It has long been plain that California must do a better job of capturing rainfall and melting snow by adding water storage. Yet for decades, governors, lawmakers and bureaucrats have struggled to agree on funding for new or expanded dams or reservoirs — even as the state’s population has grown amid droughts from 25 million in 1982 to 40 million now.
In the wake of a successful summer kickoff event aboard the USS Midway on June 21, the San Diego County Water Authority and its member agencies are taking the new Brought To You By Water outreach and education program to events throughout the region this summer, including farmers’ markets, concerts in the park, and street fairs. The program’s visual ambassador — a 10-foot-diameter beach ball emblazoned with the ‘Brought to You by Water’ logo — has proved to be a hit.
It’s not just the northern San Joaquin Valley that should be concerned about the state water board’s plan to redirect water away from farms and cities in a misguided bid to save fish. No matter where you live in California—and no matter your source of water—you should be worried. For now, the focus rests on regions along the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers. From there, it moves to the Sacramento Valley and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and from there, who knows where?
Superior Court Judge John S. Meyer ruled in favor of the San Diego County Water Authority on July 20 in a lawsuit that alleged the agency violated the state’s primary open meetings statute, known as the Brown Act. San Diegans for Open Government, represented by Cory Briggs, sued the Water Authority on June 12, 2017, claiming violations of the Brown Act.
For the first time since California’s dam-building boom ended nearly a half century ago, state officials on Tuesday approved a windfall of cash for new water storage projects, setting the stage for at least a mini-resurgence of reservoir construction. The historic $2.7 billion of voter-approved bond money will go to elevating two Bay Area dams, at Los Vaqueros Reservoir near Livermore and Pacheco Reservoir east of Gilroy, as well as to the development of two much larger dams in the Central Valley. Funds also will go to four less traditional endeavors that store water underground.
Hoover Dam helped transform the American West, harnessing the force of the Colorado River — along with millions of cubic feet of concrete and tens of millions of pounds of steel — to power millions of homes and businesses. It was one of the great engineering feats of the 20th century. Now it is the focus of a distinctly 21st-century challenge: turning the dam into a vast reservoir of excess electricity, fed by the solar farms and wind turbines that represent the power sources of the future.
Historic heat records fell in California earlier this month. Yet, two weeks later, another mass of warm air has returned to the southern part of the state, heating the region for days. The second heat wave of July will last from Monday through Thursday, said the National Weather Service. While this heat won’t be quite as severe as the last, it’ll still bring “record and near-record high temperatures” to different areas of California. As average temperatures around the globe continue their accelerated rise, extreme heat events like these are becoming more and more frequent.
California officials Tuesday awarded $816 million in voter-approved bond money to build Sites Reservoir, an hour north of Sacramento, providing a financial boost for what would become the largest water storage project built in the state since the 1970s. Approved by the State Water Commission, the funds were the most given to any of the eight projects across California under consideration for a part of the $2.7 billion Proposition 1 water bond. Voters passed the bond in 2014 during the state’s historic drought.
California water officials have approved more than $2.5 billion for eight water projects across the state, marking one of the largest investments in water storage in decades. The proposed projects, including two in the Bay Area, will now begin seeking permits and looking for the remaining funding they need. Half of the eight projects approved on Tuesday by the California Water Commission are more traditional reservoirs and dams, while the other half focus on groundwater storage and recycled water.
WaterSmart landscapes are transforming San Diego County’s neighborhoods in part due to the work of Paul Redeker and his colleagues at The Water Conservation Garden in El Cajon. “We’re a learning center, not just a place where you’re surrounded by beautiful plants,” said Redeker, who recently returned for a second run as director of horticulture and facilities the garden. “All of our exhibits are geared toward teaching. We are all about educating the public to be inspired to make changes in their lives because we’re literally at the end of the water pipeline.”
