All Californians play a role in preserving and enhancing our water supplies for a drought-resilient future. California again is in a familiar state of drought, although not all communities are affected equally. Some regions are in extreme water shortage; others are not. We must address these differences. That starts with all Californians understanding where their water comes from and what they can do to use it wisely.
The Colorado River is approaching a breaking point, its reservoirs depleted and western states under pressure to drastically cut water use.
It’s a crisis that scientists have long warned was coming. Years before the current shortage, scientists repeatedly alerted public officials who manage water supplies that the chronic overuse of the river combined with the effects of climate change would likely drain the Colorado’s reservoirs to dangerously low levels.
Climate scientists with the National Weather Service delivered disappointing news Thursday for anyone hoping for drought relief this fall or early winter.
According to the weather service’s Climate Prediction Center, there’s a 62% to 66% chance that La Niña conditions will prevail in the Northern hemisphere until at least the end of 2022, marking the third straight year of the weather pattern.
It was once called the Salton Riviera and a miracle in the desert.
The Salton Sea is different now; dead fish, decaying area, foul odor , and dangerous toxic fumes. It’s a wasteland.
Once California’s largest lake, now it’s on the verge of extinction, many claiming it is beyond repair.
Cape May, New Jersey has a long history as a resort town with seafood, ballrooms, and Victorian-era mansions, dating back to the 18th century. The idyllic, seaside town is surrounded by ocean on three sides.
But in the 1950s, the city started to have a problem with its water supply, which comes from groundwater. Saltwater was seeping into wells, making the water undrinkable. The city had to abandon its old wells and drill new ones, over and over again.
In California’s fields, farmers are already facing the impacts of climate change every day. They are heading into yet another potentially devastating fire year, and the third year in a row of drought.
Come 2023, San Diegans might be paying more every time they turn on their faucet, flush the toilet or water their lawns. That’s because San Diego’s city council unanimously approved a proposal to send out notices in September for a public hearing to adjust water rates. It’s the first step before an increase. Under this proposal the rate could go up by as much as 3%.
Coachella Valley water districts once again were among California’s top water users in May, although some are making progress on conservation.
Just two of the six water agencies serving the Coachella Valley decreased their cumulative water use from July 2021-May 2022 compared to the corresponding months in 2020, according to data released by the State Water Resources Control Board last week.
Imperial County District 2 Supervisor Luis Plancarte called for a water shortage summit for all of the water providers in Imperial County to see where they stand with plans to reduce water consumption in light of extreme drought conditions in the state.
An emergency regulation was passed on May 24 by the state Water Resources Control Board, which required urban and commercial water suppliers to implement the second stage of their respective water shortage plans.
The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) issued a call last June to the public for assistance in developing long-term operations on the Colorado River. This announcement came within days of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton’s message to a Senate Committee that the seven states of the Colorado River Basin must come up with an emergency deal by mid-August to conserve between 2 and 4 million acre-feet of water in the next year to protect the entire Colorado River system, according to the Family Farm Alliance (FFA) newsletter.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
