On the heels of two wet winters, it’s easy to forget how close some parts of California came to running out of water a few short years ago. But this climate amnesia will not help us prepare for the next inevitable drought. Since before the state’s founding, the boom-and-bust of drought and flood have shaped our landscapes.
March is a notoriously fickle month for California precipitation, but the storm door remains open for the Golden State, where precipitation has been plentiful for a second straight year. The month began with a severe blizzard, and it looks like it will close with a solid dose of Sierra snow — and a potentially significant rainstorm in Southern California.
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.
