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

Four Things to Know About Colorado River Water in California

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

Southern California water districts are grappling with what the fallout could look like if supplies from a critical source — the rapidly drying Colorado River — are cut next year.

The US Bureau of Reclamation warned at a U.S. Senate hearing in mid-June that seven western states had 60 days to voluntarily reach a deal: Cut Colorado River water use by 2 to 4 million acre-feet in 2023 or face federally-mandated cuts instead. It’s a massive amount — at least seven times more than Nevada is entitled to in a year.

Full Story

15-Day Watering Ban in Portions of L.A. County Due to Pipeline Leak

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

Drought-pummeled lawns across Los Angeles County will be a little bit thirstier for 15 days in September when officials suspend outdoor watering in several areas to repair a leaking pipeline, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California announced Monday.

The emergency repair will shut down the 36-mile Upper Feeder pipeline — which delivers water from the Colorado River to Southern California — from Sept. 6 to 20, the MWD said. The leak was discovered this year, and the pipeline has been operating at reduced capacity under a temporary fix while officials designed a more permanent solution.

Full Story

San Diego Lifts Boil Water Notice for Tierrasanta Neighborhood

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Elizabeth Ireland

The city of San Diego Monday lifted a boil water notice for about 600 residential customers in a portion of the Tierrasanta neighborhood who were affected by fluctuating water pressure issues following a burst pipeline last week.

Multiple tests showed no quality issues with water coming from the tap. The California Division of Drinking Water reviewed the findings and approved the lifting of the notice.

Full Story

Taps Have Run Dry in a Major Mexico City for Months. A Similar Water Crisis Looms in the US, Experts Say

/in , , /by /Phys.orgby Maria Aguilar

About 300 miles southwest of San Antonio, water taps have run dry in a major Mexico city.

Thousands of residents wake up at dawn to check their taps and fill up containers. Others line up with large jugs, bottles and buckets at cisterns around the city, where fights have broken out when people try to jump the line.

Full Story

Better Atmospheric River Forecasts Are Giving Emergency Planners More Time to Prepare for Flooding

/in , , /by /Scientific Americanby F. Martin Ralph

I was eating breakfast on a Monday morning at Sears Fine Food in downtown San Francisco, casually watching the local five-day weather forecast on a television screen behind the counter. A little symbol along the bottom showed a happy-looking sun for the rest of the day. Wednesday had a friendly-looking cloud and a few raindrops, and Thursday had a dark, threatening cloud with heavier drops.

I knew Thursday’s conditions would be much rougher than the symbol conveyed. I had been studying detailed satellite data and weather models, and they indicated that a major atmospheric river (AR) was likely to hit the city. The symbol was completely inadequate for communicating the threat of the approaching storm.

 

Full Story

How the Western Drought is Pushing the Power Grid to the Brink

/in , , /by /Voxby Umair Irfan

It takes a lot of water to make power.

From spinning turbines to hydraulic fracturing to refining fuel, the flow of water is critical to the flow of electrons and heat. About 40 percent of water withdrawals — water taken out of groundwater or surface sources — in the United States go toward energy production. The large majority of that share is used to cool power plants. In turn, it requires energy to extract, purify, transport, and deliver water.

Full Story

Water-Rationing Worry Haunts US West With 40 Million at Risk

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Kellie Lunney

The federal government this week will announce the drought forecast for the arid Colorado River Basin, as well as possible cuts western states must make to conserve more water from a supply serving roughly 40 million people.

The Bureau of Reclamation Tuesday will issue its projection for conditions over the next two years in the West’s most important water supply—and the news is expected to be bleak.

Full Story

How Can Imperial Beach Residents Participate in Solutions Against Flooding? This Group Wants to Help

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Tanya Murga

Every year, Imperial Beach residents board up their windows and shovel ocean sand off streets left underwater during high tide.

Researchers have been testing technology that warns the city in time to prepare for the arrival of powerful waves and, most recently, digging groundwater wells to track flooding.

The community can also play a significant role in reducing Imperial Beach’s flooding problems, researchers at San Diego State University said last week. How residents can get involved is what the researchers are hoping to find out.

Full Story

Tensions Grow Over Lack of a Water Deal for the Shrinking Colorado River

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

Two months ago, federal officials took the unprecedented step of telling the seven states that depend on Colorado River water to prepare for emergency cuts next year to prevent reservoirs from dropping to dangerously low levels.

The states and managers of affected water agencies were told to come up with plans to reduce water use drastically, by 2 million to 4 million acre-feet, by mid-August.

Full Story

More Evidence that California Weather is Trending Toward Extremes

/in , , /by /Water News Network / UC San Diego News Centerby Rob Monroe Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

A team led by Kristen Guirguis, a climate researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, found evidence that the risk of hazardous weather is increasing in the Southwest.

The researchers investigated the daily relationships among four major modes of weather affecting California. How they interact governs the formation of weather events such as atmospheric rivers capable of bringing torrential rains and Santa Ana winds that can spread devastating wildfires.

“This study suggests that weather patterns are changing in a way that enhances hot, dry Santa Ana winds, while reducing precipitation frequency in the Southwest,” said Guirguis. “These changes in atmospheric circulation are raising the risk of wildfires during California winters.”

Full Story