You are now in California and the U.S. Home Headline Media Coverage category.

California Farmers Preparing for State Water Curtailment Orders

/in , , /by /The Paso Robles Pressby Camille DeVaul

Farmers up and down California are once again facing an uncertain season ahead of them as a state water curtailment order issued in August 2021 continues to take its toll on farming and ranching families.

In July 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order calling a drought emergency and asking for water conservation. Soon after, farmers and ranchers in California received curtailment orders from the California Water Board (CWB) to either immediately or prepare to suspend their senior water rights.

Full Story

Extreme Heat, Drought Will Permanently Scar California and Its Social Fabric

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

Unprecedented dryness across the western United States is meeting with increasingly warm temperatures to create climate conditions so extreme that the landscape of California could permanently and profoundly change, a growing number of scientists say.

The Golden State’s great drying has already begun to reduce snowpack, worsen wildfires and dry out soils, and researchers say that trend will likely continue, along with the widespread loss of trees and other significant shifts.

Full Story

Water Deal to Keep Taps Flowing in Bakersfield Even as Lake Isabella Levels Continue to Drop

/in , , /by /SJV Waterby Lois Henry

Bakersfield City water managers learned from California’s last “epic” drought – don’t wait to make a deal.

In 2015,  city water managers scrambled to keep taps flowing for more than 20,000 Bakersfield residents as the Kern River ran so low the city had zero water entitlement coming down the river.

Full Story

LA Council Calls for Reports on Regional Drought, Conservation Measures

/in , , /by /Spectrum News 1

Calling the regional drought a major emergency in need of long-term regional solutions, the Los Angeles City Council Wednesday requested a series of reports on projected municipal water supplies and expansion of efforts to recycle water and support long-term conservation.

“We keep talking about drought and, honestly, we’re past talking about drought, because drought implies temporary cycles,” Councilman Paul Krekorian said. “Water shortages in Southern California are endemic, long- lasting, almost certainly permanent.

Full Story

San Diego County Using New Tiered Warning Sign System at Contaminated Beaches

/in , /by /NBC 7 San Diegoby Dave Summers

The San Diego County Department of Environmental Health (DEH) is unveiling a new water quality warning system that it hopes will give visitors more beach access this summer.

The new three-tiered system looks like this: The first is a yellow advisory sign, the second is a blue warning sign and the third is the familiar red and yellow closure signs.

Full Story

Calipatria Residents Assured No Current Water Shortage

/in , /by /Imperial Valley Pressby Bryan Hellios

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).

Full Story

California Lithium Tax Would Delay Shipments to Automakers, Executives Warn

/in , /by /Reutersby Ernest Scheyder

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.

Full Story

More Beauty, Less Water Wins Sweetwater Authority’s 2022 Landscape Contest

/in , , /by /Water News Network

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.

Full Story

Lack of Water Access Costs U.S. $8.6B Each Year

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Leah Willingham

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.

Full Story

Grass Is a Water Hog. Here’s How to Create a Drought-Tolerant Yard.

/in , , /by /The Washington Postby Laura Daily

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.

Full Story