You are now in California and the U.S. Home Headline Media Coverage category.

US Projections on Drought-Hit Colorado River Grow More Dire

/in , , /by /AP News

The U.S. government released projections Wednesday that indicate an even more troubling outlook for a river that serves 40 million people in the American West.

The Bureau of Reclamation recently declared the first-ever shortage on the Colorado River, which means Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will get less water than normal next year. By 2025, there’s a 66% chance Lake Mead, a barometer for how much river water some states get, will reach a level where California would be in its second phase of cuts. The nation’s most populated state has the most senior rights to river water.

Full Story

State Allocates $50M to Fund Water Conservation Projects in Agricultural Centered Areas

/in , , /by /Bakersfield Nowby Elizabeth Christian

Today local lawmakers toured the Kern Water Bank to see drought impact firsthand.

$50 million from the state budget is going to fund Assembly Bill 252, which calls for land repurposing all to focus on the drought and getting water flow back to where it matters.

Full Story

Smart Landscape Irrigation Tips Save Water

/in , , /by /Water News Network

During drought, it’s imore important than ever to conserve water used for irrigation. When you follow just a few smart landscaping irrigation tips, you can get the most from every drop of water applied to your landscaping.

Full Story

Golden State Water Declares Mandatory Water Conservation

/in , , /by /The Desert Review by Kayla Kirby

Golden State Water Company issued notice to its customers, including Calipatria residents, of its water shortage contingency and staged mandatory water conservation and rationing program, where the already-disadvantage community would not only be expected to conserve water, but also pay fines for water-use violations.

The Imperial County Board of Supervisors voted to send a letter Tuesday, Sept. 21, requesting a variance for Calipatria Customer Service Area of the Golden State Water Company’s mandatory water conservation and rationing program for the Apple Valley, Barstow, Calipatria, Morongo Valley, and Wrightwood service areas.

Full Story

Opinion: Yes, Southern California, We Have a Water Shortage Emergency Too

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Times Editorial Board

So Southern Californians didn’t decrease their water usage in July, despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request for a voluntary 15% cutback?

Well, of course not. The dusty lake beds, the dry spigots, the serious water-use cutback orders and the most frightening wildfires (so far, anyway) have been in Northern California, and that’s where Newsom focused his most dire warnings. He declared a drought emergency in Mendocino and Sonoma counties in April, expanded it to 41 counties in May, and then to 50 counties in July — but not Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Diego, Riverside or San Bernardino counties. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California warned of unprecedented shortages in Lake Mead and has launched an advertising campaign calling for increased conservation. But the MWD is the victim of its own success, in that it has done a superb job over the decades supplying enough water so that residents generally don’t think about shortages.

Full Story

Water District Directors Critical of LAFCO Report

/in , , /by /Ramona Sentinelby Julie Gallant

Ramona Municipal Water District directors at their Sept. 14 meeting were critical of a report that recommends a different form of governance for Ramona, but did consider whether the plan could bring tax benefits.

During a presentation by the Local Agency Formation Commission, analyst Priscilla Allen shared highlights of the LACFO report that makes 14 recommendations, chief among them to reorganize the water district into a Community Services District — an intermediary step that would give unincorporated Ramona more local control and a potential segue into incorporation.

Full Story

A Tiny Piece of Plastic Is Helping Farmers Use Far Less Water

/in , /by /Bloomberg Businessweekby Elizabeth G. Dunn

On the bone-dry western flank of Arizona, where the Colorado River Basin meets the Mojave Desert, sit 11,000 acres of alfalfa, sorghum, wheat, and Sudan grass belonging to the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT), all destined to be harvested and sold for animal feed. For anything to grow here, irrigation is a must. Less than a quarter inch of rain has fallen so far this year, according to Josh Moore, who manages the farm on behalf of his tribe.

Full Story

Supes Boost Water Reuse Requirements for New Buildings

/in , /by /San Francisco Examinerby Bay City News

New buildings will need to collect and reuse much more water than what is required for existing buildings, after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved new regulations Tuesday.

The ordinance more than doubles the amount of water that new large buildings will be required to collect and reuse on site, said Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, its author. He said it also directs the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to come up with a plan for expanding The City’s supply and use of recycled water.

Full Story

Contamination a ‘Huge Challenge’ For Affordable Drinking Water in California

/in , /by /Capital and Mainby Dan Ross

Francisco Diaz remembers when the water piped to his home in the Central Valley community of Monterey Park Tract made everything smell rotten, including himself.

“We had to take our clothes and go to the city and wash it over there because if you had washed it here and put it on, you’d stink,” said Diaz, who heads the Monterey Park Tract Community Service District, a form of specialized local government. “We couldn’t even take showers.”

Unsurprisingly, the water was undrinkable. Agricultural run-off, heavy in potentially toxic nitrates, had contaminated both wells that supplied water to Monterey Park Tract, nestled amid the crop fields and dairy farms of Stanislaus County.

Full Story

A 7.1 Earthquake Couldn’t Kill this Mojave Desert Town. But a Water War Just Might

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Thomas Curwen

On the northern edge of the Mojave Desert, a new trauma has awakened old concerns: What happens if a town’s water gets shut off? The question keeps Danny Tolbert awake most nights. Two years ago his taps ran dry after a 7.1 earthquake nearly brought down his house and community. That was three months before his stroke, before he learned how diseased his heart was.

Full Story