This winter’s major storms laid down one of the largest snowpacks recorded in California’s Sierra Nevada, along with an unusual amount of snow at low mountain elevations.
But such prolific snowfall at lower elevations is set to become increasingly rare in coming years as climate change drives temperatures higher, according to new research.
This winter produced record snowfall in California, but a new study suggests the state should expect gradually declining snowpacks, even if punctuated with occasional epic snowfalls, in the future.
An analysis by Tamara Shulgina, Alexander Gershunov, and other climate scientists at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography suggest that in the face of unabated global warming, the snowlines marking where rainfall turns to snow have been rising significantly over the past 70 years.
A proposed deal for California, Arizona and Nevada to take less water from the over-tapped Colorado River depends heavily on $1.2 billion in federal funds, which will pay farmers and others who agree to give up some of their supply over the next three years.
Ten talented student artists were honored for their winning work in the annual student poster contest at the May 17 Helix Water District board meeting. The students created their winning posters to visually depict the theme “Being Water Wise Is.”
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California holds the regional poster contest to increase student awareness about water. Kindergarten through eighth-grade students in local district schools are eligible to compete. This year, 453 students from 24 schools within the Helix Water District Service area submitted posters depicting how to use water wisely.
The Otay Water District calls on student artists in its service area to unleash their creativity in its annual Student Poster Contest. All students in district schools from kindergarten to 12th grade are invited to illustrate a new theme for the 2023 contest – “Being water wise is …”
Governor Gavin Newsom recently introduced a series of proposals to expedite infrastructure projects. The legislative package seeks to speed up the construction process while also streamlining permitting and court review.
For months, California officials led by Gov. Gavin Newsom felt like they were at the bottom of a multistate dogpile in the closely-watched staredown over water rights across the American West.
Newsom and his top environmental aides viewed century-old laws as favoring them. And they tried to convince other states that California had already sacrificed by slashing its use.
A messy Colorado River legal fight is much less likely in the near term now that the seven river basin states have reached consensus on how to conserve water amid a historic 23-year drought, legal observers say.
The consensus proposal respects water rights by relying mainly on voluntary conservation and “goes a very long way to avoiding what would have been costly and divisive litigation,” said Jay Weiner, of counsel at Rosette LLP, who represents the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe.
Given California’s wet winter and ample current water supplies, all drought restrictions enacted in the past two years by the Palmdale Water District have been lifted.
The District Board of Directors voted unanimously on Monday to lift the restrictions by rescinding the Emergency Drought Regulations and the voluntary stage of the Water Shortage Contingency Plan.
Electric transmission developers seeking individual permits from multiple federal agencies can soon hold the government accountable, all the way up to the president, for leading a single environmental review process capped at no more than two years.
The Energy Department’s agreement with eight other agencies and offices, finalized this month, is a long-sought move under 18-year-old legal authority that promises to speed clean energy deployment, according to energy and grid analysts.
