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Water Budgets and Drought Fees Coming to 1 Million Residents in San Jose and Neighboring Communities

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

In the latest fallout from the worsening drought, residents of San Jose — which received the lowest rainfall in its recorded history last year — and surrounding communities are about to be given tougher water conservation rules than any major city in California.

The San Jose Water Company, a private firm that provides drinking water to 1 million people in San Jose, Cupertino, Campbell, Los Gatos, Saratoga and Monte Sereno, has begun sending notices to residents informing them it is moving forward with mandatory rules to set monthly residential water budgets with financial penalties for homeowners who exceed them.

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Agencies Warn of Cyber Threats to Water, Wastewater Systems

/in , , /by /The Hillby Maggie Miller

A coalition of federal agencies on Thursday warned that hackers are targeting the water and wastewater treatment sectors, strongly recommending that organizations take steps to protect themselves.

In a joint advisory, the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Security Agency (NSA) warned of “ongoing malicious cyber activity—by both known and unknown actors—targeting the information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) networks, systems, and devices of U.S. Water and Wastewater Systems (WWS) Sector facilities.”

“This activity — which includes attempts to compromise system integrity via unauthorized access — threatens the ability of WWS facilities to provide clean, potable water to, and effectively manage the wastewater of, their communities,” the agencies wrote in the advisory.

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Southern California, Arizona Water Suppliers Collaborate on Water Recycling Concept

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Daily Newsby City News Service

The Metropolitan Water District, which provides water to six counties in Southern California, announced a partnership on Wednesday, Oct. 13 with Arizona water agencies to collaborate on planning for what could become one of the nation’s largest water recycling plants, producing up to 150 million gallons daily to serve more than 500,000 homes.

Central Arizona Project will provide $5 million and the Arizona Department of Water Resources will provide $1 million for environmental planning of the Regional Recycled Water Program, which will purify treated wastewater to produce a new, drought-proof water supply for Southern California. If the full project is developed, it would cost $3.4 billion and improve sustainability of Colorado River water supplies.

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La Niña Arrives, Threatening to Stoke Droughts and Roil Markets

/in , , /by /Bloombergby Brian K Sullivan

A weather-roiling La Niña appears to have emerged across the equatorial Pacific, setting the stage for worsening droughts in California and South America, frigid winters in parts of the U.S. and Japan and greater risks for the world’s already strained energy and food supplies.

The phenomenon—which begins when the atmosphere reacts to a cooler patch of water over the Pacific Ocean—will likely last through at least February, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said Thursday. There is a 57% chance it be a moderate event, like the one that started last year, the center said.

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Late October Rains Could Dampen Wildfires and Help With Drought, Forecasters Say

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Paul Duginski

A wetter than average forecast for late October could dampen wildfires burning in Northern California and help ease drought conditions, according to the National Weather Service.

The latest weather outlook for the latter part of this month calls for above-normal precipitation in California, with possible high-elevation heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada and the Cascades. There is also potential for an atmospheric river between Oct. 21 to Oct. 27, forecasters said.

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Drought Could Dry Up Popular I-5 Oasis

/in , , /by /SJV Waterby Jesse Vad

Kettleman City, a popular stop for travelers on Interstate 5 with its host of gas stations and fast food joints, is on the brink of going dry. If that happens, those businesses could shut down.

Lawmakers and others are trying to work out a fix but so far, things are moving slowly.

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Atmospheric Rivers Left California Mostly Dry in Water Year 2021

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

The Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, or CW3E, at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, released its report October 11 on atmospheric rivers during Water Year 2021.

The report, “Distribution of Landfalling Atmospheric Rivers over the U.S. West Coast During Water Year 2021: End of Water Year Summary” shows that more atmospheric rivers landed on the U.S. West Coast in Water Year 2021 than in Water Year 2020. But the majority of those storms reached the Pacific Northwest, not California, where drought conditions have impacted water supply.

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La Niña Brings More Worries Amid Drought

/in , , /by /The Daily Journalby Corey Browning

Though it’s unclear what the effects of the La Niña climate expected this winter will be for Northern California, drought-ending rain is likely not among them.

The climate pattern brought on by cooler-than-usual surface water in parts of the Pacific Ocean creates varying weather globally, but historically the phenomena has meant drier conditions in the southern part of the state and wetter conditions in the Pacific Northwest.

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This Summer was California’s Driest on Record in More Than 100 years, Here’s What That Means

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Danielle Escheverria and Yoohjun Jung
In another alarming measure of California’s historic drought, the summer months this year were the state’s driest on record since 1895, when data-gathering for the government’s standard drought index began.
The monthly average dryness for July, August and September 2021 was -6.8 on the Palmer Drought Severity Index, which indicates extreme drought. Anything below -4.0 on the Palmer scale is considered “extreme drought.” A year with normal precipitation would fall between -0.49 and 0.49 on the scale, and an “extremely wet” year would land above 4.0.

 

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Research Seeks Resilience for Aquifers

/in , , /by /AgAlertby Bob Johnson

One day in early October, a group of University of California, Merced, students went to the campus Smart Farm, augurs in hand, to explore the soil for the best spots to locate moisture sensors. They were not looking in the root zone to monitor how much water is available but instead for areas lower in the soil to study how irrigation and stormwater can travel far enough beneath the plants to recharge the groundwater below.

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