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El Niño Makes an Exit, but La Niña Could Bring Dry Conditions Back to California

/in , /by /Los Angeles Times by Hayley Smith

After a year of dominance, El Niño’s wrath has come to end — but its climate-churning counterpart, La Niña, is hot on its heels and could signal a return to dryness for California.

El Niño is the warm phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation, sometimes referred to as ENSO. The climate pattern in the tropical Pacific is the single largest driver of weather conditions worldwide, and has been actively disrupting global temperatures and precipitation patterns since its arrival last summer.

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‘Collaboration for the Sake of Success’ is Critical to Water Resilience

/in , /by /AgNet West Radio Network by Lauren McEwen

In a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed on May 8, Westlands Water District, Metropolitan Water District, and Friant Water Authority agreed to improve collaborations on surface, groundwater, transfers, and exchanges of water from the San Joaquin Valley to Southern California.

Furthermore, a second MOU was signed between Metropolitan and Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley, a coalition that aims to advance water accessibility across the state. The MOU intends to identify, develop, and initiate water projects for the Central Valley to solidify water resilience.

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Opinion: Calgary’s Water-main Break Has Important Lessons for the Rest of Us

/in , /by /TVO Todayby Matt Gurney Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

I saw a heartwarming tweet on Sunday. It was notable for two reasons. The first was that something heartwarming was a nice change of pace. But the second was that it spoke to a story that is currently very much in the news and also very relevant to my interests. The municipal water-service department in San Diego, California, is shipping the city of Calgary a spare section of pipe. It is apparently exactly what Calgary needs to help recover from the recent catastrophic water-main failure that has deprived the city of 60 per cent of its potable water supply, resulting in the declaration, this weekend, of a state of emergency.

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As California Water Agency Investigates Top Manager, Some Worry Progress Could Be Stymied

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

In the three years that Adel Hagekhalil has led California’s largest urban water supplier, the general manager has sought to focus on adaptation to climate change — in part by reducing reliance on water supplies from distant sources and investing in local water supplies.

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Rep. Levin Announces $32 Million in Federal Funding for Regional Desalination Projects

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

Rep. Mike Levin announced Thursday that he has secured $32.2 million in federal funds for three desalination projects to increase water security in north San Diego and south Orange counties.

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San Diego County Continues to Have Necessary Water Supply for 3.3 Million Residents

/in , /by /SDNEWSby Mickey Zeichick Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Last month, the San Carlos Area Council hosted Sami Sweis (pictured above), a water resources engineer with the San Diego County Water Authority, for an overview and update from the agency.

 

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Study Says Water Transfer Deal is Raising Dust and Draining the Salton Sea

/in , /by /KPBSby Thomas Fudge

The Salton Sea is a terminal saltwater lake. It’s a flooded basin with no natural outlet, similar to the Great Salt Lake or the Aral Sea. And the Salton Sea is shrinking.

One of the reasons for that is the Imperial Water Transfer deal that has brought hundreds of thousands of acre feet of water to San Diego over the last two decades. The deal, signed 21 years ago, meant the Imperial Valley began transferring excess water from the valley’s farm fields to San Diego’s water taps.

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Column: DWP’s New Leader Wants to Shake Things Up. It Won’t Be Easy

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sammy Roth

An honest-to-goodness map of the American West would show L.A.’s tentacles everywhere.

You’d see canals — the Los Angeles Aqueduct, running along the base of the Sierra Nevada, carrying water from the Owens River; the State Water Project, meandering through the San Joaquin Valley, supplying many Southern California cities and farms; and the Colorado River Aqueduct, cutting through the desert on its mission to deliver water from desert to coast.

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California’s Largest Water Agency to Consider Firing General Manager

/in , /by /Politicoby Camille Von Kaenel

The board of the agency that delivers water to nearly half of Californians will consider firing its top leader over claims of retaliation, harassment and cultivating a toxic work environment at a special meeting Thursday morning, according to an agenda and three people with knowledge.

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What Frequent Water Main Breaks Say About America’s Aging Infrastructure

/in , /by /KPBS by John Yang, Kaisha Yang

U.S. drinking water is among the world’s safest and most reliable, but aging infrastructure across the country is posing challenges. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that there’s a water main break every two minutes. Shannon Marquez, professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University, joins John Yang to discuss why these problems are so common.

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