California’s agricultural empire is facing a shakeup, as a state law comes into effect that will limit many farmers’ access to water.
The seven-year-old law is supposed to stop the over-pumping from depleted aquifers, and some farmers — the largest users of that water — concede the limits are overdue.
Climate change is poised to result in a worldwide water crisis, and international institutions and governments have not done enough to prepare, according to a report released Tuesday by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo renewed calls for residents to conserve water and proposed outdoor watering restrictions Wednesday as California’s ongoing drought deepens.
San Diego County officials Wednesday said they were ready to respond should oil from the pipeline break in Orange County make its way into San Diego County waters and beaches.
Nathan Fletcher, chair of the County Board of Supervisors, and Jeff Toney, director of the county’s Office of Emergency Services, said they are in constant communication with state and federal officials about the oil spill’s possible impact on San Diego County.
Your choices in irrigation methods come down to spray or drip systems. Spray irrigation emits water in an overlapping pattern. Drip irrigation delivers water directly to the roots of plants. This question is more important than ever during a drought cycle. How do you decide which meets the needs of your landscaping?
A new 360-degree virtual reality video tour takes viewers through the planned East County Advanced Water Purification facilities. Participants are immersed in a guided tour of water facilities, where they can control their view by moving their computer mouse or smartphones to any direction in the video they want to see.
Viewers with a virtual reality headset for smartphones can take engagement one step further by stepping into the video.
Farmers and winery owners in Ramona and other parts of San Diego County are weathering the drought better than their counterparts in Northern California and the Central Valley through a mix of smart water use strategies, adequate water supplies and resources such as free irrigation system evaluations, according to water experts.
One reason local agricultural water users have avoided shortfalls in water supplies is because residents and businesses have been reducing the amount of water they use per person over the last 30 years, said Jeff Stephenson, water resources manager for the San Diego County Water Authority.
Cities in Southern California rely largely on water flowing through aqueducts from the Colorado River and the Sierra Nevada. But some parts of the region, such as Ventura County and northwestern L.A. County, don’t have access to Colorado River water and depend entirely on the water that comes from the Sierra through the State Water Project.
Aaron Fukuda admits that the 15-acre sunken field behind his office doesn’t look like much.
It’s basically a big, wide hole in the ground behind the headquarters of the Tulare Irrigation District, in the southern part of California’s fertile Central Valley. But “for a water resources nerd like myself, it’s a sexy, sexy piece of infrastructure,” says Fukuda, the district’s general manager.
Amid California’s worsening drought, Pleasanton city officials on Tuesday are expected to declare a local drought and water shortage emergency, and require residents to reduce their water usage by 15%. The Pleasanton City Council will vote at Tuesday’s meeting. In a report accompanying the council’s agenda, staff urged council members to make such declarations after board members with the Zone 7 Water Agency voted to do the same in September. The water agency, which serves the cities of Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, San Ramon and parts of Dougherty, said Tri-Valley customers are falling short on water reduction compared with 2020.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
