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Q&A: La Niña May Bring More Atlantic Storms, Western Drought

/in , , /by /AP News by Seth Borenstein

La Niña — which often means a busier Atlantic hurricane season, a drier Southwest and perhaps a more fire-prone California — has popped up in the Pacific Ocean.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday that a La Niña, the cooler flip side of the better known El Niño, has formed. Meteorologists had been watching it brewing for months.

A natural cooling of certain parts of the equatorial Pacific, La Niña sets in motion a series of changes to the world’s weather that can last months, even years. This one so far is fairly weak and is projected to last through at least February but may not be the two-to-three-year type sometimes seen in the past, NOAA Climate Prediction Center Deputy Director Mike Halpert said.

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San Lorenzo Valley Water District Rebuilds After ‘Most Expensive Disaster in History’

/in , , /by /Santa Cruz Sentinelby Nicholas Ibarra

Emergency repairs are underway after a historic fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains wreaked havoc on the San Lorenzo Valley’s water infrastructure

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La Niña is Back. What Does That Mean for California’s Drought?

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Paul Duginski

La Niña conditions were observed in the Pacific Ocean last month, and there is a 75% chance the weather pattern will persist through the winter, forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

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Companies Eager to ‘Lock In’ Trump-Era Water Rule Exemptions

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Amena H. Saiyid

Coal miners, stone quarrying companies, and other businesses are rushing to lock down any exemptions to federal water jurisdiction for at least five years, under changes the Trump administration recently made to the nation’s water rule.

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Six Western States Blast Utah Plan to Tap Colorado River Water

/in , , /by /ABC Newsby Sam Metz (Associated Press/Report for America)

Six states in the U.S. West that rely on the Colorado River to sustain cities and farms rebuked a plan to build an underground pipeline that would transport billions of gallons of water through the desert to southwest Utah.

In a joint letter Tuesday, water officials from Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming urged the U.S. government to halt the approval process for the project, which would bring water 140 miles (225 km) from Lake Powell in northern Arizona to the growing area surrounding St. George, Utah.

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Adapting to the ‘New Normal’ In a Post-COVID Water Sector

/in , , /by /Water Onlineby Pete Antoniewicz

Beyond all the health-related impacts of the coronavirus pandemic — masks, social distancing, work from home scheduling, etc. — there have been some ripple effects to the daily operations and related employment conditions for water-treatment personnel. This synopsis of experiences provides perspective and outlines some opportunities and approaches for water-industry professionals to adopt if they have not already done so as part of the post-COVID ‘new normal’.

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Climate Change May Bring Unexpected Benefits to San Francisco Bay-Delta

/in , , /by /Forbesby Linh Anh Cat

The San Francisco Bay-Delta is literally threatened from all sides: rising sea levels from the ocean, disruptions to sediment supply from upstream, and within the Bay-Delta itself, development and other land use changes have left only a tiny fraction (5%) of marshland untouched.

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Opinion: Wildfires and Soaring Temperatures — the Hellscape Scientists Warned Us About is Here

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby The Times Editorial Board

After an extended weekend of wildfires, part of an early fire season that has already seen a record 2 million acres burned and Death Valley-like temperatures smothering the San Fernando Valley, Californians would be right to wonder whether we are living in a hellscape. We are not, it’s safe to say. But we are living in the future that climate scientists have been trying to warn us about for years now.

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UN Report: Increased Warming Closing in on Agreed Upon Limit

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Seth Borenstein
The world is getting closer to passing a temperature limit set by global leaders five years ago and may exceed it in the next decade or so, according to a new United Nations report.

In the next five years, the world has nearly a 1-in-4 chance of experiencing a year that’s hot enough to put the global temperature at 2.7 degrees (1.5 degrees Celsius) above pre-industrial times, according to a new science update released Wednesday by the U.N., World Meteorological Organization and other global science groups.

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Santa Cruz Water Quality at Risk from Wildfire Damage

/in , , /by /Santa Cruz Localby Kara Meyberg Guzman

The CZU Lightning Complex Fire’s threat to water quality in Santa Cruz came into sharper focus Tuesday as a Cal Fire emergency watershed response team neared completion of a damage study.

The most pressing risk is debris that could clog the San Lorenzo River near River Street and Highway 1 where water enters the city’s system, said Santa Cruz Water Director Rosemary Menard. The San Lorenzo River is the city’s largest water source. It represents about 45% of the water supply.

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