If you’ve been warned recently that there’s a class of forever toxic chemicals that you want to avoid at all costs, you’re not alone. We’re all finding out that a single chemical, man-made in 1938 (eventually called Teflon), has led to over 9,000 hazardous man-made chemicals called Per- and PolyFluoroAlkylSubstances (PFAS).
The list of PFAS-contaminated household products published by the Environmental Working Group runs the gamut from prepackaged food, shampoo/conditioners, dental floss to nonstick cookware, water-repellent/stain-proof jackets and carpets.
Fix a Leak Week is a time to check indoor and outdoor plumbing systems for leaks. This year’s reminder about water conservation comes as California and much of the U.S. Southwest are in the third consecutive year of drought.
Minor water leaks account for more than one-trillion gallons of water wasted each year in homes across the United States. One-trillion gallons equals 3.068 million acre-feet, nearly enough water to meet the needs of San Diego County for seven years.
After California recorded its driest January and February in more than 100 years of records in the Sierra Nevada, Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration announced this week that it is spending an additional $22.5 million to respond to the immediate drought emergency.
The additional $22.5 million allocation includes more funding for the Department of Water Resources, State Water Resources Control Board, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
More than a third of the money – $8.25 million – will be used to increase outreach efforts to educate Californians on water conservation measures and practices.
Rain came early last fall, but whatever hope blossomed for a better than normal — or even average — year is gone. There is no March miracle in the forecast, and summers are dry in California, so mandatory water conservation isn’t going away any time soon.
“We had a great start to the beginning of the wet season … and we have basically flatlined since then,” Jeanine Jones of the California Department of Water Resources said during a virtual town hall meeting on Thursday that Sonoma Water billed as “a huge reality check.”
Facing a historic megadrought all across the American West with no end in sight, Colorado lawmakers, looking for easy and effective ways to conserve water, set their sights on Kentucky Blue Grass.
Not just Kentucky Blue Grass but all kinds of non-native grasses planted in front lawns, back lawns, green strips fronting businesses and apartment complexes. Those lawns take up about half the water used in Colorado’s cities.
“There’s not any more water out there and what water is out there is becoming really expensive,” John Berggren, a water policy analyst with Western Resource Advocates, said. “So let’s look at how we’re using it now.”
On Wednesday, March 16 the State Water Resources Control Board will meet to discuss Sacramento River temperature management and its impact on salmon for 2022 and beyond.
Salmon, salmon fishermen, and all Californians, are struggling with drought impacts. And as we work toward long-term solutions, that doesn’t make this year easier for anyone.
However, it is important to maintain balance between all water users and observe the California Water Code, which requires “reasonable” decisions among competing water uses. And while some may want to define “reasonable” solely on the basis of an amount of water allocated to each user, it’s clearly not that simple.
You may have heard the saying from the Ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, “No man steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man.” If you walk along a coastal stream in California at the end of the summer, you will understand the dynamic nature of these systems. In a wet year, such as 2017, you might find a stream that is fully connected with flowing water. But in a dry year, like 2021, you might walk miles of dry stream channel before discovering an isolated pool. Many of California’s streams naturally become intermittent at some point in the dry season. However, when and where stream channels go dry is highly variable year-to-year and difficult to predict (van Meerveld et al., 2020).
On the day we spring forward, actual springtime is only a week or so off. And with it, the chances of winter-like storms drift away like spring blossoms on flowering trees.
Except we haven’t had any winter storms since December, thereby missing out on any appreciable rainfall for more almost three months, which historically are three of the four wettest months.
And that’s a problem for Santa Cruz County and for California.
The official stats are in: January and February were the driest first two months of the year on record across much of California. Those months should normally be the wettest period of the year.
February was also unusually warm. In Southern California, the warm readings were repeatedly accompanied by Santa Ana winds. These conditions dried out vegetation after an uncommonly wet December in the state and spurred winter wildfires such as the Emerald fire in Laguna Beach.
