You are now in Home Headline Media Coverage San Diego County category.

DWP Begins Environmental Review of Grant Lake Reservoir Spillway Project

/in , , /by /NBCLAby City News Service

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials Friday announced the beginning of the environmental review process of a project that would control water flow from Grant Lake Reservoir in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains.

DWP officials said the undertaking of a new spillway gate structure to control flow from the lake through Rush Creek and into Mono Lake will be one of the largest environmental restoration projects in the Mono Basin.

Full Story

In Parched California, Search Goes Deeper for Water

/in , , /by /The Bakersfield Californianby Maureen Buscher-Dang

A carpet of green, new grass covered the rolling hills, southwest of Maricopa, near New Cuyama. In the distance, the coastal mountain range was capped by white, full clouds and blue sky.

Full Story

Olivenhain Employee Dominic Brunozzi is Mechanical Technician of the Year

/in , , /by /Water News Network

For the third time in five years, Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s Pump/Motor Technician Dominic “Bruno” Brunozzi has been named the California Water Environment Association’s “Mechanical Technician of the Year.” Brunozzi was recognized for his dedication to public service and mechanical expertise. He also received the same designation at the local level earlier this year from CWEA’s San Diego Section.

Full Story

‘A Big Day’: Supervisors OK Draft of North County Multi-Species Conservation Plan

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby City News Service

The Board of Supervisors Wednesday unanimously approved a draft version of a North County region conservation plan. A final draft of the plan is expected for board consideration by 2024 or 2025. Supervisors voted to receive the revised North County Multiple Species Conservation Plan, which according to the Parks and Recreation Department would provide the greatest environmental benefits.

Full Story

Army Corps Banks on Wetland Data EPA Deemed ‘Unreliable’

/in , /by /E&E Newsby Ariel Wittenberg and Hannah Northey

When the Trump administration finalized a key Clean Water Act rule last year, it slammed media outlets for citing federal data showing it would erase protections for more than half the nation’s wetlands and 18% of streams.

The National Wetlands Inventory, EPA wrote in a press release at the time, was so unreliable that it “doesn’t map wetlands that are there and maps wetlands that are no longer there.”

Full Story

How Testing Sewage Could Help Slow the Spread of COVID-19

/in , , /by /KCRA-TV (Sacramento)by Marlei Martinez

All across the country, counties, colleges and other communities are now testing sewage to monitor the spread of the novel coronavirus. According to experts, COVID-19 can show up in wastewater about a week before people even show symptoms.

Full Story

California Slammed Over ‘Blank Check’ for Delta Tunnel Project

/in , /by /Courthouse News Serviceby Nick Cahill

Lobbing another hurdle at California’s $16 billion plan to tunnel underneath the West Coast’s largest estuary, environmentalists on Thursday sued to freeze public funding for the megaproject championed by Governor Gavin Newsom.

Full Story

California Could Do Better to Ease the Burdens of Wildfires If We Knew How Much They Actually Cost

/in , /by /KQED San Francsicoby Danielle Venton

Amid a record-breaking fire year, a new report out Thursday says the state lacks a grasp on the true costs of wildfires. The report is from the California Council on Science and Technology, an independent nonprofit organization established to offer state leaders objective advice from scientists and research institutions.

Full Story

There’s Hope, SoCal: La Niña Doesn’t Always Mean Drier Winter Weather

/in , , /by /Spectrum News 1by Jacqueline Bennett

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to forecasting climate patterns when there’s an El Niño or a La Niña pattern in place.

El Niño and La Niña patterns are part of the El Niño Southern Oscillation, which monitors sea-surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

When sea-surface temperatures in this region are above average, it’s called El Niño; when they are below average, it’s called La Niña.

We aren’t talking about major changes in water temperatures but typically more minor swings — usually on the order of plus or minus a degree Celsius — 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit — or less.

There are instances when water temperatures have been as much as eight degrees Fahrenheit above average — a very strong El Niño — but it’s not common.

Full Story

California Supreme Court Refuses to Review Farmer Michael Abatti’s Case Against IID

/in , /by /Palm Spring Desert Sunby Mark Olalde

The tumultuous, years-long legal fight between farmer Michael Abatti and the Imperial Irrigation District — two of Southern California’s powerbrokers — is now finished.

On Wednesday, the California Supreme Court declined Abatti’s petition for review, leaving in place an appellate court’s decision that declared IID the rightful owner of a massive allotment of Colorado River water.

Full Story