You are now in San Diego County category.

Objectively, of course, Lake Mead is definitely well beyond half empty. But we like people who challenge orthodoxy around here, so a new study about Arizona’s water woes caught our eye. Western Resource Advocates, a water conservation group based in Colorado, issued a sobering report last week about Arizona’s water shortage. “Arizona’s Water Future” concludes that it’s a tossup whether the state will have to begin water rationing next year.

Last winter’s extreme storms notwithstanding, water remains scarce in California. Between climate change and ongoing growth, California can’t afford to squander a single gallon. Yet in Orange County, a project that could increase water supply by 50 million potable gallons daily has been awaiting approval since 1998. There are pros and cons aplenty to the $1 billion desalination plant proposed for Huntington Beach by Poseidon Water. And in the nearly 20 years during which state and local authorities mulled it, all have been masticated thoroughly.

 

For years, California was in need of water, but a series of storms this year have brought the much-needed resource to the state. While more water might be good for Los Angeles, it could mean major flooding in the Owens Valley, especially as the snow melts. Our Eyewitness News drone was over the same lake that Mayor Eric Garcetti toured by helicopter on Monday. He recently declared a state of emergency for the area.

The massive failure of the Oroville Dam’s main spillway in February involved two dozen potential design and maintenance problems, including thin concrete, inadequate reinforcing steel and weaknesses in the foundation, a panel of engineering experts reported Wednesday. A forensic investigation team said it was issuing a preliminary list of causes so that engineers do not repeat the problems as they rush to fix the spillway before the next cycle of rains begins in November. The two-page report does not identify what initiated the failure along the 3,000-foot chute that was used to drain the reservoir during massive winter storms.