You are now in San Diego County category.

A freeze on some new grants and contracts at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency prompted strong criticism in California on Tuesday as Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom accused President Donald Trump of putting communities at risk by holding up critical funding. The temporary suspension of grants, which states rely on for a variety of pollution-control and water infrastructure programs, came as the new administration also ordered EPA employees to halt posts on social media and communications with the news media on Tuesday.

The unusually wet winter now hitting San Diego County and California could bring a sight that’s been witnessed only twice in the past 13 years – water cascading over the Lake Hodges dam. “If the weather pattern we have continues through February, in all likelihood Lake Hodges will fill and spill this spring,” said Mike Bardin, general manager of the Santa Fe Irrigation District, which supplies water to Rancho Santa Fe, Solana Beach and Fairbanks Ranch.

 

One week and three storms later, you would think the drought would be over. “At this point, it’s not enough,” hydrologist Jayme Labor with the National Weather Service Oxnard said. Labor says while the past week’s storms are short-term relief, we would need a lot more rain to say goodbye to the drought. “I think we need to have another year like this following it to see the drought completely go away in Southern California,” said Labor.

 

Powerful storms that pounded San Diego County for almost a week, flooding streets and waterways and claiming at least two lives, are finally tapering off and will be followed by a warm-up that will last through the weekend, giving the region time to dry out. A man’s body was recovered Monday from a rain-swollen creek in North County, and rescue crews were still searching the area for a child who may have been swept away by the surging water.

Here’s an idea: Let’s use the ocean to create an endless supply of pure water, no matter how much rain and snow falls (or doesn’t) on California. If it sounds like something out of the future, consider: As of today, seven ocean desalination plants are under consideration along the coasts from Dana Point through Monterey Bay. By the mid-2020s, those plants could be using the Pacific to produce about 10 percent of the fresh water needed in parts of Los Angeles and Orange counties.