Sacramento and cities across California caught a break from the state’s water regulator this week after the agency faced criticism that its water conservation rules were too complicated and costly to meet.
California farmers could save massive amounts of water if they planted less thirsty — but also less lucrative — crops instead of almonds, alfalfa and other water-guzzling crops, according to new research by scientists who used remote sensing and artificial intelligence.
The California State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday approved new regulations for direct potable reuse, AKA “toilet to tap” — that’s when purified water is piped directly from a sewage treatment plant to your home.
Hydropower generation in the U.S. West plunged to a 22-year low last year — dropping 11 percent from the year before, according to a new federal data analysis. The total amount produced in the region amounted to 141.5 million megawatt-hours, or about 60 percent of the country’s total hydroelectricity output in the 2022-23 “water year,” per the data published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Cyber criminals affiliated with Iran and China are targeting critical water sector infrastructure in the United States. In a letter to governors, the Environmental Protection Agency’s administrator, Michael Regan, and the president’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, said disabling cyberattacks are striking water and wastewater systems throughout the United States.
California may be overlooking simple ways the state could save water supply, a new study has found. The state is one of the most important for agriculture in the U.S. A third or more of the country’s vegetables, as well as three-quarters of the fruits and nuts, are grown in the state, the Department of Food and Agriculture reports.
An approaching storm is expected to soak Southern California this weekend, bringing nearly 2 inches of rain to Los Angeles over four days—nearly the city’s average monthly allotment.
South Orange County is heavily reliant on imported water, with the price of that water continuing to rise. Without readily available water to help the area through emergency situations, water districts serving South Orange County residents such as South Coast Water District and Moulton Niguel Water District are looking to diversify their water supplies with ocean water desalination and direct potable reuse.
State officials on Friday doubled the amount of water California agencies will get this year following some strong storms that increased the snowpack in the mountains.
While Hollywood and Silicon Valley love the limelight, California is an agricultural powerhouse, too. Agricultural products sold in the Golden State totaled $59 billion in 2022. But rising temperatures, declining precipitation and decades of over pumping may require drastic changes to farming.
