American Water Co., hit by hackers early this month, now is being sued by customers seeking damages for the potential theft of identity information.
At least five suits in Camden federal court say claims will exceed $5 million, the minimum required for proposed class action litigation.
The first major atmospheric river storm to hit the West Coast this season is kicking off the rainy season with a bang, as the system rapidly strengthened — to the tune of a bomb cyclone — before pummeling Northern California and southern Oregon with dangerous winds and heavy rains that could cause disruptions for several days.
Supercharged by that dramatic bombogenesis and warm Pacific temperatures, which together pumped up the system’s winds and moisture, the storm could cause life-threatening flooding and damaging high surf north of the Bay Area, with prolonged, heavy rainfall, strong winds and significant mountain snow, according to the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.
A new nature documentary “San Diego: America’s Wildest City” showcases fascinating wildlife from the ocean to the desert and mountains.
The big picture: San Diego has more biodiversity than any county in America. That means the 3.3 million people who live here are surrounded by more plants, animals, and microorganisms than anyone else in the country.
The Biden administration has announced a range of options for new rules to address chronic water shortages and low reservoir levels on the Colorado River, a vital water source for seven Western states that has dwindled during more than two decades of drought compounded by climate change.
The Interior Department released four alternatives for new long-term rules aimed at dealing with potential shortages after 2026, when the current operating rules expire. The announcement of the proposed alternatives represents one of the Biden administration’s final steps to outline potential paths toward reaching a consensus among California and the six other states, as well as the region’s 30 Native tribes.
What was expected to be one of the strongest storms in the northwest U.S. in decades arrived Tuesday evening, knocking out power and downing trees across the region.
The Weather Prediction Center issued excessive rainfall risks beginning Tuesday and lasting through Friday as the strongest atmospheric river — a large plume of moisture — that California and the Pacific Northwest has seen this season bears down on the region. The storm system is considered a “ bomb cyclone,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly.
The report highlights ongoing concerns about the threat of attack targeting the drinking and wastewater utility industry in the U.S. A growing number of utilities have faced attacks from criminal ransomware and state-linked threat groups over the past year, including adversaries linked to Russia, China and Iran.
Just last month American Water Works, the nation’s largest regulated water utility, was targeted in a cyber intrusion and had to take certain systems offline.
In the wake of one of the most consequential elections in American history, California looms large. What occurs here is happening to roughly one in every eight Americans — and what’s happening in California is climate change.
The summer of 2024 was the hottest on record globally. Here in California, residents sweltered through the hottest July the state had ever experienced. And one of the most important ways California is experiencing climate change is in its water.
A committee meant to oversee elected officials on how they charge San Diegans for water and sewer services hasn’t been able to do its job due to a lack of members.
The Independent Rates Oversight Committee, or IROC, has served as the official advisory body to the mayor and City Council on issues related to the Public Utilities Department’s operations since 2007. Yet the committee has met just twice this year — even as residents face rising water rates.
A study published Nov. 19 in Communications Earth and Environment shows land in California’s San Joaquin Valley has been sinking at record-breaking rates over the last two decades as groundwater extraction has outpaced natural recharge.
The researchers found that the average rate of sinking for the entire valley reached nearly an inch per year between 2006 and 2022.
The strongest atmospheric river to hit California in months is expected to dump rain and snow across the northern half of the state this week — also bringing high winds and possible flooding — before eventually making its way south, forecasters say.
“This is going to be the first major storm of the season,” said Dial Hoang, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Monterey. The low pressure system off the Pacific Northwest coast driving this storm will begin rapidly intensifying Tuesday — reaching the threshold of a bomb cyclone — which will drastically increase its moisture and strength.
