Back-to-back California storms blanket the Sierra Nevada in snow, more than twice the snowpack level compared to this time last year, with winter still nearly two weeks away. At the same time last year, the Sierra snowpack was 47 percent of average, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday. A series of systems starting around Thanksgiving dropped several feet (meters) of fresh powder in some mountain areas.
San Diego welcomed an unexpectedly large amount of rain since mid-November, surpassing last year’s rainfall total in just the first 10 weeks of the season. Following the latest storm, two-day precipitation totals on Dec. 7 showed rainfall of 2.6 inches at San Diego’s Lindbergh Field, San Diego’s official weather station. Regional readings ranged from a high of 3.23 inches in the University Heights area of San Diego, to 1.1 inches in Lakeside and less than an inch in the county’s desert areas.
The Imperial Irrigation District, which holds some of the oldest and largest rights to Colorado River water, on Monday tentatively agreed to a one-time contribution of up to 250,000 acre-feet of surplus water if needed to stave off shortages in Lake Mead. But they tacked on several last-minute conditions aimed at easing farmers’ fears of permanently losing water, and to force federal and state officials to guarantee funding for clean-up of the Salton Sea.
With drought entering a second decade and reservoirs continuing to shrink, seven Southwestern U.S. states that depend on the overtaxed Colorado River for crop irrigation and drinking water had been expected to ink a crucial share-the-pain contingency plan by the end of 2018. They’re not going to make it — at least not in time for upcoming meetings in Las Vegas involving representatives from Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and the U.S. government, officials say.
The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority is donating free digital advertising space at Lindbergh Field to the San Diego County Water Authority. The advertising is valued at tens of thousands of dollars. Starting the day before Thanksgiving, monitors at the airport’s baggage claim carousels in both Terminal 1 and 2 began announcing that San Diego is “Brought to You By Water.” The Water Authority said the ads’ takeaway message is the importance of water reliability to the region’s core industries, including tourism, manufacturing, agriculture and brewing.
After four public workshops, the Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors will be asked Monday to approve an agreement that addresses California’s part to save the drought-plagued Colorado River as well as bolster supplies of water to Lake Mead. IID General Manager said staff will recommend the approval of the intra-California drought contingency plan agreement between IID and Metropolitan Water District, but the decision ultimately lies with the board.
The State Water Resources Control Board issued updated water rights permits and an updated license which finalizes that part of the Santa Margarita Conjunctive Use Project. The three permits and the license were issued Nov. 20. “It’s a big accomplishment to finally have the underlying permits and water rights for the project,” said Fallbrook Public Utility District general manager Jack Bebee. The Santa Margarita Conjunctive Use Project being pursued by FPUD, Camp Pendleton and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will enhance groundwater recharge and recovery capability within the lower Santa Margarita River basin and develop a program which will increase available water supplies for FPUD and Camp Pendleton.
Citing family circumstances, Inland Empire Utilities Agency’s (IEUA) General Manager Halla Razak, has tendered her resignation effective Dec. 31. Razak her served as IEUA’s general manager since Dec. 1 of last year. Razak joined IEUA after a 19-year tenure with the city of San Diego. Her last position with the city was as director of the city’s Public Utilities Department. She held the position of director with the Colorado River Program Director for the San Diego County Water Authority position with the city of San Diego. Razak is a registered professional civil engineer in California.
A crucial certification needed to build two tunnels that officials believe would help solve California’s water delivery problems was withdrawn Friday, ensuring that Gov. Jerry Brown’s pet water project won’t be approved before he leaves office in January. The California Department of Water Resources withdrew its petition seeking approval of Brown’s $17 billion twin tunnels plan, known as California WaterFix, which would take water out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and deliver it to users in the south.
The 1992 election to the United States Senate was famously coined the “Year of the Woman” for the record number of women elected to the upper chamber. In the water world, 2018 has been a similar banner year, with noteworthy appointments of women to top leadership posts in California — Karla Nemeth at the California Department of Water Resources and Gloria Gray at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
