Many small and rural communities across California are vulnerable to drought and water shortages as they lack the diverse water sources and infrastructure of big cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles. In some cases, these communities are forced to rely on bottled water or water hauled in from elsewhere, which experts say is costly and unsustainable.
It’s easy to take for granted. You turn a knob, and there’s water. But, the drought has shown we need to think more about our water supply.
Some agencies which serve part of the Conejo Valley are on the cutting edge of water recycling. The idea is simple: turn wastewater into drinking water.
They have a demonstration facility on Las Virgenes Road where you can actually see the recycling in action.
A tentative agreement has been reached with Baja California officials to begin mitigation measures to prevent raw sewage from leaking into the Pacific Ocean.
Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina told KPBS Midday Edition he met Tuesday night with Kurt Honold, Baja California’s secretary of economy and innovation, and Jose Armando Fernandez, secretary of water for Baja California.
The California Waterboards showed a state-wide drop in water usage and some regions of the state exhibited a drop of up to 17%.
The waterboard said at a statewide level in June of 2014 California residents used 131 gallons per capita daily (GPCD) compared to June of 2022 residents used 101 GPCD. In June of 2021 California residents used 112 GPCD.
Mayor Todd Gloria signed into law an update to the city’s Climate Action Plan Wednesday, which includes setting a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.
The San Diego City Council approved the update last week 8-0, with Councilman Chris Cate absent. City staff will bring a full implementation plan back to the council by February 2023.
Following Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent executive order and a State Water Board emergency regulation, members of the California Urban Water Agencies, or CUWA, including the San Diego County Water Authority continue to advance water-saving efforts, yielding measurable results. These efforts come on the back of the driest first quarter in California’s history, which prompted the Governor to call for local water conservation steps rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
Californians in a new statewide survey cite drought and water supply issues as their chief environmental concern for the third year in a row.
Thirty percent of respondents ranked water as the most pressing issue — topping wildfires and climate change, which garnered 13 percent and 11 percent, respectively, in the poll, released by the Public Policy Institute of California.
Drought ravaging the western United States is falling even harder on Mexico, especially in places like Ensenada, which is dead last in line for water from the Colorado River that keeps much of the North American west alive.
In another promising sign that residents are taking calls for conservation to heart, Angelenos in July achieved an 11% reduction in water use — more than any other July on record, officials announced this week.
The report from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power comes as drought continues to sap supplies across the region. But while July’s conservation surpassed the record 9% reduction achieved in L.A. in June, officials urged residents to keep going.
The city of Antioch sits right next to the largest source of fresh water in Northern California. But it’s facing a water supply crisis because of changes to the Delta, both natural and man-made.
As a result, the city is taking extraordinary measures to increase supply in a way that has the rest of the state watching.
