If the state has any hope of heading off a looming “tidal wave” of residential water shut offs and bankrupt water systems it has to get a picture of current impacts, advocates urged.
On the heels of a historic drought, at the beginning of the implementation of historic groundwater legislation, and in light of potential flooding, Porterville will have more water in the future and a larger dam to prevent it from damaging the city below. On Sept. 29, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District, along with local and federal partners, have broken ground on the Tule River Spillway Enlargement Project at Success Lake near Porterville, Calif.
California energy officials on Tuesday said the state’s power planning processes were insufficient to address a crushing heat wave in August that led to rolling blackouts for two days. In a preliminary analysis that was requested by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the heads of three state energy bodies said there was no single cause of the outages.
With record-breaking temperatures, an increasing number of wildfires and drought conditions in most parts of the state, the water district’s ability to be ready and resilient is critical.
As Marin County’s largest water provider, it is the Marin Municipal Water District’s responsibility to provide customers with a safe, reliable supply of water, even under these challenging conditions. Emergency preparedness, a strategically managed water supply and the creation of water conservation programs to help customers use water wisely are all part of that effort.
The situation playing out along the Muddy River is not unique across the Southwest and in the Colorado River Basin. As climate change and overuse reduce water supplies, the gap between “paper water” (the legal right to use water) and “actual water” (what’s available) is widening.
The devastating wildfires raging across the western United States are a wake-up call for anyone who continues to doubt the financial and economic implications of climate change.
Last month, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission published a comprehensive report on the risks climate change poses to U.S. financial markets, stating in clear terms that “a world wracked by frequent and devastating shocks from climate change cannot sustain the fundamental conditions supporting our financial system.”
Dozens of House lawmakers asked the Trump administration yesterday to demand protections against per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, in school drinking water.
A federal judge on Monday ruled that a sprawling collage of salt ponds in Redwood City is subject to protections under the Clean Water Act — going against a previous decision by the Environmental Protection Agency that would have eased development along the bay.
State and local officials are sounding the alarm on water pollution and potential long-term impacts to water caused by ongoing wildfires. As wildfires rage, vegetation and soil are scorched and ash is pushed into Colorado rivers and streams.
“A lot of that ash will get into the water and can change the pH levels,” said Jason Clay with Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
We need it. We need it really, really badly. With wildfire after wildfire battering California since late summer, burning record acreage and killing at least 30 people in less than two months, weather experts have repeatedly said conditions conducive to critical fire risk probably won’t begin to subside until the first significant rainfall of autumn.
