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One Colorado Farmer Is Going Against the Grain to Use Less Water. It’s Working.

/in , , /by /The Colorado Sunby Chris Outcalt

On a chilly morning 5 miles north of Fruita, Lowell King, standing at the edge of a cornfield, reaches down, grabs a clump of dirt, and starts tearing at the soil with his meaty fingers. King eventually points to a tiny white spot in the dirt. “Anytime you can see stuff almost like that mold right there, that’s fungi,” he says. “And there’s all this other good stuff, and these roots intertwined; that’s what increases your water infiltration.”

King, who’s been farming in the Grand Valley since 2005, is illustrating an important principle of a concept known as regenerative agriculture — a technique he says could help Colorado stretch its dwindling water supplies. But adopting that philosophy also requires rejecting deeply entrenched conventional farming methods, such as tilling fields to prepare the ground for planting.

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Despite Dry Winter and Drought Status, San Diego County Water Supply Is Steady

/in , , /by /ABC 10 by Leah Pezzetti Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority
Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Despite San Diego County currently sitting at ‘moderate drought’ status and February bringing no rain so far, the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) says the local water supply is safe.

According to SDCWA Water Resources Manager Jeff Stephenson, they have analyzed the current supply and feel confident that there will not be any water shortages for at least a five-year period because of their preparedness, even if drought status remains.

“We’ve spent 30 years diversifying those supplies so that we have seven, eight different sources of water in the region, so there’s no danger of running out,” said Stephenson.

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Proposed San Vicente Reservoir Hydro Facility Project Aims to Meet Energy Goals

/in , , /by /CBS8by Ariana Cohen Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority
Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The leader of a conservation group opposes the idea of building this facility since it could be built on two preserves. Friday, the San Diego County Water Authority explained why it’s beneficial for California.

Neena Kuzmich from the San Diego County Water Authority says the proposed hydro energy storage facility at the San Vicente Reservoir will not only generate power for thousands of households, it will help California meet its energy goals.

“The state has an aggressive renewable state goal with 100% by 2045. With clean energy, this project will help in meeting these goals. It will use renewable energy during the day for later use and it does not emit greenhouse gases,” said Kuzmich.

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Where California’s Key Reservoirs Stand After the 2nd Driest January Ever

/in , , /by /SF GATEby Amy Graff

California hasn’t seen rain in over a month, and some of the state’s key reservoirs are starting to be impacted.

Shasta Lake, the state’s largest reservoir, was at 54% of its historical average as of Feb. 9, compared to 72% last year, the California Department of Water Resources said. San Luis Reservoir on the eastern slope of the Diablo range is at 59% of its historical average, compared to 71% last year.

Other reservoirs are up from where they were at this time last year.

“This would be expected given that last year was the 2nd driest year for CA in our observed record and the 2020-2021 two year period set a new record for dryness,” Michael Anderson, the state climatologist for the Department of Water Resources, wrote in an email.

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California Sizzles in February Heatwave

/in , , /by /phys.orgby Paula Ramon

A heatwave was bringing unseasonably high temperatures to California on Thursday, sending sun-worshippers to the beach, but also sparking a brushfire.

Forecasters issued a heat warning for the most populous US state through to Sunday, warning the mercury could hit a height-of-summer 90 Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) in Los Angeles, well above the average for winter.

California, in common with much of the western United States, is enduring a historic drought and wild swings in weather that scientists say is exacerbated by man-made climate change.

“If you warm the planet, you’re going to break heat records,” said geographer Justin Mankin of Dartmouth College.

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Critics Rip ‘Half-Baked’ Federal Plan to Save California Salmon

/in , , /by /Courthouse News Service by Nick Cahill

Fishing groups and water suppliers fighting the Biden administration’s proposed drought rules for California’s water system told a federal judge Friday the emergency plans won’t stop the demise of endangered salmon.

With California trudging through another disappointingly dry winter, the federal government and state officials have agreed upon a set of temporary rules they claim are necessary to preserve enough cold water on the Sacramento River for Chinook salmon this spring and summer. The rules call for new water temperature targets and improved collaboration between federal and state officials on the management of California’s two main water conveyance systems.

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How Much Rain Does California Need to Get Out of the Drought? A Lot Still

/in , , /by /AccuWeatherby Zachary Rosenthal

If you flashback to October, it might seem hard to believe that California’s Sierra Nevada would be experiencing a below-normal snowpack at this point of the winter. During October, the region was regularly pummeled with atmospheric rivers and major winter storms, with those storms dropping feet of snow in the mountains.

But as of early February, despite that strong start, the region has had its driest period of winter in recorded history. It has been more than 32 days and counting since the last snowfall at the U.C. Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab, breaking the previous record of 31 set in 1990.

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The Beginning of the End of Lawns, One Rebate at a Time

/in , , /by /Sonoma Index-Tribuneby Chase Hunter

When Kim Chapman and her husband Don Gross were tired of their lawn, and the brown grass and the water bills that accompanied it, they got paid to remove their grass. They were one of 150 households who have benefited from the City of Sonoma’s turf removal rebate since it launched in 2013.

The program has been able to drastically reduce the amount of water used by residents who remove their lawns, since nearly half of a home’s water bill can come from maintaining lawns, Sonoma City Water Manager Mike Brett said.

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Sen. Nielsen Bill Seeks to Help Sites Reservoir Project

/in , , /by /Colusa County Sun Heraldby Robert Summa

State Sen. Jim Nielsen, R-Red Bluff, and Sen. Andreas Borgeas, R-Fresno, introduced a bill last week that would have a significant impact on the Sites Reservoir project in Colusa County.

The bill, Senate Bill 890, is meant to ensure millions of acre-feet of water is stored during wet years instead of being flushed out to sea, a release from California Senate Republicans said.

Sites Reservoir is an off-stream facility proposed north of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta that captures storm water flows from the Sacramento River for release primarily in dry and critical years, the Appeal previously reported.

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What Is the Future of Snow? Grappling With Climate Change and Warmer Winters

/in , , /by /The Nevada Independent by Daniel Rothberg

Between the Winter Olympics and our dry January, I’ve been thinking a lot about snow over the last few weeks. Last month, Reno saw no measurable precipitation for the first time since such records were kept. The dry streak has continued past January. And although there have been longer periods of dryness in the region, it’s enough to be noticeable, matched with warm temperatures that make it feel more like spring than winter.

Maybe it’s the weather whiplash that makes it feel especially noticeable. The water year started out strong.

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