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Frigid Storm to Slam California: Blizzard Warning for Local Mountains, Snow at Low Elevations

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Grace Toohey and Alexandra E. Petri

A powerful storm is expected to sweep across California this week, bringing cold temperatures, cutting winds and snowfall at remarkably low elevations nearly statewide.

“This is shaping up to be a very unusual event,” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said in a virtual briefing Tuesday morning. “We are going to see low [elevation] snow all the way from the Oregon border to the Mexican border — it’s just a question of how low.”

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Notoriously Strict Agoura Hills Water District Scales Back Response

/in , , /by /Patchby Emily Rahhal

Known for its strict drought restrictions, the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District walked back regulations after recent storms provided much needed water to California reserves.

The State Water Project announced additional water allocations to a number of Southern California water districts, including Las Virgenes, delivering 30 percent of requested water supplies. Las Virgenes was previously expecting only 5 percent of its requested water.

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How is Cross-Border Water Contamination Impacting San Diego County Long Term?

/in , /by /NBC 7 San Diegoby Kelvin Henry

Raw sewage is flowing into the Tijuana River Valley.

A private developer inadvertently damaged a 60-inch pipe on Feb. 10 which led to the spillage, according to the International Boundary and Water Commission.

Most of the sewage is spilling into Smuggler’s Gulch and Goat Canyon.

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Letting Go of Our Love of Lawns

/in , , /by /LAistby Erin Stone

Lynetta McElroy stands outside her home on a tree-lined street in the south L.A. neighborhood of Leimert Park, where she’s lived since the 1980s.

“Leimert Park was known for its beautiful lawns,” McElroy said. “No fences, and you could go to one corner and you could see just about to the next corner. It gave a community feeling. I’ve always loved this area. And it took a while to get a home in this area, needless to say.”

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Winter Storm to Boost California’s Snowpack at the Right Time

/in , /by /KTLA 5by Marc Sternfield

A significant winter storm is expected to deliver heavy rain and snow to a wide swath of the United States this week, from the West Coast to the Northeast.

Cold air from Canada will interact with a pair of fronts, causing “numerous weather hazards” and abnormal temperatures while “almost all of the country [experiences] some form of notable weather,” the National Weather Service said.

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Seven New Members Join SDCWA Board

/in , , /by /San Diego Business Journalby Karen Pearlman Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Seven new members of the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors have been seated.

The newly appointed members are expanding the agency’s leadership and policy making skills during a critical period for water in the west region, said San Diego County Water Authority board chairman Mel Katz.

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Will California’s Excess Snow Become Usable Water This Year?

/in , , /by /The Wall Street Journalby Josh Ulick, Andrew Mollica and Taylor Umlauf

After three of the driest years in California history, this winter’s storms brought some of the wettest and snowiest weeks on record to parts of the state. Snowpack accumulated during winter is vital to the state’s water system because the natural form of water storage melts during the spring and fills reservoirs that can then distribute water downstream where needed.

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Padre Dam Water Rates Stable for Now, Still Highest in San Diego County

/in , /by /East County Magazineby Mike Allen Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Customers of the Padre Dam Municipal Water District are getting some relief on their usually hefty bills, thanks to a vote last year by its board to freeze rate increases over five years.

But that freeze only applies to internal rate increases, not those imposed by outside agencies such as the San Diego County Water Authority (CWA) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE), both of which are charging more for their services.

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L.A. Promised to Stop Wasting So Much Stormwater. But Progress Has Been Painfully Slow

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

Only weeks ago, Angelenos watched as trillions of gallons of precious stormwater poured into the region’s concrete waterways, slid down slick pavement and washed out to sea. After so many months of drought-related water restrictions, it seemed to many like a missed opportunity.

While officials say they’re making progress when it comes to capturing more of the county’s stormwater, a new report from watchdog group Los Angeles Waterkeeper has focused on the plan’s sluggish progress so far, and calls for improved metrics and a more proactive approach, among other recommendations.

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L.A.’s New Water War: Keeping Supply From Mono Lake Flowing as Critics Want It Cut Off

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Louis Sahagún

With its haunting rock spires and salt-crusted shores, Mono Lake is a Hollywood vision of the apocalypse. To the city of Los Angeles, however, this Eastern Sierra basin represents the very source of L.A.’s prosperity — the right to free water.

For decades, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has relied on long-standing water rights to divert from the streams that feed this ancient lake as part of the city’s far-flung water empire. But in the face of global warming, drought and lawsuits from environmentalists, the DWP is now facing the previously unthinkable prospect of ending its diversions there.

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