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Opinion: Building Long-Term Resilience to Climate Change in California

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Matthew Armsby and Marisa Buchanan

In the past decade, California has experienced its most severe drought in over a millennium, devastating floods, the hottest summer on record and eight of the 10 largest wildfires ever recorded in the state.

Within the past month, Death Valley set a new record for the hottest temperature ever recorded on earth, and wildfires burned an area larger than the state of Connecticut. Three of the largest wildfires in California history are still smoldering, the smoke from which is now visible as far away as New York City.

Climate-driven disasters are increasingly putting Californians at risk and our most vulnerable populations, comprised largely of people of color, are suffering disproportionate impacts. These populations often have the least access to parks, greenspace and health care resources, and are at increased risk from rising temperatures, poor air quality driven by wildfires and other climate change impacts.

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Scripps Collaboration to Optimize Water Management & Supply

/in , , /by /The Coast News Group

The San Diego County Water Authority is partnering with the renowned Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego to better predict atmospheric rivers and optimize water management before, during and after California’s ever-changing seasonal storms.

Atmospheric river storms produce 40%-60% of the West Coast’s annual precipitation and are responsible for the majority of flood damage in the region. Predicting and managing this is challenging due to unpredictable and changing snowmelt and rainfall.

To study this, Scripps’ Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) introduced the Water Affiliates Group, which brings together relevant science and water industry expertise to enhance reservoir operations along with California’s changing climate.

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ICAPCD Issues Notices of Violation to Protect Public Health

/in , , /by /The Desert Review (Imperial Valley)by Kayla Kirby

The Imperial County Air Pollution Control District issued Notices of Violation to California Department of Water Resources, California Natural Resources Agency, and United States Fish and Wildlife Service for failure to implement adequate dust control on the Salton Sea playa on the Species Conservation Habitat project site near Westmorland, California.

In addition, as landowners of the project site, the Imperial Irrigation District and United States Bureau of Land Management were also issued NOVs, according to a press release.

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New Federal Report Show Increasing Groundwater Levels in the Coachella Valley

/in , /by /CVWD.org

A new report by the U.S. Geological Survey shows that efforts by Coachella Valley Water District to replenish local aquifers in the Coachella Valley have been effective, leading to stable land surface elevations in most of the Coachella Valley. Areas with land subsidence identified in prior studies are now stable, uplifting, or experiencing substantial slowing of subsidence. CVWD partners with Coachella Water Authority, Desert Water Agency, Indio Water Authority, and Mission Springs Water District to manage groundwater in the Coachella Valley.

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Boiling Point: Climate Change is Wreaking Havoc On the Power Grid In Ways You Never Knew

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sammy Roth

If you’re in the habit of reading the president’s tweets, you may have noticed a theme the last few weeks: California is a fiery wasteland. He said as much Tuesday, writing that the Golden State is “going to hell.” Trump made the same points in another tweet last week, promising “no more blackouts” or “ridiculous forrest fires” (his typo, not mine) if he’s reelected and clarifying that water rationing is “coming soon.”

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Newsom’s Conservation Order Raises More Skepticism for Farmers and Ranchers

/in , /by /Agri Pulseby Brad Hooker

The order raises more questions about the administration’s agenda when it comes to pesticides and freshwater flows for threatened fish species.

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Tensions from Water-Sharing Deal with U.S. Boil Over In Mexico

/in , /by /Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazetteby Natalie Kitroeff

The farmers armed themselves with sticks, rocks and homemade shields, ambushed hundreds of soldiers guarding a dam and seized control of one of the border region’s most important bodies of water.

The Mexican government was sending water — their water — to Texas, leaving them next to nothing for their thirsty crops, the farmers said. So they took over the dam and have refused to allow any of the water to flow to the United States for more than a month.

“This is a war,” said Victor Velderrain, a grower who helped lead the takeover, “to survive, to continue working, to feed my family.”

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Trump Creates Water ‘Subcabinet’ In Preelection Push

/in , /by /E&E Newsby Jeremy P. Jacobs and Hannah Northey

President Trump yesterday issued a sweeping executive order to bolster water infrastructure across the country, including establishing a new “interagency subcabinet” to streamline decisions.

But critics were quick to denounce the reasoning behind the order, which, coming just weeks before Election Day, appears to be part of a recent effort to fortify the administration’s environmental record and deliver on a campaign promise to provide more water to Western farmers.

The order touches on a broad range of issues, from creating new water storage for Western farmers, to Florida Everglades restoration, to the Great Lakes.

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Wildfire Threat Expected to Intensify Across California This Week

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Mimi Dwyer

Hot, dry conditions and intense winds across California are threatening to reinvigorate what has already been the worst fire season in state history, officials warned on Tuesday. Gusty winds in California’s north and extreme heat in its south are creating conditions that could fan wildfires that began earlier in the summer as well as spark new ones, leading state and federal authorities to urge residents to prepare.

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Lessons from Camp Fire Could Help Prevent Water Contamination After North Complex

/in , /by /Enterprise Recordby Natalie Hanson

Fear of contaminating precious local water sources is one way devastating wildfires continue to be felt in communities in Butte County, where the debris of burnt homes from recent fires sits near a watershed used by many in Northern California.

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