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Water Begins Flowing to the Coast Due to New County Program

/in , /by /The Mendocino Voiceby Sonia Waraich

Water has begun trickling from Ukiah to Fort Bragg, and the county’s main task going forward is to scale up hauling to meet demand.

The city of Fort Bragg announced Sept. 9 that it had received its first 5,000-gallon delivery of water from Ukiah and is expected to receive 10,000 gallons per day that will allow Fort Bragg to resume outside water sales after halting them in mid-July. The two certified water haulers on the coast can resume their water sales, too, which were put to a stop once Westport shut off outside water sales at the start of the month. Josh Metz, who was contracted by the county to help coordinate the drought response, told the countywide drought task force, also on Sept. 9, the process has been “set up to address both domestic and commercial needs with some price difference.”

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California Fires Are Burning at Higher Elevations Than Ever, Creating New Dangers

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

Just hours before the Caldor fire threatened to level the resort town of South Lake Tahoe, the massive blaze performed a staggering feat: burning from one side of the Sierra to the other.

It seared through crests and valleys, over foothills and ridges — and also at elevations of 8,000 feet or higher.

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Opinion: Climate Change Is Bankrupting California’s Ecosystems

/in , /by /CalMattersby Martha Davis

For decades, scientists have warned that climate change would disrupt almost every natural life-sustaining system on our planet. What have we done about it? We’ve dithered. We refuse to believe the evidence, or rail against the cost and inconvenience of change, or hope the problem will just go away. But global warming is not going away. Last month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued its most alarming report yet: Earth is on the edge of ecological bankruptcy.

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Carlos Quintero is New Sweetwater Authority General Manager

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Carlos Quintero was appointed as General Manager of the Sweetwater Authority. He starts his new position September 27.

The Sweetwater Authority Governing Board approved Quintero’s contract at its September 8 meeting.

“After a highly-competitive recruitment process, the Governing Board is excited to have Carlos Quintero joining the Authority as General Manager,” said Governing Board Chair Hector Martinez. “His extensive experience in the water industry will serve him well in his new role. We look forward to working with him and continuing the Authority’s mission to serve the community.”

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Water Infrastructure Project to Begin in Poway

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

Construction will start soon on the first of three projects to increase the reliability of drinking water for Poway water customers now and generations to come. Two water storage tanks will be built asd part of a temporary bypass project.

During construction access to some amenities at Lake Poway will be impacted.

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Here’s What’s in the $1T Infrastructure Package for Western Water

/in , , /by /Las Vegas Review-Journalby Blake Apgar

A $1 trillion infrastructure bill that received bipartisan support in the Senate last month includes billions of dollars for Western water projects and programs.

The Biden administration has called the infrastructure bill, which includes $8.3 billion for Western water infrastructure, “the largest investment in the resilience of physical and natural systems in American history.”

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Could California Weather a Mega-Drought?

/in , , /by /UC Davis Water Sciencesby Jay Lund

“Mega-drought” has become a frightful “thing” in public and media discussions.  In the past 1,200 years, California had two droughts lasting 120-200 years, “megadroughts” by any standard. Could the state’s water resources continue to supply enough water to drink, grow crops and provide habitat for fish with such an extreme, prolonged drought today?

Clearly, some ecosystems and rural communities would be devastated by such a drought, and it would certainly affect all California residents.  But with careful management, California’s economy in many ways could substantially withstand such a severe drought.

Torture Orchard: Can Science Transform California Crops to Cope with Drought?

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Julie Cart

There’s a hive of PhDs at the University of California at Davis who are working to reinvent food production in the Golden State. Researchers have fanned out across the globe collecting rare plant samples; others are grafting Frankenstein trees and stitching together root systems of plums and peaches to create better almond and walnut trees.

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Deeper Droughts Possible In Southwest, Scientists Warn

/in , , /by /KNAUby Melissa Sevigny Quoted: https://www.knau.org/post/deeper-droughts-possible-southwest-scientists-warn

The Colorado River Basin is enduring two decades of drought, and water shortages are on the horizon. But scientists say this isn’t the worst-case scenario. The region has undergone longer, deeper droughts in the past. KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny spoke with paleoclimatologist Matt Lachniet of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas about how knowing the past can help us plan for a warmer, drier future.

Opinion: A Coachella Valley Date Farmer on What Happens When We Ask Too Much of the Colorado River

/in , /by /Palm Springs Desert Sunby Doug Adair

Even as she was going blind, my mom, ever the poet, delighted in sitting out among the palms and birds, and enjoying and visualizing the scene, as I irrigated my date gardens in the Coachella Valley.

In her 1997 poem, “Colorado Water,” she wrote:

The palm said, “My clover is cool around my bole, over my hidden roots.
My fronds clatter, crash
like waves in the far off sea.”

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