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As New Deadline Looms, Groundwater Managers Rework ‘Incomplete’ Plans to Meet California’s Sustainability Goals

/in , , /by /Western Water / Water Education Foundation by Nick Cahill

Managers of California’s most overdrawn aquifers were given a monumental task under the state’s landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: Craft viable, detailed plans on a 20-year timeline to bring their beleaguered basins into balance.

It was a task that required more than 250 newly formed local groundwater agencies – many of them in the drought-stressed San Joaquin Valley – to set up shop, gather data, hear from the public and collaborate with neighbors on multiple complex plans, often covering just portions of a groundwater basin.

Altogether, they submitted plans for 20 basins for review by the California Department of Water Resources in January 2020. Earlier this year, DWR rendered its verdict: Most of the basin plans were incomplete.

Earlier this year, DWR rendered its verdict: Most of the basin plans were incomplete. Now groundwater agencies responsible for 12 of the 20 basins are racing to meet a late July deadline to submit revised plans that meet SGMA’s requirements or risk the state stepping in to manage their groundwater basins.

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Surviving Socal’s Unprecedented Water Restrictions: a Simple, No-Nonsense Guide

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

With unprecedented water restrictions now in place across Southern California, many are questioning how life will change and whether residents can actually conserve.

Here are 10 things to consider as the new restrictions — most notably limiting outdoor watering to one or two days a week — set in.

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Groundbreaking for East County Advanced Water Purification Program

/in , , /by /Water News Network Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The East County Advanced Water Purification Program broke ground, marking an important milestone for the recycled water project in San Diego County. Scheduled to be complete in 2026, the East County AWP will generate up to 11.5 million gallons per day of purified water— meeting approximately 30% of current drinking water demands for East San Diego County.

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Fourth-Grade Artists Win OMWD Water Awareness Poster Contest

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Three fourth-grade student artists were recognized for their award-winning artwork by the Olivenhain Municipal Water District Board of Directors at its May 18 meeting as the top three entries in the 2022 “Love Water, Save Water” Poster Contest.

For 29 years, the district has invited fourth-grade students living or attending school within the Olivenhain Municipal Water District service area to enter the contest and create posters depicting the theme “Love Water, Save Water.”

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A Conversation With Anthony Rendon After a Leadership Challenge

/in , , /by /The New York Timesby Jill Cowan

On Tuesday afternoon, the area surrounding the State Capitol in Sacramento was blanketed in a kind of hush, typical of the first day back after a holiday weekend. It was warm, sunny and breezy.

When people spoke, one thing dominated the conversation: What is going on with the Assembly speakership?

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California Is Rationing Water Amid Its Worst Drought in 1,200 Years

/in , , /by /CBS Newsby Irina Ivanova

Southern California is imposing mandatory water cutbacks as the state tries to cope with the driest conditions it has faced in recorded history. Starting Wednesday, about 6 million people in parts of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Ventura counties are limited to watering outdoor plants once a week — an unprecedented move for the region.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which supplies water to about 19 million people, declared a water shortage emergency in April and voted unanimously to curtail water use, either by restricting outdoor watering or by other means.

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Mission Springs Water District Prohibits Spray Irrigation During Daylight Hours Amid Drought

/in , , /by /Desert Sunby Erin Rode

Mission Springs Water District implemented several water conservation measures on Wednesday, including a ban on outdoor water use for spray irrigation during daylight hours.

An emergency regulation approved by the State Water Resources Control Board last week requires urban water suppliers to implement their Level 2 demand reduction actions by June 10.

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North County Area Deals With Water Restrictions Amid Drought

/in , , /by /FOX 5 San Diegoby Misha DiBono

California’s drought conditions are prompting actions geared toward conserving water in northern San Diego County.

The Vallecitos Water District, which serves the northeastern region of the county, already activated its level two water conservation plans. It comes following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order in April, which calls on water suppliers to prepare for a shortage of up to 20%.

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Could the Colorado River Compact Adapt to Go With the Flow?

/in , , /by /E&E Newsby Jennifer Yachnin

Dwindling flows in the Colorado River Basin are stirring discussions about whether a 100-year-old agreement that governs how that water is divided needs to be overhauled. But there may be another option: don’t rewrite the law, instead reinterpret it.

Despite its status as the cornerstone of the “Law of the River” — the various agreements that dictate how the water is managed between seven basin states and Mexico — some key provisions in the Colorado River Compact remain unsettled.

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East County Breaks Ground on Wastewater Recycling Plant

/in , , /by /KPBSby Thomas Fudge

People wearing business suits and hard hats broke ground Wednesday in Santee for the East County Advanced Water Purification Plant.

It’s part of a plan of four East County water agencies to take wastewater, that’s now treated and dumped in the ocean, and turn it into water that’s clean enough to drink.

The water recycling plant is expected to provide 11.5 million gallons a day of purified wastewater for East County ratepayers.

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