You are now in Media Coverage San Diego County category.

Late-Winter Storm Leaves Behind Flooding, Freeway Sinkhole

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins, Karen Kucher, and Caleb Lunetta

San Diego County received one of the heaviest soakings of the winter Wednesday from a storm that dropped 2 to 3 inches of rain at the coast and 5-plus inches in the mountains — precipitation that caused a large sinkhole on state Route 78 and numerous traffic accidents.

Caltrans said commuters began to report the sinkhole — described as “massive” by Vista Mayor John Franklin — in the middle of traffic lanes on the westbound side of the North County highway about 8:50 a.m.

Full Story

PFAs Rule Sets Up Sprawling Legal War

/in , /by /E&E Newsby Pamela King and E.A. Crunden

EPA’s historic move to regulate “forever chemicals” in drinking water has set the stage for a multi-pronged courtroom slugfest among the agency, water utilities that must comply with the rule and multinational conglomerates that have flooded the environment with the toxicants linked to a long list of health problems, including cancer.

Full Story

Water Authority Seeks Public Input on 2024 Rate Increase and Two-Year Budget

/in , , /by /Times of San Diego by Chris Jennewein Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority has asked for public input over the next two months as it drafts a new two-year budget and sets rates to cover the cost of water-reliability projects that keep San Diego immune from drought.

Agency staff has recommended a $1.85 billion budget for the two-year period beginning July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2025.

That represents a 5% increase, but the 2024 rate increase is tentatively set at 14%, though efforts are underway to lower that.

Full Story

How Rising Temperatures Are Intensifying California’s Atmospheric Rivers

/in , , /by /Gristby Jake Bittle

California is no stranger to big swings between wet and dry weather. The “atmospheric river” storms that have battered the state this winter are part of a system that has long interrupted periods of drought with huge bursts of rain — indeed, they provide somewhere between 30 and 50 percent of all precipitation on the West Coast.

The parade of storms that has struck California in recent months has dropped more than 30 trillion gallons of water on the state, refilling reservoirs that had sat empty for years and burying mountain towns in snow.

Full Story

Opinion: Why Rain-On-Snow Floods From Atmospheric Rivers Could Get Much Worse

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Keith Musselman

California’s latest atmospheric rivers are sending rainfall higher into the mountains and onto the state’s crucial snowpack. The rain alone is a problem for low-lying areas already dealing with destructive flooding, but the prospect of rain on the deep mountain snow has triggered widespread flood warnings.

When rain falls on snow, it creates complex flood risks that are hard to forecast. Those risks are also rising with climate change.

Full Story

Soggy California Drenched Anew as Nor’easter Buries New England, New York

/in , , /by /Reutersby Steve Gorman and Julia Harte

The latest in a series of atmospheric river storms soaked California on Tuesday, bringing another deluge of rain to the already-saturated state, while a Nor’easter swirling over New York and New England prompted emergency orders and closed roads.

Several inches of rain was forecast in some areas of California, while as much as 3 feet (0.9 m) of fresh snow was expected in high-mountain elevations where snowdrifts already reach rooftops, according to the National Weather Service.

Full Story

Photos: Ski Resorts So Buried in Snow They Have to Dig Out Frozen Chairlifts

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Annie Vainshetein

Glacial temperatures, battering rainfall and historic levels of snow are complicating conditions at ski resorts around Lake Tahoe, leaving crews to work around the clock to dig out chairlifts — usually suspended high above the slopes — that are now buried in snow.

Full Story

Santa Monica Has Captured Most of Its Rain This Winter

/in , /by /Spectrum News 1by Susan Carpenter

As yet another atmospheric river descends on Southern California this week, Santa Monica is prepared. Since November, the city has been using a first-of-its-kind water recycling facility to capture rain and store it underground for future use.

“Instead of this water flowing into the ocean, we’re taking that back and keeping it locally to replenish water supplies,” Santa Monica water resources manager Sunny Wang told Spectrum News 1, as he stood atop the stealthy infrastructure that makes it possible: a parking lot.

Full Story

California, Battered by Atmospheric Rivers, Faces a Big Melt This Spring

/in , , /by /Inside Climate Newsby Bob Berwyn

The latest atmospheric river surging into California probably won’t result in worst-case flooding, state water officials and scientists said Monday. But as global warming shifts the range of possibilities, this winter’s often record levels of snow and rain could set the stage for deluges in spring if there are more strong storms or an early heatwave, they warned.

The series of intense storms started on the last day of 2022, resulting in early January floods that killed 22 people and a federal emergency declaration in 17 counties.

Full Story

Water Use Restrictions Eased

/in , /by /Antelope Valley Pressby Allison Gatlin

As atmospheric rivers continue to pummel the state and reservoirs are filling beyond their historical levels, the Palmdale Water District is rolling back mandated water use restrictions.

The Board of Directors on Monday voted to change mandated water conservation measures to voluntary, removing fines and patrols for landscape watering outside the prescribed schedules.

Full Story