You are now in California and the U.S. Media Coverage category.

Opinion: This Proposed Ballot Measure Would Make You Pay for the Ag Industry’s Water Inefficiency

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Michael Hiltzik

Whoever coined the phrase “Whisky is for drinking, water is for fighting” didn’t have things quite right.

In California, water is for scamming. The newest example is a majestically cynical ploy being foisted on taxpayers by some of the state’s premier water hogs, in the guise of a proposed ballot measure titled the “Water Infrastructure Funding Act of 2022” — or, as its promoters call it, the More Water Now initiative.

Full Story

Arizona, California, Nevada Agree to New Colorado River Agreement to Conserve More Water

/in , , /by /The Center Squareby Cole Lauterbach

Arizona’s water authorities are close to entering into a new pact with officials from Nevada and California they hope will restore water levels at Lake Mead and stave off future rationing requirements.

A Tier 1 Colorado River water shortage begins in 2022, triggering a mandatory 512,000 acre-foot reduction to Arizona. The emergency stems from the Lake Mead reservoir reaching water levels not seen since its construction. The designation doesn’t affect Arizona residents, rather the state’s agriculture industry that represents the majority of water usage.

Full Story

State Allocates $39.2 Million for Friant Kern Canal Repairs

/in , , /by /Porterville Reporterby Charles Whisnand

On Monday, the State Department of Water Resources allocated $39.2 million to the repairs of the Friant-Kern Canal.

The $39.2 million is part of $100 million that was included in this year’s state budget for the repairs of four of the state’s major water resources: the California Aqueduct, the San Luis Canal, the Delta-Mendota Canal and the Friant-Kern Canal. A total of $37 million was allocated to both the California Aqueduct and San Luis Canal and $23.8 million was allocated to the Delta-Mendota Canal.

Full Story

Camarillo’s Next Wave of Water Unveiled With Long-Awaited Desalter Facility

/in , , /by /Ventura County Starby Brian J. Varela

Camarillo’s long-awaited desalter plant will soon begin treating previously unusable groundwater to convert into drinkable water for residents and businesses.

The city unveiled the $66.3 million North Pleasant Valley Groundwater Desalter, located at 2727 Somis Road, at a ribbon cutting before a crowd of about 100 people on Tuesday.

Camarillo’s long-awaited desalter plant will soon begin treating previously unusable groundwater to convert into drinkable water for residents and businesses.

The city unveiled the $66.3 million North Pleasant Valley Groundwater Desalter, located at 2727 Somis Road, at a ribbon cutting before a crowd of about 100 people on Tuesday.

Full Story

More Than 400 Toxic Sites in California Are At Risk Of Flooding From Sea Level Rise

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Rosanna Xia

When Lucas Zucker talks about sea level rise in California, his first thoughts aren’t about waves crashing onto fancy homes in Orange County, nor the state’s most iconic beaches shrinking year after year.

What worries him most are the three power plants looming over the Oxnard coast, and the toxic waste site that has languished there for decades. There are also two naval bases, unknown military dumps and a smog-spewing port. Just one flood could unleash a flow of industrial chemicals and overwhelm his working-class, mostly Latino community.

Full Story

Snowpack in California’s Sierra Nevada Could Disappear in Just 25 Years

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicle by Kurtis Alexander

As the climate continues to warm, more and more of the snow falling on California’s mountains will be replaced by rain. Already in recent decades, the snow season has shrunk by a month, according to one estimate, while snow levels have moved upward by 1,200 feet, according to another.

Scientists and water managers say that at some point California’s snowpack could simply disappear. This would leave the state without the crucial spring and summer melt-off that fills rivers and streams, nourishes plants and animals, and provides a huge chunk of the water supply. It would also be devastating for the ski industry.

 

Full Story

Denver Still Without Snow but Climatologists Say They’re More Concerned by Snowpack Levels Out West

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

With each passing, snowless day, Denver extends its new record of the latest date at which the first measurable snow falls, busting through the old record of Nov. 21, set in 1934.

Climatologists are watching as the record climbs, estimating Denver’s dry spell could last until early December. But that’s not nearly as worrisome as the lagging snowpack levels in southwest Colorado, they say, specifically in the Sangre de Cristo, San Juan and San Miguel mountains.

Full Story

Opinion: Drought Has Big Impacts on California Agriculture

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Dan Walters

As California experiences a second year of drought, with no end in sight, the effects on California’s largest-in-the-nation agricultural industry are profound and perhaps permanent.

State and federal water agencies have cut deliveries to some farmers to zero while others, thanks to water rights dating back more than a century, still have access to water.

Full Story

Water Restrictions Coming to Bakersfield to Address Drought

/in , , /by /Bakersfield.comby Sam Morgen

Bakersfield’s two largest water providers will soon implement new restrictions to head off the potentially dire impacts of an extended drought.

On Dec. 14, the city of Bakersfield and California Water Service plan to limit the days customers can use water for outdoor landscaping. Other restrictions, like no longer automatically serving drinking water at restaurants, will also go into effect as officials attempt to meet or exceed Gov. Gavin Newsom’s call to reduce water usage by 15 percent.

Full Story

California Remains in Precarious Water Predicament

/in , , /by /Fox KTVUby Tom Vacar

October was a welcome water wonderland, but November was pretty much a dry bust for the Golden States. Was California’s wet October a sucker punch to the state’s all important reservoirs?

“Historically, 1976, which was historically dry, started off with a wet October, so we’re not counting our chickens yet,” said East Bay Municipal Utilities District Public Information Officer Andrea Pook.

Full Story