The Vista Irrigation District has received two major statewide honors, the District of Distinction Platinum Recognition award and the Transparency Certificate of Excellence.
The District of Distinction recognition is awarded by the Special District Leadership Foundation to special districts that show their commitment to good governance, transparency, prudent fiscal policies and sound operating practices.
The San Joaquin Valley town of Corcoran is sinking. It’s fallen as much as 11.5 feet in some places, damaging drinking wells, changing the town’s flood zones and undermining critical infrastructure. The story is so dramatic that the New York Times covered it recently. The culprit here, though, is no ordinary villain – it’s the overpumping of groundwater.
As California’s drought deepens, Sacramento residents are falling short of meeting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s call for water conservation — at least so far.
Area residents reduced water usage by an average of 6% last month, compared to August 2020, according to data released this week by the Sacramento Regional Water Authority. That compares with the 15% voluntary goal announced by Newsom in an executive order in July.
The California drought has been brutal over the past few years, but to see just how devastating it has been, you need to see before-and-after pictures side by side.
Bay Area News Group photojournalist Nhat V. Meyer went out to the San Luis Reservoir in Merced County this week and took pictures in approximately the same places that he did in January 2019. The reservoir is one of the largest in California.
The results are startling.
Some Caldor Fire evacuees will be able to access their properties using Highway 50 as crews work toward reopening the closed stretch of the road to the public.
The highway is closed between Kyburz and Meyers because of the fire, but starting Monday, property owners who live in that region will be able to receive a pass to enter the area and survey their properties.
At the edge of a sandstone outcropping, Teresa Leger Fernández looks out on the Rio Chama. The river tracks a diverse landscape from the southern edge of the Rocky Mountains through rugged basalt hillsides, layers of volcanic tuff, and the red and yellow cliffs made famous by painter Georgia O’Keeffe.
The San Diego County Water Authority has issued a formal request for proposals to build a pumped-storage generating system at the San Vicente Reservoir by 2030.
The project would use excess solar and wind energy to pump water to a new reservoir above the current dam, and then release it through turbines to generate up to 500 megawatts of electricity when needed.
Phil Fine stands in a parched field and watches a harvester gnaw through his carrot seed crop, spitting clouds of dust in its wake. Cracked dirt lines empty irrigation canals, and dust devils and tumbleweeds punctuate a landscape in shades of brown.
Across an invisible line separating Fine’s irrigation district from the next, it’s another world. Automated sprinklers hiss as they douse crops, cattle munch on green grass and water bubbles through verdant farmland.
Sustainable Ramona will kick off a series of free Zoom meetings on sustainability with a Water Conservation Resources series set for Sept. 20-24.
Future Zoom series will cover resources for homes and businesses; transportation, including electric vehicles and public transportation; agriculture, including information on farming using solar energy, called agrivoltaics; sustainable gardening, including composting and worm farming.
Due to the lack of rainfall in the San Diego region, even sustainable landscaping sometimes relies on artificial irrigation. Irrigation systems must be thoughtfully designed, installed, and programmed. Once in place, the many interconnected mechanical elements must be maintained properly for optimal performance.
“Irrigation efficiency” is a way of describing how well your irrigation system is doing its job delivering water for the beneficial use of the plants in your landscaping.
