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Annual Average Air Temps Have Increased About 2.5 Degrees Statewide, Report Says

/in , , /by /ABC10by Brody Adams

The effects of climate change are already quite prevalent in the state, as seen by the all-time record-high temperatures and devastating wildfires experienced in recent years. A new report, released by California state scientists, shows that the effects of climate change are rapidly accelerating in California. The report from the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment found that since 1895, annual average air temperatures have increased by about 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit statewide and cases of heat illness have tripled in the past 30 years.

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Pure Water Monterey Nets National Engineering Award

/in , , /by /The Monterey County Heraldby Dennis L. Taylor

Pure Water Monterey, the Monterey Peninsula’s recycled potable water project, was one of 11 projects receiving a national award for outstanding engineering achievement — a project heralded as a key part of the state’s portfolio of water supply projects. “To be recognized alongside high-profile national projects is truly a great honor,” said Mary Ann Carbone, the chair of Monterey One Water’s board of directors and the mayor of Sand City, in a news release.

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City Hosting Public Hearing on Water Rate Increases

/in , , /by /Paso Robles Daily News

The City of Paso Robles is proposing to gradually phase in water rate increases over the next five years to support water system operating and maintenance expenses, fund the city’s share of debt service for the Nacimiento Water Project, and provide funding for capital improvements needed to support safe and reliable service. All city water customers are receiving notices in the mail to announce a public hearing that will be held on the proposed water rate increases on Dec. 20, at 6:30 p.m., at Paso Robles City Hall.

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Climate Change is Rapidly Accelerating in California, State Report Says

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

Wildfires, drought, extreme heat and other effects of climate change are rapidly accelerating and compounding in California, according to a report from state scientists.

The fourth edition of “Indicators of Climate Change in California,” released Tuesday, paints a stark picture of the escalating climate crisis and documents how global reliance on fossil fuels has had wide-ranging effects on the state’s weather, water and residents.

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Colorado River Conditions Are Worsening Quicker Than Expected. Feds Prepare to Step In.

/in , , /by /The Denver Postby Conrad Swanson

Running out of time and options to save water along the drying Colorado River, federal officials said they’re considering whether to release less water from the country’s two largest reservoirs downstream to Arizona, California and Nevada. Without enough snow this winter, the water level at Lake Powell — the country’s second-largest reservoir — will drop below a critical level by next November, according to a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

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Ripon Cuts Watering to Once a Week Thru Feb. 28 Due to Drought

/in , /by /Manteca Bulletinby Vince Rembulat

The City of Ripon’s new watering schedule went into effect on Tuesday. The winter schedule calls for a once-a-week schedule, from Nov. 1 to Feb. 28. Manteca, by contrast, still allows watering twice a week in the winter as California enters its fourth year of drought.

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First Significant Snowstorm of the Season Hits Tahoe. Has Winter Come Early?

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Gerry Diaz

After a week of will-they-won’t-they, the global weather models finally locked in on the track of California’s first substantial storm of the wet season. The storm’s cold front will ride an atmospheric river of moisture as it sends round after round of heavy rain showers to Humboldt, Del Norte and Mendocino counties. These rains will then turn to snow as they climb the steps of the southern Cascades.

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Opinion: Feds Demand Colorado River Water Cutbacks

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Dan Walters

One must wade through a thicket of bureaucratic jargon to find it, but on Friday federal officials issued what appears to be a serious warning to California and other states that use water from the highly stressed Colorado River: If they cannot agree on sharp reductions in diversions of the Colorado’s water, the feds will impose them unilaterally. It’s the latest wrinkle in decades of interstate squabbling over the river, which has become more heated as the river’s flows continue to decline and conditions in its two major reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, reach the crisis stage.

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Colorado River Managers Looking to Release Less Water from Lake Powell

/in , , /by /The Colorado Sunby Chris Outcalt

Colorado River managers looking to protect critical infrastructure at Lake Powell’s Glen Canyon Dam are seeking the ability to release less water from Powell next year as they work to rebalance demand on the troubled river. “We are taking immediate steps now to revise the operating guidelines to protect the Colorado River System and stabilize rapidly declining reservoir storage elevations,” reclamation commissioner Camille Touton said late last week in a written statement.

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Opinion: Senator Kelly is Wrong on All Counts Concerning California and the Colorado River

/in , , /by /The Desert Reviewby Betty Miller

Arizona Senator Mark Kelley wrote a letter October 25 to Deb Haaland, U.S. Department of Interior Secretary, asking her to punish the people and communities surrounding the Salton Sea, to punish the migratory birds and fish that depend on the sea for subsistence because he is in a fight for his political seat against a contender that could beat him. The tens of thousands of people living around the Salton Sea experience the highest rates of asthma in the State of California from the drying sea that leaves behind toxic waste which become airborne as winds kick up.

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