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Solar Panels to Be Installed Above California Canals

/in , /by /EcoWatchby Climate Nexus

Solar panels are coming to two California canals. The “Project Nexus” follows research from the University of California-Merced finding substantial benefits for water quality and delivery, in addition to the benefits of renewable power generation.

This first-of-its-kind pilot project will install solar arrays over two canals (one 25-feet wide and one 110-foot-wide) in the Turlock Irrigation District, allowing operators to monitor and evaluate the arrays’ impacts on water quality and evaporation and learn more about the potential maintenance and logistical issues involved with installing and operating solar panels over the canals.

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What Is the Future of Snow? Grappling With Climate Change and Warmer Winters

/in , , /by /The Nevada Independent by Daniel Rothberg

Between the Winter Olympics and our dry January, I’ve been thinking a lot about snow over the last few weeks. Last month, Reno saw no measurable precipitation for the first time since such records were kept. The dry streak has continued past January. And although there have been longer periods of dryness in the region, it’s enough to be noticeable, matched with warm temperatures that make it feel more like spring than winter.

Maybe it’s the weather whiplash that makes it feel especially noticeable. The water year started out strong.

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‘It Could End Up That This Winter Is Actually Contributing to the Drought’: Record-Long Snowless Streak Measured in the Sierra

/in , , /by /KCRAby Heather Waldman

First, it was a few days, then a few weeks and now over a month without measurable rain or snow in Northern California.

On Wednesday, Feb. 9, UC Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab shared on its social media platforms that the site had broken a concerning record. There have now been 33 days straight without snow or rain at the CSSL site in Donner Pass.

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Water Supplies From Glaciers May Peak Sooner Than Anticipated

/in , /by /The New York Timesby Raymond Zhong

The world’s glaciers may contain less water than previously believed, a new study has found, suggesting that freshwater supplies could peak sooner than anticipated for millions of people worldwide who depend on glacial melt for drinking water, crop irrigation and everyday use.

The latest findings are based on satellite images taken during 2017 and 2018. They are a snapshot in time; scientists will need to do more work to connect them with long-term trends. But they imply that further global warming could cause today’s ice to vanish in many places on a shorter timeline than previously thought.

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Recent Snowstorms a Good Start, but More Needed

/in , /by /Santa Fe New Mexicanby Scott Wyland

Snow falling in the mountains and valleys was a welcome sight in a state struggling with drought.

Heavy late-December snowstorms made that month the wettest it has been in at least two years, and snowfall from the more recent storms seems to be breaking La Niña’s dry winter curse. But experts caution the somewhat-promising start to winter is just that — a start.

It’s too soon to know whether the spate of precipitation will be fleeting or will multiply into more storms, building the snowpack needed for a healthy spring runoff to feed rivers and defying La Niña, a weather pattern that typically makes the Southwest drier than normal in the winter and spring.

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With Billions in State Surplus, Monterey County Looks to Sacramento for Water Funding Help

/in , /by /Monterey County Weeklyby Christopher Neely

California is poised to have a record budget this year and tucked into Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $286.4 billion spending proposal for fiscal year 2022-23 is about $21 billion in extra cash that will be up for grabs. Monterey County is jumping into the scrum, hoping the state can set hundreds of millions of dollars aside to help finance three critical water projects for the Salinas Valley and South County. Brent Buche, general manager of the county’s Water Resources Agency, calls the surplus situation a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to get major funds from the state. The county is not holding back.

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As Drought Continues, Southern California Offers Millions to Buy Sacramento Valley Water

/in , , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

The drought drags on, and the thirsty residents of Southern California are preparing again to spend heavily to buy water from the farm fields of the Sacramento Valley.

The board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California directed its staff Tuesday to start negotiating the purchases of as much as 100,000 acre-feet of water from the Valley — deals that would be worth millions of dollars.

Metropolitan has bought water from Northern California in eight of the past 16 years. The purchases can be a sensitive point in farm country, where water sales will result in fewer acres of crop grown and damage done to the local economy.

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Opinion: Voter-Approved California Water Projects Are Making Progress

/in , , /by /The Mercury Timesby Teresa Alvarado and Matthew Swanson

In November 2014, California voters approved Proposition 1: The Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act. The $7.5 billion bond dedicated $2.7 billion for the public benefits of new water-storage projects. Some ask, “Why have no new reservoirs been built in the seven years since?” Rest assured, there are projects in the works. All recently passed a key milestone and are moving forward.

Any large-scale water storage project is complex and requires a high degree of planning, engineering, coordination and significant financing. The California Water Commission has actively overseen the proposed projects over the past six years to help ensure they meet statutory requirements, progress at the rate dictated by the bond legislation and meet the public benefits promised to voters.

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Record Temperatures Forecast as Winter Heatwave Heads for California

/in , , /by /The Guardianby Dani Anguiano

An unusual winter heatwave is expected across California this week with record temperatures in the forecast for multiple cities from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles.

In Southern California, where temperatures are predicted to be 15 to 20 degrees above normal from Wednesday morning through Sunday, the National Weather Service upgraded a heat watch to a heat advisory.

The heat watch and advisory were the first to be issued by the Los Angeles weather office in the month of February, according to records dating to 2006. Most heat watches and warnings in the area are issued from May through October.

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Sustainable Conservation: Protecting Water Quality While Recharging Aquifers

/in , , /by /Maven's Notebook

Over 600,000 Californians rely on nitrate-contaminated public supply wells for their household water needs.  However, those numbers are even greater as they don’t include the many others who struggle with contaminated groundwater from domestic wells.  Balancing long-term groundwater sustainability and water quality will help California weather future droughts, ensure safe drinking water, and support our thriving agricultural community that feeds the nation.

One tool for groundwater sustainability is groundwater recharge, where water is intentionally spread on the ground and allowed to infiltrate into the underlying aquifer.  However, there is much concern that groundwater recharge can increase water quality issues, especially when the recharge water is spread upon agricultural lands.

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