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Dams Could Protect Ranchers From Climate Change’s Drought…But Could They Also Contribute To It?

/in , , /by /KUNC (Greeley, Colo.)by Melodie Edwards

It’s late May in Wyoming. It snowed last night, and more snow is predicted. That’s why it’s good that Big Piney Rancher Chad Espenscheid is behind the wheel of the truck. The roads are sloppy and Middle Piney Creek is running high. “Speaking of water,” he says, laughing. “Yeah, seems like it’s starting to flood,” I observe. “Yeah, it’s just wet.” That wetness is nerve-wracking for ranchers like Espenscheid. “It’s been a cold, long winter,” he says. “The cows and calves are really needing some sunshine about now. We got quite a bit of sickness going on around the valley.”

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NASA Explores Our Changing Freshwater World

/in , , /by /PHYS.org (Los Angeles)by Ellen Gray

Water is so commonplace that we often take it for granted. But too much—or too little of it—makes headlines. Catastrophic flooding in the U.S. Midwest this spring has caused billions of dollars in damage and wreaked havoc with crops, after rain tipped off a mass melting of snow. Seven years of California drought so debilitating that it led to water rationing came to a close after a wet and snowy winter capped off several years of slow rebound and replenished the vital mountain snowpack.

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California And Water: Half Environmental Nightmare, Half Remarkable Success Story

/in , , /by /The New York Timesby Gary Krist

When delegates to the second International Irrigation Congress convened in Los Angeles in October 1893, pessimism about their mission was not supposed to be on the agenda. The gathering, after all, was meant to encourage reclamation of arid lands throughout the American West, using irrigation to transform an immense wasteland into an agriculturally productive cornucopia. Thus the reaction when John Wesley Powell rose and delivered his now-famous caveat about the limits of development in the region. “Gentlemen,” he told the delegates in the Grand Opera House, “there is not sufficient water to supply these lands.” The gentlemen responded by booing the esteemed explorer off the stage.

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OPINION: What Is Sustainable Groundwater Management?

/in , , /by /Coastal View (Carpinteria, Calif.)by Erin Maker

Someone recently asked me about the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) and how it will affect our community. I didn’t have an immediate answer for that, since I am still learning about it. But it seemed like a good opportunity to dive into the world of groundwater management and review the history that has led us to the SGMA. I would still refer technical questions of sustainable groundwater management to the very knowledgeable folks over at the Carpinteria Valley Water District.

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California’s Clean Drinking Water Problem

/in , , /by /Capital Public Radio (Sacramento)

In Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first State of the State address, he urged every Californian to muster the political will to address a problem he called “a moral disgrace and … a medical emergency.” He was talking about California’s water. An estimated 1 million people across the state have unhealthy water pouring from their taps, with regions like the San Joaquin Valley especially impacted. Governor Newsom’s so-called “water tax” would have taxed residential water customers and certain agricultural industries to fund solutions to this problem for low-income communities. That plan didn’t make it through budget negotiations. The same budget talks produced a different solution: to spend $130 million a year from California’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund on the water infrastructure problem.

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High Heat Quickly Melting Away California’s Snowpack

/in , , /by /CBS 13 (Sacramento)by Rachel Wulff

That excessive heat warning into the foothills is doing a number on the impressive snowpack in the Sierra. With temperatures in the 80s, what took weeks to melt is now taking days. “We found a little bit of snow and we were excited because it was a novelty. But then we realized it was everywhere, said Josh Jameison. Jameison and his girlfriend Megan didn’t expect to see so much snow as they set off for a hike. “The snow is a lot higher than previous years because I am usually out here on the first, and it’s still pretty bad,” she said. But snow on Loch Leven Trail during their midday hike didn’t last long.

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Salt Creek Golf Course Is Now Available To Developers

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gustavo Solis

The Otay Water District plans to offer up the old Salt Creek Golf Course to developers. In May, the district prepared a list of about 40 regional developers it plans to notify about the availability of the 164-acre plot of land off Hunte Parkway just east of State Route 125. The decision to sell to developers comes more than a year since the unprofitable golf course shut down in March 2018, leaving Chula Vista’s golfers with one less place to play. At the time of Salt Creek’s closure, operators owed the Otay Water District more than $21,000 – this was after the district had already reduced their annual rent by roughly $118,000, records show.

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Nestlé Is Still Taking National Forest Water For Its Arrowhead Label, With Feds’ Help

/in , , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Janet Wilson

Nestlé, the world’s largest bottled water company, continues to take millions of gallons of free water from the San Bernardino National Forest two hours east of Los Angeles, 17 months after California regulators told them they had no right to much of what they’d taken in the past. And federal officials are helping them do it, despite concluding Nestlé is drying up springs and streams and damaging a watershed. The company says it is legally entitled to every drop, and is “sustainably collecting water at volumes believed to be in compliance with all laws and permits at this time,” according to emailed responses to questions from The Desert Sun.

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WaterSmart Landscape Contest Winner Named

/in , , /by /The Coast News

The Vista Irrigation District board of directors recognized a customer for her entry in the  WaterSmart Landscape Contest. The annual contest recognizes outstanding water-wise residential landscapes based on the criteria of overall attractiveness, appropriate plant selection, design, appropriate maintenance, and efficient methods of irrigation. Deborah Brandt received the 2019 Best in District award after replacing her water and maintenance intensive lawn with a WaterSmart landscape, saving both water and money. By including contrasting elements, such as cactus, river rock and wood chips, against a backdrop of dramatic magenta, purple and striking orange, Brandt transformed her yard into an array of textures and colors.

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California Taps Clean Air Money To Pay For Drinking Water

/in , , /by /AP News

California legislative leaders agreed Sunday to spend $130 million a year to improve water systems in communities where people can’t drink from their taps, something Democratic leaders say amounts to a crisis in one of the nation’s wealthiest states. To pay for it, the state would tap a fund dedicated to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a move that alarmed some environmental activists who say its set up an unfair choice between clean air and water. “What kind of choice is that?” said Kathryn Phillips, director of Sierra Club California. “People shouldn’t have to choose between clean water and clean air.”

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