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OPINION: Water Conservation Needs to be a Way of Life

/in /by /San Jose Mercury Newsby Barbara Keegan

Our community has done an outstanding job of reducing water use, and we thank you for embodying all of our water savings slogans: Brown became the new green. Rain or shine, you kept saving water. You fought the drought, inside and out.

 We know that you’re tired of the drought. But, it’s not over. In fact, we may face more frequent droughts in the future as our climate changes. Now is not the time to let our guard down. We need to be ready in case the next few years are as dry as the last few.

 

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OPINION: Water Agencies Shortsighted with Zero Conservation Goal

/in /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)

Coachella Valley water agencies are sending the wrong message to customers who’ve spent the last year struggling to conserve this most precious resource.

All six of the area’s water suppliers have told state officials they’re officially shooting for a zero percent conservation rate compared to 2013, the benchmark year the state has been using to rate progress on that front.Though this is disappointing, no one should be surprised.

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Sale of Delta Islands on Hold – Again

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby Ryan Sabalow

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s $175 million purchase of five islands in the heart of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is on hold again.

The 3rd District Court of Appeal on Friday reinstated a temporary stay order it lifted on Thursday because the parties challenging the sale are going to appeal to the California Supreme Court.

A coalition of environmental groups and local water districts, along with San Joaquin and Contra Costa counties, had requested the stay as part of a broader lawsuit challenging the sale.

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How Sin City Might Get Watered Down

/in /by /GovTech (Folsom)by Elizabeth Daigneau

As the nation’s driest big city, Las Vegas knows a thing or two about water. With a metro population of more than 2 million people and just 4 inches of rain a year, the city has learned how to be very, very frugal. Now it’s taking that water consciousness — and all the years of experimentation it’s driven — and using it to transform itself into a hub for new and innovative water technologies. Long a leader in water conservation, Las Vegas has kept its water use down through a combination of fines, enforcement, incentives, education and innovation.

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OPINION: California May Have a Water ‘Rainy Day Fund’

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune

Californians are so used to bad news on the water front — from lengthy droughts to soaring water rates — that any good news seems particularly welcome. That’s certainly the case with a Stanford University study showing that the parched Central Valley has three times as much groundwater as previously assumed.

Researchers Mary Kang and Robert Jackson found the water in areas 1,000 to 3,000 feet underground, going much deeper than normal surveys.

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Fighting Drought Will Be a Long-Term Battle, Says Study

/in /by /Water Deeply (New York)

The California drought is now in its fifth year. But what if we told you it could take four more years to get out of it?

That’s the alarming result of a study published June 21 in Geophysical Research Letters. The study analyzed California’s mountain snowpack to assess the severity of the current drought and compare it to past water shortages. The study found that the current drought is, without question, the worst ever recorded in the state as measured by the “deficit” in the snowpack and the crucial freshwater it provides to the state.

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Delta Islands Sale Blocked By Court Order Again

/in /by /San Jose Mercury Newsby Denis Cuff

The sale of four Delta islands to Southern California’s largest water district was put back on hold Friday by an appeals court as Northern California opponents plan to take their case to the state Supreme Court. Contra Costa and San Joaquin counties, environmentalists, and Delta land owners have opposed the move as linked to the governor’s plans to build twin water tunnels to export pumps near Tracy in the southern Delta. Two of the islands are along the route for the tunnels.

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Delta Interests Get Another Delay on Islands Sale

/in /by /Stockton Record

Delta interests won another last-minute, temporary reprieve on Friday in their efforts to block Southern California’s controversial $175 million purchase of about 20,000 acres of land in the fragile estuary.The deal had been expected to close as soon as next week, after the 3rd District Court of Appeal on Thursday lifted an order that had delayed the purchase for several weeks.But the court reinstated that order Friday after San Joaquin and Contra Costa counties, along with Delta farmers and environmentalists, pleaded for time to persuade the state Supreme Court to take up the matter.

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2018 Farm Bill tapped for talks in Sacramento

/in /by /The Farm Press

California-centric priorities for the 2018 Farm Bill will be discussed at a July 5 meeting of the State Board of Food and Agriculture in Sacramento.

The meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the California Department of Food and Agriculture – Main Auditorium, 1220 N Sacramento.

“This meeting is the beginning of our outreach efforts to stakeholders to gather input and help shape California’s recommendations concerning national farm programs and policy,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “Developing California’s priorities for the 2018 farm bill allow us to help frame the discussion as preparations begin at the federal level.”

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As State Loosens Grip on Conservation Rules, La Cañada Utilities Make Plans for a Dry Future

/in /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sara Cardine

A decade ago, before the state of California declared itself to be entering a prolonged drought period, most La Cañada Flintridge residents were pretty loose with their taps.

Customers served by Foothill Municipal Water District, an agency that imports water from Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, used an average of about 296 gallons of water per person in a single day in 2006-07. One of the FMWD’s member agencies stood out for its consumption: Valley Water Co. customers used a staggering 435 gallons per person per day, according to the district’s figures.

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