A state audit found that nearly one million Californians have contaminated drinking water.
The report found that 920,000 people could face health issues from unsafe drinking water.
The California State Auditor found there are 370 failing water systems in California that are putting almost a million residents at risk.
Three years ago, amid shaky political support and uncertain funding, Gov. Gavin Newsom killed plans by his predecessor, Jerry Brown, to build two massive tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Delta to more easily move water south.
Local farmers may soon be forced to bite the bullet and find ways to use significantly less water in 2023 — potentially for a lot longer.
This drastic measure may come as a result of an emergency water conservation effort to prevent further depletion of the Valley’s main source of water, the Colorado River. If less water flows down the Colorado River, the consequences could be catastrophic for the two reservoirs — lakes Mead and Powell — that feed into the so-called basin states.
For example, if water levels in Lake Mead continue dropping, it could bring water and hydropower to a grinding halt, all due to a relentless drought over two decades.
The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) recently announced that Helix Water District is the recipient of a distinguished budget presentation award for its fiscal year 2022-23 budget document.
“This award shows the commitment by the district’s board of directors and staff to serving the public with integrity, fiscal accountability, and transparency,” said Kathleen Hedberg, Helix Water District’s board president. “Our budget is well organized and easy to read. We want customers to easily see what we are doing, how we are efficient and how we keep our operating costs steady.”
Sometimes, it takes zooming out to a bird’s eye view to fully understand the devastating impacts of drought in California.
Images captured from space by government and private satellites offer a sobering look at how the current drought — in year three — is affecting the state’s land and natural resources.
The latest data from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows about 97% of California in moderate or worse drought, with much of the Central Valley and southern portions of the state in the worst conditions.
A favorite San Francisco Bay Area spot for sleeping under towering redwood trees is temporarily shutting down its campground again this summer because of California’s historic drought.
Portola Redwoods State Park said Tuesday that its campground facilities with 55 sites and four group sites will be closing Aug. 5 and not reopening for the remainder of the season because of low flows on its main water source, Peters Creek. (The campground closes every winter, from Nov. 1 to April 1.)
This wealthy Los Angeles suburb is famed for its celebrity residents and meticulously landscaped homes. After a crackdown on water use, it is now gaining renown for having some of the brownest lawns in America.
“My kids are asking me, what is going wrong with this grass?” said Siran Galstian, whose once verdant lawn is dying. “I have tears in my eyes, because I love the grass and they like playing in it.”
The Butte County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the finalized drought plan Tuesday with the stipulation that it would be a living document that develops as conditions change.
Water and Resource Conservation Director Kammie Loeser was joined by Assistant Director Christina Buck to deliver a series of presentations on water with the first focus surrounding a major analysis project that has occurred over the past six months.
Early one winter morning, as Brian Lilla was riding his bike through Napa, California’s hills and meadows, he spotted farmworkers driving ATVs through rows of vines. They hauled huge canisters of the weedkiller Roundup. As the workers sprayed vines, a chemical smell shot through the air.
Having moved to Napa from Oakland nine years ago with his wife to start a family in the seemingly healthy environs of the country, Lilla found himself paying more attention to the use of Roundup after his daughters, now 8 and 5, were born. One day, he recalled, he saw the herbicide sprayed in a vineyard across the street from his daughters’ school.
The water that comes out of the tap for more than 900,000 Californians is unsafe to drink and the state isn’t acting fast enough to help clean it up, state auditors said in a report released Tuesday.
Thousands of water systems supply the state’s 39 million people, and about 5% of them have some type of contaminant, like nitrates or arsenic, in them, according to the audit. That means people can’t safely drink the water or use it to cook or bathe. Most of the 370 failing systems are in economically disadvantaged communities, many in the Central Valley, the state’s agricultural heartland.
