You are now in San Diego County category.

Four East San Diego County Communities Ordered To Boil Water Due To Power Outages

/in /by /ABC 10 News (San Diego)

Four East San Diego County communities were told Friday to boil their water due to recent power outages. The public water systems lost pressure in their water distribution systems during the outage.The County of San Diego, Department of Environmental Health issued the advisory for:

  • Boulevard Pines Mobile Home & RV Park at 39375 Old Highway 80, Boulevard
  • Butterfield Ranch at 14925 Great Southern Overland, Julian
  • Cameron Corners at 31484 Hwy 94, Campo
  • Campo Group at 31471 Hwy 94, Campo
  • Vallecito County Park at 37349 Great Southern Overland, Julian
Full Story

Stressed California Dams Often Go Years Without Repairs. Do ‘Little Things’ Add Up To Danger?

/in /by /The Sacramento Bee

When it comes to inspecting dams, California is second to none. A panel of national experts examined the state’s Division of Safety of Dams last year and declared it tops in the field, citing inspectors’ knack for flagging small problems before they turn serious. Getting dam owners to fix those flaws quickly is another matter.

Full Story

OPINION: DWR to Award up to $1 Billion in Contracts for Proposal, Before Completing Permit Process & Financial Analysis

/in /by /YubaNet (Nevada City)

Officials for CA WaterFix Industry Day announced that while not all funding is available for WaterFix presently, that the first $1 billion for four contracts will be made public today, December 7, 2017. The Design Construction Enterprise (a CA WaterFix unit staffed by Metropolitan Water District employees and associates embedded in the Department of Water Resources), will be organizing into a Construction Joint Powers Authority and awarding contracts despite reports of dubious financial arrangements and project management qualifications as reported by the State Auditor.

Full Story

SDG&E Crews Making Progress On Restoring Power; 9,500 Still Without Electricity

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune

Taking advantage of a break in the weather, crews from San Diego Gas & Electric on Friday made headway in restoring power to customers who had been shut off in the wake of deadly wildfire conditions. As of 5 p.m., the utility reported 9,470 customers were back online after SDG&E crews patrolled power lines serving portions of East Ramona, Pala Mesa, Viejas and Sunrise Highway. Earlier in the day, crews brought back power to portions of Alpine, Bonsall and Rainbow.

Full Story

Arizona’s Recent Six-Year Dry Spell Was The Worst In Nearly 700 Years

/in /by /Phoenix New Timesby Ray Stern

The six-year dry spell in Arizona that ended earlier this year was likely an unprecedented event not seen in the past 675 years. The interesting and spooky factoid comes from studies of tree-ring data that were used to estimate flows from the rivers that provide water to metro Phoenix and other parts of central Arizona. As you might think, the freaky stretch of poor river flow doesn’t bode well for the state’s future.

Full Story

Just Subtract Water – How A Dry Spell Allowed Winds To Lash California With Flames

/in /by /U.S. Newsby Alex Dobuzinskis

Hot, dry Santa Ana winds will likely whip up the unseasonably fierce wildfires ravaging Southern California on Thursday, forecasters said. The gales have come at the worst time, at the end of a long dry spell. The combination of savage Santa Anas and tinder-dry plants have ignited large wildfires in the region this week, upending lives at a time when many people were preparing for the winter holidays, officials said. It served as a reminder that parts of California increasingly face a year-round threat of flames.

Full Story

Dry Start To Water Year

/in /by /Hanford Sentinelby John Lindt

It’s been day and night comparing rainfall between northern and southern California through the first week of December. While Northern California stands at 112 percent of average for this date, the Tulare Basin is only 39 percent of average. The beleaguered city of Ventura stands at just 1.5 percent of average rain for this date says the National Weather Service. High pressure across the state this month is blocking any storm system in the Pacific from coming in at least until Dec 22.

Full Story

Santa Barbara Hits Its Seventh Year Of Drought

/in /by /Sana Barbara Independantby Nick Welsh

Santa Barbara is now entering the seventh year of drought conditions, a circumstance City of Santa Barbara Public Works czar Rebecca Bjork called “unprecedented.” Bjork’s remarks ​— ​it’s been seven years since Lake Cachuma has spilled ​— ​came as she gave the City Council its monthly update on drought and water supply issues. The good news is that city residents are using less water now than they have anytime since 1985. They used 35 percent less in the month of October than they consume during a so-called “normal” month. Annualized, the numbers are even more dramatic: 40 percent less.

Full Story

A Special Fires Edition

/in /by /The New York Timesby Adam Nagourney

The year-end fires sweeping Southern California this week have raised a worrisome question: Where is the rain?The rainy season typically starts in October and lasts through April, with the heaviest rain coming from December through March. Precipitation has been at or above-normal in Northern California, but there has been little rain in the south.Since Oct. 1 just 2.3 inches have fallen in Los Angeles, or 5 percent of average. In San Diego, it’s 1.5 inches, or 1 percent of average, according to the California Department of Water Resources.

Full Story

San Diego’s Toni Atkins Is Tapped As The First Woman Leader Of The California State Senate

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune

California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De León announced Thursday that the chamber is set to pick San Diego Sen. Toni Atkins as his successor, making her the first woman and first openly gay legislator to hold the leadership position, a move that is bringing praise from Democrats and Republicans alike. De León, D-Los Angeles, said in a statement that Atkins, D-San Diego, “will make history and be our Senate’s next president pro tempore. I have every confidence she will lead America’s most accomplished legislative chamber to even greater heights and build on our extraordinary progress.”

Full Story