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How Ranchers Are Getting By With Less Water Across The West

/in , /by /Water Deeplyby Cassidy Johnston

In the summer, all we talk about is rain. Walk into a diner or a barn, or just run into someone at the store, and the first question anyone asks – even before, “How are you?” – is, “Did you get any rain?” It’s the same in New Mexico as in Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona and California. Everyone is concerned because, as ranchers, we know the health of our cattle depends on the amount of water that falls out of the sky. And this year, it hasn’t been a lot.

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Break in the Weather Helps California Firefighters Battle Massive Blazes Across State

/in /by /Los Angeles Timesby Tony Barbosa

Cooler, calmer weather is helping firefighters get a handle on battling the largest wildfires burning across California and preventing new blazes from getting out of control.

Temperatures are cooling slightly, and humidity is inching upward due to a weakened high-pressure system that forecasters say will persist through Tuesday.

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Millions to be Spent Protecting SF Bay Shoreline From Sea Level Rise

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby John Wildermuth

A decades-old plan to protect Alviso and surrounding South Bay areas from devastating floods has moved closer to reality with $177 million in federal funds to begin work on a 4-mile-long levee and wetlands restoration.

The combination of flood control and environmental improvements will be a model for the rest of the country, Sam Schuchat, executive officer of the state Coastal Conservancy, said Friday at an event celebrating the project at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Alviso.

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‘Water Tax’ Is Back

/in , /by /Voice of San Diegoby Sara Libby and Ry Rivard

Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration is working to revive a controversial plan to tax water customers across the state.

The governor and others have been pushing to add a new $1 fee to water bills to help provide safe drinking water to more than 300,000 Californians in mostly rural areas.

A new version of the tax could pop back up in the next few days. It would make the fee a “voluntary donation” by allowing customers to opt out of paying it.

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County Water Authority Votes to Support $17B ‘WaterFix’ Proposal

/in , /by /Fox 5 San Diego

The San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors Thursday unanimously voted to support current plans for California WaterFix, the state’s $17 billion proposal to address water supply constraints in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta.

The board’s backing is contingent on a financing plan that fairly allocates project costs to San Diego County taxpayers, according to the Water Authority. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the sole source of Bay-Delta water for the San Diego region, is responsible for such allocations.

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San Diego Probably Just Had The Warmest August Night in City History

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Robert Krier

San Diegans, yes, your body thermostats are operating properly. The nights have been hot. Extremely hot. Record-breaking hot.

San Diego has just had what is likely to go down as the warmest August night in city history. The low after 12:01 a.m. on Thursday was 77 degrees. No other August night has been that warm, going back to 1874.

(National Weather Service forecasters did not expect the low to drop below 77 before midnight Thursday, which is the cut-off time for official daily records.)

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OPINION: California Plays a Leading, Effective Role in Confronting Climate Change

/in , /by /Sacrqamento Beeby Carl Guardino
Our state – our planet – is running a fever. Climate change is directly impacting our lives, our economy and our residents.

The fires raging across California are causing devastation on an unprecedented scale. Currently, 14,000 firefighters are battling 16 major fires, which have destroyed more than 2,000 homes and killed at least 10 people.

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CWA Approves Water Service Agreement With Sycuan

/in , /by /East County Californianby Joe Naiman Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority approved a water service agreement with the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation.

The SDCWA approved the agreement on a July 26 board vote with no opposition and Padre Dam Municipal Water District general manager Doug Wilson, who is Padre Dam’s representative on the CWA board, recusing himself.

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Water Authority Conditionally Backs $17 Billion Delta Tunnels Plan

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

The San Diego County Water Authority’s board of directors gave conditional support Thursday to the California WaterFix, the state’s $17 billion plan to upgrade key water infrastructure.

San Diego joins the Metropolitan Water District in Los Angeles and Santa Clara County Water District in Silicon Valley in backing one Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature long-term projects.

The massive project would divert water from the Sacramento River as it enters the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and carry it to existing federal and state pumping stations in the southern part of the delta through one or two 35-mile tunnels.

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Smoke Should Clear; Heat To Stay

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Robert Krier

Northwestern San Diego County got off to a smoky start Thursday after smoke from the Holy fire in Orange County drifted over the region Wednesday night. The weather pattern should clear out the smoke Thursday, but it will only add to the heat. The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning, in effect until 8 p.m. Thursday, from the foothills to the coast. Highs at the beaches could reach the mid 90s, while the inland valleys could be as hot as 104. The culprit is a push of hot air from the east.

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