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State Reservoirs Nearing Historical Averages For This Time Of Year

/in , /by /KRON 4 News (San Francisco) by Charles Clifford

After several weeks of dry weather, heavy rain returned to California and the Bay Area, giving our reservoirs and snow pack a needed boost. As of early Monday morning, the seven reservoirs used by the East Bay Municipal Utility District are holding a total of just over 600,000 acre feet of water — that’s about 78 percent of full capacity. The Lafayette Reservoir is currently 69 percent full. In the South Bay, the Santa Clara Valley Water District reservoirs are on average about 28 percent full.

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Storms Produce Drier Than Average Snow In Sierras

/in , /by /Mountain Democrat (Placerville, Calif.)by Dawn Hodson

The first snow survey of 2019 measured almost 2 feet of snow at Phillips Station, although the snow is drier than normal for that location. Those results are better than last January when a paltry 0.3 inches of snow were to be found. Conducted on Thursday, Jan. 3 by staff from the Department of Water Resources (DWR), the manual survey recorded 25.5 inches of snow and a snow water equivalent of 9 inches, which is 80 percent of average for Phillips Station. However, that is better than the statewide average, which is at only 67 percent of average. The results confirm that despite early winter storms, Sierra water content is below average for this time of year.

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Young Artists Featured In Fallbrook PUD Conservation Calendar

/in , /by /Water News Network

Fourth-graders from five Fallbrook-area elementary schools put pens, crayons and watercolors to work with the goal of creating the best and brightest water-conservation posters in competition to become part of the 2019 Fallbrook Public Utility District’s “Be Water Smart” calendar. Two hundred posters demonstrated the students’ enthusiasm and creativity. Out of these entries, 14 were honored in the 2019 calendar. The free calendars are available at the Fallbrook Public Utility District office, 990 E. Mission Road in Fallbrook, during business hours while supplies last. The pupils’ colorful images vividly depict the contest’s theme, “Be Water Smart.” The district’s panel of judges viewed all the entries to find the most eye-catching artwork that successfully communicated the need for saving water.

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San Diego Region Gets $500,000 For Water Technology Projects

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

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has awarded the San Diego region $500,000 for three water supply technology projects. The grant will fund projects by the San Diego County Water Authority, Padre Dam Municipal Water District and a collaboration by the City of San Diego and Olivenhain Municipal Water District to diversify water supplies. The three projects are: New seawater intake screens at the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant. The screens are designed to minimize the amount of fish larvae that enter the water treatment process. New treatment technology at the East County Advanced Water Treatment Project. Brackish water optimization in the San Dieguito River watershed.

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Our Current Drought Is Worse Than Most Megadroughts, New Study Says

/in , , /by /Arizona Daily Star (Tuscon)by Tony Davis

Tucson’s drinking water supply — carries nearly 20 percent less water than in 2000. Bark beetles are chomping away at our forests and killing off ponderosa pines. Wildfires are rapidly growing in intensity. These problems have been linked to a drought that has stretched 19 years with no respite. Now, a team of researchers concludes that the ongoing drought across the western U.S. rivals most past “megadroughts” dating as far back as 800 A.D. — and that this region is currently in a megadrought.

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Rivers In The Sky: What You Need To Know About Atmospheric River Storms

/in , /by /KQED (San Francisco)

The rainy season is well underway in California: Roughly 90 percent of the Golden State’s precipitation typically falls during the months of October through April. While drought has bedeviled the state in recent years, there’s evidence that the wet season is actually getting wetter. If you live on the West Coast, you may hear the term “atmospheric river” thrown around. These massive, fast-moving storm systems can transport more than 25 times the moisture as flows through the mouth of the Mississippi River.

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Winter Storm Batters Northern California, Highway 80 Shut Down At Donner Summit

/in , /by /CBS San Francisco

A winter storm front roared into Northern California Sunday, dumping more than 3 inches of rain in Marin County, triggering flooding along San Francisco’s Great Highway and blizzard conditions in the Sierra Nevada. The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory Sunday afternoon for southeastern Marin County. Forecasters said the storm had dumped 3.32 inches of rain in San Rafael by 4:30 p.m. while 3.86 inches fell in Kentfield. The NWS also posted a flood advisory for southeastern Sonoma County, advising motorists to not drive through flooded roadways.

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OPINION: State Should Use Science To Determine Delta Water Flows

/in , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Jon Rosenfield

How low our expectations of government have sunk. Federal agencies now regularly deny science that explains the warming of our planet and rising seas. Back-room deals and obstruction of the public’s will have become so commonplace that we notice when one of our state government’s agencies takes action to protect the environment, even if it falls well short of the mark.

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Skies Clear After Weekend Storm Drenches San Diego County

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Lyndsay Winkley

Skies cleared Sunday after a Pacific storm drenched much of San Diego County over the weekend, making way for a drier, but still cool week, forecasters said. The latest system dropped more than an inch of rain at Palomar Mountain and Lake Cuyamaca, and nearly an inch at Lake Henshaw, according to Sunday rainfall totals. San Diego International Airport reported 0.9 of an inch of rain, pushing its seasonal total to 5.3 inches, almost two inches above average.

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Trump Asks Supreme Court To Resolve Groundwater Fight

/in , , /by /E&E News (Washington, D.C.)by Ellen M. Gilmer

The Trump administration is pushing the Supreme Court to review what could be the most consequential environmental case of the term: a broiling Clean Water Act debate. The Justice Department yesterday recommended the high court decide whether the landmark environmental law applies to pollution that travels through groundwater before reaching federally regulated water. Two recent circuit court decisions say yes, but critics think that approach vastly expands the statute.

 

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