You are now in California and the U.S. category.

BLOG: Sen. Feinstein: ‘We’ve Got to Reach Consensus’

/in /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Matt Weiser

Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s drought legislation, Senate Bill 2533, has been the focus of much attention in recent months as it is viewed as a potential solution to California’s water woes.

Short-term solutions in the bill include changes in federal law that would direct water and wildlife agencies to operate differently in order to make more water available from Shasta Reservoir and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Some of these changes involve adjusting how agencies manage biological opinions, a set of rules imposed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Full Story

Water users still cutting usage, report says

/in /by /The Los Angele Timesby Bryce Alderton

As water agencies throughout the state adjust to new rules regarding conservation, the State Water Resources Control Board this week issued figures for April indicating that Californians continued to cut water consumption.

Water use was reduced statewide by 26.1% compared with the same month in 2013, the year the state board set for comparison purposes.

The news came as Laguna Beach County and South Coast water, as well as districts throughout the state, are preparing to submit revised conservation targets to the board that prove they can supply their customers with enough water for the next three years, assuming drought conditions persist.

Full Story

El Niño Is Over—Make Way for La Niña and a Drier Winter

/in /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewein

U.S. government weather forecasters said Thursday they expect the La Niña weather phenomenon to take place in the Northern Hemisphere later this year, as El Niño conditions have dissipated.

The forecast means Southern California could experience a drier winter, following a winter that didn’t bring as much rain as expected.

The Climate Prediction Center, an agency of the National Weather Service, said in its monthly forecast La Niña is favored to develop during the summer and pegged the chance of La Niña developing in the fall and winter 2016-17 at 75 percent.

Full Story

San Diego is prepared to handle multi-year drought

/in /by /City News Services (As Published by The CW6) Quoted: Mark Weston

You still shouldn’t water the lawn too much, but the San Diego region will have enough water supply to meet demand for the next three years even if they’re dry, the County Water Authority reported Thursday.

The agency’s Board of Directors, after hearing the projections from staff, voted unanimously to take a regional approach to the state’s new process for certifying supply sufficiency for the Water Authority’s 24 member agencies, and to establish a long-term drought awareness initiative.

Full Story

5 San Diego region has enough water for the next 3-years

/in /by /CBS 8 Quoted: Mark Weston

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – You still shouldn’t water the lawn too much, but the San Diego region will have enough water supply to meet demand for the next three years even if they’re dry, the County Water Authority reported Thursday.

The agency’s Board of Directors, after hearing the projections from staff, voted unanimously to take a regional approach to the state’s new process for certifying supply sufficiency for the Water Authority’s 24 member agencies, and to establish a long-term drought awareness initiative.

Full Story

Still waiting for a monster El Niño storm? Forget it

/in /by /The Los Angeles Timesby Hector Becerra

Remember those monstrous storms that bore down on Southern California this year courtesy of El Niño, and how they caused mudslides, mass flooding and general pandemonium on the freeways?

Neither do we.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has declared El Niño, the climate pattern that can bring powerful rains to the region, over – and after a rather anemic showing.

“We’re sticking a fork in this El Niño and calling it done,” NOAA said in a statement. “The king is dead!”

Full Story

San Diego Region Has 3-Year Water Supply, New State Formula Shows

/in /by /Patch (Carlsbad)by Maggie Avants Quoted: James Palen

San Diego County, CA — The San Diego County Water Authority and its member agencies that serve the region’s cities and communities have enough water supplies to meet the region’s demands for the next three years — even if the drought continues, the SDCWA announced Thursday.

That is according to initial calculations under a new state formula shared with the Water Authority’s Board of Directors Thursday, according to James Palen, a Water Authority spokesman.

Full Story

City of Encinitas, San Dieguito UHSD and Dave Roberts staff problems cited in taxpayer group awards

/in /by /City News Services (As Published by Seaside Courie) Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Three controversial issues in North County were cited June 8 in award nominations handed out annually by the San Diego County Taxpayers Association. The organization will issue its Golden Watchdog Awards and their polar opposites — the Golden Fleece Awards — at a dinner June 16.

Among the organization’s Metro Golden Fleece nominees was the city of Encinitas for density bonus lawsuits, along with the city of El Cajon for problems with sewer billing.

 

Full Story

San Diego Has Enough Water for the Next 3 Years, Officials Say

/in /by /KPBS Quoted: Mark Weston and Maureen Stapleton

You still shouldn’t water the lawn too much, but the San Diego region will have enough water supply to meet demand for the next three years even if they’re dry, the County Water Authority reported Thursday.

The agency’s board of directors, after hearing the projections from staff, voted unanimously to take a regional approach to the state’s new process for certifying supply sufficiency for the water authority’s 24 member agencies, and to establish a long-term drought awareness initiative.

Full Story

Will Green Lawns Return to Sacramento as Water Restrictions Ease?

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby Ryan Sabalow and Phillip Reese

Last summer was a rough one for Don Engineer, the owner of Prestige LawnCare, a landscape maintenance company that services homes in the Sacramento region.

“Last year was really bad because of the restrictions and the fines,” Engineer said. “People were scared, so they stopped watering their grass and the grass died.” But as dry skies and triple-digit heat make their annual return to the Sacramento region, business seems to be looking up for Engineer and his three employees. Communities across the region are relaxing or outright lifting the unprecedented outdoor watering restrictions enacted in 2015.

Full Story