Over a third of American vegetables are grown in California, largely in the state’s Central Valley. The region also produces two-thirds of the nation’s fruits and nuts. These crops—and the many Americans who produce and consume them—are heavily reliant on California’s water supply. But, given recurrent and severe droughts, the state’s groundwater supply has been strained.
Officials with Merced-area water agencies say they’re updating a key regional groundwater plan after the California Department of Water Resources said it didn’t go far enough to reach state water sustainability targets.
The National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds named the Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve its Park of the Year in the Large Park category for its guest experience and overall excellence.
Last week water officials from Nevada and two other Colorado River states said they would reduce their draws from the ailing waterway.
Now they need to make that happen.
Water leaders in Nevada, Arizona, and California signed an agreement to voluntarily reduce their take from the Colorado River to help stave off mandatory cuts in the upcoming years.
A potent storm that took aim at the Northwest earlier in the week will drop down into California on Wednesday, setting the region up to receive drought-relieving rain and snow — and the rainfall could set records on Christmas Eve.
Increasing amounts of moisture will move onshore on Wednesday, and snow is anticipated to develop across the Sierra Nevada mountain range. This will be the beginning of an extended stretch of wet weather for the Southwest, according to AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok.
By Wednesday night, heavy rain will drench the California coast as well as the southwestern edge of the Sierra Nevada. San Francisco and San Jose, California, are just two of the cities that will receive needed precipitation. Heavy snow is expected to begin across the Sierra Nevada as well as parts of the Klamath Mountains.
The Arizona Diamondbacks ripped out the grass at Chase Field ahead of the 2019 season, replacing it with synthetic grass. It was a business decision, but it also ended up being a water-conservation measure.
The Phoenix-based major league baseball team thought it would save 2 million gallons a year. In the first season, the savings were closer to 4.5 million gallons, which is roughly the annual water usage of 49 households in the Phoenix area, according to the Arizona Department of Water Resources.
“This challenge has been approaching for years and has been on our radar,” said Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall, whose team has saved 16 million gallons of water since the turf was installed. “We have tremendous relationships with the state’s legislators and executives, and have had discussions about water for years.”
Residents of Ramona’s Acres community are working with local officials and a nonprofit on an application for a $1.32 million grant that would give them better access to clean water.
The funds would pay for new water main pipelines for the community, which has contaminated well water and inadequate pipes.
Toby Roy, a specialist with the nonprofit Rural Community Assistance Corporation, provided an update on the application process at the Dec. 14 Ramona Municipal Water District meeting.
Like a sinister specter that won’t vanish, drought was already writing the playbook for water supplies in Utah and the rest of the West as early as fall of 2020.
The year 2021 may have been months ahead, but extremely dry conditions during those last few months of 2020 amplified the reality of what was to come: drought, and a nasty one.v
The tradition of generous holiday support by the San Diego region’s water and wastewater agencies flourished again in 2021. Employees pitched in to help a wide array of nonprofit community services.
A federal plan to spend $210 million on water conservation programs includes $40 million for “conserving 500,000+ acre-feet of water over the next two years to stabilize the decline of Lake Mead.”
The plan also includes $10 million for efforts to suppress wildfires in the West.
