You are now in California and the U.S. category.

California’s Drought Produces The Nation’s Worst Smog

/in /by /The Morning News (New York)by Sam Stecklow

Seven of the 10 worst cities in America for air pollution are in California, per the American Lung Association. The two worst—Bakersfield and the Visalia-Porterville-Hanford metro area—are trending down. The two bear much of the attack that California’s drought is waging on the state’s air quality. Their location at the southern tip of the Central Valley, where the sun beats down unobstructed, creates an “inversion layer” of warm air, trapping industrial chemicals beneath it.

Full Story

California Keeps On Farming, With or Without Water

/in /by /Comstock's (Sacramento)by Justin Fox

California agriculture, which had been plowing ahead in the face of a major drought, finally had an off year in 2015, according to data released recently by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The state’s farms brought in cash receipts of an estimated $47.1 billion (this will be revised in the months and years to come), down from a record $56.6 billion in 2014. Here’s how that looks in historical context, with the numbers adjusted for inflation.

Full Story

After Californians Saved Less Water Amid Drought, Are New Cuts Coming?

/in /by /Press-Telegram (Long Beach)by Lauren Williams

Californians saved about 30 percent less water in September than they did a year earlier, and state water officials said Tuesday they might revive mandated cuts. Overall, communities statewide conserved 18.3 percent this September compared with the same time three years ago, according to data released Tuesday. But compared with the same time last year — when Californians saved 26.2 percent in water consumption — water use increased by nearly 8 percent. The state changed its water conservation program in May, switching from mandatory cuts to voluntary cuts. Officials said they would consider another change if drought conditions persist and water consumption continues to grow.

Full Story

OPINION: Australia’s Lesson For A Thirsty California

/in /by /The New York Timesby Sylvia Rowley

On his first visit to Melbourne in 2009, Stanley Grant, a drought expert and professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Irvine, had a question for his taxi driver. “How’s the drought?” he asked. “It’s about 28 percent,” came the reply. Grant was puzzled. But shortly afterward, they drove past an electronic road sign announcing that the city’s reservoirs were indeed at just 28 percent of capacity. The taxi driver knew the state of the reservoirs exactly.

Full Story

Water Conservation Improved In September But Is Still Worse Than In 2015

/in /by /Los Angeles Timesby Matt Stevens

Californians halted a three-month slide in water conservation in September, saving enough to hearten state regulators who previously had expressed alarm about possible drought fatigue. Residents and businesses cut their water consumption by 18.3% in September compared with the same month in 2013. The savings represented a slight uptick from the 17.5% reduction urban Californians managed in August. “I am glad to see the slide stop, and even reverse a bit overall, especially as we move into traditionally lower water-use months when we would expect [savings] percentages to drop significantly,” State Water Resources Control Board Chairwoman Felicia Marcus said in a statement.

 

Full Story

A ‘Welcome Number’ On Water Savings

/in /by /The Record (Stockton)

A drop-off in Californians’ water conservation efforts seems to have leveled off, state officials said Tuesday, though residents still used more water during the month of September than they did the same month in 2015. The news comes one month after the State Water Resources Control Board expressed concern that savings were slipping. Earlier, the board had decided to relax the rules and allow cities to set their own numeric targets; most decided that none were needed. So when conservation starting slumping, critics said the board wasn’t taking aggressive enough action.

 

Full Story

State, County Water Conservation Rebounds In September

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith Quoted: Dana Friehauf

As California faces the prospect of a sixth-straight year of drought, fears have been somewhat tempered that residents and businesses would abandon water savings in response to state officials lifting mandatory conservation standards. The State Water Resources Control Board announced Tuesday that urban water use across the state, as well as in San Diego County, declined in September after having been on the rise for several months.

 

 

Full Story

This man is bankrolling a California ballot measure to force voter approval on big bonds. Would that kill projects like high-speed rail?

/in /by /Los Angeles Timesby John Myers

Dean Cortopassi makes no apologies for it: He’s angry about government debt. And his anger explains why he was willing to go it alone and bankroll the effort to place Proposition 53 on the Nov. 8 ballot.

A wealthy Central Valley farmer and tomato cannery owner, Cortopassi contends that politicians refuse to either fully disclose or accept the long-term cost of billions of dollars in local and state government borrowing. This proposition would require any revenue bond of $2 billion or more to be approved by California voters.

Full Story

Groundwater Policy Confusion at State Level

/in /by /California Ag Today (Clovis)by Patrick Cavanaugh

Many residents in California’s agricultural regions rely on groundwater from private wells rather than from municipal supplies for clean drinkable water. Test results on many of these wells have revealed excess nitrates and other dangerous elements. Indisputably, all state residents deserve clean potable water. Cris Carrigan, director of the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Office of Enforcement, issued confidential letters to growers in two regions, Salinas Valley and the Tulare Lake Basin, demanding these farmers supply potable water to the citizens in need.

Full Story

‘Pee on 53’ – Brown Invokes Sutter Against Measure on Delta tunnels

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby Christopher Cadelago

After undergoing emergency surgery to remove life-threatening masses, Gov. Jerry Brown’s beloved corgi has again been called into service.

Sutter, having recently returned home following the cancer diagnosis, was at Brown’s side when he campaigned for a 2012 sales and income tax hike, Proposition 30. At the Capitol, amid tense budget negotiations, the pooch appeared on playing cards urging over-exuberant legislators to exercise some fiscal restraint, dispensing such wisdom as “bark if you hate deficits!” and “always keep a bone buried in the back yard.”

Full Story