At the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Laboratory in Donner Pass on Wednesday, snow was piled so high that lead scientist Andrew Schwartz no longer needed stairs to exit the second floor.
“We just walk directly out onto the snow!” Schwartz said. The nearly 11 feet of snow surrounding the lab was the deepest he’d seen so far this year.
At the end of last year, the seven states in the Colorado River Basin committed to once again work together and negotiate a consensus framework for making significant cuts to water use, an attempt to stabilize the nation’s two largest reservoirs and avoid an even deeper shortage crisis.
The states recommitted to considering a consensus deal, by Jan. 31, after several deadlines passed in 2022 — with seemingly irreconcilable differences over how to make painful cuts in a watershed relied upon by 40 million people who use the river for drinking water and agriculture.
Another barrage of atmospheric rivers will slam into California starting Friday, with a series of storms continuing to hit the West Coast through the weekend and into early next week.
The Golden State caught a break Thursday from the onslaught of deadly atmospheric river storms that have greatly helped the ongoing drought situation but have battered California with heavy rain, high winds, flooding and mudslides.
Even in the middle of a cool and wet winter in the Coachella Valley and California in general, officials of the Coachella Valley Water District have a blunt message for the desert’s golf course industry: Take the ongoing drought seriously, because changes could be coming to water availability sooner rather than later.
“We wanted to give the picture as we know it today where the state of play is for our water resources,” said Dr. Robert Cheng, assistant general manager for CVWD and one of the main speakers at a golf and water summit that attracted more than 150 golf industry officials Wednesday at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage. “We hope we paint a picture that is accurate, that is dire, that there is a need for additional actions from the golf industry to help them still maintain viability in this current situation.”
Imperial Irrigation District Vice President and Division 2 Director JB Hamby will serve as Chairman of the Colorado River Board of California following his unanimous election during Wednesday’s meeting held in Ontario, California, according to a press release.
When the County of San Diego approved a contract for the replacement of the Live Oak Park Road bridge which will impact two Rainbow Municipal Water District water mains, Rainbow utilized the county contract with Hazard Construction to add the water main relocation to the work.
Vendors at the Ocean Beach farmers market are singing rain’s praises after a series of storms that have passed through San Diego.
“I love it, we love it,” exclaimed farmer Mario Pasqual.
“We definitely need the water. You know, we haven’t had a lot of rain,” fellow farmer Eduardo Valdivia said.
The Vallecitos Water District will honor its history when it moves a vintage service vehicle with a significant story to tell into its lobby this month. The District’s General Manager Glenn Pruim approved moving the 1946 “Willys” CJ2A Jeep into the lobby of its headquarters building as a museum display, with informational signage and photos depicting its activities.
The 1946 Jeep served the water district for decades. It was used to survey property. When this task was no longer feasible, the Jeep became a favorite public outreach tool, appearing in parades and public events in the Vallecitos service area. It made its final appearance at the 2010 San Marcos Christmas Parade, driven by Vallecitos Board Member Margaret E. “Betty” Ferguson, who had an affinity for the Jeep after serving in the Women’s U.S. Marine Corps.
Despite several weeks of torrential rain and flooding, California is still facing a severe multi-year drought. That has many people thinking about how to better capture winter floodwaters to last through the dry season.
An innovative approach at two California reservoirs could help boost the state’s water supply, potentially marking a larger shift from decades-old water management approaches to a system that can quickly adapt to precipitation in a changing climate.
California’s recent storms have provided a big boost to Orange County’s water supply, with so much rain falling that it’s exceeding the county’s ability to capture all of it.
With a forecast of more rain coming this weekend, some of the captured water will actually have to be released briefly into the Pacific Ocean, county officials say.
The storms are keeping the Orange County Water District busy, as the agency collects rain water to help supply northern and central OC.
