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

Lake Mead Water Level Falls to 1,040ft, Dead-Pool Level Inches Closer

/in , , /by /Newsweekby Robyn White

Lake Mead’s water levels have fallen to 1,040 feet, inching ever closer to dead-pool level.

Lake Mead, a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, has been drying up because of the ongoing drought in the western United States. It stretches across Nevada and Arizona.

According to new data from Lakes Online, as of July 28 at 4 a.m local time, Lake Mead had fallen to 1,040 feet. At the beginning of 2022, the Lake was at 1,066 feet.

Full Story

Opinion: Can San Joaquin Valley Agriculture Survive With Less Irrigation? Here Are Ways to Do It

/in , , /by /The Fresno Beeby Caitlin Peterson

Change is coming to farming in the San Joaquin Valley. Because of the need to reduce groundwater pumping to comply with the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, we’ve estimated that at least 500,000 acres of farmland will need to come out of irrigated production in the coming years.

This is a major shift for California’s agricultural heartland, and one that will have profound impacts on the region’s residents, workers, economy, and environment.

 

Full Story

How ‘Spreading Like Wildfire’ is Getting a Terrifying New Meaning in the California of Climate Change

/in , , /by /CNNby Bill Weir

On a ridge overlooking the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, it would have been possible to see the first flickering flames of the Oak Fire and then how it engulfed its surroundings.

It took just 24 hours to mushroom to 10,000 acres and become California’s biggest wildfire this year.

“That’s crazy fast,” said Joe Amador, one of thousands of firefighters from across the state now deployed to fight the blaze.

Full Story

South Bay Mayors Want County to Ditch New Coastal Water Quality Test

/in , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer

New technology revealed coastal waters in San Diego’s southernmost cities are likely contaminated by sewage from Mexico a lot more often in the touristy summer season than we ever knew before. But now the mayors of those cities want to go back to testing beach water quality the old way.

The county of San Diego’s rollout of the new technology and subsequent closing and abrupt reopening of beaches has confused beachgoers and drawn divisions between South Bay elected officials and their staff who are all fighting the same source of pollution: Sewage spilling from Tijuana over land and water borders into the U.S.

Full Story

‘Little Point’ to Restarting Trump Water Case, Judge Says

/in , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Maya Earls

Democratic-led states, tribes, and conservation groups will not see a Trump-era water rule declared invalid before the Ninth Circuit decides the issue or the EPA issues a new rule, a federal judge in California ruled.

The plaintiffs wanted the US District Court for the Northern District of California to resume their lawsuit over the Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Rule issued in 2020 that they said unlawfully restricted states’ and tribes’ ability to reject water polluting projects.

Full Story

As Drought Intensifies, Newsom Plans California’s Biggest Water Project in Half a Century

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office renewed its commitment on Wednesday to launching California’s biggest water project in half a century, unveiling a newly configured plan for a 45-mile conveyance tunnel through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

The estimated $16 billion pipeline, iterations of which have circulated for decades, is designed to better move water from the state’s wet, rural north to drier, more populated points south. The proposed tunnel would allow water shipments to bypass the delta’s sensitive wetlands and aging water infrastructure, thereby protecting and even boosting water supplies for the Bay Area, Southern California and farmland in between.

Full Story

Removing Turf is a Key Step in Creating a New Water-Saving Home Landscape

/in , , /by /Times of San Diego Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Once you’ve finalized your plans for a water-saving landscape, you’ll have some demolition work ahead of you, including the existing turf you plan to remove or replace.

Removing turf presents choices about the best way to accomplish this task. Learn more about turf removal options and understand the steps before you begin.

Reclaiming an area of unwanted turf requires diligence.

Full Story

Water Woes Are Biggest Worry for Californians as Drought Drags On

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Marisa Kendall

As the drought punishing California drags on, water is a top — and growing — worry for residents of our parched state, outpacing wildfires and climate change, according to a new poll about environmental issues.

With reservoirs and snowpack shrinking, Californians listed the state’s water supply as their number one environmental worry, with 68% of adults saying it’s a big problem — up from 63% a year ago.

Full Story

August is Coming. Prepare for Climate Calamity

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sammy Roth

Lake Siskiyou is beautiful this time of year.

About 200 miles north of Sacramento, the artificial reservoir — formed by a dam on the Sacramento River — is ringed by quiet beaches that offer a cool respite from triple-digit heat. The views of Mt. Shasta are spectacular. When I visited last week, I saw double-crested cormorants, ospreys and great blue herons soaring over the water and ducklings swimming with their mother.

Full Story

Lawmakers Call on Kern Stakeholders to Engage on Water Investment

/in , , /by /Bakersfield.comby John Cox

Farmers and water managers may need to do more to engage with lawmakers from outside the Central Valley before the state Legislature can be persuaded to make important investments in water storage and other infrastructure projects, members of Kern’s Sacramento delegation told an audience Tuesday of the Water Association of Kern County.

Full Story