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L.A. Is Taking a Different Path on Severe Watering Restrictions. Here’s How It Will Work

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

Los Angeles residents now know the plan for significantly cutting water use beginning June 1.

The Department of Water and Power differs in some key ways from other local agencies that are struggling with unprecedented water restrictions due to the drought.

The restrictions, ordered by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, target areas that rely heavily or entirely on the State Water Project, a Northern California water supply that officials say is dangerously low after the state’s driest-ever start to the year.

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Lawns Are Terrible for the Environment. California’s Water Restrictions May Finally Kill Them

/in , , /by /Fast Companyby Nate Berg

After years of on-again-off-again drought conditions and decades of precarity relying on imported water, Southern California has instituted major limitations on how residents can use water. Within weeks, residents will only be allowed to irrigate their yards once a week. Lush lawns and abundant flower gardens, your days may be numbered.

This is likely just the start.

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EBMUD Customers to See 8% Drought Surcharge Starting July 1

/in , , /by /Danville SanRamon

Facing down a second consecutive dry year, the East Bay Municipal Utility District board decided this week to impose an 8% drought surcharge that customers will see on bills starting July 1.

The estimated $30.8 million collected from the surcharge will cover about half the estimated $64.5 million needed to manage the drought this year, according to EBMUD. The rest of drought expenses will be funded by reserves.

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California Drought: Which Regions Are Saving the Most — and Least — Water

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Yoohyun Jung
This year is shaking out to be another dry year as the winter months, when the state records much of its precipitation, did not deliver as much rain and snow as hoped.
The continuing drought means water providers across California — and their consumers — must conserve more water to avoid running out. Gov. Gavin Newsom called for a 15% decrease in water use, but only a small portion of the suppliers met that goal. Statewide, water use soared by about 19% in March 2022 compared with the same month in 2020.
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Long Beach Injection Well Designed to Increase Groundwater Supply

/in , , /by /Press Telegramby Harry Saltzgaver

Construction recently began on a well designed to inject water back into the groundwater basin beneath Long Beach.

The groundbreaking last week took place at the Water Replenishment District’s advanced water treatment facility, on the southeastern border of Long Beach, next to the San Gabriel River. The plant further treats sewer effluent from the Los Angeles County Sanitation District to create purified recycled water.

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IID Preparing Water Apportionment Plan

/in , , /by /Calexico Chronicleby Antoine Abou-Diwan

The Imperial Irrigation District is preparing a water apportionment plan for Imperial Valley growers to rein in a projected water overrun after the federal government declared a water shortage, reducing the amount of water that Arizona, Nevada and Mexico can claim from the Colorado River.

The IID holds the largest and most secure federal entitlement on the Colorado River, but current Bureau of Reclamation projections show the district exceeding its allocation by more than 92,000 acre-feet of water this year as grain prices reach record highs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Far From Lake Powell, Drought Punishes Another Western Dam

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sammy Roth

Water is flowing through two of three hydropower turbines in a blockish building at the base of Flaming Gorge Dam, so I can feel the floor buzzing — vibrations pulsating through my body — as Billy Elbrock leads me past the blue-and-yellow Westinghouse generators. The warehouse-like space is adorned with an American flag, and with the 1965 logo of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

 

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FPUD Approves Declaration of Surplus for Three Parcels

/in , , /by /Village Newsby Joe Naiman

The Fallbrook Public Utility District declared three FPUD-owned parcels to be surplus property.

The 5-0 FPUD board vote April 25 makes the findings that the properties are surplus land but does not authorize any sale. An interested public agency will have the first priority to purchase the property. If no public agency expresses interest or if good faith negotiations do not determine a mutually agreeable sales price and terms, the land can be sold on the public market.

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Standing Room Only Crowd Sounds Off About Detachment Proposal

/in , /by /Village Newsby Julie Reeder Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Local residents spoke out at a packed standing room only town hall meeting last week about a proposal by the Fallbrook Public Utility District and Rainbow Municipal Water District to switch water suppliers, a change that they are reportng would save ratepayers millions of dollars.

Following years of escalating water costs from the San Diego County Water Authority, averaging 8% per year, FPUD and Rainbow are seeking to change water suppliers – through a process known as detachment – from the Water Authority.

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California Got Snow in April and May. What Does It Mean for the Snowpack?

/in , /by /SFGATEby Amy Graff

After California saw extended periods of dry weather in the middle of winter, a series of late-season storms swept the Golden State in April and May, dusting the Sierra Nevada with fresh snow.

Did those spring snow showers help bolster the dwindling snowpack that historically provides about a third of the state’s water supply?

The short answer is that every little bit helps, but the snow did not come close to making up for almost no precipitation in January through March, normally the height of California’s wet season, said David Rizzardo, chief of hydrology for California’s Department of Water Resources.

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