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With Dry Winter, California Readies Next Drought Actions

/in , , /by /Agri-Pulseby Brad Hooker

The Department of Water Resources plans to soon drop State Water Project allocations to 0%, following a temporary 15% bump after December storms. DWR Director Karla Nemeth outlined for the State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday this and other coming actions.

DWR will resubmit a temporary urgency change petition (TUCP) to the board on Friday, after withdrawing the proposal in February. If approved, the emergency regulation will preserve stored supplies for critical human health and safety needs.

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‘It’s Hard to Be Optimistic.’ Here’s What Merced-Area Growers Face After a Dry Winter

/in , , /by /Merced Sun-Starby Abbie Lauten-scrivner

With surface water allocations down and costs up, Merced County’s new irrigation season is reflecting the impacts of statewide drought. Merced County isn’t alone. The nearby Fresno Irrigation District (FID) announced Tuesday that the ongoing parched weather, including a record-dry January and February, led the Board of Directors to postpone its planned start of water deliveries.

 

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Californians Used More Water as State Braces for Another Dry Year

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

Californians used 2.6% more water in January compared to before the drought emergency was declared, a sign that urban residents are ignoring the state’s pleas to take the drought seriously and cut back.

The increased water use in California’s cities and towns came during the second-driest January on record, as the Sierra Nevada snowpack continues to dwindle — and another dry summer looms.

The new data, which details urban water use statewide, shows that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s repeated pleas for a 15% voluntary cutback in water use are failing to reach people in cities and towns. Yet Newsom has stopped short of issuing a mandatory order.

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Decades of Flooding in Leucadia Raise Drainage, Legal Questions

/in , /by /The Coast News Groupby Stephen Wyer

Jeff, a Leucadia resident who lives on Basil Street, said it was in 2001 when his home first flooded. “It was two weeks after I moved in, and I had just painted the house and put in new carpeting, so it really wasn’t good timing,” Jeff recalled with a laugh, noting his home would flood again four years later. But for Jeff and his neighbors who live along North Coast Highway 101 in Leucadia, the issue of flooding in Leucadia has been no laughing matter.

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Californians Fail to Hit Water Conservation Targets by Wide Margin — is it Disaster Fatigue?

/in , /by /Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

As California’s severe drought worsens, with reservoir levels falling and the Sierra Nevada snow pack shrinking, the state’s residents — particularly in Southern California — are failing by a large margin to hit voluntary water conservation targets set by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Last July, Newsom declared a drought emergency and asked Californians to cut urban water use 15% compared to 2020 levels.

But in January, they did the opposite, increasing water use 2.6% compared to January 2020, according to new data released Tuesday by the State Water Resources Control Board.

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Northern California Gets Light Rain and Snow

/in , , /by /AP News

A weak storm system moved through Northern California on Tuesday and a stronger system was expected in the drought-stricken state during the weekend, the National Weather Service said.

Meteorologists reported that Sierra Nevada elevations above 6,000 feet (1,829 meters) received 1-3 inches (2.5-7.6 centimeters) of snow, and chains were required on Interstate 80 through the morning.

The UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab said rain unexpectedly turned to snow.

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Drought Has Already Cost Close to $2 Billion and 14,000 Jobs, and It’s Likely Not Over Yet

/in , , /by /KVPRby Kerry Klein

A new report estimates that in 2021, drought conditions cost agriculture $1.2 billion and another half a billion dollars in other sectors. The report, written by researchers at both UC Merced and the Public Policy Institute of California,  blames these economic impacts on one of the driest water years on record, which resulted in huge water losses even after tapping into millions of acre feet of groundwater.

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Environment Report: San Diego Can’t Spend the $300 Million It Won to Fight Tijuana Sewage Border Spills

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

Even though the federal government gave San Diego $300 million to alleviate the decades-long problem of Tijuana sewage spilling over the U.S.-Mexico border, and even though everyone seems to generally agree it should be spent on a bigger border wastewater treatment plant, and even though all the necessary parties seem to be working harmoniously on the plan, the money can’t be spent.

That’s due to some sticky bureaucratic red tape: Congress needs to pass, and the president needs to sign legislation allowing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to give that $300 million check (secured under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement) to the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission.

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Opinion: Dangerous Game of Chicken on the Colorado River

/in , , /by /The Salt Lake Tribuneby Kyle Roerink

Seven Western states and their leaders — all depending on water from the Colorado River — remain divided.

Split into basins by an imaginary border at Lees Ferry, Arizona, each state can share blame for the rapid depletion of reservoirs that once held over four years’ flow of the Colorado River. But now, Lake Powell and Lake Mead edge closer to empty. With water savings gone, the Lower Basin has been trying to cope, though the Upper Basin carries on business as usual. Meanwhile, 40 millions Americans depend on flows from this over-diverted river.

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California City Requiring Residents to Cut Water Usage by 10%

/in , , /by /KRDO

Monrovia will require its residents to cut their water usage or face fines, as California continues to dry out amid this historic drought.

Beginning this March, the city of Monrovia voted to require every resident to reduce their water usage by 10% or face fines averaging at $10 a month or more for extreme water wasters. The city will compare a household’s usage in Feb. 2022 to Feb. 2020.

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