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Dissecting the Use of Water Management Plans in California

/in , /by /California Water Blogby Nicola Ulibarri

California uses plans as a primary tool for managing water throughout the state. Regulations like the Urban Water Management Planning Act of 1983, Regional Water Management Planning Act of 2002, Water Conservation Act of 2009, and Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 require local water agencies to write plans documenting their available water supplies and develop approaches to use water more sustainably and/or ensure a secure supply.

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Help Paying Water Bills May Be on Way for Low-Income Californians

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

María Dolores Díaz sighs when she opens her water bill every month because she knows what she’ll see: another bill that she’ll struggle to pay.

Diaz looks at the envelope and doesn’t want to open it because she wonders: How much, this time? “Ya nomás miro la carta y ‘aí ya no lo quiero abrir!’ Porque yo digo ‘¿ahora cuánto?’”

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Water Agency Experts Predict a Fourth Year of Drought, Urge Bay Area Residents to Conserve More

/in , , /by /CBS Bay Areaby Max Darrow

California water conservation experts sounded an alarm on Tuesday. They warned Bay Area residents to brace for a fourth dry year in a row, as the drought persists.

“We are making investments across the state and in the Bay Area to help build our resilience to drought and to climate change,” said Wade Crowfoot, the California National Resources Agency Secretary. “The conservation actions we take now will pay off in water reliability later in the future.”

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How (and When) To Plant a Winter Garden During the Worsening Drought

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Jeanette Marantos

When Yvonne Savio talks, savvy SoCal gardeners listen. And her message for fall is big: Despite a long tradition of planting during the “mild” days of September, her counsel this week is to put off any planting — even starting seeds — until late October or November, because folks, it’s just too darn hot these days, especially with the drought-induced restrictions on outdoor watering.

“We may or may not have enough water to keep them sufficiently watered to thrive. I’m talking thrive, not survive,” said Savio about cool-season plants, such as leafy greens, arugula, broccoli and peas. “It’s basically a waste for you to start seeds this month or next month, since you can’t put them outside, so I’m giving you a good excuse to put it off until November.”

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Opinion: California Can’t Waver on Water Regulation

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Samantha Arthur and Ngodoo Atume

Over the past decade, California has gone from being the state with the least groundwater regulation to adopting a law that serves as an international model. How the state implements its landmark groundwater law during California’s worst drought on record could inform global climate change adaptation practices for generations.

The Golden State has one shot over the course of the next 20 years to bring its depleted aquifers into balance and achieve sustainability. Californians are counting on the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act to get the state there.

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‘Weather Whiplash’ Withers, then Drowns Areas Worldwide

/in , /by /Scientific Americanby Chelsea Harvey

The Dallas area is still reeling from record-breaking downpours that triggered flash floods across northeastern Texas last week. The event swamped houses, submerged vehicles and prompted hundreds of emergency rescues. At least one death has been reported so far.

The sheer volume of rain was stunning, with some locations receiving more than a foot. But the deluge was all the more surprising because Dallas has been choked by severe drought for months.

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Water Conservation is Critical in San Diego County as Colorado River Declines

/in , , /by /Contractor News and Views Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Sandra L. Kerl, general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority, issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s 24-month projection for water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell.

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Can The Lake Powell Pipeline Still Happen?

/in , , /by /Salt Lake Tribuneby Brian Maffly

Already in doubt from the West’s changing climate, a proposed pipeline across southern Utah remains bogged in a regulatory limbo that could hold up the project indefinitely.

If built, Utah’s 143-mile Lake Powell pipeline would draw up to 86,000 acre-feet of the Colorado River’s flow — depleted by drought and overuse — from the ever-shrinking Lake Powell for use in St. George and Kane County.

By the time Utah water bosses clear a stalled environmental review and secure the water rights, however, there may be no Lake Powell as we’ve known it, just a “dead pool” stacked behind Glen Canyon Dam. Complicating this bleak picture is the pipeline’s current design, which places the intakes above the lake’s future levels, leaving them high, dry and unusable if the drought continues to drain the lake.

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FERC Endorses Nation’s Largest Dam Removal Project

/in , , /by /Greenwireby Jennifer Yachnin

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has advanced the nation’s largest dam-removal project, which could restore flowing water to more than 400 miles of the Klamath River near the California-Oregon line.

FERC’s release Friday of its final environmental impact statement reiterated its support for removing the Lower Klamath Project’s four hydroelectric dams.

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Data Centers, Backbone of the Digital Economy, Face Water Scarcity and Climate Risk

/in , /by /NPR by Michael Copley

Data centers are springing up around the world to handle the torrent of information from the expanding web of devices ingrained in people’s lives and the economy. Managing that digital information gusher is big business. It also comes with hidden environmental costs.

For years, companies that operate data centers have faced scrutiny for the huge amounts of electricity they use storing and moving digital information like emails and videos. Now, the U.S. public is beginning to take notice of the water many facilities require to keep from overheating. Like cooling systems in large office buildings, water often is evaporated in data center cooling towers, leaving behind salty wastewater known as blowdown that has to be treated by local utilities.

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