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

Opinion: Feds Should Focus on Natural Solutions in Flood Preparation

/in , /by /Marin Indepedent Journalby Natalie Snider and David Lewis

Our country faces a flood crisis. More people and places are at risk, with climate-induced flooding threatening widespread social, environmental and economic impacts.

We need a holistic approach to reduce flood risk now. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has focused on building levees, spillways and hardened infrastructure to address episodic storm events. But, by focusing solely on storm surge, they leave millions exposed to chronic flooding from sea level rise, tides and extreme rainfall.

Our country faces a flood crisis. More people and places are at risk, with climate-induced flooding threatening widespread social, environmental and economic impacts.

We need a holistic approach to reduce flood risk now. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has focused on building levees, spillways and hardened infrastructure to address episodic storm events. But, by focusing solely on storm surge, they leave millions exposed to chronic flooding from sea level rise, tides and extreme rainfall.

Full Story

Record-Shattering Rain Pummels Bay Area, Lingering Showers Continue Into Tuesday

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Summer Lin

A robust atmospheric river storm started to taper off Tuesday morning in the Bay Area after shuttering highways due to flooding and prompting evacuation warnings in areas left scarred by wildfires and susceptible to mudslides and debris flows.

Full Story

Environmentalists Say Upper Colorado River Basin States Are Overusing Water

/in , , /by /KUERby Lexi Peery

Environmental groups claim Utah and two other upper basin states — Colorado and New Mexico — are overusing their share of water from the Colorado River.

The Utah Rivers Council released a report Monday saying the Colorado River’s flows have dropped about 20% since 2000. The report outlines that the hydrology of the river hasn’t stopped the three states from pursuing large water projects.

Full Story

CW3E Releases Update to California Watershed Precipitation Forecasts

/in , , /by /Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)

The Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the UCSD/Scripps Institution of Oceanography has updated its popular watershed precipitation forecasts as part of its interactive “Decision Support Tools” page. These forecasts focus on quantifying and illustrating the 10-day precipitation forecasts averaged for the 126 Hydrologic Unit Code 8 (HUC-8) watersheds in California from four numerical weather prediction models. These models include the deterministic and ensemble models of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction Global Forecast System and the European Centre for Medium-Ranged Weather Forecasts model.

Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes-watershed precipitation forecast

The Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the UCSD/Scripps Institution of Oceanography has updated its watershed precipitation forecasts. (Graphic: Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes)

Full Story

Construction to Begin on Pure Water Soquel Purification Plant

/in , /by /Santa Cruz Sentinelby Hannah Hagemann

Officials on Friday marked the beginning of construction on the Chanticleer Water Purification plant — the “heart” of the Pure Water Soquel project — where treated wastewater will undergo further purification before it is injected back underground.

The recycling process will provide a buffer against seawater contamination, bolster drinking water supplies and raise groundwater levels that are depleted after decades of overuse.

Full Story

Utah May Be Overusing Its Colorado River Allotment. That Could Lead to Unprecedented Cuts in Water Use

/in , , /by /Desert Newsby Kyle Dunphey

Over the last 20 years, the water flow in the Colorado River has declined by roughly 20%. But some states in the river’s basin, including Utah, haven’t adjusted to the dwindling supply.

And if it doesn’t make adjustments, Mexico and other states in the Lower Colorado River Basin could demand the Beehive State scale back its water use.

Full Story

State Tells San Joaquin Valley Agencies That Groundwater Plans Are Flawed

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

California water officials have alerted local groundwater agencies in farming areas across the San Joaquin Valley that their plans for bringing aquifers into balance don’t adequately address how continuing declines in water levels could cause many more wells to run dry. The state Department of Water Resources notified agencies in six areas of the San Joaquin Valley this week that their groundwater sustainability plans are incomplete and have deficiencies that need to be corrected.

Full Story

Major Winter Storm Brings Rain, Snow to Parched California

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Felicia Fonseca

A major winter storm hitting Northern California with rain and snow was expected to intensify Monday and bring travel headaches and the threat of localized flooding after an especially warm and dry fall in the U.S. West.

Light rain and snow that began falling on Sunday got heavier overnight. The multiday storm could dump more than 8 feet (2.4 meters) of snow on the highest peaks in California and Nevada and drench other parts of the states as it pushes south and east before moving out midweek.

Full Story

Here’s What It Would Take to Fill California’s Reservoirs and End the Drought This Winter

/in , , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Ryan Sabalow

Dire warnings about communities and farms running dry next year. Headlines proclaiming a potentially dry La Niña winter. Reservoirs already so low they look like sets for post-apocalyptic movies. California seems poised for a continuation of its crippling drought next summer.

Full Story

Climate-Proofing Your Home: Upgrades to Weather a Drought

/in , , /by /Bloombergby Todd Woody

Climate-driven drought is making the once unthinkable foreseeable. Amid water shortages, your faucets could run dry, as has been a possibility in Marin County, California. Violate mandatory water restrictions and you might face steep fines or even a cutoff of service.

Full Story