California decided Wednesday to allow hundreds of local water districts to set their own conservation goals after a wet winter eased the five-year drought in some parts of the state. The new approach lifts a statewide conservation order enacted last year that requires at least a 20 percent savings. Beginning next month, districts serving nearly 40 […]
As of Wednesday, California’s two largest reservoirs, Shasta and Oroville, are more than 90% full, a significant reversal from the summer and fall of 2014, when the state was locked in severe drought. Folsom Lake is filled to about 86% capacity. After four dry winters, storms have helped replenish these Northern California reservoirs with rain […]
For its first four years, the California drought spread its pain across most corners of the state. The great peaks of the Sierra Nevada were snow-deprived. Central Valley agricultural fields lay fallow. And the trademark green lawns of Southern California suburbia slowly turned brown. But this summer is going to be different. A strong series of storms have […]
/in San Diego County/by Mike Lee /Marketplace (Los Angeles)by By Jeff Tyler Mentioned: Carlsbad Desalination Plant
In Southern California, fresh water is constantly in short supply. But the San Diego area can now tap into a resource that’s not dependent on rain — a new $1 billion desalination plant that is the largest in the Western Hemisphere. In Carlsbad, California, intake pumps pull water from the Pacific Ocean. “We bring 100 […]
State to Let Water Districts Take More Control Over Conservation
/in San Diego County /by Mike Lee /The Orange County Register by By Scott Smith and Amy TaxinCalifornia decided Wednesday to allow hundreds of local water districts to set their own conservation goals after a wet winter eased the five-year drought in some parts of the state. The new approach lifts a statewide conservation order enacted last year that requires at least a 20 percent savings. Beginning next month, districts serving nearly 40 […]
Slide over these photos to see the drought’s effect on some of the state’s big reservoirs
/in San Diego County /by Mike Lee /The Los Angeles TimesAs of Wednesday, California’s two largest reservoirs, Shasta and Oroville, are more than 90% full, a significant reversal from the summer and fall of 2014, when the state was locked in severe drought. Folsom Lake is filled to about 86% capacity. After four dry winters, storms have helped replenish these Northern California reservoirs with rain […]
California board allows water districts to set their own conservation targets
/in San Diego County /by Mike Lee /The Los Angeles Timesby Matt StevensFor its first four years, the California drought spread its pain across most corners of the state. The great peaks of the Sierra Nevada were snow-deprived. Central Valley agricultural fields lay fallow. And the trademark green lawns of Southern California suburbia slowly turned brown. But this summer is going to be different. A strong series of storms have […]
San Diego Taps a Bottomless Well: The Pacific Ocean
/in San Diego County /by Mike Lee /Marketplace (Los Angeles)by By Jeff Tyler Mentioned: Carlsbad Desalination PlantIn Southern California, fresh water is constantly in short supply. But the San Diego area can now tap into a resource that’s not dependent on rain — a new $1 billion desalination plant that is the largest in the Western Hemisphere. In Carlsbad, California, intake pumps pull water from the Pacific Ocean. “We bring 100 […]