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California Has a Lot More Water Than Some Think, New Stanford Study Suggests

/in /by /Los Angeles Timesby Shelby Grad

Drought-stricken California might have a hidden water bonanza. A Stanford University study released Monday said the state has three times more groundwater located in deep aquifers than earlier estimated.

The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said this water source is much deeper than traditional aquifers and that tapping it would likely require a lot of money and engineering expertise.

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Los Angeles Dispenses Free Recycled Water to Its Residents

/in /by /CityLab (Washington, D.C.)by Eillie Anzilotti

California may have lifted its emergency water-use restrictions in May, but that doesn’t mean the region’s dry spell has ended. It’s just no longer what Felicia Marcus of the state water board described to Time as “the-worst-snowpack-in-500-years drought.”

Now that the past year’s El Nino rainstorms have brought some life back into the west coast lands, California cities and residents are working to implement water conservation practices as a part of everyday life. A new program from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is one such case in point.

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California’s Wildfire Fueled by Dead Trees

/in /by /The Wall Street Journalby Jennifer Calfas

Drought, extreme heat and high winds have fueled wildfires across the western U.S. this month. But another enemy is driving California’s most destructive blaze of the fire season so far: tens of millions of dead trees.

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How Much Water are Top Suppliers Committing to Save This Year? Zilch.

/in /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

A year after California attacked the drought with an unprecedented water rationing program that drove cities and towns to cut back 24 percent collectively, state officials have changed course and given local agencies the leeway to come up with their own water-saving goals.

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Reclamation Announces $3 Million in Agricultural Water Conservation and Efficiency Grants

/in /by /Imperial Valley News

The Bureau of Reclamation announces the selection of three California water districts to receive $3 million total in Agricultural Water Conservation and Efficiency grants for Fiscal Year 2016. The grants, combined with local cost share contributions, total more than $6 million slated for water management improvement projects to be implemented during the next two years.

The AWCE program is a joint effort with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to promote district level water conservation improvements that facilitate on-farm water use efficiency and conservation projects. With NRCS support, Reclamation selected three projects for funding.

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Water Restrictions May Lessen in San Diego

/in /by /NBC 7 (San Diego)by Brie Stimson Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The City of San Diego recommended moving from a Level Two Drought Alert to a Level One Drought Watch, which would reduce water restrictions.

The suggestion came Thursday after the San Diego County Water Authority’s (CWA) determination that the region has an adequate water supply for the next three and a half years thanks to conservation efforts and new water supply sources.

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Judge Invalidates Long-Fought Delta Management Plan

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby Ryan Sabalow

In a decision that could delay or complicate Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to build two huge tunnels in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a Superior Court judge ruled Friday that a comprehensive management plan for the estuary is no longer valid.

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OPINION: I’ve Never Seen Anything Like the Erskine Fire

/in /by /Bakersfield.comby Casey Christie

I’ve photographed dozens of wildland fires in my 37 years as a photojournalist and as a resident of Bodfish, we’ve been packed and ready to go more than once. But the Erskine Fire has wrought devastation like I have never seen, and hope to never see again.

The 2002 Deer Fire started behind my house and burned many structures in the area as the wind-whipped flames ran into our neighboring town of Lake Isabella, causing havoc along its path. Like our neighbors, we prepare as much as possible by clearing brush, pine needles and weeds. We’ve cleaned out a ravine behind the house three times already this year.

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What Drought? Many Californians no Longer Required to Curb Water Use

/in /by /Los Angeles Timesby Matt Stevens

After a year of mandatory water conservation that shortened showers and faded lawns, millions of drought-weary Californians will no longer be required to aggressively cut back their use.

In order to comply with the state’s latest emergency regulation, local water providers this week submitted documents intended to demonstrate whether their agencies have enough supply to meet customers’ demands for another three severely dry years.

 

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Water Rates to Increase in San Diego County

/in /by /SD Metro Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors on Thursday adopted rate increases of 6.4 percent for untreated water and 5.9 percent for treated water in 2017, near the low end of projections and similar to the increases adopted by the Board of Directors for 2016.

Rates adopted by the board are primarily driven by higher costs from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, though they also incorporate higher costs for drought-proof water supplies from the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant. They also were impacted by state-mandated reductions in water use that decreased sales more than earlier projections.

 

 

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