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Arizona’s Cities May See ‘Huge’ Water Cutbacks Soon. Here’s What That Means for Valley Residents

/in , , /by /12 Newsby Joe Dana

This month will be a moment of truth for Arizona cities.

The Federal Bureau of Reclamation is scheduled to release its “24-month study” that announces how much water Lake Powell and Lake Mead will release in 2023.

Meanwhile, seven western states must also present a plan to dramatically cut 2-4 million acre-feet of water. According to federal records, that amounts to as much as 25% of water allocated to the states.

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Ventura County’s City-by-City Guide to Water-Use Restrictions Amid California Drought

/in , , /by /VC Starby Cheri Carlson, Brian J. Varela, Wes Woods II, and Mike Harris

After California’s record dry start to the year, efforts to conserve water have created a patchwork of rules for residents that sometimes vary by city or even by neighborhood.

Emergency regulations took effect statewide, prohibiting water waste and requiring water providers to address a 20% water shortage.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California imposed stricter rules for several communities in Ventura, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.

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Pipeline Collapse Sends Sewage Across US-Mexico Border

/in , /by /KPBSby Erik Anderson

A major Tijuana pipeline collapse is causing a lot of sewage-tainted water to cross the U.S.-Mexico border.

The cross-border flow began Sunday night, and is expected to continue flowing across the border at a rate of more than 30 million gallons a day.

An estimated 49.9 million gallons have already entered the United States.

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California Drought: Summer is Crucial for Saving Water, but Conservation Still Ho-Hum

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

Californians began paying more attention to their water use as summer arrived, but statewide conservation remains well short of what the governor has requested during the drought.

In June, municipal water consumption dropped 7.6% compared to the same month in 2020, marking a second straight month of savings, according to state data released Tuesday, and parts of the Bay Area did considerably better. The four prior months, however, saw increases in water use, sometimes by double digits.

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As the Salton Sea Dies, $4.12M Contract Approved to Give It Life

/in , /by /Patch

Riverside County supervisors Tuesday approved a $4.12 million contract with an Encinitas-based firm to provide engineering and design services for a project to revitalize a portion of the dying Salton Sea.

“We’ve been working on this project for several years now,” Salton Sea Authority Executive Director Patrick O’Dowd told the Board of Supervisors. “It’s a big day for the community of North Shore and a big day for Riverside County.”

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Water Use in California Dips, but Still Short of Newsom’s Goal

/in , /by /Courthouse News Serviceby Kevin Winter

Californians used less water in June but are still falling short of the 15% mark set by Governor Gavin Newsom.

According to numbers released Tuesday by the State Water Resources Control Board, Californians cut water usage by 7.5% in June compared to June 2020. However, between July 2021 and the end of June 2022, water usage dipped by just 2.7%.

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Some Southern California Cities to Ban Outdoor Watering for Two Weeks

/in , , /by /The Orange County Registerby Brooke Staggs

Residents and businesses in some Southern California cities could be forced to let their lawns go brown in September, as emergency pipeline repairs cut off water supplies from the vital Colorado River for two weeks.

With a record-setting drought limiting other options, Burbank sent notice Tuesday that no sprinklers or other automated irrigation will be allowed at homes or businesses from Sept. 6-20. The city is encouraging residents to put buckets in their showers and mulch in their flower beds to help keep plants alive during the ban.

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Manchester Pipeline Projects Continue with Installation of Recycled Water Pipeline

/in , /by /Water News Network

Olivenhain Municipal Water District is beginning construction this week on a new recycled water pipeline in Encinitas along Manchester Avenue and South El Camino Real from Via Poco to Tennis Club Drive. Once complete, customers connecting to this new pipeline will irrigate with recycled water, which will reduce demand for imported potable water by more than 10 million gallons every year.

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Escondido Landscape Makeover Winner Goes from Weeds to Wow

/in , , /by /Water News Network

When Jeanne Reutlinger moved to her Escondido home in 2019, the neglected front yard was full of weeds, baked by the sun, and car exhausts from the street. Three years later, Reutlinger’s vision and hard work for a natural low maintenance habitat created a pollinator’s paradise full of native plants. Her efforts won the 2022 City of Escondido’s Landscape Makeover Contest.

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Tear Out Your Lawn, Save California

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Jeanette Marantos and Lisa Boone

In case you missed the memo: Glossy green lawns fed by sprinklers arcing water into the sky just don’t work anymore in these days of lingering drought.

As the supply of water in reservoirs and wells continues to shrink around California, we need to change what and how we’re irrigating.

Public parks might arguably be good locations for large expanses of turf in Southern California’s low-rain climate, but around our houses?

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