This state slashed urban water use over 25 percent in the face of a punishing drought last year, exceeding a mandatory order issued by Gov. Jerry Brown and turning California into a model of water conservation. Californians tore out lawns, cut back landscape watering and took shorter showers as they embraced Mr. Brown’s call to accommodate what he warned were permanently drier times.
Signaling a cutback in water supplies for farming and cities, California regulators on Wednesday issued a new scientific analysis that proposes overhauling the management of the Sacramento River and devoting more water to Northern California’s dwindling fish populations.The State Water Resources Control Board, in a widely anticipated report crafted by its staff, said it’s considering allowing much more of the flow from the Sacramento River and its tributaries to wash out into the ocean.The board avoided issuing a specific recommendation on how much additional water should go to fish.
A recent study is recommending a water rate increase for users within the Carlsbad Municipal Water District.
The cost of service study is requesting the CMWD fall in line with industry standards for its revenue, which consists of 30 percent from fixed rate funds and 70 percent of rate per unit of water used. Currently, the city collects 27 percent from fixed rates and 73 percent from rate per unit.
A public hearing will be held Nov. 29 at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive. CMWD customers have until Nov. 29 to submit protest letters.
If approved, rates would increase by about $5 per month, according to the city.
If you’re a homeowner who wants to convert your lawn into a landscape that will use less water, you may be eligible for a rebate through the San Diego County Water Authority. The agency is accepting applications for rebates using $1.1 million in grants from the Department of Water Resources. Homeowners can apply to receive up to $1.75 per square foot toward projects that would change grass or other turf areas for more water-efficient landscaping. Eligible projects can be as large as 500 to 3,000 square feet but must currently have turf and irrigation systems.
New financial incentives are available for homeowners who want to replace water-hungry lawns with more efficient landscaping, the San Diego County Water Authority announced Wednesday. The agency has $500,000 available from grants awarded by the state Department of Water Resources, and an upcoming grant is expected to add another $600,000. Qualified applicants can receive up to $1.75 per square foot toward eligible project costs for upgrading 500 to 3,000 square feet of existing turf areas, according to the Water Authority. Funding for incentives is limited, and will be reserved for completed and approved applications on a first-come, first-served basis.
California may be going into its sixth year of drought and while many residents have been conscious of their water usage, it might not be enough.The state could be rolling out a first ever permanent water budget, which would be on a district to district basis. Jeff Stephenson from the San Diego County Water Authority joined KUSI with more.
A series of storms that ripped through the region last weekend did more than coat the Sierra Nevada with a thin layer of snow. They also sent an estimated 11 billion gallons of water into Lake Tahoe, according to a Facebook post Tuesday from the National Weather Service in Reno. That’s enough water to raise the lake level by more than three inches, according to the weather service. “For reference, that’s roughly equivalent to the average total consumptive water use in a year from the Truckee River by the Truckee Meadows Water Authority,” the weather service reported.
Tree rings in the American Southwest provide evidence of megadroughts that hit the region hundreds of years ago. According to a new study from Cornell University, these droughts have been linked to the demise of civilizations, and changing climate conditions virtually assure that another one is on its way. If precipitation decreases, stays them same, or even increases slightly in the coming years, there’s a 99 percent chance of a megadrought hitting the region, the study says.
Los Angeles-based nonprofit TreePeople made headlines last year with a plan to retrofit half a dozen pilot homes with tanks and rain gardens. Today, all the rainwater capture systems have been installed and they highlight how homeowners can be part of the solution to some of California’s water problems. As the organization prepares insights on how the pilot program can be expanded, Water Deeply spoke to TreePeople’s senior policy director, Deborah Weinstein Bloome.
To the editor: Water desalinization is the solution to both saving the Salton Sea and providing water for crop irrigation in the Imperial and San Joaquin valleys. (“Where’s the money and the plan that will save the Salton Sea?” Opinion, Oct. 16) A pumping station built in San Felipe in Baja California would pump water from the Sea of Cortez into the Salton Sea. A desalination plant built in the Salton Sea would provide treated water to Imperial Valley farms for irrigation and consumption.
