The vast majority of Californians are fortunate enough to take access to clean drinking water for granted. However, the fact that some Californians in small, rural communities do not have this access is a travesty in this modern day and age. It can and must be fixed as an urgent state priority. Resolving this unacceptable situation will come at a high price.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti believes his city is poised for a “second Mulholland moment.” William Mulholland was responsible for the construction, over a century ago, of the 200-mile-long aqueduct to Owens Valley that helped drive L.A.’s growth. In a recent op-ed, Garcetti wrote, “we have launched a second opportunity to reimagine our water infrastructure.” But this time it will take place closer to home. The city announced a plan in 2015 to reduce imported water 50 percent by 2025 and produce half of the city’s water supply locally by 2035.
California’s drought-to-deluge cycle can mask the dangers Mother Nature can have in store. During one of the driest March-through-February time periods ever recorded in Southern California, an intense storm dumped so much rain on Montecito in January that mudflows slammed into entire rows of homes. Hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed, and at least 21 people died.
There was not a cloud in sight on this winter morning as surfers rode the waves south of the U.S. border fence, off of Playas de Tijuana. Anna Lucía López Avedoy stood on the street above, focusing instead on the stream pouring from a storm drain, splashing down a small rocky cliff, trickling down the sand and finally into the Pacific Ocean.
Saying desalination will guarantee the drinking water supply for future generations of Baja California residents, Gov. Francisco Vega de Lamadrid on Friday celebrated a groundbreaking ceremony for a desalination plant envisioned as the largest in the Western Hemisphere.
The San Diego County Water Authority is planning to co-sponsor a nationwide contest to advance leak- and corrosion-detection technologies for large-diameter pipelines. The competition runs through May 8 and includes a $75,000 prize provided by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The Water Authority is helping to design the competition and providing judges to identify new approaches to detecting problems with pipelines. Corrosion and leaks result in billions of gallons of wasted water annually, the authority said.
Every brief rain brings hope that California is not slipping back into drought. And local water officials assure us that we have enough water to get us through the year, even if the drought resumes. They point to state and local reservoirs filled to their historic averages or more, a deal to access water from the Imperial Valley and added supply from a new desalination plant in Carlsbad.
A powerful storm moved into Southern California on Wednesday, drenching fire-ravaged neighborhoods and setting several new rainfall records for the day but so far not causing the damage and destruction that some officials feared. The storm marked a direct hit by an “atmospheric river” system but has proved to be less powerful than forecasters initially predicted. Still, they warned that the heaviest downpour is yet to come on Thursday and urged residents to stay vigilant.
The San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors voted Thursday to endorse Proposition 68, a $4 billion state bond measure on the June 5 ballot for parks, natural resources protection, climate adaptation, water quality and supply and flood protection. Approval of the measure would mean $12 million for the San Diego River Conservancy and $200 million to Salton Sea restoration activities. “Robust Salton Sea funding in this bond measure is significant for San Diego County because it supports agreements that generate substantial water supplies for our region,” said Mark Muir, chair of the water authority’s board.
Last year’s deluge of water was significant enough in Southern California to end a six-year drought in the region, but not enough to keep the drought at bay this year. The U.S. Drought monitor finds most of San Diego County is experiencing moderate drought conditions with much of the region in the Los Angeles basin experiencing severe drought conditions. The KPBS Drought Tracker follows rainfall and snowpack conditions, with the help of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and both indicators are significantly below where they should be for this time of year.
