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How I Got Beyond the Concrete and Learned to Love my Watershed

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sammy Roth

A year ago, when stay-at-home orders were a newly disorienting fact of life, I started taking long walks through my neighborhood on L.A.’s Westside. Wandering south from Palms into Culver City, I realized I live near a huge concrete channel — a creek, trapped in place — with a bike path along the water, and a view of oil pumpjacks rising and falling atop the Baldwin Hills. There were beautiful murals, too, showing a healthy, thriving waterway. They were hashtagged #KnowYourWatershed. And the more I admired them, the more I realized that I did not, in fact, know my watershed, despite growing up not far from here.

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Opinion: California Needs Comprehensive Groundwater Management

/in , /by /CalMattersby Jeanette Howard, Melissa M. Rohde and Barton H. Thompson

While California’s landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act promised comprehensive protection of the state’s groundwater, significant gaps remain in its coverage. The Department of Water Resources now has an opportunity to reduce or eliminate those gaps and should seize the moment. We know all Californians will experience another year of water shortages and warmer, drier conditions that will require conservation and which are likely to fuel destructive wildfires in our forests and around our communities.

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Marin Municipal Water District Proposes Mandatory Conservation

/in , /by /Marinijby Will Houston

The Marin Municipal Water District is proposing mandatory conservation rules for the first time since 1988 in response to record-low rainfall levels akin to those of the notorious 1976-77 drought. The proposed ordinance would require customers to limit outdoor watering to one day per week starting May 1 and adhere to other restrictions. The district board of directors plans to vote on the ordinance on April 20. The district has received just 20 inches of rain this year, its second-lowest amount in 143 years of records. The lowest was 18 inches in 1924.

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City of Calistoga Issues Mandate for Water Customers to Conserve

/in , /by /The Weekly Calistoganby Cynthia Sweeney

The City of Calistoga has declared a Stage II Water emergency and starting May 1, residents and businesses will be required to conserve water. The move is a response to a recent reduction in the State’s water allocation. Citing back-to back dry years and limited precipitation in the northern part of the State, on March 23, the California Department of Water Resources reduced the State Water Project allocations for Napa County from 15% to 5%. The reduction represents a loss of approximately 25% of Calistoga’s annual demand.

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‘It Could be Catastrophic’: CA Legislators Want Gov. Newsom to Declare State of Emergency Over Water ‘Crisis’

/in , , /by /ABC 30by Nathalie Granda

California’s hottest commodity could become even more scarce as state and federal officials announce water cutbacks on the brink of another drought. Now, state legislators are banding together to ask Governor Newsom to declare a state of emergency amid what they call a water crisis.

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San Diego to Re-Evaluate La Jolla’s Water Needs Before Proceeding With Reservoir Replacement Project

/in , /by /La Jolla Lightby Ashley Mackin-Solomon

After a series of meetings, the La Jolla View Reservoir project is taking a brief hiatus so the scope of what will be needed from La Jolla’s next reservoir can be determined. New findings are expected to be released in mid- to late April.

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Water Authority Says No Water Shortage, Despite Dry Conditions Throughout West

/in , , /by /The Coast News Groupby Dan Brendel Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority is developing a water shortage contingency plan, though not implementing it, despite dry conditions in places from which the region imports much of its water.

The region draws about 20% of its water from local sources, including groundwater, desalinated seawater and local reservoirs, according to the Authority’s website. Fully one-half of regional water is imported, by various means, from the Colorado River. A minority proportion comes from Northern California.

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Successful Sustainable Landscaping a Click Away for Helix, Padre Dam Customers

/in , , /by /East County Magazine Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

No matter whether their landscaping is just a few square feet alongside a front porch or estate acreage, thousands of San Diego County residents have learned to embrace sustainability as a central principle for creating and renovating their landscapes.

Thanks to financial incentives and educational resources offered by the San Diego County Water Authority to customers in La Mesa, Lemon Grove and El Cajon, a sustainable and beautiful yard is more attainable than ever before.

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Third-Driest Year Reported in California

/in , , /by /The Hillby Celine Castronuovo

The California Department of Water Resources has marked 2021 as the third-driest water year, a period marked from October to March, on record for the Golden State, potentially setting up another deadly wildfire season after last year’s record setting blazes.

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Lack of Rain Could Produce Rare Spring Wildfire Season in Greater San Diego

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

San Diego County is in the midst of the sixth driest rainy season on record, conditions that could lead to rare and sizable spring wildfires if things stay dry, the National Weather Service said on Tuesday.

San Diego International Airport has recorded only 4.36 inches of rain since the official water year began on Oct. 1. That’s more than 4 inches below normal. The airport averages 10.33 inches of rain from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

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