You are now in San Diego County category.

Murky Water Plagues South County

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune by By Daniel Wheaton

California’s drought means that local waters are carrying more toxins than years prior, according to an ongoing analysis by Coastkeeeper.

Based on Coaskeeper’s analysis, released Tuesday, The San Luis Rey Watershed had the best water quality, followed by the San Dieguito Watershed. Nearly 200 trained volunteers collect and analyze water samples based on their chemistry, nutrients, bacteria and toxicity. Those results are compiled and analyzed, and then each watershed is given a ranking: a score of 100 means that every sample was within an acceptable range for each measurement.

Full Story

Drought, What Drought? San Onofre Surfers Want their Beach Showers Back

/in /by /The Orange County Register by By Laylan Connelly

Gene Lee poured a jug of water over his head after a recent surf session at San Onfore State Beach.

The San Clemente surfer understood when the state needed to turn off the showers in the midst of the drought last year, and he still brings water from home for his after-surf rinse. But with all the recent rainfall and snowpack in the northern part of the state this year, he wonders if it’s time for the state to turn the showers back on.

Full Story

Metropolitan Water District to End Drought Cutbacks

/in /by /Associated Press (As Published by The Orange County Register)

Southern California’s water wholesaler for cities and districts serving 19 million people will see water deliveries restored to their previous levels in another sign that the state’s deep drought is easing.

The Metropolitan Water District, which sells imported water to more than two dozen local agencies including Los Angeles, last year slashed regional deliveries by 15 percent. On Tuesday, 10 months after the cuts took effect, the MWD voted to rescind them.

Full Story

ENVIRONMENT: Desert-to-Cities Water Transfer not a Certainty

/in /by /The Press-Enterprise (Riverside)by By Alicia Robinson

Now that plans to pump underground water from deep in the Mojave Desert have survived a legal challenge, project developer Cadiz Inc. faces hurdles in delivering the water to customers around Southern California. A state appeals court on Tuesday, May 10, upheld six rulings in the company’s favor on various environmental and procedural challenges.

But Cadiz must now resolve two key issues before moving the $225 million project forward. It needs the federal Bureau of Land Management’s approval to use railroad right of way for a 43-mile pipeline that would carry the water to the Colorado River.

Full Story

San Diego Officials Are Banking on a Water-Frugal Future

/in /by /Voice of San Diego by By Ry Rivard Quoted: Bob Yamada

Looking into a crystal ball a decade ago, San Diego water officials expected dramatically rising demand for water. The region would be using 242 billion gallons of water a year by 2015, they thought.

They were wrong. In reality, the recession hit and growth stalled. Droughts came and Californians learned to save water. San Diegans are using far less water than expected – just 176 billion gallons last year. Demand will remain flat for the next five years and then grow only gradually, according to a draft of the San Diego County Water Authority’s latest long-term plan.

Full Story

BLOG: San Diego’s $127 Million Answer to Climate Change

/in /by /Triple Punditby by Jan Lee

American cities seem to be the hub for climate change strategy these days. For many state governments, the prospect of implementing incremental changes to how they produce, sell and benefit from power is a fight-or-die issue that will ultimately be born out in the Supreme Court. But for many of their cities, like Seattle, San Francisco, New York and even Charleston, West Virginia — the heart of a coordinated challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency — change is, well, just common sense.

 

Full Story

Drought Worsening Inland Water Quality

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune by By Deborah Sullivan Brennan

San Diego County’s inland water quality is suffering amid the ongoing drought, according to a new San Diego Coastkeeper report that found high amounts of bacteria and low oxygen levels in the region’s creeks and streams.

Coastkeeper’s 2015 Water Quality Report, released Tuesday, ranked the area’s inland water quality as fair to poor, with no watershed earning “good” or “excellent” status.

Full Story

Drought May Be Worsening Water Quality, Coastkeeper Says

/in /by /Encinitas Patch

The nine major watersheds in San Diego County had unusually low water quality in 2015 for the second year in a row, according to an annual report released Tuesday by an environmental organization.

The continuing drought may be worsening inland water quality, while runoff pollution remains a serious problem, the San Diego Coastkeeper report says. “Our inland waters empty to the ocean,” said Meredith Meyers, the group’s laboratory coordinator. “These inland water quality problems directly impact the water quality of our beaches, too, making them less safe to swim and fish.”

Full Story

California Court Upholds Large Urban Water Transfer

/in /by /Associated Press (As Published by San Jose Mercury News)by By Elliot Spaga

A California appeals court on Tuesday upheld plans for a large transfer of Mojave Desert groundwater to homes and businesses in Southern California.

The ruling by a three-judge panel in Santa Ana moves urban districts a step closer to getting up to 75,000 acre feet of desert groundwater a year from the Cadiz and Fenner valleys in San Bernardino County — enough to supply about 150,000 homes. The water will be pumped with about 34 new wells and sent on a 43-mile pipeline to the Colorado River aqueduct, which serves 19 million people in Southern California.

 

Full Story

Cadiz Water Project in Mojave Desert Wins Big in Appellate Court

/in /by /The Sun (San Bernardino) by By Jim Steinberg

Cadiz Inc. won a decisive courtroom victory Tuesday for its plans to transfer ancient groundwater in a remote part of San Bernardino County’s Mojave Desert to parts of Orange County and other locations.

California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana upheld six lower court decisions dealing with various governmental approvals and environmental reviews of the controversial water project.

 

Full Story