New projections show Lake Mead dropping about 9 feet between now and October of 2024 — but keeping an extra 2.57 feet compared to forecasts from just a month ago.
The 24-month study for October 2023 from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is the first forecast of the 2023 water year, which runs from Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2024.
Gov. Gavin Newsom last week passed on a chance to limit the use of the so-called “forever chemicals” in legions of plastic products when he vetoed a bill that would have banned them in synthetic lawns.
His veto of an environmental bill that overwhelmingly passed the Legislature underscores California’s convoluted guidance on the plastic turf that some homeowners, schools and businesses use in place of grass in a state accustomed to drought.
Every manifestation of the dangerous weather wreaking havoc around the world has one thing in common: water. As the Earth’s climate changes, the lack of water, or its sudden abundance, is reshaping the global economy and international trade. From prolonged drought slowing down ships in the Panama Canal to deluges halting industrial production in Japan, it’s one of the most obvious ways that rising temperatures are affecting businesses.
The California Water Service in Bakersfield hosted their annual ‘Imagine a Day Without Water.’ The day aims to highlight the essential nature of water.
Officials with Cal Water gave us a tour of their Northeast Bakersfield plant that adds around 20 million gallons of water to the city’s water supply every day.
The U.S. is set for an El Niño winter—the warmer counterpart to La Niña—a climate pattern that starts with warm water building up in the tropical Pacific Ocean west of South America.
In just a few years, water that’s flushed down toilets and drains in Phoenix may eventually flow through taps for people to drink.
Nazario Prieto with Phoenix Water Services claims it’s responsible and the way to go to preserve water.
“It’s a sustainable resource, and it keeps coming to us,” he explained.
The project will start at the Cave Creek Water Reclamation Plant near Cave Creek and Deer Valley roads.
When inspections discovered groundwater infiltration in three 72-in. aqueduct tunnels owned by the San Diego County Water Authority, a complex rehabilitation project became necessary. Those tunnels—Lilac Tunnel (500 ft), Red Mountain Tunnel (3,100 ft), and Oat Hills Tunnel (3,600 ft)—were originally built in 1947.
Selwyn Sekaquaptewa has been on the hunt for talent for months.
As the general manager of the Hopi Utilities Corporation’s water service, he works with just two other staff members to provide clean and safe drinking water to the Hopi Tribe’s reservation in Northeast Arizona. When the corporation formed in 2017, five of the community’s wells did not meet federal arsenic standards, and it’s looking to expand its operations and upgrade existing infrastructure to continue improving the quality of the water on which the tribe relies.
Last month, we heard yet again about the need to stop global warming at about 1.5 degrees centigrade above preindustrial levels. The International Energy Agency outlined a plan to meet that goal, and the United Nations secretary-general implored nations to get serious about cutting emissions to make it a reality.
El Niño and La Niña are natural climate phenomena that alter weather patterns around the world. El Niño occurs irregularly but shows up roughly every three to seven years and typically lasts between nine and 12 months with occasional exceptions that linger for multiple years.
El Niño’s effects are powerful. Its ocean warming is enough to drive average global temperatures higher, and to temporarily raise sea levels along the California coast via thermal expansion – offering humanity a glimpse of conditions that are projected to become the norm in coming decades as climate change accelerates.
To learn more, we asked experts from UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography to answer some common questions about El Niño and its impacts.
