You are now in California and the U.S. Media Coverage category.

Cloud Seeding Not An Option For Drought-Ravaged Australia

/in , /by /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.

Full Story

Report: Native Americans Have Most Trouble Accessing Water

/in , , /by /KJZZ (Tempe, Arizona)by Laurel Morales

The nearest water station for Darlene Yazzie is nine miles away at the Dennehotso Chapter House — or community center — in the Four Corners region of the Navajo Nation. On Tuesday, she counted her dimes and nickels to pay for water. It costs $1.10 plus gas money to fill up two 50-gallon barrels and she’s just been told the price is going up next month.

Full Story

Opinion: Westlands Contract Shakes the Waterscape

/in , /by /CalMatters (Sacramento, Calif.)by Dan Walters

California’s perpetual, uber-complex conflict over water progresses much like the tectonic plates that grind against one another beneath its surface.

Periodically, as subterranean friction increases, there’s a sudden movement that we call an earthquake — sometimes imperceptibly small, but occasionally large enough to disrupt and endanger life at the surface.

Full Story

Ancient Aquifers are Dropping as Tucson’s Suburbs Pump Groundwater

/in , /by /Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, Ariz.)by Tony Davis

Literature promoting the SaddleBrooke Ranch development west of Oracle touts feature after feature — high Sonoran Desert terrain with beautiful mountain views, “multimillion-dollar country club amenities,” an 18-hole championship golf course and more.

The development, now roughly 1,000 homes strong with 5,600 total planned, also has delivered something not promoted — a falling water table.

Full Story

Are Atmospheric Rivers the Reason for Northern California’s Extreme Weather?

/in , , /by /The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.)by Stephen Nett

It’s been a tough few years for Northern California, disaster-wise. The north state has been hammered in quick succession by catastrophic drought, intense flooding and rampaging wildfires. While it’s reassuring to know such extreme events are historically uncommon, they’re also not simply a result of bad luck.

Scientists have only recently begun to understand that they share a common natural link.

Full Story

Lack of Rain Puts Signs of Drought Back on California Map

/in , /by /SFGate (San Francisco, Calif.)by Amy Graff

Little rain has fallen in California since the start of the water year on Oct. 1, putting signs of drought back on the map.

The federal Drought Monitor Map, a mechanism to measure drought that’s mainly used in agriculture, shows 81% of the state as abnormally dry. A small portion (4%) of the map near the Arizona border is designated as “moderate drought.”

Full Story

New Analysis Spells Out Serious Legal Risk To Colorado River Water Users

/in , , /by /KUNC (Greeley, Colo.)by Luke Runyon

As climate change continues to sap the Colorado River’s water, some users face serious legal risks to their supplies, according to a new analysis by researchers in Colorado and New Mexico.

Declining flows could force Southwest water managers to confront long-standing legal uncertainties, and threaten the water security of Upper Basin states of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico.

Full Story

Surfrider Study Calls For Allowing The Ocean To Advance Inland

/in , /by /The Orange County Register by Martin Wisckol

While California scored the only “A” in a new environmental assessment of the nation’s beaches, the state’s sole shortcoming in the report pulls back the curtain on a growing conflict over whether beachfront homeowners should be allowed to protect their property against rising seas.

Some argue that protecting coastal homes, roads and train tracks with boulders and other types of seawalls is the most practical way to deal with sea-level rise. But the Surfrider Foundation, which issued the new report, is among those who believe that approach should be avoided. It says the result is the elimination of beaches as the ocean washes away sand and waves pound directly onto the armoring.

Full Story

Mojave Water Agency Celebrates New Near Net-Neutral Hydroelectric, Clean Energy System

/in , /by /California Water News Daily

Mojave Water Agency (MWA) cut the ribbon on a $4.3 million, clean-energy system last week after yeas of planning. The new hydroelectric project will take advantage of water from the California Aqueduct to the district’s groundwater basin in the Victor Valley by converting existing pressure into electrical energy. The process will provide a near net-neutral status in its energy consumption — a byproduct that will save MWA millions of dollars over the next 30 years and provide numerous environmental benefits.

 

Full Story

State Panel Backs Extending Life Of Gas-Burning Generator At Huntington Beach Power Plant

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Times by Julia Sclafani

A gas-burning generator at a Huntington Beach power plant could keep firing until as late as 2023, following a state commission’s recent vote.

The AES facility was scheduled to close by the end of next year, but the California Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously last week to extend its operating life for up to three additional years.

Pushing back the plant’s retirement would delay remediation of the site, as well as prolong the practice of “once-through” cooling — a process that uses seawater to cool the coastal energy transformers, which can kill fish and other marine life.

Full Story