Lake Mead, the lifeblood of the West, is at an all-time low.
And just this week, officials said it will fall by one-third of its current level by the end of 2023.
Inch by inch, the lake is falling. We’re seeing incredible images of sunken boats now visible.
To some, it defies common sense. California is once again in the middle of a punishing drought with state leaders telling people to take shorter showers and do fewer loads of laundry to conserve water. Yet at the same time, many of the same elected officials, pledging to solve the housing crisis, are pushing for the construction of millions of new homes.
“It’s the first question I’d always get,” said Jeffrey Kightlinger, who until last year ran the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the agency that delivers the water ultimately used by half the state’s population.
Long before the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California declared a water shortage emergency and ordered outdoor watering limited to one day a week, Sarah Lariviere, an avid gardener, was thinking about ways to conserve water.
During the pandemic, the young adult author found inspiration on the long walks that she and her husband took in their Burbank neighborhood. It wasn’t the endless series of lush green lawns that moved her, however, but the occasional drought tolerant landscape that would materialize, sandwiched between the turf.
The San Diego County Water Authority Thursday proposed increasing rates for its 24 member agencies by 5.2% for treated water and 3.7% for untreated water in 2023.
The agency cited inflation and increasing energy costs along with rising expenses from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
“We recognize inflationary pressures are challenging for many residents and we are working collaboratively with all levels of government to identify, advocate for, and improve water affordability,” said Water Authority General Manager Sandra L. Kerl. “As our rate-setting process moves forward, we will remain focused on maintaining the lowest possible rates while delivering a safe and reliable water supply during the driest period in more than 1,200 years.”
San Diego County residents can expect more calls for water conservation, even as local water officials insist the region has enough.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to cut back water use across the board around the state.
“California is facing a drought crisis and every local water agency and Californian needs to step up on conservation efforts,” said Newsom in a statement this week.
New drought regulations will go into effect next month as California tries to conserve water before the hot summer months.
California State Water Resources Control Board adopted a new regulation on Tuesday, to ensure a more aggressive approach to save water. Even though San Diego County is not facing a water shortage, residents will still have to comply with the state’s regulations.
Water conservation measures announced earlier this month by Mayor Eric Garcetti were approved Wednesday by the Los Angeles City Council, confirming that outdoor watering in the city will be restricted to two days per week based on street addresses beginning June 1.
The restrictions, approved by a 13-0 vote, are more lenient than the one-day limit ordered earlier by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California for areas that are dependent on water from the State Water Project.
Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer, is Monday. What’s in store for the upcoming season of beach days and barbecues in Southern California?
To start with, it will be dry. That’s not just because California’s Mediterranean climate means rain mostly falls during a few wet winter months, but because the state is in its third year of drought.
Currently, no water is running through pipes and canals for some farmers in Northern California.
It’s not even June.
Farmers there have experienced this before, but the concern of that happening is starting to trickle into the Coachella Valley.
It is mid-May, and a couple of days ago, the Hermits Peak Fire in northern New Mexico reached 299,565 acres in size, surpassing the 2012 Whitewater-Baldy Fire as the state’s largest wildfire on record. At roughly the same time, on the other side of the state, the Black Fire ballooned from about 5,000 acres to 42,000 acres in a matter of hours. Within a few days, it had more than doubled again.
