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State Unveils Long-Awaited Standard for Drinking Water Contaminant

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

California today proposed a long-awaited standard for a cancer-causing contaminant in drinking water that would require costly treatment in many cities throughout the state.

Traces of hexavalent chromium are widely found in the drinking water of millions of Californians, with some of the contamination naturally occurring and some from industries that work with the heavy metal.

The proposed standard is a major step in a decades-long effort to curtail the water contaminant made infamous by the movie Erin Brockovich, based on residents of rural Hinkley, California who won more than $300 million from Pacific Gas & Electric for contamination of their drinking water.

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Dry Winter Combined With Another Bay Area Heat Wave Raises Concerns Amid Drought

/in , , /by /ABC 7 Newsby Amanda del Castillo

Parts of the Bay Area are expected to heat up on Tuesday. Warm temperatures could be near record-breaking in some areas. The heatwave comes only days after Saturday’s storm, which wasn’t significant enough to impact drought conditions.

There is looming concern, as the state struggles to conserve water.

The warm weather and sunny skies forecast for Tuesday will bring a typical springtime event, according to Meteorology and Climate Science expert Alison Bridger.

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As It Enters a Third Year, California’s Drought Is Strangling the Farming Industry

/in , , /by /The Washington Postby Scott Wilson

The school is disappearing.

Westside Elementary opened its doors nearly a century ago here in the San Joaquin Valley, among the most productive agricultural regions on earth. As recently as 1995, nearly 500 students filled its classrooms. Now 160 students attend and enrollment is falling fast.

This was where the children of farmworkers learned to read and write, often next to the children of the farm owners who employed their parents.

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California Drought Conditions Predicted to Worsen in Coming Months, Federal Forecasters Say

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

Serious drought conditions across California and the West are expected to worsen this spring into early summer, with hotter-than-normal temperatures, reduced chances of rain and increased fire risk likely, federal forecasters said Thursday.

The next three months through the end of June show little to no drought relief, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the parent agency of the National Weather Service.

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Drought Year Three in California, 2022

/in , , /by /California WaterBlogby Jay Lund

2022 is another drought year, although we won’t know exactly how dry for about another month.  Precipitation and snowpack this year in California are below average.  In addition, the prolonged dry and warm months of January through March of this year’s “wet” season will have evaporated more water from watersheds and reduced snowpack, reducing runoff and groundwater recharge from this year’s modest precipitation and likely lengthening this year’s wildfire season.

Some reservoirs did refill during the wetter-than usual December, but many of the largest reservoirs remain significantly lower than at this time last year, in the 2nd year of this drought.

 

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Lake Powell Water Crisis Is About to Be an Energy Crisis

/in , , /by /Gristby Jake Bittle

Stretching for 186 miles along the border of Utah and Arizona, Lake Powell serves as one of two major reservoirs that anchor the Colorado River. Last week, the lake reached a disturbing new milestone: water levels fell to their lowest threshold ever, since the lake was created by the damming of the Colorado in 1963.

The precipitous drop is the result of the decades-long drought in the American West that has ravaged the Colorado River for years, forcing unprecedented water cuts in states like Arizona.

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Fifty Percent of U.S. Waterways Impaired by Pollution: Report

/in , /by /The Hillby Sharon Udasin

A half century after the passage of the federal Clean Water Act, 50 percent of U.S. river and stream miles are so polluted that they are classified as “impaired,” a new report has found.

Not only are 50 percent of these waterways impaired, but so too are 55 percent of lakes, ponds and reservoirs and 25 percent of bays, estuaries and harbors — meaning that none of these resources are suitable for public uses, according to the report.

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Opinion: California’s Drought Response Isn’t Working. It’s Time to Order Cuts in Water Use.

/in , /by /Los Angeles Times

California is in year three of a worsening drought and the situation is growing dire. After a wet and snowy December, California experienced its driest January and February on record. More than 93% of the state is now suffering “severe” or “extreme” drought, compared with 66% last month, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Sierra Nevada snowpack has dropped to 55% of normal for this time of year and reservoirs are depleted.

Gov. Gavin Newsom in July called for Californians to voluntarily reduce water use by 15% compared with 2020 levels, but the state has cut back by only about 6.5%. In January, urban water use increased by 2.6%, compared with the same month in 2020, heading in the wrong direction even as the drought deepens.

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Only 8 of 20 Critical GSA Plans Approved

/in , , /by /Western FarmPressby Tim Hearden

Only eight of the 20 California watersheds most critically affected by subsidence have had their groundwater sustainability plans approved by state water officials, according to recent testimony before a state board.

The other 12 – most of which are in the San Joaquin Valley – had their plans marked “incomplete” by state water regulators and face a July deadline to fix their deficiencies, said Paul Gosselin, who oversees the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act office for the state Department of Water Resources.

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State Water Project Declines Highlight Drought’s Severity

/in , , /by /Water News Network Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

“Today’s announcement about reduced allocations from the State Water Project brings into focus the increasing challenges created by the megadrought. This is an emergency felt throughout the state and we strongly support continued conservation.”

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