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Newsom Loosens Rules to Allow More Floodwater to Flow Into Underground Reservoirs

/in , , /by /The New York Timesby Soumya Karlamangla and Jill Cowan Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

As another round of heavy storms battered California, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that he would ease state rules to allow local water agencies to more easily redirect floodwaters to replenish the state’s severely depleted groundwater supplies.

The move comes amid criticism that California has flushed trillions of gallons of water out to sea during this winter’s repeated deluges. Water agencies and experts say the state’s strict rules that limit who can take water from streams and creeks have prohibited the local agencies from capturing the excessive flows, though California desperately needs to bank water for its next drought.

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Battered by Destructive Flooding, California Braces for More Rain

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Times

California is bracing for another round of rain beginning Monday as officials assess the damage from severe flooding along the Central Coast and Central Valley, which left scores stranded, and whole blocks under water.

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Sierra Snowpack Hits Record Levels After Recent Storms

/in , , /by /Newsweekby Jess Thomson

The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains has reached record-breaking levels thanks to the deluge of snow smashing California this week.

According to data from the California Department of Water Resources (CDWR), the Southern Sierras—from San Joaquin and Mono counties to Kern county—currently have a snowpack 257 percent greater than the average for this time of year, and 247 percent larger than is average for the usual snowpack peak on April 1.

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An American Water Crisis

/in , , /by /CBC Newsby Alexander Panetta

These are desperate days for the Colorado River.

The pulsing lifeblood of the U.S. southwest is increasingly parched. To avert catastrophe, the U.S. government will, within weeks, propose historic cuts in water access. It’s a frantic move to protect a river that provides so much: drinking water for tens of millions of people, electricity and food. Lots of food.

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Opinion: The West’s Weather Whiplash Should Not Influence Long-Term Water Management

/in , , /by /The Hillby Thomas Piechota

There’s a water contradiction in the West with serious long-term water scarcity in low reservoirs and depleting groundwater tables, while California is in the middle of an extremely wet and snowy winter. As water levels in dangerously depleted Lake Mead and Lake Powell drop to record lows, California has experienced one of the wettest winters on record, with a statewide snowpack that’s almost 200 percent of normal for this time of year and a flooding risks from rain and snow events in March.

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Another Strong Storm May Bring Even More Substantial and Widespread Flooding & Wind-Related Impacts Late Mon-Tue

/in , , /by /Weather Westby Daniel Swain

Welp, here we go again. After a long period (a full season, really) of different kinds of exceptional weather conditions all around California, there’s yet one more big storm to come in the immediate future (discussed below). But what has transpired in the past, oh, 48 hours or so?

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Atmospheric River Floods California Towns, Brings Rain, Snow

/in , , /by /APby Martha Mendoza and Olga R. Rodriguez

More than 9,000 California residents were under evacuation orders Friday as a new atmospheric river brought heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong winds, swelling rivers and creeks and flooding several major highways and small rural communities.

In Santa Cruz County, a creek bloated by rain destroyed a portion of Main Street in Soquel, a town of 10,000 people, isolating several neighborhoods. Crews were working to remove trees and other debris and find a way for people to cross the creek, county officials said.

Thirst for Water: How the Nation’s Largest Desalination Plant is Generating Change

/in , , , /by /Water Onlineby Vic Bianes and Jeremy Crutchfield Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

When the nation’s largest desalination plant opened in Carlsbad, California, in 2015, people across the country were watching to see how it increased water supplies as groundwater dwindled, reservoirs dried up, and drought ravaged the Golden State.

Nearly 10 years later, the plant has demonstrated how seawater desalination can play a pivotal role in achieving water security.

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California Storms Create Paradox: Too Much Water in Reservoirs, Too Soon

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Alastair Bland

Two winters’ worth of snow has already fallen in the Sierra Nevada since Christmas, pulling California from the depths of extreme drought into one of its wettest winters in memory.

But as a series of tropical storms slams the state, that bounty has become a flood risk as warm rains fall on the state’s record snowpack, causing rapid melting and jeopardizing Central Valley towns still soggy from January’s deluges.

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Reservoir Releases Underway as California Braces for Atmospheric Rivers

/in , , /by /Courthouse News Serviceby Natalie Hanson

Once mired in drought, California now has too much of a good thing and has opened spillways on key reservoirs as the first of two atmospheric rivers made landfall Thursday afternoon.

The Golden State activated the Flood Operation Center ahead of the incoming storms, to notify officials of high water levels and support local flood relief efforts.

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