cities on the Atlantic Coast and Northeast that still use pipes that were installed before the Civil War. The pipes have held up remarkably well over 160 years. But without new parts and maintenance these systems will not last forever. The repair bill has come due and water prices are increasing to pay for it.

The price of water rose 5 percent last year, according to Circle of Blue’s annual survey of 30 major U.S. cities. The median increase was 3.5 percent.

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California Drought Rules Eased Significantly

/in /by /San Jose Mercury News by By Paul Rogers

California’s historic drought rules are going to be a whole lot looser this summer. In a major shift, the administration of Gov. Jerry Brown announced Monday plans to drop all statewide mandatory water conservation targets it had imposed on urban areas last June. The new rules, which are expected to be approved May 18 by the State Water Resources Control Board, would instead allow more than 400 cities, water districts and private companies to each set their own water conservation targets, as long as they report them to state officials.

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California Gov. Jerry Brown Makes Some Water Restrictions Permanent

/in /by /The Wall Street Journal by By Jim Carlton

California Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday issued an executive order making permanent some temporary water restrictions imposed to help the state through a severe drought, despite a wet winter that eased some dry conditions.

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California Braces for Unending Drought

/in /by /The New York Times by By Ian Lovett

With California entering its fifth year of a statewide drought, Gov. Jerry Brown moved on Monday to impose permanent water conservation measures and called on water suppliers to prepare for a future made drier by climate change.

Under the governor’s executive order, emergency drought regulations, like bans on hosing down driveways or watering lawns within 48 hours of a rainstorm, will remain indefinitely. Urban water suppliers will be required to report their water use to the state each month and develop plans to get through long-term periods of drought.

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Drought helps predict how climate change might affect an endangered species

/in /by /Phys.Orgby Tim Stephens

A new study documenting the negative effects of California’s drought on an endangered lizard in the San Joaquin Desert provides a glimpse into the potential effects of future droughts expected in California as a result of climate change. The findings, published May 2 in the online journal PLoS One, may also provide guidance on how to buffer these negative effects to avoid species extinctions.

Coauthor Barry Sinervo, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz, said the endangered blunt-nosed leopard lizard could face major losses of suitable habitat due to climate change.

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California Looks at Easing Drought Cuts After Wet Winter

/in /by /Associated Press (As Published by ABC News)by By Ellen Knickmeyer

California will consider lifting a mandatory statewide water conservation order for cities and towns after a rainy, snowy winter eased the state’s five-year drought, water officials said Monday.

But an executive order by Gov. Jerry Brown would make permanent some of the measures adopted to deal with the current drought, including prohibitions against excessive water use while washing cars and watering lawns.

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California Backing Away From Strict Water-Saving Standards

/in /by /The Sacramento Bee by By Phillip Reese and Ryan Sabalow

Just a year ago, California regulators ordered cities and suburbs across the state to make drastic cuts in water use, telling residents the time had come to make longstanding lifestyle and landscaping changes consistent with a state with limited water.

One modestly rainy season later, the State Water Resources Control Board has backed off its sweeping mandate, issuing draft revisions to its conservation regulations that would allow individual water agencies to propose their own standards for water use.

 

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OPINION: Water Rights Will Be Next Big California Fight

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby By Dan Walters

After years of drought, winter’s rain and snow storms generated close to a normal supply of water for California. As winter turned to spring, the Bureau of Reclamation announced allocations to farmers.

Rice growers and other farmers in the Sacramento Valley north of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta were pleased to learn that they would receive 100 percent of their contracted water supplies. However, it was bad news for farmers south of the Delta, who were told they would get, at most, just 5 percent of contract water this year.

 

 

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Exclusive Calif. Community Ordered to Beautify Lawns Despite Drought

/in /by /CBS News

Behind the gates of Blackhawk, California, an exclusive community of homes costing more than a million dollars, the warning has gone out: no more brown lawns.

Over the past year, some Blackhawk residents let their lawns die as Californians were ordered to reduce water use, reports CBS News correspondent John Blackstone. Now, the Blackhawk Homeowners Association is telling residents they must beautify their front yards, even though officially California is still in a drought.

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Water Experts Denounce Arizona Groundwater Bills, Ask Ducey to Veto

/in /by /azcentral.com (Phoenix, Ariz.)by By Brandon Loomis

Several Arizona water experts are calling on Gov. Doug Ducey to veto legislation passed this week that they denounce as weakening groundwater protection standards in two counties and threatening Arizona’s reputation for smart water management.

The bills’ proponents, including lawmakers who represent Cochise County, said they are written narrowly to avoid upending statewide water law but are necessary to protect individual rights. Both passed with overwhelmingly Republican support.

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