Every time it rains, Angelenos might be thinking: are we saving any of that rain water?
Thursday’s storm brought some much needed rainfall, but with a burgeoning drought, many Southern California residents are wondering if we benefitted at all.
Extreme weather events in 2021 shattered records around the globe. Hundreds died in storms and heatwaves. Farmers struggled with drought, and in some cases with locust plagues. Wildfires set new records for carbon emissions, while swallowing forests, towns and homes.
Many of these events were exacerbated by climate change. Scientists say there are more to come – and worse – as the Earth’s atmosphere continues to warm through the next decade and beyond.
Four words sum up Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest effort to ease the impact of the drought: too little, too late.
California needs to take far more aggressive action to ensure a reliable source of water for 2022 and beyond. Newsom’s administration is targeting unreasonable waste by urban users, who consume 20% of the state’s water. It’s time for him also to get aggressive with Big Ag, which sucks up the other 80%.
For more than 20 years, Tanya Trujillo has been immersed in the many challenges of the Colorado River, the drought-stressed lifeline for 40 million people from Denver to Los Angeles and the source of irrigation water for more than 5 million acres of winter lettuce, supermarket melons and other crops.
California will soak up some much needed rain this week on the heels of a sobering decision from the state to drastically reduce water distribution to the Los Angeles area due to our ongoing drought.
Meanwhile, the San Diego County Water Authority gets less than 1% of its water from the state, a remarkable difference from the 95% the agency received from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California in the early 1990s. Conservation became a way of life in San Diego. Water use per day has been reduced by 50% since 1990 and remains consistent with levels seen during our last drought between 2012 and 2016.
"We ultimately were cut back by over 30% for 13 months. It harmed the economy and harmed the quality of life here. And it really wasn't a situation that we ever wanted to experience again," said Sandy Kerl, @sdcwa General Manager. #cawater #CAdrought https://t.co/NpJNAqDgN9
— San Diego County Water Authority (@sdcwa) December 9, 2021
San Diego County Water Authority General Manager Sandra Kerl recently sat down with Brown and Caldwell’s Wendy Broley, director of technical practices, and Mike Puccio, Southern California operations director, to talk about her experience dealing with unprecedented challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires, and drought.
On the rare and welcome occasions when San Diego County gets rainfall, the water runoff from hard surfaces around the home such as roofs and patios should be re-directed to your permeable landscaping. By capturing as much rainwater as possible in the soil, it is possible to build an ecosystem that can last through the summer months with minimal additional irrigation.
Light to moderate precipitation in Southern California on Thursday may pave the way for a much stronger Pacific storm early next week, forecasters said.
Thursday’s drizzle is expected to deliver about a quarter-inch of rain to the Los Angeles area — only slightly more than the rainfall totals earlier this week — and taper off by the early evening.
The river that supplies water to about 40 million people is getting worryingly dry. Since the federal government officially declared a water shortage this summer, the Colorado River has been thrust into national headlines, and so have the scientists and decision makers who track and shape its future.
California’s drought crisis is pushing officials to call for 15% reductions in water usage in communities throughout the state. Those found wasting water now could end up fined up to $500 a day, a new proposal from the California State Water Resources Control Board shows.
Under proposed emergency regulations, code enforcement offices could look for water wasters with those observed washing cars without a shutoff nozzle or residents watering lawns within 48 hours of a rain event potentially subjected to fines. The resolution will be considered by the state board in a Jan. 4 meeting.
