Everyone’s rain dances are working. The Thanksgiving week weather forecast for the San Francisco Bay Area looks more likely for the first precipitation in a month, as California is ravaged by the deadliest wildfire in state history, raging through bone-dry foothills, and sending unhealthy pollution through the most populated regions.
The California Supreme Court will weigh in on whether environmental review is required for each new water well project. The issue of groundwater extraction heightened during California’s prolonged drought. All six justices during their weekly meeting Nov. 14 voted to review an appellate decision involving Stanislaus County.
Fire weather arrived in San Diego this weekend, traveling southward from Butte County via Ventura and Los Angeles. Its journey here gave us snapshots of a grim new reality: the unbelievable speed and scale of California wildfires. A line of burned-out cars in the Sierra foothill town of Paradise, and social media accounts of desperate attempts to outrun the Camp Fire. Four one-way lanes on the Pacific Coast Highway during a mass evacuation of Malibu to escape the Woolsey Fire.
Fast burning fires, aided by strong, east winds and low humidity, devastated the Butte County community of Paradise over the last week and sent hazardous smoke over the San Francisco Bay area. It’s a tragedy that’s becoming too frequent. Climate change is scorching California. It’s critical for water agencies to adapt to this hotter and drier future. Throughout the state, municipalities are diversifying their supplies by recycling wastewater into drinkable water.
Absent major changes to farming practices and an increase in water supply, Kern County’s farming juggernaut will have to shrink considerably to meet aggressive new targets for conservation. A study commissioned by the Kern Groundwater Authority suggests tremendous job losses are a possibility as water district managers and farmers work toward compliance with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
San Diego County residents have targeted more than 1 million square feet of turf grass for replacement with WaterSmart landscaping through free landscape makeover classes sponsored by the San Diego County Water Authority over the past five years. While not all the targeted turf has actually been removed, post-class surveys show that many participants end up taking out more turf than they initially planned after seeing the benefits of their work, said Joni German, who coordinates the Water Authority’s award-winning WaterSmart Landscape Makeover Series.
The San Diego County Water Authority approved a change order for their Moosa Canyon Erosion Control project. The CWA board approval Oct. 25, adds $351,000 to the contract amount and is the third change order associated with the dewatering system needed to address groundwater, which was encountered at a higher level than expected. The newest change order increases the total contract amount with Granite Construction from $1,445,889 to $1,806,889, while changing the contract end date from Oct. 31 to Dec. 31.
Downed trees. Closed schools. Dead power lines. Dust-choked freeways. Frayed nerves. Pinched sinuses. The arid Santa Ana winds made life miserable across San Diego County for a second straight day on Tuesday. But by mid-afternoon, the region had escaped what it fears most: a major wildfire. And that was seen as something of a miracle by the National Weather Service.
For the past week, California has been locked in a tense, daily mix of choking thick smoke and dangerously dry, windy fire-weather conditions. But an end might be around the corner. Meteorologists said Tuesday that two storm systems appear to be developing over the Pacific Ocean, with rain increasingly likely next week for most of the state. “It looks like the storm door is going to open,” said Jan Null, a meteorologist with Golden Gate Weather Services in Saratoga.
A water district which serves parts of the Conejo Valley suffered major damage during the Woolsey Fire, but officials say they were able to keep water supplies flowing in most spots as the blaze moved through the area. The Los Virgenes Municipal Water District suffered fire damage to its water filtration and composting facilities. Power outages affected the system, but managers were able to borrow generators from other water agencies to stay in operation.
