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High-Tech Mapping of Central Valley’s Underground Blazes Path to Drought Resilience

/in , , /by /Water Education Foundationby Nick Cahill

A new underground mapping technology that reveals the best spots for storing surplus water in California’s Central Valley is providing a big boost to the state’s most groundwater-dependent communities.

The maps provided by the California Department of Water Resources for the first time pinpoint paleo valleys and similar prime underground storage zones traditionally found with some guesswork by drilling exploratory wells and other more time-consuming manual methods.

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Dramatic Weather Swings Are Headed to California. Here’s What to Expect in June

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicle by Gerry Diaz

The curling of the jet stream — an atmospheric stream of fast-moving air with speeds over 100 mph that travels thousands of miles — over the Pacific Ocean has triggered recent shifts in California’s spring weather patterns. Californians have seen leaps from snowmelt-inducing heat waves in the Sierra Nevada to marine layer clouds that stretch from the Bay Area to Sacramento.

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Arizona Limits Construction Around Phoenix as Its Water Supply Dwindles

/in , /by /The New York Times by Christopher Flavelle and Jack Healy

Arizona has determined that there is not enough groundwater for all of the housing construction that has already been approved in the Phoenix area, and will stop developers from building some new subdivisions, a sign of looming trouble in the West and other places where overuse, drought and climate change are straining water supplies.

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Salton Sea Restoration Legislation Passes CA Senate Floor

/in , , /by /The Desert Review

The California State Senate passed Senate Bill 583, Wednesday, May 31, authored by Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego). The bill creates the Salton Sea Conservancy to unify the state’s efforts to expedite preservation project delivery, protect residents’ health, and foster ecological recovery in the area, according to a recent Padilla press release.

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Morning Report: State Steps Into San Diego’s Water Divorce Debate

/in , /by /Voice of San Diego by Voice of San Diego

A bill in the state Assembly would make it harder for local water districts to leave their regional partnerships if they’re seeking cheaper water rates. That’s what two small, North County farming communities have been fighting to do for the last three years.

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Algae Bloom Prompts Water Contact Advisory at Lower Otay Reservoir

/in , , /by /Fox 5 by Domenick Candelieri

An algae bloom prompted city officials to post caution signs at its Lower Otay Reservoir.

The City of San Diego advises the public to not expose their skin to the water while the cautionary alert is in effect.

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What San Diego’s Water Divorce Might Cost You

/in , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Two small farming communities want to bail on buying water in San Diego because it’s too expensive, but that means everyone else would have to pick up part of their tab.

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Majority of Californians Fear Worsening Weather Swings Due to Climate Change, Poll Finds

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

As California continues to experience swings from one weather extreme to another, a majority of residents say they are increasingly concerned about the state’s changing climate, and some worry that weather impacts could force them to move in the future.

Nearly 70% of registered voters say they expect that volatile fluctuations between severe drought and periods of heavy rain and snow — what some call weather whiplash — will become more common in the future due to climate change, according to a new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times.

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Slew of Water Bills Swirl Around Sacramento

/in , , /by /SJV Waterby Jesse Vad

Senior water rights holders have arguably the sweetest deal in California water. They often have ironclad deals and some even get access to substantial water during the worst of drought.

But three new bills in the state legislature are taking aim at senior water rights in an attempt to level the playing field.

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California Water Agencies Outline $3.2B Plan for Central Valley Flood Prevention Projects

/in , , /by /ENR California by Michael Powell

California water officials are urging a $3.2-billion investment in flood prevention projects over the next half decade to safeguard the Central Valley; particularly communities on the San Joaquin River that are considered among the most vulnerable in the nation.

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