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Opinion: California Can’t Waver on Water Regulation

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Samantha Arthur and Ngodoo Atume

Over the past decade, California has gone from being the state with the least groundwater regulation to adopting a law that serves as an international model. How the state implements its landmark groundwater law during California’s worst drought on record could inform global climate change adaptation practices for generations.

The Golden State has one shot over the course of the next 20 years to bring its depleted aquifers into balance and achieve sustainability. Californians are counting on the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act to get the state there.

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‘Weather Whiplash’ Withers, then Drowns Areas Worldwide

/in , /by /Scientific Americanby Chelsea Harvey

The Dallas area is still reeling from record-breaking downpours that triggered flash floods across northeastern Texas last week. The event swamped houses, submerged vehicles and prompted hundreds of emergency rescues. At least one death has been reported so far.

The sheer volume of rain was stunning, with some locations receiving more than a foot. But the deluge was all the more surprising because Dallas has been choked by severe drought for months.

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Water Conservation is Critical in San Diego County as Colorado River Declines

/in , , /by /Contractor News and Views Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Sandra L. Kerl, general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority, issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s 24-month projection for water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell.

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Can The Lake Powell Pipeline Still Happen?

/in , , /by /Salt Lake Tribuneby Brian Maffly

Already in doubt from the West’s changing climate, a proposed pipeline across southern Utah remains bogged in a regulatory limbo that could hold up the project indefinitely.

If built, Utah’s 143-mile Lake Powell pipeline would draw up to 86,000 acre-feet of the Colorado River’s flow — depleted by drought and overuse — from the ever-shrinking Lake Powell for use in St. George and Kane County.

By the time Utah water bosses clear a stalled environmental review and secure the water rights, however, there may be no Lake Powell as we’ve known it, just a “dead pool” stacked behind Glen Canyon Dam. Complicating this bleak picture is the pipeline’s current design, which places the intakes above the lake’s future levels, leaving them high, dry and unusable if the drought continues to drain the lake.

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15-day Lawn Watering Restriction Begins Next Week as Municipal Water District Crews Repair Pipeline

/in , , /by /CBS Los Angelesby Staff

Residents throughout the Southland will yet again be faced with additional watering restrictions as state officials work to limit overuse in the face of California’s worst drought in 1,200 years.

The 15-day shutdown is scheduled to begin on Sept. 6 as Metropolitan Water District crews work on repairing a crucial pipeline that serves more than 4 million Southern Californians, affecting areas like Beverly Hills, Burbank, Glendale, Long Beach, Pasadena, San Fernando, Torrance, and those served by the Central Basin Municipal Water District, Foothill Municipal Water District, Three Valleys Municipal Water District, and the West Basin Municipal Water District.

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FERC Endorses Nation’s Largest Dam Removal Project

/in , , /by /Greenwireby Jennifer Yachnin

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has advanced the nation’s largest dam-removal project, which could restore flowing water to more than 400 miles of the Klamath River near the California-Oregon line.

FERC’s release Friday of its final environmental impact statement reiterated its support for removing the Lower Klamath Project’s four hydroelectric dams.

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Data Centers, Backbone of the Digital Economy, Face Water Scarcity and Climate Risk

/in , /by /NPR by Michael Copley

Data centers are springing up around the world to handle the torrent of information from the expanding web of devices ingrained in people’s lives and the economy. Managing that digital information gusher is big business. It also comes with hidden environmental costs.

For years, companies that operate data centers have faced scrutiny for the huge amounts of electricity they use storing and moving digital information like emails and videos. Now, the U.S. public is beginning to take notice of the water many facilities require to keep from overheating. Like cooling systems in large office buildings, water often is evaporated in data center cooling towers, leaving behind salty wastewater known as blowdown that has to be treated by local utilities.

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Cadiz Water Project Promises Free Water For Salton Sea Area

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

As California’s water crisis deepens, a new project aims to help conserve resources and ensure disadvantaged communities are not left behind.

Cadiz Inc. is hanging onto its years-long goal of storing water before it evaporates and then selling or giving it away to communities in Southern California.

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Opinion: Newsom’s Water Strategy Needs to Go a Step Further

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Sarah Null and Jeffrey Mount

Two weeks ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom released his water supply strategy, which is designed to address California’s warming climate and increasing drought intensity. Central to this strategy is expanding storage to capture water during wet periods and to help urban and agricultural users make it through dry times.

But why stop there? What about storing water for the environment?

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Up to $2,000 Available for San Diego County Residents Struggling to Pay Water Bills

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewein Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority has helped secure financial aid for low-income water customers in the region to cover overdue residential water and wastewater bills.

The authority is partnering with the Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee on Anti-Poverty of San Diego County (MAAC) and Campesinos Unidos, Inc. for outreach and education to make residents who are struggling aware of the funding.

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