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Fire Weather Prompts Red Flag Warning for San Diego, Possible Power Outages for 65,000

/in , , /by /NBC 7by Christina Bravo

Amid an already dry winter season, the first Santa Ana wind event of 2025 is elevating fire danger this week and threatening power shut-offs for thousands of San Diego Gas & Electric customers.

The electricity utility warned nearly 65,000 customers their power may be cut off anytime from 4 p.m. Tuesday to 4 p.m. Friday amid strong winds and low humidity that create the perfect weather conditions for wildfires to spark and spread rapidly, according to the National Weather Service.

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San Diego County Slips Back Into Drought: What to Expect This Winter

/in , , /by /ABC 10by Madison Weil

After a few wet winters, Southern California is officially back in drought conditions, with San Diego County among the regions affected.

The latest data from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows much of Southern California slipping into moderate drought status. Julie Kalansky, Deputy Director at the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, says San Diegans should be prepared for increasingly extreme conditions.

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What a New Study Does — And Doesn’t — Say About Fluoride and Its Link to IQ

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Karen Kaplan

A new report linking fluoridated drinking water to lower IQ scores in children is sure to ratchet up the debate over a practice that’s considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century.

The report published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics synthesizes the results of dozens of research studies that have been released since 1989. Its overall conclusion is that the more fluoride a child is exposed to, the lower he or she tends to score on intelligence tests.

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EPA Recognizes Water Affordability Challenges in Report to Congress

/in , , /by /WaterWorld

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a report to Congress on December 17, 2024, detailing water affordability across the U.S. among households and utilities.

The report, “Water Affordability Needs Assessment,” summarizes decades of research by utilities, academics, and associations, and includes recommendations, such as potentially establishing a federal water assistance program; increasing education, outreach, and knowledge around solutions to address affordability; and increasing ways to reduce water infrastructure capital and operating costs.

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Nearly 60% of California Is ‘Abnormally Dry’ to Start 2025. Where Are Drought Impacts Worst?

/in , , /by /Sacramento Beeby Kendrick Marshall

More than half of California was “abnormally dry” just days into the new year, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor’s latest update.

As of Friday, Jan. 3, areas of “moderate drought” were isolated to Southern California while a sliver of the state near the Oregon border was under “severe drought,” the Drought Monitor said.

 

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With Negligible Rain in 8 Months, Southern California Swings Toward Drought

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Grace Toohey

California is entering the fourth month of what is typically the rainy season, but in the Southland, the landscape is beginning to show signs of drought.

The last time Los Angeles recorded rainfall over a tenth of an inch — the threshold that officials typically consider helpful for thirsty plants and the reduction of wildfire risk — was May 5, when downtown received just 0.13 inches of rain.

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State Reduces Water Usage to ‘Lowest Levels Since the 1940s’ — Here’s How It Happened

/in , , /by /The Cool Downby Mike Taylor Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

After two years of conservation efforts, Lake Mead is on the come-up.

Voluntary measures by Californians to save water in the Colorado River system are on their way to keeping well over the promised 1.6 million acre-feet of water in the reservoir by 2026, SFGATE reported. In a news release, the Colorado River Board of California announced a coalition over the last 23 months had conserved 1.2 million acre-feet of water.

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California’s 1st Snowpack Survey of 2025 May Offer Promise, but Will It Last?

/in , , , /by /Fox 2 San Franciscoby Tom Vacar

California’s first monthly snowpack survey comes on Thursday. It’s likely to be reasonably good for this early part of the rain and snow season.

As the new year begins, it’s good to take a look back and see what’s happened with California’s fire and water; essential elements, but also something that can lead to real problems. The Golden State had some big fires last year, but not in swarms.

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For Those Who Don’t Trust Tap, There’s ‘Raw Water’

/in , , /by /New York Timesby Soumya Karlamangla

The highway that winds along the coast of Marin County offers some of California’s most magnificent vistas, with the deep blue Pacific Ocean glittering through veils of fog. But for a handful of travelers, the views aren’t the prize.

At one blink-and-you’ll-miss-it pullout is a natural spring that draws people from across the San Francisco Bay Area, some of whom drive hours through traffic to get there. Many of them reject water from any other source and drink only what they say is “liquid gold” that gushes from the copper pipes of Red Rock Spring.

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Water Sector Urges Trump to Prioritize Water in Second Term

/in , , /by /Water Finance and Management

In December, associations representing the municipal water and wastewater sector submitted a letter to President-elect Donald Trump, urging his administration to prioritize water infrastructure in his second term.

The letter was endorsed by the American Water Works Association (AWWA), Water Environment Federation (WEF), the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) and WateReuse. The groups said they welcome the opportunity to meet with the President-elect’s transition team to discuss collaboration efforts and presented a list of policy priorities based around what they see as some of the top water-related issues in the United States.

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