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As Drought Worsens, California Launches Website to Track Statewide Water Conditions

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewein

The Department of Water Resources launched a new website to help Californians easily access information on local and statewide water conditions — down to their own region and even neighborhood.

The California Water Watch site was introduced Friday as the state reported the driest January and February since weather records have been kept.

The website provides real-time information on precipitation, temperature, reservoirs, snowpack, groundwater, streamflow, soil moisture and vegetation conditions as well as forecasts.

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Sacramento Approaches a Record for Days Without Rain During the Winter. Could More Water Restrictions Be Coming Soon?

/in , , /by /KCRAby Heather Waldman

If this were the summer, it would hardly be worth mentioning. But the winter months are when the region expects to pick up a majority of its annual rainfall.

The good news is that despite this near-record long winter rainless streak, the season’s total rainfall (since Oct. 1) is still above average for Sacramento.

Without a significant change in the weather pattern, that would of course change. Currently, the city of Sacramento is asking residents to cut back water use by 15% of 2020 levels.

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Lithium Beneath the Salton Sea

/in , /by /pv magazineby William Driscoll

Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory is leading a research project to profile the concentration of lithium in the geothermal field beneath California’s Salton Sea, and to explore the most environmentally benign way to extract it.

Brine from the geothermal field is already pumped to the surface to generate geothermal power, and recirculated back underground. Lithium could be extracted from brine before it is pumped underground. Eleven geothermal plants are now operating in the Salton Sea, which Berkeley Lab describes as “pilot” operations.

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IID Sells Land to HKG, Retains Subsurface Rights

/in , /by /The Desert Reviewby Betty Miller

Imperial Irrigation District has been negotiating with Hell’s Kitchen Geothermal, LLC (HKG) to transfer land near the Salton Sea to the company, plus allow geothermal drilling of the heated brine and mineral extraction.

Recently, IID entered into negotiations with HKG to transfer approximately 3,144 acres, which includes the 1,880 acres currently under lease with HKG. Documents showed at the IID’s regular Feb. 15, meeting that under the proposed transfer, IID would retain its rights to all subsurface resources, including geothermal and mineral resources.

 

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Snow to Spread Across West as Temperatures Plunge

/in , /by /AccuWeatherby Alyssa Smithmyer

An active weather pattern is in place across the western United States, AccuWeather forecasters say, and the arrival of a storm in the Northwest will eventually result in widespread impacts from California to the central and southern Rockies.

An area of low pressure was diving southeastward over the interior West on Tuesday. As the storm strengthens will moving into the Southwest region, areas of snow will break out and become locally heavy from the Sierra Nevada to the Rockies in Colorado and the various ranges in northern Arizona and New Mexico.

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Oceanside Water Utilities Staff Honored at the California Water Environment Association Awards Banquet

/in , , /by /OsideNews.com

On January 29, 2022, City of Oceanside Water Utilities employees were honored at the annual California Water Environment Association (CWEA) San Diego awards banquet. Four City employees from the San Luis Rey Wastewater Treatment Plant were appointed to the CWEA Board, while another received a prestigious award for his outstanding service and exemplary work in the maintenance field. Mike Mensing, Mechanical Technologist I, was awarded the title of Mechanical Tech of the Year for the San Diego CWEA Section.

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La Niña Expected Through Spring, Brings Uncertainty to Sierra Snowpack

/in , , /by /FOX40by Dennis Shanahan and Jonathan Taraya

The recent dry weather in Northern California might be sticking around for a while.

The Climate Prediction Center forecasts a 77% chance La Niña conditions will continue through the month of May.

The term La Niña refers to a correlation between ocean water temperatures and winter weather patterns.

Oftentimes, the weather event brings wetter than normal conditions to the Pacific Northwest and drier weather to Southern California.

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Marin Municipal Water District Lifts Sprinkler Ban

/in , , /by /Marin Independent Journalby Will Houston

Most Marin County residents will once again be allowed to turn on their sprinklers following a nearly three-month ban.

The Marin Municipal Water District board voted unanimously on Tuesday to allow the district’s 191,000 residents in central and southern Marin to use outdoor sprinklers and drip irrigation two days per week. Outdoor irrigation using potable water supplies had been banned since Dec. 1 in response to the drought.

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Some San Jose Residents Could Run Out of Water by Summer if Drought Continues, Expert Says

/in , , /by /abc 7 Newsby Dustin Dorsey

In California, you pay big bucks for blue skies and sunshine filled days like we had today in San Jose.

But this morning, ABC7 News Meteorologist Drew Tuma explained why it’s not necessarily always a good thing.

“This is our 49th day in a row without a drop of rain in San Jose,” Tuma said. “So, that is the record longest stretch in our winter season that we have not seen a drop of rain in parts of the South Bay. So you can see how dry it has been this winter season.”

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Merced County Farms Looking at Drastic Water Shortages With Coming Dry Season

/in , , /by /Merced Sun-Starby Madeline Shannon

Local irrigation district officials and Merced County farmers are worried the current wet season isn’t wet enough to yield more than one acre-foot of surface water for many local farmers in the coming dry season.

During a Merced Irrigation District board meeting this week, officials discussed how to grapple with the expected water supply shortages this year due to the drought and water allocations from Lake McClure, which the MID board decides every year.

 

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