Each morning for months, Amelia Morán Ceja has peered out her window, searching Sonoma’s wine country for dark clouds or the residue of rain on the leaves of her grapevines. Her searching has proved futile, and now she’s worried as California faces its third consecutive summer with drought. The dry conditions threaten her thirsty vines […]
Manteca’s per capita water use surged 14.6 percent in March as the city’s consumption continued to grow significantly over 2020 even after making adjustments for population gain. The double-digit gain in year-to-year use comes nine months after Governor Gavin Newsom asked Californians to voluntarily cut water usage by 15 percent based on 2020 consumption levels. […]
Painting alarming scenes of fires, floods and economic disruption, the California Legislature’s advisors today released a series of reports that lays out in stark terms the impacts of climate change across the state. The typically reserved, nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office outlined dire consequences for Californians as climate change continues to alter most aspects of daily life. Much […]
Scientists have produced a new method that holds the promise of improving groundwater management – critical to both life and agriculture in dry regions. The method sorts out how much underground water loss comes from aquifers confined in clay, which can be drained so dry that they will not recover, and how much comes from […]
Even as most agricultural water supplies are being cut to the bone, with California descending into a third year of extreme drought, the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractor districts will apparently receive 650,000 acre feet — 100% of their “critical year” allotment. The move is just one of the quirks in California’s byzantine world of […]
Carlsbad State Beach is a Southern California idyll. Palm trees adorn the cliffs above the sand, and surfers paddle out for the waves. From the beach it is impossible to tell that a huge desalination plant not half a mile away is sucking in seawater to produce 50 million gallons of new drinking water each […]
Punishing Bay Area Drought Prompts Calls for Major Water Rethink
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /KQEDby Ezra David RomeroEach morning for months, Amelia Morán Ceja has peered out her window, searching Sonoma’s wine country for dark clouds or the residue of rain on the leaves of her grapevines. Her searching has proved futile, and now she’s worried as California faces its third consecutive summer with drought. The dry conditions threaten her thirsty vines […]
Manteca Water Use Soars 14.6% as Drought Deepens
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Manteca Ripon Bulletinby Dennis WyattManteca’s per capita water use surged 14.6 percent in March as the city’s consumption continued to grow significantly over 2020 even after making adjustments for population gain. The double-digit gain in year-to-year use comes nine months after Governor Gavin Newsom asked Californians to voluntarily cut water usage by 15 percent based on 2020 consumption levels. […]
Report to California Legislature: Prepare for Sweeping Effects of Climate Change
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /CalMattersby Rachel Becker and Julie CartPainting alarming scenes of fires, floods and economic disruption, the California Legislature’s advisors today released a series of reports that lays out in stark terms the impacts of climate change across the state. The typically reserved, nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office outlined dire consequences for Californians as climate change continues to alter most aspects of daily life. Much […]
NASA Finds New Way to Monitor Underground Water Loss
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /NASAby Jane J. LeeScientists have produced a new method that holds the promise of improving groundwater management – critical to both life and agriculture in dry regions. The method sorts out how much underground water loss comes from aquifers confined in clay, which can be drained so dry that they will not recover, and how much comes from […]
Despite Cutbacks to the Rest of the State, Some Ag Districts Get Full Allotment of Water
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Fresno Beeby Jesse VadEven as most agricultural water supplies are being cut to the bone, with California descending into a third year of extreme drought, the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractor districts will apparently receive 650,000 acre feet — 100% of their “critical year” allotment. The move is just one of the quirks in California’s byzantine world of […]
The Promise and Pitfalls of Desalination
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Economist Quoted: San Diego County Water AuthorityCarlsbad State Beach is a Southern California idyll. Palm trees adorn the cliffs above the sand, and surfers paddle out for the waves. From the beach it is impossible to tell that a huge desalination plant not half a mile away is sucking in seawater to produce 50 million gallons of new drinking water each […]