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California Might See Construction On Water Storage

/in , /by /ABC30 (Fresno)

For the first time in decades California may see construction of new water storage. The legislation would pay for new water storage projects as part of America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018. It now goes to President Trump to sign it into law after the U.S. Senate approved the measure yesterday. The legislation provides financing for water projects throughout the western U.S. including new reservoirs, below ground storage, and desalination projects.

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Good Chance An El Niño Is On The Way To California

/in , /by /ABC10 (Sacramento)by Tracy Humphrey

The latest report from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) indicates an increased likelihood of El Niño conditions being present by December. That’s right. It seems we have a 70 to 75 percent chance of a wet winter, this year. The most recent report shows warming ocean temperatures in the Pacific, which is a precursor to a more southern track of the jet stream.

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Dry 2018 Water Year Comes To An End In California

/in , /by /WeatherNation (Denver)by Tom Di Liberto

October 1 is New Year’s Day for water in the U.S. west. This year, Californians were bidding farewell to a dry 2018 water year (October 2017-September 2018), which saw precipitation totals fall below the annual average for much of the state. The return to drier than average conditions was a let-down following an extremely wet water year in 2017 that had helped bring about drought relief.

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Should California Expand The Definition For The ‘Beneficial Use’ Of Its Water?

/in , /by /Pacific Standard (Santa Barbara)by Matt Weiser

Groundwater depletion is a big problem in parts of California. But it is not the only groundwater problem. The state also has many areas of polluted groundwater, and some places where groundwater overdraft has caused the land to subside, damaging roads, canals, and other infrastructure. Near the coast, heavy groundwater pumping has caused contamination by pulling seawater underground from the ocean.

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Less Snow Could Be Coming To California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains

/in , /by /Capital Public Radio (Sacramento)by Ezra David Romero

If temperatures increase in California because of climate change, snow could melt earlier in the Sierra Nevada — and you might only find it at higher elevations. In a study released this week a UC Irvine team found that if winter temperatures increase by 1 degree Celsius, it will lead to a 20 percent jump in the likelihood of below-average snow accumulation in the high country.

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For Next California Governor, There’s Plenty Of Advice On Water Issues

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Douglas E. Beeman

There’s going to be a new governor in California next year – and a host of challenges, both old and new, involving the state’s most vital natural resource, water. So what should the next governor’s water priorities be? That was one of the questions put to more than 150 participants during a wrap-up session at the end of the Water Education Foundation’s Sept. 20 Water Summit in Sacramento.

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Proposition 3: Smart Water Plan Or Costly Gift To Farmers?

/in , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Paul Rogers

California voters may be feeling a sense of deja vu when they consider Proposition 3, an $8.9 billion water bond on the November ballot to fund a long list of water projects — from repairing Oroville Dam to restoring Bay Area wetlands to helping Central Valley farmers recharge depleted groundwater. Didn’t the voters recently approve a big water bond? Maybe two of them? Yes. And yes.

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Reduced Sierra Nevada Snowmelt Runoff To Threaten California Agriculture

/in , /by /Phys.org (UK)by University of California, Irvine

An estimated three-quarters of the water used by farms, ranches and dairies in California originates as snow in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, but the future viability of that resource is projected to be at heightened risk due to global climate change. In a study published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of California, Irvine researchers argue that a 1.0 degree Celsius increase in the global average winter temperature will lead to a 20 percent jump in the likelihood of below-average snow accumulation in the high country, resulting in lower spring runoff.

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Fact-Checking California Governor’s Debate On KQED: Climate And Energy

/in , /by /KQED (San Francisco)

You won’t be seeing much of California’s gubernatorial candidates this fall — at least, you won’t be seeing much of them together. The only debate between Democrat Gavin Newsom and Republican John Cox took place on KQED’s Forum radio program Monday. Prompted by host Scott Shafer, the two had a lengthy exchange about the state’s approach to climate change. Newsom applauded the state’s aggressive goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while Cox said they would impose too high a price for the average Californian.

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OPINION: Figuring On Climate Change: Model Outputs Vary, But Worries Are Real

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Tom Philp

The state of California recently released its Fourth Climate Change Assessment. Among the technical reports was a deep dive into the future of the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project. It was over my head. It was calling my name. And in climate change’s frenzied media cycle, the whole assessment soon faded. That’s too bad. This assessment of the state’s two largest water projects provides an important but foggy glimpse into what all of our water successors come 2060 will likely be fighting about. The fog is due to how there is no single prediction from what today’s best science, collectively, is trying to tell us.

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