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Opinion: Farmers Flush With Water Now, But State Still Hasn’t Prepared for the Next Drought

/in , , /by /GV Wireby Kerry Jackson

For most of the state, the drought is over. The Central Valley is receiving their full state water supply allocation and farmers don’t need to pull water from the ground to keep their crops from dying of thirst. But that doesn’t mean the signs along Interstate 5 and Highway 99 grumbling about the “Politicians Created Water Crisis” and the Valley’s man-made dust bowl, and asking if “Growing Food Is Wasting Water?” should be taken down.

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California Considers Permanent Ban on Watering Grass at Businesses, Even in Non-Drought Years

/in , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

California’s most-recent drought is over. Reservoirs are full. Ski season lasted until July.

But despite the wet winter, an effort is gaining momentum in the state capitol to add manicured green grass to the list of business trappings — like fax machines, pagers and typewriters — that have become obsolete in a changing world.

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New State Program Aims to Help Residents Before Wells Go Dry in California’s Next, Inevitable, Drought

/in , , /by /SJV Waterby Jesse Vad

After two multi-year episodes of intense drought over the past decade, there is finally a centralized hub of resources and information for well owners and communities that suffered when their wells went dry. Before the most recent drought lifted thanks to this year’s historic winter, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) launched its Be Well Prepared program in May.

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Valley Fever Could Hit California Hard. The Drought-to-Downpour Cycle is to Blame

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Summer Lin

After California’s record-breaking winter rains, public health officials are warning about an increased risk for valley fever this summer.

“California’s dry conditions, combined with recent heavy winter rains could result in increasing valley fever cases in the coming months,” California Department of Public Health Director Dr. Tomás Aragón said in a news release.

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Don’t Call It ‘Toilet to Tap’ — California Plans to Turn Sewage into Drinking Water

/in , , /by /Cal Mattersby Rachel Becker

Californians could drink highly purified sewage water that is piped directly into drinking water supplies for the first time under proposed rules unveiled by state water officials. The drought-prone state has turned to recycled water for more than 60 years to bolster its scarce supplies, but the current regulations require it to first make a pit stop in a reservoir or an aquifer before it can flow to taps.

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Cities’ Thirst Nearly Killed These California Lakes. Not So Fast, Said Our Epic Wet Winter

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Patt Morrison

They’re back! Arising out of their dusty/muddy/sandy graves, the zombie lakes of California are reclaiming their own. For geologic ages, they have lain there, undead — well, often drought-dry, and not their original saturated selves. But now the monumental rains of this winter and spring filled them and then some, reminding us of California’s paleo-hydrology, our ancient lakes and waterways.

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When Will California Experience Another Drought? Experts Aren’t Entirely Sure

/in , , /by /KTLA 5by Iman Palm

Most of California is in recovery mode after a years-long drought plagued the Golden State from 2020 until 2022, which depleted the state’s reservoirs and groundwater resources. Thanks to the historic wet winter season, many areas, such as Los Angeles, Merced and Alameda countries, are no longer in a drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. However, with the summer season in full swing, temperatures across the state have begun to increase and the hotter weather brings renewed potential drought concerns for many across the state.

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Solar Farms Are Booming in the California Desert—but They Could Make the Drought Much Worse

/in , , /by /Fast Companyby Wyatt Myskow

Solar farms stretch out mile after mile along Interstate 10 around Palm Springs, creating one of the densest areas of solar development in North America in the heart of California’s Colorado Desert. But the area’s success in meeting the state and the nation’s renewable energy goals is running up against the Southwest’s biggest climate challenge: having enough water.

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Before-and-After Aerial Images Show California Reservoirs’ Dramatic Rebound After Years of Drought

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Terry Castleman

California’s two biggest reservoirs are all but full after reaching perilously low levels late last year. Lake Shasta, at 96% full, and Lake Oroville, at 100%, had fallen to around 25% to 30% of their capacity before the state’s historically wet winter rejuvenated them.

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City Will Remain in a “Stage 2 Water Shortage Level” Despite Recent Wet Winter

/in , , /by /Santa Monica Daily Pressby Scott Snowden

Council voted unanimously to continue the 20 percent reduction in water use per the 2020 Water Shortage Contingency Plan last week despite an abnormally wet winter that pulled much of the state out of drought. The decision was part of the Annual Water Shortage Assessment Report that is due each year by July 1 to the California Department of Water Resources and also requires formal adoption by Santa Monica City Council.

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