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

To Survive Drought, Parts of SoCal Must Cut Water Use by 35%. The New Limit: 80 Gallons a Day

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith and Ian James

When the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California this week unveiled its strictest-ever water restrictions for about 6 million residents, it did so with an urgent goal in mind: a 35% reduction in water consumption, equating to an allocation of about 80 gallons per person per day.

Officials said that’s the number needed to conserve critical supplies for health and safety amid worsening drought — and to prevent a full outdoor watering ban as soon as September. Currently, the average potable water use across the MWD’s service area — including residential, commercial and industrial water use — amounts to 125 gallons per person per day.

Full Story

Government Spending on Stormwater Management in California

/in , , /by /California WaterBlogby Erik Porse, Maureen Kerner, Brian Currier, David Babchanik, Danielle Salt, and Julie Mansisidor

Stormwater infrastructure in cities is highly visible and serves to mitigate flooding and reduce pollution that reaches local waterbodies. Being so visible, it might be reasonable to assume that stormwater is adequately funded both in infrastructure and water quality management. Yet, stormwater infrastructure and water quality improvement are notoriously difficult to fund. Paying for stormwater quality improvements in California has been a multi-decade challenge due to the industry’s relatively recent emergence during a time of fiscal constraints on local governments.

Full Story

Lawn Watering Restricted for Millions in Southern California, but Not Yet in San Diego

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Debbie L. Sklar Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

One day after approving a restriction that will limit outdoor watering to once a week for millions of Southern California residents and businesses, leaders of the region’s largest water wholesaler said Wednesday they needed to take unprecedented steps to respond to the record drought.

“The reality is, this drought has left us without the water supply we need to meet normal demands in these areas,” Adel Hagekhalil, general manager of the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, said in a statement.

Full Story

Desperate for Water, Wine Country Grape Growers Build Expensive Pipelines to Cities’ Recycled Sewage

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Esther Mobley

Justin Seidenfeld’s vineyard ran out of water last year. The area of Petaluma where his Parliament Hills Vineyard is located received just 4.5 inches of rain throughout 2021, not nearly enough sustenance for his vines of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

“We ended up trucking water in at a very, very high cost,” Seidenfeld said, “and even with that trucking, we had barely enough to get by.”

Full Story

Megadrought Threatens California Power Blackouts This Summer

/in , , /by /Bloombergby David R Baker, Mark Chediak, and Naureen S Malik

The historic drought that’s choked off rivers and reservoirs from the Rocky Mountains to the California coast is threatening to strain power grids this summer, raising the specter of blackouts and forcing the region to rely on more fossil fuels.

Many reservoirs that should be brimming with spring snowmelt show bathtub rings of dry dirt instead, including the largest one in the U.S., Lake Mead, which fell this week to a record low. Hydropower dams feeding off those reservoirs won’t be able to pump out as much electricity as they should, if they keep operating at all.

Full Story

The Water Conservation Garden Explains Benefits of Drought Tolerant Plants

/in , , /by /CBS8by Shawn Styles

It’s Springtime and if you’re thinking of sprucing up your garden you might want to do something drought tolerant.

Which is exactly what they have at The Water Conservation Garden here in Rancho San Diego, but they say you’re not just limited to succulents and cactus.

“Not only can you have color in your garden you can have color year-round,” said Pam Meisner is the Director of Operation and Programs at The Garden.

Full Story

Repair Work on Hodges Dam to Begin

/in , , /by /North County Daily Starby Terry Woods Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

As part of continuing efforts to maintain and invest in City of San Diego infrastructure, repair work starts within the next two weeks on Hodges Dam, at the Hodges Reservoir north of Rancho Bernardo.

“It’s been over a century since Hodges Dam was constructed, and we are making significant investments to maintain this vital asset,” said Alia Khouri, Deputy Chief Operating Officer. “Projects like this one are crucial for the City’s aging infrastructure system in order to maintain the safe and efficient delivery of City services.”

Full Story

When the Desert Runs Dry

/in , , /by /Desert Newsby Eric Balken

Somewhere between Bullfrog, Utah, and the Hole in the Rock trailhead, I’m following the distant rumbling of a waterfall, echoing between 500-foot walls of Navajo Sandstone. Not far from here is Cathedral in the Desert — a famed grotto in the heart of Glen Canyon. It gives me chills, knowing that this sound hasn’t been heard since 1968. After rounding one last corner of the canyon, there it is: a 60-foot cascade bellowing into a clear pool. Water in the desert is a magical thing. It’s also a complicated thing.

Full Story

L.A.’s Historic Water Shortage Won’t Affect San Diegans

/in , , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Los Angeles did something Tuesday it’s never done before: it prohibited about 6 million Angelenos from watering outdoor landscapes except for one day a week.

That’s because climate change-driven drought in California has stretched into its third year, with less rain and snow from the Sierra Nevada mountains feeding the northern rivers of the state. And that means the state’s biggest water lifeline, called the State Water Project, has less water to deliver to the thirsty lands and people who rely on it throughout the rest of California.

Full Story

Parts of SoCal Face Full Outdoor Watering Ban by September if Conditions Don’t Improve

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith and Ian James

The Metropolitan Water District said Wednesday that the unprecedented decision to reduce outdoor watering to one day a week for about 6 million Southern Californians could be followed by even stricter actions in September if conditions don’t improve, including a total ban in some areas.

“If we don’t see cutbacks, or conditions do not get better, the Metropolitan board has given me the authority to ban all watering as soon as Sept. 1,” MWD general manager Adel Hagekhalil said Wednesday. “We know what this means to communities, we know what we are requiring here, but we’re facing a challenge. We do not have the supply to meet the normal demands that we have.”

Full Story