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California Is About to Begin the Nation’s Largest Dam Removal Project. Here’s What It Means for Wildlife

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

After decades of negotiation, the largest dam-removal project in U.S. history is expected to begin in California’s far north next year.

The first of four aging dams on the Klamath River, the 250-mile waterway that originates in southern Oregon’s towering Cascades and empties along the rugged Northern California coast, is on track to come down in fall 2023. Two others nearby and one across the state line will follow.

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San Diego Offers $33M Olive Branch in Pipeline Dispute With East County Water Recycling Project

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith

San Diego’s top brass offered on Thursday to pony up more than $33 million to resolve a hotly disputed pipeline deal between the city and East County concerning two large water recycling projects.

The move comes as the parties inch closer to what could become a protracted legal battle, with serious implications for the East County Advanced Water Purification Project and the city’s massive $5 billion Pure Water sewage recycling venture.

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Opinion: Extended drought leads to increased wildfire threat now and in the future

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Michael Smolens

The resort at Mammoth Mountain just announced it will extend the skiing season into June because of storms in April and May.

A week earlier and 350 miles south, tinder-dry conditions fueled a wildfire that ripped through Laguna Niguel, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate and destroying 20 homes.

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Tucson Votes to Give Up Some of its CAP water to Help Save Lake Mead

/in , , /by /KOLD News 13by Bud Foster

The Tucson City Council voted unanimously to give back about a third of its Central Arizona Project water allocation to help an ailing Lake Mead.

The lake, hit hard by a prolonged drought, is at 31% capacity and dropping. It provides water for 20 million people in Arizona, California and Nevada as well as large swaths of farmland.

“I feel that the city of Tucson is in a position where we can add water back to the lake, specifically Lake Mead,” said Tucson Mayor Regina Romero before the vote.

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The West, Reliant on Hydro, May Miss It During Heat Waves

/in , , /by /E&E Newsby Benjamin Storrow Mentioned: `

When California suffers a heat wave, it leans heavily on hydropower from the Pacific Northwest to keep the lights on.

But that hydropower may not always be available when it’s most needed, as climate change is shifting the ground on which the West’s dams sit. Higher temperatures means snowmelt occurs earlier in the year and leaves less water available for power generation during the depths of summer.

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To Pre-Rinse or Not to Pre-Rinse? How to Use Your Dishwasher During the Drought

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ada Tseng

The science is in. Dishwashers save water — especially if you run them only when you have a full load.

Experts will also tell you that you don’t even need to pre-rinse the crusty, sticky residue off your dishes before depositing them in the dishwasher. Just scrape the solid food off.

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High Winds, Heat Boost Fire Threat as California Faces Long Season

/in , , /by /The Washington Postby Diana Leonard

Fire danger is on the rise in California, as warm, dry and windy weather heralds a potentially long and difficult season. For several consecutive years, increasingly extreme, climate-change fueled wildfires have devastated parts of the state.

The area of greatest concern late this week is in Northern California, where strong northerly winds will combine with dry vegetation in the Sacramento Valley, after temperatures soared to 100 degrees on Wednesday afternoon.

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How CA Coastal Communities Are Working to Conserve Water, Combat Saltwater Intrusion Amid Drought

/in , /by /ABC 7by Spencer Christian and Tim Didion

For Executive Pastor Mark Spurlock, expanding classroom space at the Twin Lakes Christian School in Aptos has been addition by subtraction. At least when it comes to saving water.

Following development offset rules outlined by the Soquel Creek Water District, the school engineered water-saving solutions to offset the new space they were building including replacing lawn areas with a drought-friendly plaza that catches and diverts water routed from nearby rooftops.

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Grid Monitor Warns of U.S. Blackouts in ‘Sobering Report’

/in , /by /E&E Newsby Peter Behr and Jason Plautz

The central and upper Midwest, Texas and Southern California face an increased risk of power outages this summer from extreme heat, wildfires and extended drought, the nation’s grid monitor warned yesterday.

In a dire new assessment, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) described regions of the country pushed closer than ever toward energy emergencies by a combination of climate change impacts and a transition from traditional fossil fuel generators to carbon-free renewable power.

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Newsom Pushes Water Commission to Accelerate Sites Reservoir

/in , , /by /Agri Pulseby Brad Hooker

As the drought deepens and an election nears, Gov. Gavin Newsom is taking extra steps to increase pressure—and responsibility—on the Water Commission for the Sites Reservoir Project proposal. During a Senate budget subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said the governor has tasked him with ensuring the commission “isn’t slowing down the progress of getting those [Proposition 1] projects online.”

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