You are now in Media Coverage San Diego County category.
Climate change: One Man’s Fight To Save A California Tree
As a child, he had happily played and hiked among these statuesque conifers, which provide shelter to black bears and black-tailed deer. By the age of 37, he wanted to do his bit to conserve and repair the land. But in the six years since he began, California has experienced severe drought, which scientists link to global warming, and 650 of Cody’s 750 seedlings died. Cody’s emotional account of surveying his dying trees struck a chord with thousands of people on social media when it was posted on Earth Day, in April.
Rain Returns To Southern California And Another Storm Is Coming Tuesday
Pay no mind to the fact that Memorial Day is around the corner — winter is here again. Across California, yet another May storm on Sunday brought cool temperatures and rainfall throughout Southern California, hail in the Bay Area and even snow in the Sierra. “This is May gray on steroids,” said Bill Patzert, a local weather expert and former climatologist with Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “Usually by this time of year, we’re done, but this meandering jet stream has been persistent through the spring, and it’s given us four times our normal rainfall.”
North Vs. South And Farm Vs. City Conflicts Continue To Roil California’s Water Politics
As 2018 was winding down, one of California’s leading newspapers suggested, via a front-page, banner-headlined article, that the drought that had plagued the state for much of this decade may be returning. Just weeks later, that same newspaper was reporting that record-level midwinter storms were choking mountain passes with snow, rapidly filling reservoirs and causing serious local flooding. Neither was incorrect at the time, but their juxtaposition underscores the unpredictable nature of California’s water supply. The fickleness of nature has been compounded by a decades-long, multi-front struggle among hundreds of water agencies and other interested parties over allocations of the precious liquid, not unlike the perpetual religious and ethnic wars that consumed medieval Europe.
Risk Level Raised On Integrity Of Dam In Southern California
Federal engineers are raising alarms that a “significant flood event” could compromise the spillway of Southern California’s aging Prado Dam and potentially inundate dozens of Orange County communities from Disneyland to Newport Beach. After conducting an assessment of the 78-year-old structure this month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that it is raising the dam’s risk category from “moderate” to “high urgency.” “Our concern right now is about the concrete slab of the spillway and how well it will perform if water were to spill over the top of the dam,” said Lillian Doherty, the Army Corps’ division chief. “We will determine whether or not it is as reliable as it should be.”
Prado Dam Rated A ‘High Urgency’ Risk After Spillway Problems Discovered
Federal officials are working urgently to strengthen the spillway at Prado Dam near Corona to prevent it from failing in a major flood, which could imperil hundreds of thousands of people living downstream in Orange County. After a May inspection determined the dam’s spillway could perform poorly in a major flood, the dam’s risk rating was changed from “moderate urgency” to “high urgency.” Dena O’Dell, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokeswoman, said Thursday, May 16, that the agency is taking immediate measures to reduce the risk that the spillway will fail. And she said the agency was preparing to launch a project in 2021 to bolster the spillway and raise it 20 feet.
Water Authority Supports Bill To Spur Pumped Storage Projects
A bill that the San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors voted to support in March is scheduled for a hearing Thursday in the state Senate Appropriations Committee. The proposed state legislation promotes the development of pumped hydroelectric storage projects to help meet state energy and climate goals. Senate Bill 772 by Sen. Steven Bradford of Gardena promotes the development of pumped hydroelectric storage projects to help meet state energy and climate goals.
OPINION: Legislature Should Support More Water Projects, Not Work To Defeat Them
All of us remember California’s recent five-year drought when residents were encouraged to cut back their water use, let their lawns go brown, and use barrels to collect precious rainwater. Now, well-funded, politically-connected interest groups are trying to block a new source of clean drinking water for Southern California. According to a recent report by the State Water Resources Control Board, more than one million Californians don’t have access to safe, reliable drinking water.
Owens Valley Groundwater Basin Goes Low
California’s Department of Water Resources came out with its latest prioritization of state groundwater basins and, tentatively, the Owens Valley basin is now low. Over the short life of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, Owens Valley has gone from medium to high and now low priority. That prioritization would have had an impact three years ago.
Vallecitos Water District Smokes Out Wastewater System Problems
Problems in wastewater systems can’t hide behind a smokescreen at the Vallecitos Water District. The district’s Systems Collection Department routinely performs “smoke testing” of its wastewater system. This technique can easily locate flows caused by broken or incorrectly installed sewer pipes, lateral connections, or missing/broken clean-out caps. The test is performed by introducing smoke, comprised primarily of steam, through a device similar to a fog generating machine, into the wastewater systems. Staff can see if smoke comes out of the system through any leaks or breaches.
