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

Sacramento Reduces Water Consumption but Falls Short of Newsom’s Goal for California

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

As California’s drought deepens, Sacramento residents are falling short of meeting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s call for water conservation — at least so far.

Area residents reduced water usage by an average of 6% last month, compared to August 2020, according to data released this week by the Sacramento Regional Water Authority. That compares with the 15% voluntary goal announced by Newsom in an executive order in July.

Full Story

Stunning Photos Show Drought’s Impact on Huge California Reservoir

/in , , /by /Mercury Newsby Nhat V. Meyer

The California drought has been brutal over the past few years, but to see just how devastating it has been, you need to see before-and-after pictures side by side.

Bay Area News Group photojournalist Nhat V. Meyer went out to the San Luis Reservoir in Merced County this week and took pictures in approximately the same places that he did in January 2019. The reservoir is one of the largest in California.

The results are startling.

Full Story

Caldor Fire Evacuees Getting Highway 50 Access as Crews Work Toward Full Reopening

/in , /by /KCRA3

Some Caldor Fire evacuees will be able to access their properties using Highway 50 as crews work toward reopening the closed stretch of the road to the public.

The highway is closed between Kyburz and Meyers because of the fire, but starting Monday, property owners who live in that region will be able to receive a pass to enter the area and survey their properties.

Full Story

Drought Tests Centuries-Old Water Traditions in New Mexico

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Susan Montoya Bryan

At the edge of a sandstone outcropping, Teresa Leger Fernández looks out on the Rio Chama. The river tracks a diverse landscape from the southern edge of the Rocky Mountains through rugged basalt hillsides, layers of volcanic tuff, and the red and yellow cliffs made famous by painter Georgia O’Keeffe.

Full Story

Drought Haves, Have-Not’s Test How to Share Water in the West

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Gillian Flaccus and Brittany Peterson

Phil Fine stands in a parched field and watches a harvester gnaw through his carrot seed crop, spitting clouds of dust in its wake. Cracked dirt lines empty irrigation canals, and dust devils and tumbleweeds punctuate a landscape in shades of brown.

Across an invisible line separating Fine’s irrigation district from the next, it’s another world. Automated sprinklers hiss as they douse crops, cattle munch on green grass and water bubbles through verdant farmland.

Full Story

Every Drop Counts in the Current California Drought

/in , , /by /Spectrum News 1by Leah Freeman

California is in a drought, with almost half of the state in exceptional drought, the worst level of drought intensity.

With a situation this significant, many areas of the state are being asked to cut down on water usage. Water is one of Earth’s most valuable resources, and we can’t live without it, which is why every drop counts right now.

Full Story

Water Transfers Helped Farmers Survive This Year. Now, All Eyes Are on the Coming Water Year

/in , , /by /SJV Waterby Jesse Vad

Water transfers, trades and sales doubled this year as drought left San Joaquin Valley farmers scrambling for supplies.

“This has been kind of an exceptional year for transfers,” said Sam Boland-Brien, program manager at the State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Water Rights. Boland-Brien said he’s seen about twice the amount of transfers this year compared to an average water year.

Full Story

Who Is to Blame for California’s Drought?

/in , , /by /UC Davis Magazineby Cody Kitaura

Social media users are playing the blame game when it comes to California’s drought. Read enough comments online and you’ll see many similar responses blaming the state government for its management of water: California should have more water storage. California dumps water into the ocean. Northern California sends too much water to Southern California.

Full Story

Amador County Water Officials Ask Customers to Cut Usage by 20%

/in , , /by /Fox40by Gurajpal Sangha, Jonathan Taraya

At first glance at the north fork of the Mokelumne River, the water supply looks healthy for Amador County, but some waterways like Sutter Creek sit dry.

Full Story

Climate Change Isn’t Coming in the Future, It’s Already Here. This Is How It’s Impacting Your Everyday Life.

/in , /by /The Colorado Sunby Michael Booth

When Virginia Iglesias goes climbing in Eldorado Canyon or skis the Gore Range, she tries to block out all the big data she collects as a researcher for the University of Colorado’s Earth Lab climate change section. But it’s hard to ignore.

The wildfire smoke and ozone choking her climbing friends and obscuring the views of the Flatirons.

Full Story