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

Opinion: Can Newsom Finally Win Long Delta Water Conflict?

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Dan Walters

Will the fifth time be the charm for California’s decades-long effort to replumb the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta so that more Northern California water can be transported to Southern California?

Don’t count on it.

Last week, the state Department of Water Resources released a draft environmental impact report on the latest iteration of the 57-year-long effort to change the Delta’s role in water supply, a 45-mile-long tunnel officially named the “Delta Conveyance.”

Full Story

Rain Helps Lake Mead Rise — 3 Inches

/in , , /by /Las Vegas Review-Journalby Marvin Clemons

With monsoon rains four out of the last five days in the Las Vegas area, there is at least one plus — Lake Mead has risen 3 inches.

At 7 p.m. Sunday the top of the lake was 1,040.99 feet above sea level at Hoover Dam. Five days ago, July 26, the lake measured at 1,040.75 feet.

Full Story

How Compost is Helping Farmers Save Water, Survive Drought

/in , , /by /Spectrum News 1by Daniela Pardo and Jackson Ellison

As California grapples with another long drought, cities across the state have implemented curbside collection programs to increase the amount of available water.

Composting turns food scraps, sticks and leaves into organic material that is then added to soil to make it more fertile.

Robert Reed, spokesperson for Recology, a waste management company, explains compost acts as a natural sponge.

Full Story

Amid Water Restrictions, L.A. Residents Can Get Free Recycled Water for Lawns

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Summer Lin

Angelenos can stock up again on gallons of recycled water to irrigate their trees, plants and lawns — and free of charge through a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power program.

Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the reopening of two recycled water fill stations Thursday at the Los Angeles-Glendale Water Reclamation Plant and the L.A. Zoo parking lot.

Full Story

Opinion: If Our Colorado River Water Supply is Cut, Prepare to See Empty Shelves at the Grocery Store

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Mike Wade

When you go to the grocery store and fill the cart with food for your family, you are part of a long process that begins with soil, water, sunlight and the labor of farmers and farm workers. Most likely, the farms that grow most of your food are in a neighboring rural area or within a day’s drive from your home. California grows 61 percent of U.S.-produced fruits, nuts and vegetables. Many of our winter fruits and vegetables come from the Imperial and Coachella valleys as well as from the San Joaquin, Salinas and Sacramento valleys the remainder of the year.

Full Story

Coachella Valley Water District OKs Drought Penalties on Water Bills Starting in August

/in , , /by /Desert Sunby Erin Rode

Starting next month, residents served by Coachella Valley Water District will see higher water bills if they fail to reduce their monthly outdoor water use. It is the latest action by local water districts aimed at reducing water use during the state’s historic drought.

The Coachella Valley Water District Board of Directors voted Tuesday to adopt financial penalties for residents who don’t reduce their monthly outdoor water use to 10% below their Tier 2 outdoor water budget.

Full Story

Lake Mead Water Level Falls to 1,040ft, Dead-Pool Level Inches Closer

/in , , /by /Newsweekby Robyn White

Lake Mead’s water levels have fallen to 1,040 feet, inching ever closer to dead-pool level.

Lake Mead, a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, has been drying up because of the ongoing drought in the western United States. It stretches across Nevada and Arizona.

According to new data from Lakes Online, as of July 28 at 4 a.m local time, Lake Mead had fallen to 1,040 feet. At the beginning of 2022, the Lake was at 1,066 feet.

Full Story

Opinion: Can San Joaquin Valley Agriculture Survive With Less Irrigation? Here Are Ways to Do It

/in , , /by /The Fresno Beeby Caitlin Peterson

Change is coming to farming in the San Joaquin Valley. Because of the need to reduce groundwater pumping to comply with the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, we’ve estimated that at least 500,000 acres of farmland will need to come out of irrigated production in the coming years.

This is a major shift for California’s agricultural heartland, and one that will have profound impacts on the region’s residents, workers, economy, and environment.

 

Full Story

How ‘Spreading Like Wildfire’ is Getting a Terrifying New Meaning in the California of Climate Change

/in , , /by /CNNby Bill Weir

On a ridge overlooking the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, it would have been possible to see the first flickering flames of the Oak Fire and then how it engulfed its surroundings.

It took just 24 hours to mushroom to 10,000 acres and become California’s biggest wildfire this year.

“That’s crazy fast,” said Joe Amador, one of thousands of firefighters from across the state now deployed to fight the blaze.

Full Story

As Drought Intensifies, Newsom Plans California’s Biggest Water Project in Half a Century

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office renewed its commitment on Wednesday to launching California’s biggest water project in half a century, unveiling a newly configured plan for a 45-mile conveyance tunnel through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

The estimated $16 billion pipeline, iterations of which have circulated for decades, is designed to better move water from the state’s wet, rural north to drier, more populated points south. The proposed tunnel would allow water shipments to bypass the delta’s sensitive wetlands and aging water infrastructure, thereby protecting and even boosting water supplies for the Bay Area, Southern California and farmland in between.

Full Story