California and the U.S. Archives

‘They’re Going to Dry Up’: Debate Erupts Over Plan to Move Water From Farmland to Suburbs

November 20, 2019/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /azcentralby Ian James

A private company and the town of Queen Creek are proposing a water deal that would leave 485 acres of farmland permanently dry near the Colorado River and send the water used on that land to the fast-growing Phoenix suburb.

The company GSC Farm LLC is seeking to sell its annual entitlement of 2,083 acre-feet of Colorado River water — about 678 million gallons — to Queen Creek for a one-time payment of $21 million. The town and the company asked regulators at the Arizona Department of Water Resources to endorse the water transfer, and the agency is holding a series of four meetings this week to hear comments on the proposal.

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Newsom Blocks New California Fracking Pending Scientific Review

November 20, 2019/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Los Angeles Timesby Phil Willon

In a victory for critics of California’s oil drilling industry, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday stopped the approval of new hydraulic fracturing in the state until the permits for those projects can be reviewed by an independent panel of scientists.

Newsom also imposed a moratorium on new permits for steam-injected oil drilling, another extraction method opposed by environmentalists that was linked to a massive petroleum spill in Kern County over the summer.

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EPA Releases Review Protocol For PFAS

November 20, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Water Onlineby Peter Chawaga

Contamination of drinking water from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may be the nation’s most pressing drinking water quality issue. With many calling for the expedited banning and removal of PFAS in water sources, a new U.S. EPA procedure to better assess them may be a concrete step in that direction.

“The US EPA has published a systemic review protocol for the toxicity assessment of five per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and is now seeking the public’s input on its approach during a 45-day comment period,” according to Chemical Watch.

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California Finally Gets Rain, But Fire Threat Far From Over as 350,000 Face Power Outages

November 20, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /USA Todayby John Bacon

Parts of Southern California were under a flash flood watch Wednesday as areas of the southwest saw the first significant rainfall of a delayed wet season that fueled wildfires and forced intermittent power cutoffs to millions of residents.

The storm system brought heavy rain to portions of Arizona, and Phoenix could get 2 inches of rain before the storm ends there on Thursday. Prior to this storm, Sky Harbor International Airport had recorded only 3.68 inches for the entire year.

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Water Reservoirs Below Average in Cascades

November 20, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Capital Pressby Dan Wheat

Coming off a summer of moderate drought with some crop losses, the five Cascade Mountain reservoirs serving irrigators in the Yakima Basin have less water than normal and the winter snowpack outlook is uncertain.

“We are in an El Nino neutral which would mean normal conditions and we would be fairly optimistic. No one has been calling for a dry or mild winter so we have no cause to think it will be,” said Chris Lynch, hydrologist for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in Yakima. However, he added, a warm water body off the Gulf of Alaska, reminiscent of one there prior to the drought of 2015, could result in more moderate temperatures and less snow.

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Full Funding of Land Water Conservation Fund Passes Key Senate Hurdle

November 20, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Hillby Miranda Green

A key Senate panel has voted to fully and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), a move that conservation groups see as a significant victory. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee voted Tuesday morning to permanently authorize and completely fund the program, which was established in 1964 to help with outdoor projects on public lands.

The bill passed with bipartisan support out of the committee and now faces a full floor vote. The LWCF, which was permanently reauthorized this spring, receives most of its revenue from on- and offshore oil and gas drilling.

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U.S. Announces $30 Million To Bolster Coasts From Flooding, Rising Seas

November 19, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Reutersby Ellen Wulfhorst

The U.S. government’s oceans and waterways agency will provide $30 million to improve coastal resilience, officials said, aiming to reduce the impacts of worsening storms, flooding and rising seas in nearly half of U.S. states.

Grants through the program are designed to restore or expand coastal wetlands, dunes, reefs, mangroves and barrier islands that are key to coastal protection, said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in an announcement.

Coastlines worldwide are being damaged or threatened by more extreme and destructive weather, higher temperatures and rising seas that scientists attribute to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

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Northern California Braces For Fire Weather As Southland Expects Rain — Those Events Are Related

November 19, 2019/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Los Angeles Times by Paul Duginski

Dangerous fire weather is returning to broad swaths of Northern California at the same time as Southern California is expecting its first winter storm of the season to produce widespread rain.

And the two events are related.

Red flag warnings sounding the alarm for fire weather for parts of the Bay Area and northern Sacramento Valley will go into effect from 4 a.m. Wednesday through 7 a.m. Thursday for strong, dry winds coming from the north and northeast. Velocities of 20 to 30 mph are expected, with gusts as high as 45 mph and perhaps in excess of 60 mph near such locations as Mt. St. Helena and Mt. Diablo.

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Is Rain Done In 2019? Is California In A Drought? What To Know As Weather Stays Dry

November 19, 2019/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Bee by Michael McGough

It’s been warmer than normal. It’s been drier than normal. For most of the region, it hasn’t rained more than a sprinkle or a brief thunderstorm here or there in about six months.

Northern California weather has done a relatively quick 180 in 2019. Heavy rain coming via “atmospheric river” systems drenched the Sacramento Valley, created some flood concerns and filled reservoirs to healthy levels this January through March.

But what spring 2019 had plenty of, fall 2019 has had nearly zilch.

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Cloud Seeding Not An Option For Drought-Ravaged Australia

November 19, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /7 NEWS Sydney (Sydney, Australia)by Kelly Burke

When torrential rains flooded downtown Dubai earlier this month, the United Arab Emirates’ zealous embrace of cloud seeding was blamed by some.

So if cloud seeding can cause a desert to flood, why can’t Australia use the technology to break the drought?

The answer is surprisingly simple. For cloud seeding to produce rain you need moisture to begin with. And cloud. Australia at present is in short supply of both, and even if more clouds begin to make an appearance in the Australian sky, chances are they will not be the right type.

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