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Despite Cutbacks to the Rest of the State, Some Ag Districts Get Full Allotment of Water

/in , /by /The Fresno Beeby Jesse Vad

Even as most agricultural water supplies are being cut to the bone, with California descending into a third year of extreme drought, the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractor districts will apparently receive 650,000 acre feet — 100% of their “critical year” allotment.

The move is just one of the quirks in California’s byzantine world of water rights.

The federal Bureau of Reclamation has increased the amount of water coming out of the Friant Dam above Fresno to help satisfy its contract with the Exchange Contractors.

 

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The Promise and Pitfalls of Desalination

/in , , /by /The Economist Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Carlsbad State Beach is a Southern California idyll. Palm trees adorn the cliffs above the sand, and surfers paddle out for the waves. From the beach it is impossible to tell that a huge desalination plant not half a mile away is sucking in seawater to produce 50 million gallons of new drinking water each day. It is the largest in America—for now. Soon it may share that title with a proposed sister plant 60 miles (97km) north in Huntington Beach. But only if that one is built.

Poseidon Water, the developer that also built the Carlsbad plant, first proposed the Huntington Beach facility in the 1990s. But it has taken the company more than two decades to persuade Californians of the plant’s necessity.

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Kings County Declares Local Drought Emergency

/in , , /by /The Sentinelby Eric Gill

The Kings County Board of Supervisors on Friday voted to declare a local emergency due to drought conditions in the area. All five Kings County supervisors voted in favor of declaring the local state of emergency.

The resolution was considered during a Special Meeting held April 1 to consider a recommendation submitted by Edward Hill, county administrative officer, and Matthew Boyett, a Kings County Administration staff member.

The primary purpose of the meeting — “declaring a local emergency due to drought conditions in Kings County” — was voted on after the closed session.

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Proposed Tulare County Reservoir Could Begin Banking Water as Soon as 2026

/in , , /by /The Sun Gazetteby Reggie Ellis

Last Friday’s report that California’s snowpack is just 38% of normal underscores the importance for Tulare County to not only take the drought more seriously, but to brace for drier winters to become the rule rather than the exception.

Two Tulare County irrigation water agencies aren’t waiting around to see how the state will cope with the current and future drought and are taking steps to secure more water storage in the Kaweah Subbasin. Tulare Irrigation District (TID) and Consolidated Peoples Ditch Company (CPDC) purchased 260 acres in December 2020 near McKay Point, where the Kaweah River forks into the Lower Kaweah and St. John’s rivers near Lemon Cove, to build a reservoir capable of storing 8,000 acre feet of water.

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State Water Board May Extend Restrictions to Russian River Water

/in , , /by /NBC Bay Area

A current regulation that curtails water rights in the Russian River watershed set to expire in July may be extended due to the continuing drought, according to the state agency charged with balancing all water needs of the state.

State Water Resources Control Board officials announced Friday the board released a draft emergency regulation to extend the regulation and clarify some of its requirements.

The Russian River runs from Mendocino County south into Sonoma County. It is the second-largest river in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, behind the Sacramento River.

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State Updates Climate Priorities

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

State government released an updated set of strategies Monday for meeting the increasingly urgent challenges of climate change.

The six-point plan published online at climateresilience.ca.gov calls for doing more to protect vulnerable communities, strengthen public health and safety, reinforce the economy, speed up natural climate solutions, stick to the best available climate science and create partnerships to maximize resources.

The website’s debut followed a report Monday by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that warned governments have fallen behind in their efforts to limit temperature increases to 2.7 degrees on average.

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UN Warns Earth ‘Firmly on Track Toward an Unlivable World’

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Frank Jordans and Seth Borenstein

Temperatures on Earth will shoot past a key danger point unless greenhouse gas emissions fall faster than countries have committed, the world’s top body of climate scientists said Monday, warning of the consequences of inaction but also noting hopeful signs of progress.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change revealed “a litany of broken climate promises” by governments and corporations, accusing them of stoking global warming by clinging to harmful fossil fuels.

“It is a file of shame, cataloguing the empty pledges that put us firmly on track toward an unlivable world,” he said.

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‘It Is Just Magnificent!’ | Bald Eagles Return to San Diego County

/in , , /by /CBS8by Shawn Styles

In the mid 70’s there were only 30 nesting pairs of Bald Eagles because of DDT.

Since then, it was banned, and the population has rebounded and now Bald Eagles are nesting here in San Diego.

Ernie Cowan is a photographer, author, and naturalist and has been watching the nest for three years.

“Wow! Look at that profile, he is really posing,” said Cowan.

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City-Subsidized Rain Barrels Sold Out in Event at SCV Activities Center

/in , /by /The Signalby Trevor Morgan

Around 20 people showed up at 20880 Centre Pointe Parkway on Saturday morning to attend a class on how to properly use rain barrels they pre-ordered, which were offered by the city of Santa Clarita through a purchase program.

The program had completely sold out of their city-subsidized stock, which maxed out at around 100 barrels, but still had a few left over to purchase at full price.

Customers were able to choose barrels that could hold between 50 to 60 gallons of water, for $40 each if it was city-subsidized or just over $70 if they had to pay full price.

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Klamath Irrigators Vote for Water Deliveries Even if It Puts Federal Drought Funding at Risk

/in , /by /Jefferson Public Radioby Erik Neumann

After last year’s drought that saw protests and threats of breaking into federal water management facilities, the implications of the recent Klamath Irrigation District (KID) vote are unclear, but support from irrigators was widespread on March 29, 2022.

Out of 377 votes, 319 KID members voted ‘yes’ to the ballot question: “Pursuant to both our federal contract obligations and state water rights, do you want the district to attempt to deliver you water knowing it will likely complicate federal drought funding?”

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