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Positioned for the Future: San Diego County Water Authority General Manager Sandra L. Kerl

/in , , /by /California Water & Power (California Municipal Utilities Association) by Matt Williams Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

There have been many surprises and unanticipated outcomes in the long wake of the pandemic. Like most workplaces, the San Diego County Water Authority had to quickly adapt a year ago, and that process continues to evolve under the leadership of General Manager Sandra L. Kerl. In a conversation with California Water & Power, Kerl discusses how her organization has embraced change and continues to prepare for the future.

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Fish or Farmers? Newsom Drought Declaration Would Trigger New War Over California Water

/in , , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler and Ryan Sabalow

When a bipartisan group of state legislators held a press conference last week to demand that Gov. Gavin Newsom declare a statewide drought emergency, they assembled at a withered farm field east of Fresno, complete with piles of dead trees in the background.

The choice was no accident. With California already experiencing drought-like conditions, Central Valley farmers and their elected representatives are the ones putting the most political pressure on Newsom to make it official.

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‘New Normal’ for U.S. Climate is Officially Hotter – and’ New and Experts See Trouble for California Experts California

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kellie Hwang

The official “new normal” for the U.S. climate is warmer than ever before — and the changes are ominous for California, experts say.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday released its new climate averages, based on the 30-year period from 1991 to 2020. The averages, known as “climate normals,” are updated every 10 years, and they show most of the known the country, including California, heating up.

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Fresno County Leaders Declare Local Drought Emergency. One Says Drought is ‘Man-Made’

/in , , /by /Fresno Beeby Yesenia Amaro

The Fresno County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday passed a resolution proclaiming a local drought emergency.

The vote on the resolution during Tuesday’s special meeting was unanimous. The resolution comes after Fresno leaders joined officials from three other Central Valley counties on Friday to declare a regional drought emergency and urge Gov. Gavin Newsom to do the same statewide.

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Opinion: How San Diego County’s Water Supply Investments Protect Our Economy and Quality of Life From Drought

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Croucher Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Increasingly ominous signs suggest that we are entering another multiyear drought in California. The State Water Project recently reduced projected water deliveries for 2021 from 10% of requested supplies to 5 percent, and on April 21, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a regional drought emergency in the Russian River watershed in Northern California.

But it’s a different story in San Diego County.

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Napa Prepares City Water Use Curbs in Pursuit of 15% Consumption Cut After Dry California Winter

/in , , /by /Napa Valley Registerby Howard Yune

Irrigation curbs, car washing restrictions and the shutoff of fountains may return in the city of Napa amid shrinking water supplies on the tail of a dry California winter.

Tuesday night, the City Council is scheduled to vote on a “moderate water shortage” declaration intended to cut consumption by 15%. Approval would mark the return of water-use restrictions last rolled out in the mid-2010s when a six-year drought led California to mandate across-the-board cutbacks statewide.

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Drought Intensifies Forcing Rationing of Colorado River Water

/in , , /by /White Mountain Independentby Peter Aleshire

The US Bureau of Reclamation last week warned water users to brace for a 500,000 acre-foot cut in water from the Colorado River as a historic drought continues to tighten its grip on the Southwest.

The cutback comes on top of a 200,000 acre-foot reduction Arizona water users agreed to last year in an effort to put off this day of reckoning. The Central Arizona Project provides more than a third of the state’s water. The reductions will mostly impact farmers.

The sparse snowpack this winter soaked into the ground during the hot, dry spring — producing little runoff.

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Marin County Water District to Consider More Drought Restrictions This Week

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicle by Jessica Flores

After recently approving the Bay Area’s first widespread restrictions on water customers amid worsening drought conditions, officials with the Marin Municipal Water District will vote Tuesday on imposing more.

 

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Dispute Over Water Rights Possibly Going to U.S. Supreme Court

/in , , /by /KYMAby April Hettinger

In today’s Home Grown, a local lawsuit over ownership of the Colorado River water might be taken higher to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Michael Abatti versus the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) lawsuit has been ongoing in the valley, disputing over whether water rights belong to the landowners or if they are controlled by the IID.

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Opinion: California is One of the Most Biodiverse Places On the Planet. Here’s Why We are Losing Our Biodiversity at an Alarming Rate

/in , , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Charlton H. Bonham

Bonham is the director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom stood on a bone-dry lakebed in Northern California and announced the state is experiencing drought conditions again. Thus far, the most severe conditions are in specific northern watersheds such as the Russian and Klamath river basins. In the San Diego region, investments in diversifying water sources, conserving and recycling have enhanced resiliency to drought conditions.

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