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Opinion: Adel Hagekhalil Would be One Good Step Forward for the MWD. Better Transparency Would be Another

/in , /by /Los Angeles Times

Adel Hagekhalil is an inspired choice to be the next general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the agency that delivers the water ultimately used by half of the state’s population. He’s an engineer, a consensus builder and a champion of the movement to integrate management of different types of water — drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, environmental water — in order to reduce costs and use precious resources more efficiently. He may be exactly what the MWD needs at this point in its history, as it struggles to redefine itself as a supplier of liquid assets not just from distant mountains and rivers, but from recycled urban wastewater.

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Oceanside Takes First Place in Nationwide Waterwise Contest

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Linda Mcintosh

The city of Oceanside took first place in this year’s Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation, earning the title of most waterwise among similarly sized cities across the country.

In total, Oceanside residents and businesses saved 32,945 gallons of water, collected more than 10,000 pounds of debris headed for local rivers and the ocean and reduced carbon emissions by 137 pounds during Earth Month in April.

During the annual competition, mayors around the country encourage their communities to conserve water, reduce carbon emissions and reduce waste.

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Drought Ravages Californias Reservoirs Ahead of Hot Summer

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Adam Beam

Each year Lake Oroville helps water a quarter of the nation’s crops, sustain endangered salmon beneath its massive earthen dam and anchor the tourism economy of a Northern California county that must rebuild seemingly every year after unrelenting wildfires.

But now the mighty lake — a linchpin in a system of aqueducts and reservoirs in the arid U.S. West that makes California possible — is shrinking with surprising speed amid a severe drought, with state officials predicting it will reach a record low later this summer.

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Oceanside Introduces 360 Tour of Water Recycling Project

/in , , /by /The Logby Jordan B Darling

Oceanside released an immersive 360-degree video and tour of the San Luis Rey Water Reclamation Facility, and new home of Pure Water Oceanside which is set to go online in 2022.

The video was released as part of “Water Awareness Month” and is a step-by-step tour of the water purification process, with a unique 360-view of the facility.

By turning your phone, you can see a view of the plant from all directions while hearing a narration of the process.

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Water Concerns Conveyed to Lieutenant Governor

/in , /by /AgNet Westby Brian German

Several industry leaders recently expressed agricultural water concerns to California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis. After touring Fowler Packing’s facility in Fresno County, Kounalakis participated in a roundtable discussion with industry members. Representatives from the California Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA), Western Agricultural Processors Association, California Citrus Mutual, and others were all in attendance. Congressman Jim Costa also participated in the discussion. CFFA President Ian LeMay said it was a beneficial meeting, where issues related to drought and the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) were highlighted.

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California’s Epic Drought Is Parching Reservoirs and Worrying Farmers

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Greenby Leslie Kaufman and Eugene Reznik

There is dry, and then there is desiccated.

As any movie fan knows from the classic film Chinatown, California is an infamously thirsty place. But this year, even by its own standards, the state is shockingly, scarily parched. So far in 2021, the state has received half of its expected precipitation; that makes it the third driest year on record according to California’s Department of Water Resources.

This past week, as temperatures from Sacramento up to the Oregon border topped 100º Fahrenheit, the intense heat evaporated the remaining water at an astonishing pace, creating scenes more reminiscent of Hollywood-manufactured dystopias like Mad Max than the lush paradise Americans are used to envisioning on their West Coast.

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Here’s Where the Bay Area’s Water Actually Comes From, and What to Expect During California’s Drought

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Yoohyun Jung and Nami Sumida

With three quarters of the state now in extreme drought zones, dwindling water supplies are forcing many California water agencies to take restrictive measures to conserve water. In the Bay Area, Marin County was the latest to declare a state of emergency as parched conditions had ranchers trucking in water from elsewhere.

Yet compared to rural parts of California, the water supplies for San Francisco and the East Bay, are in healthier shape. But it’s not because San Francisco or the East Bay are getting much more rain than the rest of the state.

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The Importance Of Planting Drought-Tolerant California Native Plants In Your Garden

/in , , /by /CBS Los Angeles

Nurseries made record sales during the coronavirus pandemic as many people looked to pick up gardening as a new hobby.

However, most plants people grow come from outside of California and can be harmful to nature, especially monarch butterflies. Many people don’t realize that California native plants can bring their yards to life, with butterflies, hummingbirds and more.

The Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley is leading the movement to transform the state’s landscape by promoting drought-friendly plants that will still thrive in people’s yards. It’s a unique nursery in that all its plants are native to California.

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5 Things To Know About The Klamath Water Crisis

/in , /by /JPRby Erik Neumann

Tensions have been building in Klamath Falls in recent weeks over a drought that is devastating farmland, fish deemed sacred to native tribes, and wildlife. The Klamath Basin, along the Oregon-California border, has a complex history. Drought and fights over water aren’t new.

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Mega-Dairies, Disappearing Wells, and Arizona’s Deepening Water Crisis

/in , /by /The Guardianby Tony Davis

The Sunizona community, in the south-western US state of Arizona, is just a speck on the map. A few hundred homes dot the landscape along dirt roads and for a few miles along a state highway that leads to the foot of the Chiricahua mountains near the New Mexico border.

Cynthia Beltran moved to Sunizona with her seven-year-old son last autumn even though the area lacks functional drinking water wells, because it was all she could afford. She cannot afford the $15,000 (£10,000) cost of deepening her well, which dried up last year, and had been paying for a local firm to deliver water in a tanker. But at $100 a week it became too expensive, so now she will be relying on a friend to help her fetch water from her mother’s well.

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