It can be difficult to see any bright side when it comes to the water challenges facing the western U.S. Whether it’s the severe drought going on its fifth year or the nation’s largest reservoir, Lake Mead, hitting a historically low water level, there are many valid reasons to be concerned about the region’s dwindling water supplies.
The North San Diego Water Reuse Coalition issued a response Tuesday to the San Diego County Grand Jury’s May 31 report that commended the coalition for its voluntary collaboration in helping solve San Diego County’s drinking water supply problems with its regional recycled water project.
Everyone knows about the California Gold Rush – the massive migration of fortune seekers to the hills of the former Spanish colony in the late 1840s and 1850s. During the same period, however, there was another rush to California with a more lasting effect – farmers seeking fertile land and a mild climate. Those included the ill-fated Donner Party, but many thousands more. Many who came for the gold also learned that more durable fortunes were to be found in farming, such as my cousin, Hugh Glenn, the “wheat king of California” for whom Glenn County is named.
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem was once a very different place. Before levees and dams, the rivers and streams that flowed through the Central Valley into the San Francisco Bay swelled and shrank with the seasons. Huge, shallow floodplains warmed by the sun mingled with icy mountain snowmelt to create a habitat rich with microscopic plankton, the base of the aquatic food chain. Now, nearly all the waterways that feed the Delta are channelized for shipping, farming and flood control, none more so than the Sacramento River.
As drought-stricken residents of Los Angeles’s hottest neighborhoods replace thirsty lawns with native plants, pavers and bare soil, new research has shown how their local climates could begin tipping back in the direction of their desert-like origins. In a region beset this year by drought and powerful heat waves, the widespread adoption of drought-proof landscaping is expected to bring warmer days — and much cooler nights. Overall, experts say the changes would help to protect residents from heat waves, which are being made worse by global warming.
Offering a ray of hope in the struggle to save a tiny fish enmeshed in California’s water disputes, state officials say they have found a way to move around river water to produce more food for hungry or starving Delta smelt. The endangered fish, at record low numbers, has been hurt by a long-term decline in tiny water plants and creatures at the base of the food chain in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a source of water for 25 million Californians.
California’s top water guzzlers — the people who use tens of thousands of gallons more than their neighbors to keep lawns bright green during serious droughts — could soon be hit with higher water bills and their names made public if the drought continues. A law signed late Monday by Gov. Jerry Brown requires retail urban water suppliers with more than 3,000 customers to put in place rules that define “excessive water use” and impose them during drought emergencies.
The country’s largest desalination plant is in the ground at Carlsbad and its water is in our pipes, but the debate over whether it was a wise or economical investment continues.The ability to turn salty ocean water into drinking water creates a dependable water supply for 3 million people in San Diego County. Even without a drought continuing across California, the ability to constantly sip from the ocean seems like an obvious plus. There are downsides, though: The desalination process is energy-intensive and its water is currently far more expensive than our other water supplies.
Warm temperatures, low humidity and withered brush fed a wildfire in the rugged Orange County hills that charred 155 acres Wednesday as crews hustled to stop the spread of the flames. In neighboring Riverside County, firefighters continued to battle the Bogart fire, which grew to more than 2 square miles. The Holy fire started in the early morning just east of Trabuco Canyon in the Cleveland National Forest, according to Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Larry Kurtz. By late Wednesday, the blaze was 5% contained.
Since the Carlsbad Desalination Plant went online last December, you have probably noticed the difference in your water bill. Well, that extra cash is going back into paying for the project.This project was in development for 16 years and even though it’s extremely expensive, more agencies are looking to build similar plants up and down California.The water at the Claude Bud Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant is flowing about 10 billion gallons of fresh drinking water since it went online at the end of last year.
