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California’s Climate Whiplash Has Gotten Worse Over 50 Years

/in , , /by /Futurityby Mikayla Mace-Arizona

While dry events in California are not getting drier, extreme wet weather events have steadily increased in magnitude since the middle of the last century, new research shows.

These increased extreme wet events can result in more dangerous flooding and also fuel wildfires.

“Most research after 2015 has been very focused on this climate variability and how it’s going to get worse in the future,” says Diana Zamora-Reyes, a graduate student in the department of hydrology and atmospheric sciences at the University of Arizona and lead author of the paper in the International Journal of Climatology.

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How Western Water Markets Are Changing Under Pressure

/in , , /by /Capital Pressby Sierra McClain

Water has been traded in the Western U.S. for decades, but as the region faces intensifying regulations, shifts in crops and drought concerns, water markets are evolving to reflect the changes.

“The idea of water moving between uses and large distances has changed over the last 30 years. In the last five years especially, there have been big changes,” said Matt Payne, principal with WestWater Research, a Boise-based economic consulting firm specializing in water market research, pricing and trading.

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Walmart Invests in Indoor Vertical Farming Startup Plenty

/in , /by /AP Newsby Anne D'Innocenzio

Walmart said Tuesday it has taken a stake in agriculture startup Plenty, becoming the first large U.S. retailer to significantly invest in indoor vertical farming as a way to deliver fresher produce to its stores.

Vertical farmers tout their high-quality produce that brings higher yields while using less water and land. The method also doesn’t use pesticide, and the produce can be grown year round near the point of distribution, increasing the reliability of supply.

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2022 WaterSmart Landscape Contest Open For Entries

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

One dozen San Diego County water agencies are looking for the best in landscaping makeover projects for the 2022 regional WaterSmart landscape competition. This annual competition showcases residential water-saving landscaping projects to inform and inspire other homeowners to consider replacing their turf-based yard designs.

The contest deadline for all participating agencies is Friday, May 13.

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Season Snowfall Totals Have Dropped Since 1970 in the Sierra, But Average Precipitation Has Gone Up

/in , , /by /KCRAby Heather Waldman

Snow season in Northern California has always been characterized by starts and stops, but this season may have brought a little extra whiplash with a big storm in October, a dry November, record snowfall in December to end 2021 only to be followed by a near-record dry January.

This region has seen similar extremes before, but because of climate change and resulting rising global temperatures, weather patterns are shifting to make these dramatic “dry to wet back to dry” periods more common. Tracers of this trend are showing up in climate data for the Sierra and the Western U.S. as a whole.

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Water Efficiency Grant Deadline Extended

/in , , /by /Western FarmPress

Through this program, resource conservation districts, non-profit organizations, University of California, California State University campuses, California community colleges, and California and federally-recognized tribes are eligible to receive up to $500,000 in funding to provide technical assistance to California farmers.

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Rocky Mountain Snow Pack Good for the Valley, Pandemic Not So Good

/in , , /by /The Desert Reviewby Betty Miller

The water and electrical divisions of the Imperial Irrigation District presented positive and negative reports respectively to the IID Board at the Tuesday, Jan. 18, regular meeting.

IID Water Manager Tina Shields gave a hydrology report about the recent, “nice little snowpack” brought by the recent storm. She said the Bureau of Reclamation had been having operational discussions of moving waters to Lake Powell to keep its water levels from falling below the minimum level necessary for the lake’s Glen Canyon Dam turbines to generate hydroelectricity. The snowpack will keep the water level high enough for the turbines to intake water for producing electricity.

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After Snowy December, California Suddenly Turns Dry, Magnifying Drought Concern

/in , , /by /The Washington Postby Jacob Feuerstein

California is approximately halfway through what may be the most closely watched wet season in state history. A rainy October and snowy December brought some relief from the extensive, multiyear drought, but a vanishingly dry January portends continuing water challenges.

Parts of central California have seen a record lack of precipitation so far this month.

What happens in the weeks ahead will have huge implications for the summer dry season. Almost all of the precipitation that nourishes soil and fills reservoirs in the western United States falls from November through March.

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The U.S. Can’t Control the Tijuana Sewage Faucet

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

The United States and Mexico disagree on the source of a weeks-long sewage spill at the border, but an investigation into the cause demonstrated what those working on the border already know — the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant in San Diego is in desperate need of repair. 

As of Friday, U.S. officials at the International Boundary and Water Commission — a binational agency that works on border water treaties — believed the millions of gallons of raw sewage that escaped the border wastewater system earlier this month came from a crack in a big concrete pipe in Mexico called the International Collector, which carries sewage from Tijuana wastewater mains to the U.S. treatment plant. (That pipeline is old and by now has surpassed its useful life, according to a 2019 report by the North American Development Bank.)   

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Reps. Levin, Peters Preview Improvement to Local Infrastructure From $1.2 Trillion Spending Bill

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

Two San Diego-area lawmakers previewed on Monday the local improvements that will come from the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill passed by Congress last year.

Rep. Scott Peters vowed to help San Diego secure significant funding from the $7.5 billion earmarked in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for a national network of chargers for clean electric vehicles.

“The success of this landmark bill depends on focused federal, state, and local coordination to use these funds and ultimately improve San Diegans’ quality of life,” said Peters at a press conference with city and county leaders in Liberty Station.

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