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California has been experiencing drought conditions for five years. With La Niña expected this winter, these water-scarce conditions are expected to continue, and California is not alone. Other U.S. states as well as countries and regions around the globe, such as Australia and the Middle East, must contend with drought. In this issue, we feature an article on the four types of drought and ways consumers, water dealers and treatment professionals can help minimize or prevent drought conditions. This article also discusses how to conserve water when experiencing water scarcity in a region.

Ground was broken on a new levee Monday morning in Hamilton City. Leaders from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District and Reclamation District 2140 joined Congressman Doug LaMalfa and John Garamendi, as well as state and local officials, during the ceremony.

The event kicked off nearly seven miles of expected levee improvements and 1,500 acres of ecosystem restoration. The Hamilton City community relies on the existing levee to contain Sacramento River flows. The levee does not meet current levee construction standards, as it was constructed originally in 1904. In the last 20 years, the community has had to evacuate six times.

A judge has refused to block a Southern California water agency’s controversial purchase of five islands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Judge Barbara Kronlund in San Joaquin Superior Court declined to grant a temporary restraining order Friday to officials from San Joaquin and Contra Costa counties, who sued two weeks ago to keep the Metropolitan Water District from completing its $175 million purchase of the five islands.

California faces major changes in its water supply. The sooner everyone realizes these changes are coming, the better the state will be able to cope with what lies ahead.

Today’s changes are driven by efforts to end groundwater depletion, by sea level rise and loss of snowpack, salts and nitrate accumulating in groundwater, new invasive species, population growth and California’s globalized economy and agriculture.

A judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit seeking to force the city of San Francisco to drain Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, a key part of the water system for 2.6 million residents of Bay Area cities stretching from Hayward to San Jose to San Francisco.