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Record Temperatures Forecast as Winter Heatwave Heads for California

/in , , /by /The Guardianby Dani Anguiano

An unusual winter heatwave is expected across California this week with record temperatures in the forecast for multiple cities from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles.

In Southern California, where temperatures are predicted to be 15 to 20 degrees above normal from Wednesday morning through Sunday, the National Weather Service upgraded a heat watch to a heat advisory.

The heat watch and advisory were the first to be issued by the Los Angeles weather office in the month of February, according to records dating to 2006. Most heat watches and warnings in the area are issued from May through October.

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Sustainable Conservation: Protecting Water Quality While Recharging Aquifers

/in , , /by /Maven's Notebook

Over 600,000 Californians rely on nitrate-contaminated public supply wells for their household water needs.  However, those numbers are even greater as they don’t include the many others who struggle with contaminated groundwater from domestic wells.  Balancing long-term groundwater sustainability and water quality will help California weather future droughts, ensure safe drinking water, and support our thriving agricultural community that feeds the nation.

One tool for groundwater sustainability is groundwater recharge, where water is intentionally spread on the ground and allowed to infiltrate into the underlying aquifer.  However, there is much concern that groundwater recharge can increase water quality issues, especially when the recharge water is spread upon agricultural lands.

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California’s Drought-Relief Dreams Are Quickly Drying Up

/in , , /by /Bloombergby Brian K Sullivan, Mark Chediak, and Elizabeth Elkin

As recently as Christmas, it looked like California’s devastating drought could—if not fully disappear—at least be on track for serious improvement by spring. That’s no longer the case.

California’s snowpack was promisingly high at the start of the year after Pacific storms in October and December delivered a round of heavy rains and deep snows. But it has since dropped below where officials hoped it would be for this time of year after those early-season cloudbursts turned out to be isolated events.

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California Water District Plans Country’s 1st Solar Canopy Project Covering Canals

/in , , /by /Solar Power Worldby Billy Ludt

Turlock Irrigation District (TID) in Turlock, California, is planning the country’s first pilot project to build solar panel canopies over a portion of the water utility’s existing canals. Project Nexus is planned as a multi-use solar project, assessing water evaporation reduction from mid-day shade and wind mitigation; improvements to water quality and reduced canal maintenance through reduced vegetative growth; and generating renewable energy.

Project Nexus is a public-private-academic partnership among TID, the Department of Water Resources (DWR), Solar AquaGrid and the University of California, Merced.

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As West Continues to Confront Devastating Drought, California Attorney General Urges EPA to Expand Clean Water Act Protections for Nation’s Waterways

/in , , /by /Sierra Sun Times

On Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, leading a multistate coalition along with New York Attorney General Letitia James, urged the Biden Administration to repeal a Trump-era rule drastically curtailing protections under the Clean Water Act. Under the 2020 rule, more than half of all wetlands and at least 18% of all streams across the United States were left without federal protections. Western states like California were even harder hit, with 35% of all streams deprived of federal protections as a result of the 2020 rule. In the comments, the coalition supports the Biden Administration’s proposed regulation to restore the 1980s definition of “waters of the United States” and urges the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) to take swift action to develop a more expansive definition that is consistent with science and the law, addresses the impacts of climate change, and serves environmental justice communities.

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California Conservationists and Farmers Unite to Protect Salmon

/in , , /by /Reutersby Daniel Trotta and Nathan Frandino

In an experiment a decade in the making, biologists are releasing hatchery salmon onto flooded Northern California rice fields, seeking to replenish endangered fish species while simultaneously benefiting the farmers’ business model.

At a time when environmentalists are often pitted against agribusiness in California’s water wars, conservation scientists and rice farmers are working together, trying to reclaim the great flood plains of the Sacramento River for salmon habitat.

Their task is daunting. California’s wetlands have all but disappeared, converted into farms and cities in one of the great engineering feats, or environmental crimes, of the 20th century.

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Standing at the Cusp: The Klamath River Edges Closer to Dam Removals

/in , , /by /Public Policy Institute of Californiaby Sarah Bardeen

Few rivers have faced such a protracted battle about their future as the Klamath, which flows through Oregon and Northern California. After decades of negotiations, the decommissioning of four dams on the river is finally in sight, but hurdles remain. We spoke with Mark Bransom, CEO of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, to learn how he’s working to get the dam removal across the finish line—and what the transformation will mean for the many communities that depend on the river.

Who will benefit from the Klamath dam removals? Who may be at risk of negative consequences? How might the dam removals impact the tribes in the basin?

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What Is an ‘Atmospheric River’? These Rivers of Wator Vapor Can Extend Thousands of Miles.

/in , , /by /USA Todayby Doyle Rice

Often in the winter, you’ll hear that “atmospheric rivers” are causing big weather problems along the West Coast. But what are they?

Made visible by clouds, these ribbons of water vapor extend thousands of miles from the tropics to the western U.S. At 250 to 375 miles wide, they provide the fuel for massive rain and snowstorms that can cause flooding along the West Coast.

In general, atmospheric rivers pick up water vapor from the warm, moist air of tropical regions and then drop the water over land in cooler regions as rain or snow.

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Multiple Water and Wastewater Industry Awards Won by City of Escondido

/in , , /by /Water News Network

The City of Escondido scored wins in three categories at the annual California Water Environment Association awards on January 29. CWEA is California’s oldest and most prominent association of water protection professionals.

The City of Escondido’s Hale Avenue Resource Recovery Facility (HARRF) won the 2022 Wastewater Plant of the Year (Medium Category). The HARRF is designed to treat up to 18 million gallons per day from the City of Escondido and the Rancho Bernardo area of the City of San Diego. The plant operates 24 hours a day, producing recycled water for the City of Escondido, along with organic materials called biosolids for beneficial reuse in Yuma, Arizona as agricultural soil amendments.

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Charts Show Where California Reservoir Levels Stand After Weeks of Dry Weather

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kellie Hwang and Yoohyun Jung

A dry January with little rainfall across much of Northern California actually didn’t hurt the state’s water storage levels, according to data from the California Department of Water Resources.

In fact, thanks to a little snowmelt, water levels were up for all reservoirs from December to January. Lake Mendocino, which has a capacity of 122,400 acre feet, saw the biggest boost from 17% of storage capacity in December to 35% in January. One acre foot is the equivalent of one acre of land covered in one foot of water. Trinity Lake, with a capacity of 2,447,650 acre feet, had the smallest increase from 29% in December to 30% in January.

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