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Water Industry Takes Major Step Towards Becoming Carbon Zero

/in , , /by /WWT News (UK)by Alec Peachey

Working with two international consultancies, Ricardo and Mott MacDonald, the sector will develop a comprehensive action plan detailing the measures the industry will deploy to achieve zero carbon emissions over the next decade.

The water industry is the first industrial sector in the UK, and one of the first major sectors in the world, to commit to a carbon zero future by 2030. The goal forms part of the industry’s Public Interest Commitment (PIC) released earlier this year with the carbon zero goal one of five stretching social and environmental ambitions.

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Fishing Groups Sue Federal Agencies Over Latest Water Plan For California

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Peter Fimrite

The fracas over California’s scarce water supplies will tumble into a San Francisco courtroom after a lawsuit was filed this week claiming the federal government’s plan to loosen previous restrictions on water deliveries to farmers is a blueprint for wiping out fish.

Environmental and fishing groups sued the the National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Monday for allegedly failing to protect chinook salmon, steelhead trout and delta smelt.

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Two More Rounds of Rain, Mountain Snow Ahead For California Into This Weekend

/in , , /by /The Weather Channel by Jonathan Erdman

California will receive two more rounds of rain and mountain snow through this weekend, continuing a stormy period that kicked off before Thanksgiving.

For now, drier conditions have developed and generally will be in place for most of Tuesday.

A low pressure system brought over 2 inches of rain to parts of the Central Valley north of Fresno. Some foothills and mountain locations below snow level in the Sierra Nevada, Santa Cruz Mountains into Napa and Sonoma counties measured over 4 inches of rain.

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Trading Water: Can Water Shares Help Save California’s Aquifers?

/in , , /by /Reutersby Carey L. Biron

California is by far the United States’ most populous state, as well as its largest agricultural producer. Increasingly, it is also one of the country’s most parched places.

But Edgar Terry, a fourth-generation farmer in Ventura County, just outside Los Angeles, thinks he has a key to reversing worsening water stress: establishing tradeable rights to shares of fast-depleting groundwater aquifers.

Doing so would turn aquifer water into a more valuable asset that could be traded on a market, similar to “cap-and-trade” systems that have been set up to regulate air pollution, conserve fisheries and manage other such common resources.

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Water In The Bank: Coalition Of Agencies Develops ‘Historic’ Sustainable Groundwater Plan

/in , , /by /Recordnet.com by Joe Goldeen

There’s progress to report in the momentous task of ensuring that San Joaquin County and surrounding communities have enough water to meet anticipated needs for the next 20 years.

Earlier this month, the Eastern San Joaquin Groundwater Authority — or ESJGWA, comprised of 16 area agencies including cities, counties and water districts — recommended that each of its member agencies adopt a mutually agreed upon Groundwater Sustainability Plan by Jan. 8.

 

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Conservation Groups Sue Feds Over California Water Projects Opinion

/in , , /by /Courthouse News Service by Carson McCullough

Several fishing and conservation organizations brought a federal complaint Monday over the harm they expect to befall an already threatened species of fish from the Trump administration’s efforts to set new rules for the operation of major California water projects.

Led by the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, the groups claim that the government’s biological assessments of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project were politically motivated and failed to consider proper environmental protection standards. They filed their suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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How The Atmospheric River Storm Affected Bay Area Rain Totals

/in , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

Remember fire season and power outages? They seem so long ago now.

The cold storms that suddenly doused the Bay Area over the past week instantly flipped a switch from summer to winter weather conditions. But so far, they have brought radically different amounts of rain to communities across Northern California.

“We basically went from fire season to rain season in a matter of 48 hours,” said Matt Mehle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey. “We’re making progress, but we could still use some more rain.”

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First State Water Project Allocation at 10% for the 2020 Calendar Year, California Department of Water Resources Announces

/in , , /by /Sierra Sun Times

SACRAMENTO, Calif. –  On Monday, the California Department of Water Resources announced an initial State Water Project allocation of 10 percent for the 2020 calendar year.

The initial allocation is based on several factors, such as conservative dry hydrology, reservoir storage, and releases necessary to meet water supply and environmental demands. State allocations are based on conservative assumptions and may change depending on rain and snow received this winter.

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‘The Storm Door is Open,’ Bay Area Weather Officials Warn

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Alejandro Serrano

On-and-off rain for the better part of a week is expected to continue Tuesday and Wednesday in the Bay Area, but a larger storm will likely swamp the region starting Thursday, officials said.

A weather system from the Northwest and coast is expected to bring rain to areas that have not been affected as much by the recent storm, such as San Jose and Redwood City, according to the National Weather Service.

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Fresno Ties Rain Record, Merced Hit Even Harder – and More Wet Weather is on the Way

/in , , /by /Fresno Beeby Abbie Lauten-Scrivner

Fresno tied an almost 70-year-old single-day rainfall record Sunday — while areas north of the city like Merced were hit even harder, according to the National Weather Service.

Sunday’s rainfall in Fresno exactly matched the Dec. 1, 1952, high of .78 inches of rain.

“They tied it to the hundredth,” said Jim Dudley, a NWS meteorologist. “Right on the nose.”

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