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Opinion: As Another Dry Year Looms in California, Key Steps Will Make a Resilient Water Future

/in , , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Jim Costa and John Garamendi

On issues ranging from climate policy to immigration and health care, the past four years have been full of discord between California and Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, water users throughout California have not escaped the conflict, including in the Central Valley, where our communities have suffered as a result. Now, with drought conditions returning and the impacts of climate change intensifying, it is time to advance a solution for statewide water policy that will transition us from an era of conflict to one of collaboration.

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State Water Project Takes Aim at Restoring Salton Sea, Alleviating Health Risks

/in , , /by /KPBS-FM/TVby Erik Anderson

California is spending more than $200 million to keep an unfolding ecological crisis from getting worse. The state wants to stabilize habitat along the southern bank of the Salton Sea, the state’s largest lake.

That is good news for nearby residents concerned about their health, but the restoration could also affect everyone who draws water from the Colorado River.

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‘It’s a Toxic Blend’: Where the Kids are Warned Not to Swallow the Bath Water

/in , , /by /The Guardianby Vivian Ho

An invisible line splits the rural road of Avenue 416 in California’s Tulare county, at the point where the nut trees stretch east toward the towering Sierra Nevada mountains in the distance. On one side of the line, residents have clean water. On the other side, they do not. On the other side lies East Orosi, an unincorporated community of about 700 where children grow up learning to never open their eyes or mouths while they shower.

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Reclaimed Water Could Be the Solution to Farming in a Drier Future

/in , , /by /Yes Magazineby Cirrus Wood

On a Saturday in late October, Carolyn Phinney is hip-deep in a half-acre of vegetables, at the nucleus of what will one day be 15 acres of productive farmland.

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Water Security vs. Water Marketing

/in , , /by /The Independentby Melinda Burns

It’s not long ago that Lake Cachuma, the main water source on the South Coast, was in danger of going dry in a seven-year drought.

Water agencies from Carpinteria to Goleta spent millions of dollars scrambling to buy surplus state aqueduct water from around the state to avert a local shortage. They did so not only because their groundwater levels were plunging and Cachuma was failing, but because their yearly allocations from the aqueduct had dropped to zero.

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Rainy Season Peters Out in Another Moisture-Starved Year for S.F.

/in , , /by /The San Francisco Chronicleby Lauren Hernández
A too-dry February left San Francisco with only 38% of normal rainfall for the month, and forecasters say residents should get used to it: With the wet season ending, it’s almost impossible to see the water year ending with anything close to a normal soaking.

San Francisco’s rain total for February — typically the heart of the rainy season along with December and January — was just 1.71 inches, compared to the 4.46 inches that’s considered normal, National Weather Service Bay Area officials said. A year ago it was even worse: February 2020 brought no rain to San Francisco.

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Study: As Wildfires Increase, Southern California Could Face Landslides Almost Every Year

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby City News Service

Fire-prone areas of Southern California can expect to see landslides occurring almost every year, with major events expected roughly every 10 years, a new study found.

The results show residents face a double whammy of increased wildfire and landslide risk caused by climate change-induced shifts in the state’s wet and dry seasons, according to researchers who mapped landslide vulnerability in the southern half of the state.

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Water Authority Board Supports Regional Potable Reuse Projects

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

The San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors today unanimously approved a formal resolution reaffirming its longstanding support for potable reuse and water recycling projects developed by local member agencies across the region.

“Projects such as Pure Water San Diego, Pure Water Oceanside and the East County Advanced Water Purification Project are critical to the continued development of local water sources that help sustain the region’s 3.3 million residents and $245 billion economy,” said Water Authority Board Chair Gary Croucher.

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San Diego Will Have to Hope for a ‘March Miracle’ to Make Up for Lack of Rain

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

It’s time to hope for a “March miracle.” We badly need rain and won’t get much — if any — over the next week.

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Water Authority to Split $44.4M Among Local Agencies After Win in Legal Battle With MWD

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby City News Service Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors Thursday announced a plan to distribute a rebate of $44.4 million to its 24 member agencies across the region.

They did so after receiving a check for that amount from the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to pay legal damages and interest after a long legal battle.

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