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Monterey Officials Ask, Again, for More Water

/in , , /by /Monterey Heraldby Dennis L. Taylor

Monterey city officials are again lobbying state water overseers to open taps that have been blocked for years because of illegal diversions from the Carmel River, arguing that those diversions are no longer occurring. State water officials disagree.

In a March 17 letter to the chairman and other members of the state Water Resources Control Board, Monterey Mayor Clyde Roberson and other City Council members argued that California American Water Co. is, more or less, no longer making illegal diversions since the amount of acre-feet that is being consumed is now down to the limit set by the water board.

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WaterSmart Drought-Tolerant Plant Giveaway in Encinitas

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

The San Diego County Water Authority and three member agencies are partnering with Altman Plants for an Adopt-A-Plant event Saturday in Encinitas.

Vista-based Altman Plants, the largest nursery plant grower in the nation, has led efforts to increase water-efficiency and sustainability. The first 500 guests will receive free Smart Planet-brand drought-tolerant succulents to spur more residents to adopt water-efficient landscaping.

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How Low Can the Colorado River Go? Drought Forces States to Face Tough Choices About Water

/in , , /by /AZ Centralby Brandon Loomis

Water managers from across the Colorado River Basin are preparing to negotiate new rules for allocating the river’s dwindling flow and sharing the pain of a deepening shortage.

They’re adapting the 100-year-old Colorado River Compact to a river that little resembles the bountiful gusher that negotiators from seven states and the federal government in 1922 thought — or hoped — would bless the Southwest forever. The stakes rise with every foot that Lake Mead and Lake Powell fall, as the states and the water users within them recognize they’re due for a tighter squeeze.

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Why Groundwater Is One of Our Most Precious Resources

/in , , /by /phys.org

From the Murray-Darling system to Great Artesian Basin, “invisible” underground groundwater is often the only water supply available across the vast majority of Australia—and its annual contribution to GDP is estimated at more than $6.8 billion a year.

However, overuse of groundwater during droughts and aquifer depletion has led to water crises, including in Australia’s “food bowl” the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB), California and Cape Town in South Africa, with more likely to follow as groundwater management is largely reactive and unlikely to avert more crises as climate change and population pressures grow.

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Poway Secures $1M in Federal Funding for Water Project

/in , , /by /NBC 7

NBC 7’s Joe Little talks to business owners who were shut down by a major leak in the water system in 2019 to see why this multi-million dollar project is so important.

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State Unveils Long-Awaited Standard for Drinking Water Contaminant

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

California today proposed a long-awaited standard for a cancer-causing contaminant in drinking water that would require costly treatment in many cities throughout the state.

Traces of hexavalent chromium are widely found in the drinking water of millions of Californians, with some of the contamination naturally occurring and some from industries that work with the heavy metal.

The proposed standard is a major step in a decades-long effort to curtail the water contaminant made infamous by the movie Erin Brockovich, based on residents of rural Hinkley, California who won more than $300 million from Pacific Gas & Electric for contamination of their drinking water.

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Oceanside Holding Ribbon Cutting for First Operating Potable Water Reuse Project in San Diego County

/in , , /by /CBS8by Chris Gros

Tuesday is a big day for San Diego County as a first-of-its-kind project that will change how we get our drinking water will open.

Pure Water Oceanside will be the first operating potable water reuse project in San Diego County. Pure Water Oceanside will purify recycled water to provide a local water supply that is clean, safe and drought-proof.

The plant will recycle the water using state-of-the-art purification technology that replicates and accelerates nature’s natural recycling process.

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Dry Winter Combined With Another Bay Area Heat Wave Raises Concerns Amid Drought

/in , , /by /ABC 7 Newsby Amanda del Castillo

Parts of the Bay Area are expected to heat up on Tuesday. Warm temperatures could be near record-breaking in some areas. The heatwave comes only days after Saturday’s storm, which wasn’t significant enough to impact drought conditions.

There is looming concern, as the state struggles to conserve water.

The warm weather and sunny skies forecast for Tuesday will bring a typical springtime event, according to Meteorology and Climate Science expert Alison Bridger.

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Water Authority Confident in Local Water Supply, But Still Urges Conservation Amid Drought

/in , , /by /Times of San Diego by City News Service Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

California’s Department of Water Resources Friday announced that due to the ongoing statewide drought, it must reduce the State Water Project allocation to 5% of requested supplies for 2022, but San Diego County Water Authority officials said they remain confident in the region’s supply.

DWR previously set the allocation at 15% but a historically dry January and February, with no significant storms forecast for March, required a reduction in the allocation to conserve available water supply, a statement from the state agency read.

Local water supply

“Today’s announcement about reduced allocations from the State Water Project brings into focus the increasing challenges created by the megadrought,” said Sandra L. Kerl, general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority. “This is an emergency felt throughout the state and we strongly support continued conservation.”

“Reduced water deliveries from the State Water Project highlight how the San Diego region’s conservation ethic combined with investments in drought-resilient supplies are paying off,” Kerl said. “The region uses very little water from the Bay-Delta, and even with reduced allocations, the Water Authority has reliable water supplies for 2022 and beyond.”

In addition to the 5% allocation, DWR will also provide any unmet critical health and safety needs of the 29 water agencies that contract to receive State Water Project supplies.

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As It Enters a Third Year, California’s Drought Is Strangling the Farming Industry

/in , , /by /The Washington Postby Scott Wilson

The school is disappearing.

Westside Elementary opened its doors nearly a century ago here in the San Joaquin Valley, among the most productive agricultural regions on earth. As recently as 1995, nearly 500 students filled its classrooms. Now 160 students attend and enrollment is falling fast.

This was where the children of farmworkers learned to read and write, often next to the children of the farm owners who employed their parents.

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