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How Bad is Water Use in California? March is the Worst So Far, Up 19%

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

Californians emerged from the driest January, February and March on record with the biggest jump in water use since the drought began: a nearly 19% increase in March compared to two years earlier.

Despite the urgent pleas of water officials, California’s water use in March is the highest since 2015, standing in stark contrast to February, when residents and businesses used virtually the same amount of water in cities and towns as two years ago.

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May Gray and June Gloom are Threatened by Climate Change. Enjoy Them While They Last

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Paul Duginski

Anyone who has shivered through an overcast Memorial Day at the beach knows that Southern California has a tendency to serve up gray days at this time of the year. Locals call it May gray and June gloom. But the heavy-looking gray clouds that blot out the sun aren’t just the bane of beachgoers. They serve an important environmental role.

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2022 Is California’s Driest Year on Record So Far – An Ominous Sign for Summer and Fall

/in , , /by /The Weather Channelby Jonathan Erdman

California had its driest start to a year since the late 19th century, raising drought and wildfire concerns heading into the summer.

In data released Monday, NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information found January through April precipitation in the state was the lowest on record dating to 1895.

The statewide precipitation of 3.25 inches was only 25% of average, topping the previous record-dry January through April from 2013, according to NOAA statistics.

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The Colorado River Needs a Big Moisture Boost. Runoff Forecasts Suggest It Won’t Come From Spring Snowmelt

/in , , /by /CPR Newsby Michael Elizabeth Sakas

Spring snowmelt likely won’t deliver the big water supply bump the drought-stricken Colorado River and its reservoirs need, data from the latest federal river forecast shows.

The May to July season is a crucial time for the river, which is replenished by snowmelt running off the mountains on the Western Slope, and the system is in need of a major moisture boost amid a 20-year drought fueled by climate change.

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Proposal for Huntington Beach Desalination Plant to Receive Final Vote Thursday

/in , , /by /ABC 10 by Mimi Elkalla

Poseidon Water, the company that runs the seawater desalination facility in Carlsbad, is pushing to build another desalination plant in Huntington Beach.

“We developed the project in Carlsbad and have been operating that facility since we came online in 2015. In that time, we have produced almost 90 billion gallons of fresh water for San Diego County residents,” said Jessica Jones, director of communications for Poseidon Water.

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San Diego Water Supply Stable Amid Worsening Drought

/in , , /by /KPBS-FMby Maureen Cavanaugh and Harrison Patiño Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The first ever outdoor water restrictions have recently been announced for sections of Los Angeles and other Southern California counties.

Due to an increasingly severe drought that’s drastically reduced the sierra snowpack, watering will be cut back to one day a week in those areas.

San Diego, however, is being spared such measures.

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What Israel, Las Vegas and Other Places Can Teach SoCal About Using a Lot Less Water

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith and Ian James

Millions of Southern Californians will wake up to the region’s most severe water restrictions ever on June 1, with local water agencies under orders to slash the use of supplies from the State Water Project by 35%.

Many water experts say that the cuts are achievable and that reducing outdoor watering to one day a week can help yield immediate savings. At the same time, researchers and water policy experts say, the region needs to adapt to the severe drought because climate change, extreme heat and dwindling snowpack will only serve to exacerbate the issues in years to come

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Water District Threatens to Severely Limit Water to Overusing Residents in Western L.A. County

/in , , /by /KTLAby Sandra Mitchell

Just last year the Fleiner family moved to Calabasas. The family built a pool and finished landscaping their backyard just last month.

The outdoor upgrades cost them about $150,000, Deena Fleiner told KTLA. Now the local water supplier is telling them they’re using too much water.

Their story is not unlike like many other families at risk of severe restrictions.

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Ventura Agrees to 20-Year Deal to Lease Its State Water Supply. Here’s Why

/in , , /by /Ventura County Starby Cheri Carlson

Ventura has struck a 20-year deal with a Riverside County water wholesaler that would save the city millions of dollars in costs to maintain its rights to imported state water.

Under the agreement approved last month, the city would lease its share of imported water to the San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency in Beaumont, an arrangement that would reap $1.1 million this year and cover nearly half of the $2.27 million it will owe to keep its state water entitlement. San Gorgonio would increase its share of the costs starting next year.

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State Lawmakers Target Trash in Tijuana River Valley

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

A handful of state lawmakers gathered last week on the side of the Tijuana River Estuary that’s not visibly clogged by plastics and tires spilling from Mexico down canyon gullies or down the river itself to ask the governor for money to, well, stop trash from spilling over the border.

Southern California lawmakers hope Gov. Gavin Newsom will put $100 million in next year’s budget to be split equally between the Tijuana River and the Mexicali-to-Salton-Sea-flowing New River, both sewage-plagued water bodies.

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