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County Officials Applaud New Salton Sea Funding

/in , , /by /Imperial Valley Pressby Michael Maresh

Newly announced state funding for the Salton Sea is expected to maximize habitat outcomes and provide immediate economic relief to the community.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $5.1 billion water infrastructure, drought response and climate resilience proposal, which he announced Monday as part of his $100 billion “California Comeback Plan,” includes $220 million for the Salton Sea.

At Tuesday’s Imperial County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, District 1 Supervisor Jesus Eduardo Escobar wanted to know what is meant by providing immediate economic relief to the community and how this would occur. He also asked if the $220 million was part of the master plan and whether the funds would be used for restoration purposes.

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Drought Concerns: New Website Shows Well Water Users Whether They Face a Water Shortage

/in , , /by /ABC10by Carley Gomez

A drought emergency has been declared in California and even expanded upon as of Monday, May 10, 2021 to cover a total of 41 of California’s 58 counties.

Water is on the forefront of state leaders’ minds.

It’s no surprise water supply would be impacted in a drought situation, especially as California is now in its second year of drought. Plus, drought concerns have not just spanned the last two years. California also experienced a long stretch of drought from 2012 to 2016.

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Klamath Basin Water Crisis: A Microcosm for Climate Change in the West

/in , , /by /KGW8by Ashley Koch

A conflict over access to water in the Klamath Basin is signaling the way climate change could play out across the western United States. After a drier-than-normal spring, farmers and indigenous tribes in the Klamath Basin are at odds over water in Upper Klamath Lake.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the Klamath Basin is experiencing “extreme drought,” while the rest of Oregon is experiencing some level of drought or abnormal dryness.

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Critical Infrastructure Flaws Surface After Years of Underinvestment in Energy, Other Sectors, Analysts Say

/in , , /by /Utility Diveby David Jones

The risk to critical infrastructure is a long festering concern in the cybersecurity industry. Researchers, corporate security officers and government experts feared that energy producers, utilities and water systems lacked the manpower and investment in security.

The risk increased with the exposure of industrial control systems to the open internet and connected to IT systems through automation.

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San Diego Spared as Newsom Declares Drought Emergency in 41 of California’s 58 Counties

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Reuters Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday issued an expanded “drought emergency proclamation” for 41 of the state’s 58 counties, citing above-average temperatures and dry conditions for April and May.

So far, Southern California has been spared the worst of the drought, and the San Diego County Water Authority has said it has supplies to withstand several dry years.

“Gov. Newsom’s latest drought emergency declaration is a grim reminder of the growing water supply challenges across California — and of the value of three decades of our collective dedication to use water efficiently combined with strategic investments that protect San Diego County from dry years,” said Gary Croucher, board chair of the water authority.

“Thanks to efforts of ratepayers, the water authority, and our 24 member agencies, we have sufficient water supplies for 2021 and the foreseeable future,” he said.

 

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Water-Use Efficiency, Investments Protect Region as Drought Impacts Spread

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

“Governor Newsom’s latest drought emergency declaration is a grim reminder of the growing water supply challenges across California – and of the value of three decades of our collective dedication to use water efficiently combined with strategic investments that protect San Diego County from dry years. Thanks to efforts of ratepayers, the Water Authority, and our 24 member agencies, we have sufficient water supplies for 2021 and the foreseeable future.

Our regional adoption of water-use efficiency measures is a major piece of our strategy, with per capita water use falling by almost half over 30 years. At the same time, the rates we pay for water have been invested in new water sources along with major dams and reservoirs that are showing their worth more with each passing day.” – Gary Croucher, Board Chair, San Diego County Water Authority

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This is How California’s Water Use Has Changed Since the Last Drought

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Yoohyun Jung

California is in a serious drought. The National Drought Mitigation Center’s drought monitor puts most of the state in extreme drought zones for the first time since 2015.

The latest instance of drought has once again put the state’s water use under the microscope to identify opportunities for conservation, a task that’s expected to become more challenging as the impacts of climate change intensify.

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Pure Water Oceanside’s New Virtual Reality Video

/in , , /by /Water News Network

To celebrate Water Awareness Month in May and highlight the value of water, the City of Oceanside has unveiled its new virtual reality video tour. The 360-degree video shows the water recycling process that prepares water for Pure Water Oceanside. The advanced water purification project will create a new local source of high-quality drinking water that is clean, safe, drought-proof and environmentally sound.

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Sonoma County Officials to Cut Pumping from Russian River by 20% Amid Deepening Drought

/in , , /by /Santa Rosa Press-Democratby Mary Callahan

Sonoma County supervisors are expected to offer their formal support Tuesday for a plan to pump 20% less water than normal from the Russian River for the remainder of the year, preserving dwindling supplies in local reservoirs but making less water available to more than 600,000 consumers in Sonoma and northern Marin counties.

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Could This $36 Million Central Valley River Restoration Project Help with California’s Droughts?

/in , , , /by /San Francisco Chronicle by Tara Duggan

As California enters what could be a record-breaking drought, a just-completed nine-year floodplain restoration project at the confluence of the San Joaquin and Tuolumne rivers offers an ambitious attempt at one mitigation solution.

At a 1,600-acre former dairy ranch called Dos Rios, the conservation organization River Partners removed berms that farmers had originally constructed to protect their alfalfa and wheat crops from the river. It turned fields into seasonal pools where endangered baby salmon and migratory birds can rest, and water can trickle down to refill aquifers. Last month, it planted the last of more than 350,000 native grasses, shrubs and trees — acres of towering willows, flowering elderberry and creeping wild rye chosen to thrive in flood or drought.

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