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Crowfoot: State is Expediting Permits for Water Storage, Restoration Projects

/in , , /by /Agri Pulseby Brad Hooker

California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot says the Sites Reservoir Project is “on a pretty good pathway” for advancing through the environmental permitting process.

Speaking at the Agri-Pulse Food & Ag Issues Summit in Sacramento last week, Crowfoot explained that the Department of Fish and Wildlife within his agency has been evaluating potential impacts that the reservoir proposal could have on endangered and threatened species and its adherence to the California Environmental Quality Act.

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After $100 Million Huntington Beach Denial, What’s the Future of Desalination in California?

/in , , /by /The Center Square by Madison Hirneisen and Cole Lauterbach

After a high profile, decades-long battle to build a desalination plant in Huntington Beach ended in denial, all eyes will be on the California Coastal Commission as it considers whether or not to approve two smaller desalination projects this fall.

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Agencies Looking to “Plan B” as More Valley Towns on Brink of Going Dry and Emergency Water Suppliers are Tapped Out

/in , , /by /SJV Waterby Jesse Vad

Groundwater levels are dropping and domestic wells throughout the San Joaquin Valley are going dry as California’s third year of drought grinds on.

That includes entire towns, such as East Orosi and Tooleville in Tulare County, which both went dry last week.

It’s bad. But it may get worse.

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As West Evaporates, Experts Plot Ways to Help Businesses Save Water

/in , , /by /Courthouse News Serviceby Kevin Winter

As models predict another La Niña for the coming winter, which could lead to another dry year, leaders of water agencies and other groups from across California and the western United States met Tuesday to discuss how best to get commerce and industry to use less water.

While residential water use has declined, commercial and industrial users need retrofits, new equipment and new ways of doing business when it comes how much liquid “gold” they consume.

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Lake Mead Forecast: Southwest Should Brace for More Water Cuts From Colorado River

/in , , /by /CNNby Rachel Ramirez

More extreme water cuts are all but certain in the Southwest starting next year – including new water cuts for California – according to the latest government forecast for the Colorado River and Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir.

Lake Mead, which provides water to roughly 25 million people in Arizona, Nevada, California and Mexico, is losing water at an alarming rate amid an extraordinary, multi-year drought made worse by the climate crisis.

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One Way Out of a Drought? Technology That Makes Water Potable.

/in , , /by /Marketplaceby Caleigh Wells

Santa Monica, California, used to rely heavily on water imported from the northern part of the state. But now less than half the coastal city’s water is imported, which spared the community from the state’s mandatory outdoor water restrictions that began at the beginning of June.

“That doesn’t mean we’re just sitting around doing nothing,” said Santa Monica’s water resources manager, Sunny Wang. “We’re looking at increasing our conservation efforts.”

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As Wells Run Dry, Sonoma Valley Reckons With New Water Regulations

/in , , /by /Sonoma Magazineby Kristin Moe

One morning in the summer of 2018, Kelly Stober woke up and started to get ready for work. But when she turned on the faucet in her shower, no water came out.

Stober lives in a rural neighborhood a few miles east of downtown Sonoma. Like her neighbors, she relies on a well for drinking water, household uses, and irrigation. And her well, sunk 800 feet into the ground, had run dry.

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Solvang Water Customers Must Cut Back Usage by 20% or Face Steep Penalties

/in , , /by /Santa Maria Timesby Jennifer Best

Solvang commercial, industrial and institutional water system customers will face steep financial penalties if they don’t immediately cut back their water usage at least 20%.

City Council members on July 11 unanimously adopted a drought ordinance update that clarifies rate tier penalties in relation to declared drought stages. The city has been in a Stage 2 drought stage since August 2021.

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La Niña Creating Sweltering Temperatures Across Much of U.S., Expert Says

/in , , /by /CBS News

Several parts of Texas are under excessive heat warnings as temperatures are expected to hit triple digits for the 24th day in a row. Temperatures reached 110 degrees in the Dallas area on Tuesday. The high temperatures caused heat-fueled wildfires to burn several homes near Dallas on Monday and forced several people into mandatory evacuations.

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These Maps Show How Alarmingly Fast California is Losing Trees as Climate Warms

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Jessica Flores

California’s forests are in rapid retreat, which bodes ill for the future.

Using satellite data, researchers from the University of California, Irvine found that trees in the state’s mountainous regions declined 6.7 percent between 1985 and 2021 thanks to wildfires, drought and other climate-related sources of stress.

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