Golden State Water Company customers learned drought conditions in the state affect local water usage during Calipatria’s city council meeting Tuesday evening.
Perry Dahlstrom, general manager of the mountain district for the water company, provided updates on water supplies to residents via Zoom.
“The current conditions in Calipatria and Niland are okay,” Dahlstrom said. “We have water supply from IID” (Imperial Irrigation District).
A proposed flat-rate tax on lithium produced in California’s Salton Sea region will delay deliveries of the electric vehicle battery metal to General Motors Co and Stellantis NV and may push some mining companies to exit the state entirely, industry executives told Reuters.
The brewing tension comes as America’s largest state is trying to position itself as a leader in the green energy revolution and as supplies of lithium have failed to match surging demand amid the push to phase out gasoline-powered vehicles.
The Sweetwater Authority named Nancy Cavanah of Chula Vista its 2022 winner of the WaterSmart Landscape Contest. Cavanah was recognized at the Authority’s June Governing Board meeting.
The Cavanah’s landscape was selected from a diverse pool of applicants as the best example of how to create a beautiful landscape using less water.
At least 2 million Americans don’t have running water or a working toilet at home, a crisis that costs the U.S. economy $8.58 billion each year, according to a report released Tuesday by nonprofit DigDeep.
These water access issues disproportionately impact Indigenous tribes, people of color, immigrants, low-income people and those living in rural areas — communities that have been largely excluded from past investments in water infrastructure, according to the report.
With numerous municipalities and states considering or enacting strict limits on residential grass, you may have considered ditching your home’s turf. Xeriscaping — or designing a landscape that needs little irrigation to survive — is no longer a radical idea, even if you don’t live in an area where lawns are being restricted. Traditional lawn grasses are thirsty.
Eastern Municipal Water District opened the “Perris II Desalter” facility last week, which has become the third such facility for the agency.
“This is truly a critical facility for us to be able to continue to serve our customers in a reliable and resilient fashion, especially given that we are facing historic drought conditions,” said EMWD general manager Joe Mouawad.
The West saw an aspect of the climate crisis play out this month that scientists have warned of for years.
In the middle of a prolonged, water shortage-inducing megadrought, one area, Yellowstone, was overwhelmed in mid-June by drenching rainfall and rapid snowmelt that — instead of replenishing the ground over a matter of weeks or months — created a torrent of flash flooding that ripped out roads and bridges and caused severe damage to one of the country’s most cherished national parks.
The Colorado River’s precipitous decline pushed Arizona lawmakers to deliver Gov. Doug Ducey’s $1 billion water augmentation fund — and then some — late Friday, their final night in session.
Before the votes, the growing urgency for addressing the state’s oncoming water shortage and the long timeline for approving and building new water projects nearly sank the legislation.
The price of water — essential for human life, nature, communities and businesses — is often subsidized, reflecting a commonly held belief that everyone should have abundant access to clean water. But in many locations, those prices don’t reflect the true cost of addressing issues such as water quality or scarcity. That makes it difficult for companies to fully evaluate and account for the business risk of supplies drying up as a result of climate change.
A controversial plan from Gov. Gavin Newsom would reshape how business is done on the California power grid, potentially helping to extend the life of beachfront gas plants and the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, making it easier for solar and wind farm developers to sidestep local government opposition, and limiting environmental reviews for all kinds of energy projects.
State lawmakers could vote as early as Wednesday night on the polarizing legislation, whose text was revealed late Sunday.
