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Banking on Water That Never Came

/in , , /by /Herald and Newsby Alex Schwartz Herald

Nestled below rocky outcroppings dotted with junipers on the eastern shore of old Tule Lake, John Prosser’s 97-acre homestead at Bloody Point is a haven amidst the chaos of the Klamath Basin water crisis.

Prosser, a history buff, purchased the property last fall, its fields having sat largely fallow for years despite the presence of a private irrigation well. By August, the field’s newly planted stand of alfalfa was busy rebounding after its first cutting — a rare sight of green in the Klamath Project this year.

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California Moves on Climate Change, but Rejects Aggressive Cuts to Greenhouse Emissions

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Samantha Young

As California trudges into another autumn marred by toxic wildfire smoke and drought-parched reservoirs, state lawmakers have cast climate change as a growing public health threat for the state’s 40 million residents. But they were willing to push the argument only so far.

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‘Burn Scars’ of Wildfires Threaten Drinking Water in Much of California and the West

/in , /by /Los Angeles Times'/Kaiser Health Newsby Sara Reardon

Colorado saw its worst fire season last year, with the three largest fires in state history and more than 600,000 acres burned. But some of the effects didn’t appear until this July, when heavy rain pushed sediment from damaged forests down mountainsides, causing mudslides that shut down sections of Interstate 70 for almost two weeks.

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Politics Report: Water Fights

/in , /by /Voice of San Diegoby Scott Lewis and Andrew Keatts Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

If you haven’t read MacKenzie Elmer’s piece about steep water rate increases projected by the San Diego County Water Authority, we recommend you correct that. You can click here and it will take you there but don’t forget to come back.

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City of Oceanside Wins WateReuse Award of Excellence

/in , , /by /North County Daily Star.com

The City of Oceanside received an Award of Excellence during the WateReuse conference in September 2021. Oceanside received the Recycled Water Outreach/Education Program Award for Pure Water Oceanside, which pays tribute to an agency that demonstrates a significant and wide-reaching community outreach and/or public education program that informs the community about the presence and benefits of water reuse.

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La Niña is About to Take the Southwest Drought from Bad to Worse

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Rachel Ramirez

Global scientists reported in August that due to the climate crisis, droughts that may have occurred only once every decade or so now happen 70% more frequently. The increase is particularly apparent in the Western US, which is currently in the the throes of a historic, multiyear drought that has exacerbated wildfire behavior, drained reservoirs and triggered water shortages.

More than 94% of the West is in drought this week — a proportion that has hovered at or above 90% since June — with six states entirely in drought conditions, according to the US Drought Monitor. On the Colorado River, Lake Mead and Lake Powell — two of the country’s largest reservoirs — are draining at alarming rates, threatening the West’s water supply and hydropower generation in coming years.

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Opinion: San Diego Should Be a Role Model on Water Conservation. Instead it’s Using More.

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

In July, Gov. Gavin Newsom called on Californians to voluntarily reduce their water use by 15 percent “through simple actions such as reducing landscape irrigation, running dishwashers and washing machines only when full, finding and fixing leaks, installing water-efficient showerheads and taking shorter showers.”

Turns out those suggestions weren’t enough, especially in San Diego.

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Here’s How California’s Drought is Impacting Bay Area Reservoirs

/in , , /by /NBC Bay Areaby Robert Handa

California is running out of water. That’s the harsh assessment by experts who say 90% of the state is dealing with drought conditions with the threat of mandatory statewide water restrictions looming.

The most glaring indications of the drought in the Bay Area are the local reservoirs. The reservoirs during the last drought were relatively full and offered a temporary buffer to a major water shortage. That is not the case this time around.

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Marin Water Exploring Desalination to Tackle Severe Drought

/in , , /by /KRON 4 San Franciscoby Noelle Bellow

Reservoirs continue to dry up in Marin County and everyone agrees that conservation efforts are ‘not’ where they need to be. Now, the Marin Municipal Water District is looking at some expensive options to tackle the severe drought. “We’re facing historic drought conditions,” Emma Detwiler said.

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Valley Water Hopes Plan to Expand Wastewater Purification Can Lead Santa Clara County Out of Drought

/in , , /by /ABC 7 News Bay Areaby Dustin Dorsey

Could wastewater be the solution to our drought problems? Valley Water thinks so and they are doubling down on it by expanding their North San Jose advanced water purification center and planning on building a new plant in Los Atos to produce millions of gallons of purified drinking water. In the heart of Silicon Valley, Valley Water is technology to lead the county out of the drought.

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