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

Do Spring Storms Help With California’s Drought Conditions? Not as Much as You Might Think

/in , , /by /ABC 10by Monica Woods

 California is heading into its third year of drought after record dry stretches.

One of the biggest losses the state saw in the 2022 water year was the lack of rain and snow during the typically wet January to March time frame. Historically, December through March are the wettest months for the state. The past three years have come up short for precipitation leading to water restrictions and bigger conservation efforts.

Full Story

California Utility SDG&E Sees Utility Scale Solar Growing Greater Than 10x by 2045

/in , /by /pv magazineby John Fitzgerald Weaver

California utility San Diego Gas & Electricity (SDG&E) has released new projections for meeting California’s decarbonization goals. The study, The Path to Net Zero: A Decarbonization Roadmap for California, predicts that in order to reach the mandated carbon neutrality by 2045, the state will need to quadruple its electricity generating capacity from 85 GW to 365 GW, add 40 GW of energy storage, and integrate 20 GW of green hydrogen – while also adding 4 GW of fossil gas with carbon capture and sequestration technology.

The utility said that they believe a mix of resources will be needed to “maintain electricity system reliability in the SDG&E service area” as total consumption increases by an estimated 100%, and peak demand grows by 85%.

Full Story

Rainbow MWD Approves Financing Agreement for Capital Projects

/in , /by /Village News

The Rainbow Municipal Water District board approved a financing agreement for a group of planned capital projects.

The March 22 board vote authorized Rainbow general manager Tom Kennedy to execute a financing agreement with Western Alliance Business Trust for $9,750,000. The financing will have a 3.55% interest rate and will be repaid over a 20-year period.

Full Story

Dry Weather Forecast Calls for Higher Food Prices and Billions in Farm Losses

/in , /by /Forbesby Chloe Sorvino

Third-generation San Joaquin Valley farmer Gary Beene will plant only half his 1,200 acres this year. He doesn’t have enough water for the other half.

“We’re working on survival more than anything else and getting through this year,” said Beene, who farms tomato, almond, cotton and garlic with his sons and grandson on the land his grandfather settled in California in the 1930s after sharecropping in Oklahoma. “It’s pretty discouraging. I’m hoping to steer my grandchildren away from agriculture. It’s sad.”

Full Story

San Diego Tree Week: Concerts and Free Trees

/in , , /by /Water News Network Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The Water Conservation Garden is celebrating Spring this year by launching San Diego Tree Week. The goal, from April 22-29, is to plant 1,000 trees and bring San Diego residents together through tree planting.

Full Story

Energy Shift Creates Opening for ‘World’s Largest Batteries’

/in , , /by /AP News by John Flesher

Sprawled like a gigantic swimming pool atop a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan is an asphalt-and-clay pond holding enough water to produce electricity for 1.6 million households.

It’s part of the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant, which uses simple technology: Water is piped from a lower reservoir — the lake, in this case — to an upper one, then released downhill through supersized turbines.

Supporters call these systems “the world’s largest batteries” because they hold vast amounts of potential energy for use when needed for the power grid.

The hydropower industry considers pumped storage the best answer to a question hovering over the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy to address climate change: where to get power when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing.

(Editor’s Note: The San Diego County Water Authority and the City of San Diego are partnering on the proposed San Vicente Energy Storage Facility project. More information: www.sdcwa.org/projects/san-vicente-pumping-facilities/)

 

Full Story

Gov. Newsom to Ask Legislature for $750m as State Looks to Conserve Water

/in , , /by /Action News Nowby Jafet Serrato and Brandon Downs

During Gov. Gavin Newsom’s visit to Butte County on Tuesday, Newsom said he will ask the legislature for $750 million to help with drought conditions.

At the Hyatt Powerplant at Lake Oroville, which shut down last year due to record low lake levels, Newsom spoke about how the state needs a different approach to water conservation.

Newsom already invested $5.2 billion in the past three years for water security for all Californians.

Full Story

Marine Heat Wave Currently Forming Off California Coast, Federal Forecasters Say

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Tara Duggan

Federal scientists have created a new tool for forecasting marine heat waves, and they say one is currently forming in the North Pacific Ocean not far from the California coast.

The marine heat wave currently predicted to linger into fall is not expected to have the impact of “the blob” — the name for a period of high seawater temperatures that persisted along the West Coast from 2014 to 2016. But scientists say their new prediction models will help forecast similar extreme ocean warming events that are expected to increase in duration and intensity with climate change.

Full Story

Dry as a Bone: Las Vegas Enforces New Water Restrictions

/in , , /by /KGUN 9by Newsy

The megadrought gripping the Western United States is widening.

Fifty-seven percent of the country and 100% of Nevada is in some level of drought, and nowhere is it as obvious as along the Colorado River.

In the Southwestern U.S., the massive Lake Mead Reservoir near Las Vegas is not as massive as it used to be. The water level has dropped to near-record-low levels.

Full Story

Opinion: Food Shortages, Rising Prices … We’ve Been Warning About This for Years

/in , , /by /AZ Centralby Paul Orme and Dan Keppen

As the Ukraine war kindles fears of rising food prices, the recognition of a secure domestic food supply – driven in large part by irrigated agriculture in the Western U.S. – is something we need to talk about.

The Family Farm Alliance last month released a report that describes current and projected food shortages resulting from the Russia-Ukraine war. This is nothing new, from our standpoint. The domestic food security issue is a concern that we’ve warned our policy leaders about for more than 15 years.

Full Story