A water shortage on the Colorado River has put tremendous strain on the states that rely on it as a main water source. The fate of California’s Salton Sea is tied to the future of the river, and a catastrophic drought has only worsened conditions.
For climate advocates, the growing state deficit unveiled in the revised 2023-24 state budget offers some bad news, some good news and a great deal of uncertainty.
The bad news in the budget presented Friday morning by Gov. Gavin Newsom is that, despite lobbying efforts and environmentalists pitching at least two alternative proposals, the $6 billion in cuts to climate spending that Newsom proposed in January are still included.
El Niño conditions — the warming of ocean waters off South America that can alter weather across the globe, including California’s summer temperatures and the amount of rain it might receive next winter — are emerging in the Pacific Ocean for the first time in 4 years.
While El Niños do not automatically guarantee wet weather for California, historically, the stronger they are, the more likely it is that the state will have a rainy winter season. And after the dramatic series of storms this past winter that ended the drought and filled nearly empty reservoirs, another one back-to-back could increase flood risks.
In 2019, Australian skies glowed crimson in one of the country’s worst recorded fire seasons. The infernos blackened some 190,000 square kilometers of land, killing dozens of people along with an estimated 1 billion animals and destroying thousands of structures. The bushfires also unleashed plumes of smoke so voluminous they could be seen from space.
As winter rains caused Monterey County’s rivers to swell past capacity and rush out to the sea, people began asking: Isn’t there a way to catch and reuse all that water? That’s what Monterey is preparing to do through a project financed by the state – in this case turning runoff lost to Monterey Bay into drinking water.
The Lake El Estero Diversion to Sanitary Sewer Project will reroute drainage from the city stormwater system at the lake into existing sanitary sewage pipes along Del Monte Avenue, which lead to Monterey One Water’s regional treatment plant in Marina for recycling into drinking water as part of the Pure Water Monterey project.
Fountain Valley has declared an end to a water supply shortage it had been observing for the past 11 months.
The City Council, at its May 2 meeting, voted unanimously to adopt a resolution restoring the normal water supply conditions for the community.
Coachella Valley water agencies are lifting some drought restrictions following an exceptionally wet winter in California, although experts and officials warn that California residents should keep getting used to “conservation as a way of life.”
In honor of Public Service Recognition Week, the Vallecitos Water District is announcing an event to honor former Board Member Margaret E. “Betty” Ferguson and the 1946 Jeep (Willys) CJ-2A she enjoyed driving. The event will take place on Wednesday June 21, 2023, at 4 p.m.at the VWD Office located at 201 Vallecitos de Oro in San Marcos and will also include an unveiling of the Jeep.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and his administration have touted plans to build a tunnel to transport water beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, saying the project would modernize California’s water infrastructure and help the state adapt to climate change.
But an advocacy group is urging the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to abandon the $16-billion project, saying it doesn’t make financial sense for the state’s largest urban water agency.
Clint Baze was seated on the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors on January 25, 2023, representing the Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District. Clint Baze is the General Manager of the Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District.
