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Last winter’s drenching rain filled many state and local reservoirs, and dumped a healthy dose of snow on the Sierra Nevada. But the state’s fragile Delta infrastructure threatens the delivery of imported water throughout the state, which can become challenging for water agencies, especially in times of drought. The Santa Clara Valley Water District knows that to protect us from future droughts and dependency on imported water, we must continue to work toward securing reliable local water sources. That’s why the water district has been hard at work expanding its recycled and purified water program.

 

It has become popular to lament how slowly California is embracing water markets. Proponents’ rhetoric can paint markets as an unambiguously better, or even as the only, solution to California’s water challenges. But faith in market efficiency needs to be tempered with a firm grasp of the greater physical and institutional context for water. Markets may be part of the solution, but only where implemented carefully. Take groundwater. In many areas, decades of unfettered pumping have depleted aquifers, resulting in dry wells, deteriorating water quality, depleted streams and infrastructure damage.

The federal government confirmed 2016 as the planet’s warmest year on record, according to a report released Thursday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The combined influence of long-term global warming and a strong El Niño early in the year led to last year’s all-time record heat, NOAA said. While El Niño is a natural warming of Pacific Ocean water, man-made global warming is caused by greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has sent $22.8 million to California to help the state cover expenses related to the crisis at the Oroville Dam earlier this year, the federal agency said. The check was sent to the Department of Water Resources, which requested assistance for debris removal and emergency protective measures in February, FEMA said. The allocation was announced during a media call Wednesday. FEMA generally reimburses up to 75% of emergency expenses.

In 2010, Los Angeles used enough water irrigating lawns to meet the needs of nearly a half-million average households for a year. That’s according to a new study by scientists at the University of Utah, who conducted what they say is the first city-scale assessment of water consumed by landscaping. Their findings show that Los Angeles’ landscaping consumed the equivalent of 100 gallons per person each day, with lawns accounting for 70 percent of that. Urban trees, it turns out, consume relatively little water. And by providing crucial shade, trees can actually make lawns less thirsty.