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Near Coasts, Rising Seas Could Also Push Up Long-Buried Toxic Contamination

/in , , /by /NPRby Laura Klivans

Marquita Price grew up spending lots of time at her grandmother’s one-story lavender house in Deep East Oakland. It’s a place she’s always considered home, and where her grandmother still lives. So Price, an urban planner, was upset to learn about a lesser-known aspect of climate change fueled by sea level rise: it could cause the groundwater beneath this formerly-industrial community to rise, and wreak slow-motion havoc in the process.

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Why Hedge Funds are Eyeing Utah’s Shrinking Water Supply

/in , /by /The Salt Lake Tribuneby Zak Podmore

Here are three perspectives from Tribune reporter Zak Podmore’s reporting on water rights in southern Utah. Read his full story Sunday at sltrib.com or in Sunday’s newspaper.

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Precipitation Below Average in California

/in , , /by /Water News Networkby Ed Joyce Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Precipitation is below average in California for the current water year. Despite recent storms that increased the statewide Sierra Nevada snowpack to 70% of average to date, the state is experiencing its second consecutive below average year for rain and snow.

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California’s Rainy Season Starting Nearly a Month Later Than it Did 60 Years Ago

/in , /by /Phys.Orgby American Geophysical Union

The start of California’s annual rainy season has been pushed back from November to December, prolonging the state’s increasingly destructive wildfire season by nearly a month, according to new research. The study cannot confirm the shift is connected to climate change, but the results are consistent with climate models that predict drier autumns for California in a warming climate, according to the authors.

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Southern Nevada Can’t Afford to Get Complacent About Water Conservation

/in , /by /Las Vegas Sun

For years, Southern Nevadans have watched the water level in Lake Mead inch downward and wondered how long we could avoid the federally mandated rationing that kicks in when the lake elevation hits certain thresholds.

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14 Front Range Cities Coordinate to Warn of Water Shortages In Alarmingly Dry Year

/in , /by /The Colorado Sunby Jerd Smith

As drought conditions intensify across Colorado, at least 14 cities in the Denver metro area say they will join forces to warn residents of looming water shortages and the need to cut back use this spring. Denver Water’s Jason Finehout said a metro drought coordination effort would help ensure a consistent message on reducing water use in what is shaping up to be another alarmingly dry year.

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California’s Sierra Snowpack Lags Despite Recent Big Storms

/in , , /by /AP Newsby John Antczak

Recent storms have boosted California’s vital Sierra Nevada snowpack but not enough to fully compensate for a dry start to winter and residents should use water wisely, a state official said Wednesday after the season’s latest measurements.

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Opinion: Marin Voice – Advanced Metering, Desalination Would Bolster Water Supply Amid Construction Mandates

/in , /by /Marin Independent Journalby Rick Johnson

Samuel Coleridge’s poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” features the phrase, “Water, water, every where, nor any drop to drink.”

Unlike the Ancient Mariner who was trapped on a salt-water ocean without fresh water, we in Marin County have fresh water surrounded by a salty bay and ocean.

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Opinion: Water Infrastructure — The Unmet Needs of Low-Income Communities

/in , , /by /The Hillby David Coursen

To meet the promise of its day one executive order on Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities, the Biden administration needs to provide low-income communities, communities of color and Indigenous people the same access to clean and safe water that the rest of our nation takes for granted. Biden’s COVID-19 relief plan makes a down payment on that promise by funding improved access to clean water for the overburdened communities of Indian Country.

 

 

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Sierra Snow Grows, but Bay Area has 3rd Biggest Rainfall Deficit Since 1849

/in , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

California’s water picture is heading in two different directions.

A major storm last week and a more modest system Tuesday continued to boost the Sierra Nevada snowpack, the source of one-third of the state’s water supply, in promising ways. But the Bay Area and most cities across Northern California remain stuck in one of the worst two-year rainfall deficits seen since the 1849 Gold Rush, increasing the risk of water restrictions and dry wildfire conditions locally next summer.

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