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September Sizzled to Records and Was So Much Warmer Than Average Scientists Call It ‘Mind-Blowing’

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Seth Borenstein

After a summer of record-smashing heat, warming somehow got even worse in September as Earth set a new mark for how far above normal temperatures were, the European climate agency reported Thursday.

Last month’s average temperature was 0.93 degrees Celsius (1.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 1991-2020 average for September. That’s the warmest margin above average for a month in 83 years of records kept by the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

“It’s just mind-blowing really,” said Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo. “Never seen anything like that in any month in our records.”

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Opinion: You’re Already Drinking Dinosaur Pee. So Don’t Be Afraid of Recycled Wastewater

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Times Editorial Board

Perhaps the biggest development in water over the last three decades has been the change in attitude among consumers about their liquid assets. After repeated droughts punctuated by history-making deluges, Californians appear more open than ever to embracing reuse of stormwater, wastewater and seawater — as long as we can be certain that it is clean and safe to drink.

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Another Wet Year is Predicted in California. Officials Say This Time They’re Better Prepared

/in , , /by /KVPRby Kerry Klein

Water leaders across California are beginning to prepare for another wet winter, as a new water year got underway this week.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the state’s reservoirs are the fullest they’ve been at the start of a water year in 40 years. And, with an El Niño weather pattern looking more and more likely, so is the possibility for a lot of rain in the months ahead.

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Phoenix Spends $30 Million to Reopen Cave Creek Water Plant Back for Water With a Twist

/in , /by /AZ Central by Taylor Seely

A tiny, shuttered wastewater treatment facility in north Phoenix that the City Council voted to bring back online Wednesday will be the city’s first to use advanced water purification technology that officials hope to make widespread within a decade.

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Millions of Children Are Displaced Due to Extreme Weather Events. Climate Change Will Make It Worse

/in , /by /AP Newsby Aniruddha Ghosal and Camille Fassett

Storms, floods, fires and other extreme weather events led to more than 43 million displacements involving children between 2016 and 2021, according to a United Nations report.

More than 113 million displacements of children will occur in the next three decades, estimated the UNICEF report released Friday, which took into account risks from flooding rivers, cyclonic winds and floods that follow a storm.

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Making Water Conservation a ‘California Way of Life’: Controversial State Rules Could Cost $13 Billion

/in , , /by /Cal Mattersby Rachel Becker

Saying the targets to cut water use in cities and towns will be costly and difficult to achieve, water agencies throughout California have raised concerns about an ambitious state proposal that would require more water conservation statewide beginning in 2025.

 

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California Water Board Urged to Ditch Reporting Aspect of Conservation Plan

/in , , /by /Courthouse News Service by Alan Riquelmy

Several speakers pleaded with the State Water Resources Control Board on Wednesday to rethink proposed regulations intended to reduce Californians’ water use in the face of climate change.

“Making Conservation a California Way of Life” is a series of proposed regulations that stems from two laws passed in 2018. Those laws require the state water board to implement efficiency standards and performance levels for local agencies’ water use.

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How Top Lawmakers Are Working to Secure Arizona’s Drinking Water

/in , , /by /ABC 15by Kaley O'Kelley

The Colorado River is one of the most important sources of fresh water in the United States, flowing through Arizona and six other states.

According to the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation, it provides water to nearly 40 million people for municipal use.

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Fresno County Agencies Seeking $40 Million – and Counting – in Federal Funds to Fix Last Winter’s Flood Damage and Prep for Upcoming El Niño

/in , /by /SJV Waterby Jesse Vad

Agencies in Fresno County, from small cities to irrigation districts, are hoping money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency arrives in time to help them fix damage from last winter’s battering storms as they scramble to  get ready for another looming wet winter.

Fresno County was slammed hard by storms in January and March. While some repairs are almost finished, local governments and other agencies are still waiting to hear the outcome of applications they sent FEMA for tens of millions of dollars in reimbursements.

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California Just Experienced a ‘Miracle’ Water Year. But Winter Could Bring New Challenges

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

The typically parched, brown hills above Los Angeles are a vibrant shade of green — a rarity for early October.

In state parks, waterfalls and rivers that were vastly reduced are now gushing with water.

And in Lake Oroville, boats float on deep blue water that only a year ago was shrinking toward record lows.

The transformed landscape is the result of a remarkable California water year that saw 141% of average rainfall statewide, officials announced this week. The state received 33.56 inches of rain — nearly twice the amount of rain recorded during the previous water year and nearly three times the amount from the year prior. The water year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

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