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Mono Lake Tribe Seeks to Assert Its Water Rights in Call for Emergency Halt of Water Diversions to Los Angeles

/in , /by /Inside Climate Newsby Bob Berwyn

Against the backdrop of a severe drought linked with global warming, conservation advocates and Native Americans in California are calling for a temporary emergency stop to all surface water diversions from Mono Lake, contending that continuing to drain the watershed, along with the long-term drought, threaten critical ecosystems, as well as the Kootzaduka’a tribe’s cultural connection with the lake.

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Newsom Signs Executive Order to Increase Statewide Stormwater Capture

/in , , /by /Courthouse News Serviceby Natalie Hanson

California is under new orders as of Monday to aggressively work to protect all water supplies from weather extremes brought on by climate change.

Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to expand statewide storm runoff capture capacity, noting how years of prolonged drought finally paused after three weeks of atmospheric river storms slammed the Golden State at the beginning of the year.

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Will Clouds Shield Us From Climate Change? San Diego Could Hold Key Answers.

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith

Researchers at UC San Diego have launched a year-long project aimed at better understanding the region’s clouds and, by extension, global warming.

A bevy of equipment provided by the U.S. Department of Energy was recently deployed on Mount Soledad and at the university’s Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier.

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2023 Scholarship Applications Open for Future Water Professionals

/in , , /by /Water News Network Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

San Diego regional member water agencies and California water associations will offer multiple college scholarship opportunities in 2023 to help candidates secure their education as water and wastewater professionals.

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California’s Snowpack Is Melting Faster Than Ever, Leaving Less Available Water

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

For decades, Californians have depended on the reliable appearance of spring and summer snowmelt to provide nearly a third of the state’s supply of water. But as the state gets drier, and as wildfires climb to ever-higher elevations, that precious snow is melting faster and earlier than in years past — even in the middle of winter.

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When Will The Megadrought Gripping Southwestern States End?

/in , , /by /MSNby Jess Thomson

California and other southwestern states have been in the grip of a megadrought for the past two decades.

Scientists say that, despite recent storms, these drought-stricken states won’t be relieved from the hot and dry weather for a long time, and not without large amounts of rain.

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Upper Colorado River States Land $125 Million for Pilot Conservation Program Amid Drought Crisis

/in , /by /The Colorado Sunby Michael Booth

Upper Colorado River Basin states have a new $125 million pot to rent and dry agricultural land and keep more water in the drought-plagued waterway, in a major expansion of a previous conservation pilot announced by the Biden administration’s Bureau of Reclamation.

 

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Newsom Signs Order to Protect California’s Water Supply From Extreme Weather

/in , , /by /The Hillby Sharon Udasin

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Monday to safeguard his state’s water supplies from the effects of extreme weather.

The order will help expand California’s capacity to capture storm runoff during wet years by accelerating groundwater recharge projects, according to the governor’s office.

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See How Much Snow San Diego County Got and the Amount of Rainfall in Your Neighborhood

/in , , /by /NBC 7 San Diegoby Karla Rendon-Alvarez

We fell asleep to the sound of rain Sunday night and early birds who awoke bright and early Monday heard the last bit of showers passing through San Diego County.

The overnight storm made for a wet early morning commute and resulted in measurable rain for the county. Those who are in East County passing El Cajon got more rain than the rest of the region. Elsewhere, the rain measured below an inch.

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The Colorado River Hits a Boiling Point

/in , , /by /Politicoby Debra Kahn and Ry Rivard Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Push is coming to shove on the West’s most important river.

The seven states that share water from the Colorado River are as close to open conflict over dwindling supplies as they’ve ever been. Six of them ganged up on California last week, arguing that it should bear the brunt of supply cuts because a greater share of the water evaporates before it gets that far downriver.

California is bristling at the proposal. “We didn’t just learn last year that water evaporates,” said J.B. Hamby, the chair of the Colorado River Board of California.

Another top California water official, Jim Madaffer, vice chair of the Colorado River Board of California, who represents the San Diego County Water Authority, said California has a blueprint for other states — a multi-agency, multi-year process that California used to rein in its water use two decades ago.

“California has done its part and is willing to do more, but it’s time for the other states to step up,” Madaffer said in an email.

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