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New River: Imperial County Looks at Options to Force Action

/in , , /by /Holtville Tribuneby Elizabeth Varin

Imperial County officials are considering suing the federal government over continued inaction at the polluted New River.

Members of the Imperial County Board of Supervisors during their meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 23, discussed potentially suing the United States government or sending a strongly worded “demand” letter to federal officials to try to sway them to take action on building a wastewater treatment facility on the border to help clean the filthy waterway.

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Feds Start 2021 with Light Water Supply for Valley Farmers

/in , , /by /San Joaquin Valley Sunby Alex Tavlian

Valley farmers had low expectations heading into the spring. Federal water authorities likely met them, to say the least.

Tuesday, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced its first water allocations for farmers and water users along the Central Valley Project.

Light snowpack is, once again, the culprit, Federal officials said.

“Although we had a couple of precipitation-packed storms in January and early February, we are still well below normal for precipitation and snowfall this year,” said Bureau region director Ernest Conant. “We will monitor the hydrology as the water year progresses and continue to look for opportunities for operational flexibility.”

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California’s Wet Season Hasn’t Brought Much Drought Relief and the Outlook Isn’t Promising

/in , , /by /The Weather Channelby Linda Lam

California’s wet season has not brought much relief so far and the outlook is not promising.

The water year, which runs from October through April, started off slowly. October was the second driest on record for California. Later, strong systems – including an atmospheric river in late January that caused flooding, debris flows and feet of snow in the Sierra – brought needed moisture to the Golden State.

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Lack of Rain Could Potentially Impact Crops in the Central Valley

/in , , /by /Fox 26 Newsby Shelby Bracho

Crops are now blooming here in the San Joaquin Valley, which marks the beginning of harvest season for farmers.

As a drier-than-usual wet season continues to unfold, many are worried about how current drought conditions will impact this year’s crop.

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SoCal Water Managers Want to Know Who – Exactly – is Sinking the California Aqueduct

/in , , /by /San Joaquin Valley Waterby Lois Henry

A state report released in December pinned blame for sinking along the California Aqueduct on excessive nearby groundwater pumping to irrigate vineyards and nut orchards.

That was a pretty pointed finger, but not pointed enough for some committee directors in the large and powerful Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

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Newsom Pushes Private Seawater Desalting Plant Over Local and Environmental Opposition

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Bettina Boxall

When Gov. Gavin Newsom was photographed dining at an opulent Napa Valley restaurant during a surge in coronavirus cases, many Californians saw it as hypocrisy. For opponents of a planned $1-billion desalination plant along the Orange County coast, however, the optics were menacing.

The unmasked Newsom was celebrating the birthday of a lobbyist for Poseidon Water, which is close to obtaining final government approval for one of the country’s biggest seawater desalination plants.

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Opinion: Utah’s Designs on Colorado River Water Would Ignore the Facts and Evade the Law

/in , , /by /The Salt Lake Tribuneby Claire Geddes
Utah House Bill 297 is a dangerous spending bill that provides its benefactors with exemptions to conflict-of-interest laws that raises serious moral questions about what is happening at the Utah Legislature. The bill creates another heavily-funded and secretive government agency — the Colorado River Authority — that would receive an initial $9 million, plus $600,000 per year thereafter, in addition to collecting unknown sums of money from other agencies.
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City of Antioch Breaks Ground on Water Project in Delta

/in , , /by /East County Today

On Friday,  the City of Antioch, along with local and State dignitaries, broke ground on their new and historic Brackish Water Desalination Plant. At a price of $110 million, the project was made possible with $93 million in funding from the State, and $17 million from the City of Antioch.

“Through this project, Antioch continues establishing itself as both a State and regional leader on environmental best practices,” said Lamar Thorpe, Mayor, City of Antioch. “I would like to thank Governor Newsom for California’s investment in making our Brackish Water Desalination Plant a reality. By working together, we exemplify the very best of our State and our City.”

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Opinion: The Energy Sector Must Prepare for More Extreme Weather

/in , , /by /Wiredby Robert Rapier

Texas has always seen its share of extreme weather events, but over the past two decades they have intensified. A few years ago, after the fifth “ 500-year flood” in five years, I remarked to a friend, “We’re going to have to stop calling them that.”

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‘Mega-Miracle’ Will Be Needed to Overcome Dry February in Los Angeles

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Paul Duginski

February is normally the wettest month of the year in downtown Los Angeles, when 3.8 inches of rain would usually fall. This year, next to nothing has fallen. L.A.’s rainfall to date has been 4.39 inches, less than half of normal for this point, which is 9.71 inches.

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