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Maui’s Fire Became Deadly Fast. Climate Change, Flash Drought, Invasive Grass and More Fueled It

/in , /by /AP Newsby Claire Rush, Seth Borenstein, Jennifer McDermott

Hawaii went from lush to bone dry and thus more fire-prone in a matter of just a few weeks — a key factor in a dangerous mix of conditions appear to have combined to make the wildfires blazing a path of destruction in Hawaii particularly damaging.

Experts say climate change is increasing the likelihood of these flash droughts as well as other extreme weather events like what’s playing out on the island of Maui, where dozens of people have been killed and a historic tourist town was devastated.

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Welcome to the Board: Vicki Quiram, Carlsbad Municipal Water District

/in , , /by

Vicki Quiram was seated on the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors on June 19, 2023, representing the Carlsbad Municipal Water District. Quiram serves on the Water Planning and Environmental and Imported Water committees for the Water Authority.

Water-Short Cities in the West Want to Use Every Last Drop, Even When it Comes from Sewage

/in , , /by /KUNCby Alex Hager

It looks like a normal glass of water. It’s clear, cold and tasteless. But just a few hours ago, it was raw sewage.

That water is the end product of a process and technology known as water recycling, or direct potable reuse.

In the Western U.S., there’s more demand for water than there is supply, particularly in the Colorado River basin. While the region’s policy makers are mired in standoff about how to fix that imbalance at a broad level, cities with finite water supplies are finding creative new ways to stretch out the water they already have. In some places, that means cleaning up sewage and putting it right back in the pipes that flow to homes and businesses.

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Poway Returns to “Level 1” Voluntary Water Shortage Measures

/in , , /by /Poway News Chieftainby Julie Gallant Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The city of Poway is returning to “level 1” voluntary water shortage measures based on a report that the city has sufficient water supplies to meet its demands through June 2024, officials said.

Poway council members unanimously approved the return to less stringent water shortage measures at the Aug. 1 meeting.

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Big ‘R’ on Ramona Water Tank Honors Retired Water District Director

/in , , /by /Ramona Sentinelby Noah Harrel

The water tank visible from Hanson Lane has been re-painted with an “R” for Ramona, Ramona High School and Jim Robinson, who retired after 20 years on the Ramona Municipal Water District’s board of directors.

The ID-5 water tank off Old Julian Highway between downtown Ramona and San Diego Country Estates is now known as the “Robinson Tank.”

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Tijuana’s Illegal Sewer Hookups Linked to Cross-Border Pollution

/in , , /by /KPBS-FM/TVby Gustavo Solis

Parque Baja California should be the ideal community park. Mature trees provide shade and benches give visitors a comfortable place to sit and feel the ocean breeze.

But running through the middle of the park is a drainage culvert with water flowing year round.

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Battle Rages Over ‘Sweetheart Deal’ Between Trump Administration and Giant Water District

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

Critics call it a “sweetheart deal” between the Trump administration and the Central Valley’s largest agricultural water district, and they claim it unfairly lines the pockets of major farm owners while imperiling California salmon and other fish species.

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Scientists Look Beyond Climate Change and El Niño for Other Factors That Heat Up Earth

/in , /by /AP Newsby Seth Borenstein

Scientists are wondering if global warming and El Niño have an accomplice in fueling this summer’s record-shattering heat.

The European climate agency Copernicus reported that July was one-third of a degree Celsius (six-tenths of a degree Fahrenheit) hotter than the old record. That’s a bump in heat that is so recent and so big, especially in the oceans and even more so in the North Atlantic, that scientists are split on whether something else could be at work.

Scientists agree that by far the biggest cause of the recent extreme warming is climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas that has triggered a long upward trend in temperatures. A natural El Niño, a temporary warming of parts of the Pacific that changes weather worldwide, adds a smaller boost. But some researchers say another factor must be present.

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5.2K IID Customers Lose Power in July 31 Storm

/in , /by /Holtville Tribuneby Richard Montenegro Brown

All told, last week’s system-wide storm surge left more than 5,200 Imperial Irrigation District customers without power — some for minutes, some for hours — and caused between $1 million and $1.5 million in damages to two high-voltage transmission lines, according to the most recent IID projections.

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A Class-Action Lawsuit Offers Free Cash to Many L.A. Sanitation Customers. Are You Eligible?

/in , /by /Los Angeles Times by Jon Healey

The city of Los Angeles has agreed to pay millions of dollars in refunds for six years’ worth of allegedly inflated sewer charges. And if you’re still a customer of the city’s sewer services, here’s the good news: If you qualify, your refund will come to you automatically.

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