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A Rare Third Year of La Niña is on Deck for California, Forecasters Say

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

Californians should brace for another year of La Niña as the stubborn climate pattern in the tropical Pacific is expected to persist for a third consecutive year, forecasters say.

The latest outlook, published Thursday by the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center, has increased the chances of La Niña sticking around through November to 91%, a near certainty. The pattern may also linger into winter, with an 80% chance of La Niña from November to January and a 54% chance from January to March.

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A Warmer, Drier West: A Detailed History and Possible Future of Water Use in the West

/in , , /by /KCETby Kim Stringfellow

On October 13, 1893, Major John Wesley Powell, celebrated explorer, geologist and Civil War veteran, addressed delegates of the Second Irrigation Congress in Los Angeles, declaring to the capitalists, politicians and boosters attending (and whose main agenda was to develop the arid West), “What matters it whether I am popular or unpopular? I tell you, gentlemen, you are piling up a heritage of conflict and litigation over water rights, for there is not sufficient water to supply these lands.” Powell’s blunt prophetic statement did not win support. The delegates booed him off the stage.

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As the Colorado River Shrinks, Water Managers See Promise in Recycling Sewage

/in , , /by /KUNCby Alex Hager

In the parched Colorado River basin, water managers are turning over every stone looking for ways to keep the taps flowing. Now, they’re finding more water in some unusual places – shower drains and toilet flushes.

At a sprawling sewage treatment plant in Carson, California, the occasional breeze delivers a pungent whiff of a reminder of how used water becomes “reused.” Here, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is planting the seeds for a massive new facility, where a multi-billion-dollar installation could help recycle wastewater and keep drinking supply flowing for the agency’s 19 million customers.

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California Negotiating Voluntarily Conserving Water Amid Severe Drought

/in , , /by /NBC Palm Springsby Kamari Esquerra

Water cuts could be coming to the Golden State.

“Right now there are currently no cuts in California, however, it’s being discussed,” said Robert Schettler, Public Information Officer for the Imperial Irrigation District.

California is negotiating whether or not to voluntarily conserve hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of water due to the drought that’s stressing the Colorado River and its reservoir – Lake Mead.

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California’s Drought Regulators Lose Big Case. What it Means for State’s Power to Police Water

/in , /by /Sacramento Beeby Dale Kessler and Ryan Sabalow

California’s drought regulators have lost a major lawsuit that could undermine their legal authority to stop farms and cities from pulling water from rivers and streams.

With California in its third punishing year of a historic drought, an appeals court ruled Monday that the State Water Resources Control Board lacks the power to interfere with so-called “senior” water rights holders and curtail their diversions of water from rivers.

The case stems from orders imposed by the state board in 2015, during the previous drought, when it halted farms and cities throughout the Central Valley from taking water from the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers.

 

 

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California’s Drought Touches Everyone, But Water Restrictions Play Out Unevenly Across Communities

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Soudi Jimenez

Raúl Monterroso of San Fernando knows that he can do little to help the struggling garden patio in front of his house. After all, he takes the new water restrictions seriously.

“Here, everything is dry, we have the entire irrigation system closed, my poor wife is crying over her plants,” said the Guatemala native, who stopped watering the grass on June 1 when instructions to cut outdoor watering to once a week were issued.

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Otay Poster Contest Winners Demonstrate the Value of Water Conservation

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Five students from Chula Vista and El Cajon schools have been selected from 123 submissions as the winners of Otay Water District’s 2022 Water is Life Student Poster Contest.

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A Drought Conversation with California’s Natural Resources Secretary

/in , , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer

Days before the federal government shied-away from telling Western states how to curtail consumption of the drought-stressed Colorado River, Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a plan to speed-up projects that would help California use less of it.

To be clear: California hasn’t yet taken any big cuts from its Colorado River allocation, despite being its largest user. But, as pressure mounts, it might, writes Ian James of the Los Angeles Times. Newsom’s plan doesn’t mention the Colorado River directly, but it’s conceivable this is an effort to prepare California for that reality – or at least prove the state is doing something.

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Stressed Colorado River Keeps California Desert Farms Alive

/in , , /by /Associated Press

When Don Cox was looking for a reliable place to build a family farm in the 1950s, he settled on California’s Imperial Valley.

The desert region had high priority water rights, meaning its access to water was hard for anyone to take away.

“He had it on his mind that water rights were very, very important,” said his grandson, Thomas Cox, who now farms in the Valley.

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They Wanted Their Drought-Tolerant Yard to Spark Conversations. But Not on Nextdoor

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Lisa Boone

Susan and Steve Matloff are doing what they do most days when they are at home: spending time in their front yard with their kids, talking with neighbors, playing with their dog Blue and passing home-grown onions to random passersby.

When they installed raised vegetable beds alongside the sidewalk, they fantasized about living off the land despite warnings from friends that people might steal their produce.

“If someone wants to take a bell pepper, good on them,” says Steve, 49. “My office overlooks the garden, and every day I see people stop and look at our garden. Sometimes I run out there and talk to them. Our daughter Isabelle has been known to pull out a carrot and hand it to people walking by. The conversations start there. It’s part of what we wanted for our yard: to be a statement and community builder.”

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