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Artificial Turf Fields Taking Shape in Encinitas

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Barbara Henry

Work is well under way on new artificial turf playing fields at Leo Mullen Sports Park in Encinitas, and kids should be able to play on the new surface soon if all goes as planned. Part of the project’s $1 million price tag is being covered by a $171,248 water rebate from the Metropolitan Water District, and in order to receive that money, the city has to have the construction activity “substantially complete” by Sept. 6. “We actually think we’ll get the project done before that,” said city Public Works Director Glenn Pruim.

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Brown Signs Bill Allowing Utilities to Fine Water Wasters

/in /by /SCVTV (Santa Clarita) Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

California water suppliers can begin warning and fining residential users for excessive water use during drought emergencies under a bill signed Monday by Gov. Jerry Brown. California’s more than 400 urban water suppliers will be tasked with creating a scheme that identifies water-guzzling water homeowners drought emergencies as well as implementing a system to hand out warnings and potential fines. Senate Bill 814 takes effect Jan. 1 and gives suppliers the authority to create new rate structures for high-volume water offenders. The law also authorizes fines of $500 per each 748 gallons used above the district’s maximum threshold.

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BLOG: Should California Eradicate Bass From The Delta?

/in /by /Western Farm Pressby Todd Fitchette

If none of this were true this would sure make a great piece of fiction – except that it is true. It’s not fiction. A recent Modesto Bee editorial illustrates a level of absurdity among California’s agencies that may actually be malfeasance. The photo says it all, though I encourage you to read the entire editorial, particularly if following California’s water woes hasn’t been your thing. I understand if it hasn’t – the politics of it all is enough to cause brain hemorrhaging. Reading this was educational.

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OPINION: Support Garamendi in Twin Tunnels Fight

/in /by /Daily Democrat (Woodland)

The Delta region is home to Congressman John Garamendi, D-Solano, and that’s why he is willing to stand firmly against California Governor Jerry Brown on his continuing dream of creating Twin Tunnels. Garamendi, a native of Walnut Grove, and the long-time owner of a pear orchard knows what a healthy Delta means to the community, the farmers in the region, the fisheries and to the community at large. Building a tunnel system to export 15,000 cubic feet per second of water southward could effectively drain the Delta six months out of the year and cause irreparable harm, Garamendi said.

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Climate Change Has Less Impact on Drought Than Previously Expected

/in /by /PHYS.ORG

As a multiyear drought grinds on in the Southwestern United States, many wonder about the impact of global climate change on more frequent and longer dry spells. As humans emit more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, how will water supply for people, farms, and forests be affected? A new study from the University of California, Irvine and the University of Washington shows that water conserved by plants under high CO2 conditions compensates for much of the effect of warmer temperatures, retaining more water on land than predicted in commonly used drought assessments.

 

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OPINION: State Protects Predatory Striped Bass That Devour Salmon And Smelt

/in /by /The Fresno Bee
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The Latest: California Updates Rules on Water Guzzlers

/in /by /The Washington Times

The Latest on legislation approved by the governor (all times local): 6:30 p.m. Water districts would have to create policies to punish residents who use too much water during droughts under a bill signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown. Brown signed the bill requiring all districts to have policies for identifying and targeting heavy users during drought emergencies. That can include fines or a rate system that charges more for using large amounts of water. Democratic Sen. Jerry Hill of San Mateo says SB814 came after news reports that some residents used millions of

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In Drought, Drones Help California Farmers Save Every Drop

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Scott Smith

A drone whirred to life in a cloud of dust, then shot hundreds of feet skyward for a bird’s-eye view of a vast tomato field in California’s Central Valley, the nation’s most productive farming region. Equipped with a state-of-the-art thermal camera, the drone crisscrossed the field, scanning it for cool, soggy patches where a gopher may have chewed through the buried drip irrigation line and caused a leak. In the drought-prone West, where every drop of water counts, California farmers are in a constant search for ways to efficiently use the increasingly scarce resource.

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Pacific on Tap

/in /by /CA Special District (Sacramento) Quoted: Mark Weston

After three years of construction, the San Diego County Water Authority and Poseidon Water dedicated the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant on December 14, 2015.

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Drought Produces Western Region’s Driest Summer Since 1956

/in /by /The Daily Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, Mass.)by Stephanie Murray

Southampton farmer Tom Bashista doesn’t bother with insuring his crops. What’s the use, he says, of spending all your earnings from a good year on insurance, waiting for a bad year to come along? He’s standing next to an apple tree in the orchard that has borne the Bashista name since 1926. The sun is strong, the air is hot and thick with humidity like it has been all summer. In the shop, there’s an apple cake in the oven. The smell is infectious and sugary sweet.

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