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

Biden Gives California More Than $690 Million to Improve Water Quality and Infrastructure

/in , , /by /McClatchy DCby Gillian Brassil

Over the course of two days, the Biden administration announced it would give the state more than $690 million for water projects this year.

On Tuesday, the United States Environmental Protection Agency said it would send California more than $391 million to improve its drinking water infrastructure this year.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said it would allocate $300 million to 24 projects for water delivery, storage and electricity in California.

Full Story

Dramatic Photos Show How Storms Filled California Reservoirs

/in , , /by /APby Terry Chea, Noah Berger and Josh Edelson

Water levels fell so low in key reservoirs during the depth of California’s drought that boat docks sat on dry, cracked land and cars drove into the center of what should have been Folsom Lake.

Those scenes are no more after a series of powerful storms dumped record amounts of rain and snow across California, replenishing reservoirs and bringing an end — mostly — to the state’s three-year drought.

Full Story

Could Biden’s Infrastructure Law Bring Funding to Coachella Valley’s Projects?

/in , , /by /Desert Sunby Erin Rode

As Coachella Valley officials eye the billions on the table to address dire infrastructure needs like local mobile home parks without clean drinking water, White House senior advisor and infrastructure coordinator Mitch Landrieu visited Thermal on Tuesday to tout funding opportunities available under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Landrieu joined U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz, a Democrat who represents the 25th Congressional District, for a tour of Oasis Mobile Home Park where the infrastructure needs are particularly dire.

Full Story

Pismo Beach Enters Desal Study, Focus Still on Central Coast Blue

/in , , /by /New Timesby Bulbul Rajagopal

Pismo Beach joined a local desalination feasibility study, completing the San Luis Obispo County-wide bandwagon to identify long-term water supply sources.

The last to participate, the Pismo Beach City Council agreed on April 4 to support county efforts in the face of exiting two historic droughts and an uncharacteristically wet winter season, the flood control and water conservation district naming water resiliency as a high priority, and the Central Coast Blue project nearing realization.

Full Story

Spruce Up Your Sprinklers in April

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Californians gave their irrigation systems the winter off in much of 2023 thanks to above-average precipitation. As the weather warms, the U.S. EPA encourages everyone to perform a maintenance check in April as part of its “Sprinkler Spruce Up” effort.

Full Story

California Snowpack May Hold Record Amount of Water, With Significant Flooding Possible

/in , , /by /KQEDby Emma Foehringer Merchant

California water officials reported on Monday that preliminary data showed the water contained in the state’s April snowpack is near historic levels.

Officials previewed the results after a morning measurement south of Lake Tahoe, where the snowpack exceeded 10.5 feet deep at one of California’s 260 snow measurement locations.

Full Story

Millions Still Available to Help Low-Income San Diegans With Water Bills

/in , , /by /KPBSby Katie Hyson

A fund to help San Diego County residents pay their water bills still has $2.5 million sitting unclaimed. According to leadership of the nonprofit Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee on Anti-Poverty, or MAAC, which manages the fund, many people may not realize they qualify for assistance.

“We don’t want to leave money on the table when there are people that absolutely need these funds right now,” said Arnulfo Manriquez, MAAC’s president, who oversees the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program.

Full Story

As River Runs Dry, Desert Region is at a Crossroads

/in , , /by /AgAlertby Caleb Hampton

As early as midnight, scores of Mexicali residents with U.S. citizenship or legal status line up at the port of entry. They cross into Calexico, walking past darkened storefronts, and gather near a 24-hour donut shop. Before dawn, they board buses for fields across the Imperial Valley.

Every year, some 15,000 people legally cross the border to work on farms in the region. In the winter, they join local residents in harvesting as much as 90% of the nation’s vegetables.

Full Story

Opinion: California’s Water Battles Continue Despite Record Rain and Snow

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Dan Walters

On Monday, California water officials slogged through deep snow 7,000 feet above sea level, west of Lake Tahoe, to affirm what everyone already knew: A series of Pacific storms has generated record-level amounts of precipitation, filling reservoirs, inundating low-lying towns and fields and threatening more disastrous flooding as the Sierra snowpack melts.

Its negative aspects aside, the immense amount of rain and snow is welcome relief from drought that has plagued the state for the past three years.

Full Story

Spring and Sewage Are in the Air Near San Diego

/in , , /by /Eosby Krystal Vasquez

Public health officials have long known that sewage-ladened coastal waters threaten the health of swimmers and surfers. However, new research shows that this common form of water pollution might also pose health risks to those who stay ashore.

Bacteria and pollutants found in sewage-tainted water can be ejected into the atmosphere via sea spray aerosols—tiny droplets that form when waves break—according to a study published in Environmental Science and Technology.

Full Story