Tag Archive for: California drought

Opinion: Huntington Beach Desalination Plant is a Crucial Tool in California’s Climate Change Arsenal

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Mark Donovan

On May 12, the California Coastal Commission is expected to consider final approval of the Huntington Beach desalination plant. Poseidon Water has weaved through the state’s complex and evolving regulatory landscape for nearly two decades in pursuit of that development permit.

Signing off on this project would demonstrate that seawater desalination — a proven water resource technology relied upon around the world to combat the effects of climate change and drought — has a future in California.

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Desalination: California’s Best Hope to Stave Off Water Restrictions in the Future

/in , , /by /California Globeby Evan Symon

During the last few years, California’s drought situation has become more and more dire. While a large chunk of it is self-inflicted by the state, as they release an incredible amount of water from dams each year for environmental purposes instead of, you know, agriculture and people, part of it is also that rain and snowpack build have been well below averages in the past. Northern California still has restrictions going on, with Southern California, facing another hot summer, may face a scenario in some areas where water may run out if usage stays as high as it is now.

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San Diego Remains Afloat Amid Grim Water Scenarios

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune by Michael Smolens Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Some of San Diego’s neighbors to the north are facing tough water restrictions. Others are in dispute over whether to move forward with a big, expensive water project. Meanwhile, levels at some huge reservoirs have never been so low.

The impacts of the yearslong drought on water supplies are growing across the state, as is the dilemma about how to address them.

But not in the San Diego region. That’s been the case for years, but it’s becoming more apparent as the state appears to be taking a more nuanced approach toward water restrictions. Rather than statewide mandatory cuts, California leaders are considering taking into account the status of local supplies.

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Newsom: Desalination Project Should be Approved — “We Need More Damn Tools in the Toolkit”

/in , , /by /Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

Citing California’s worsening drought conditions, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday made a powerful new push for a controversial $1.4 billion desalination plant on the state’s coastline.

The proposed oceanfront facility in Huntington Beach has been under debate for more than 20 years, and its fate could set a course for other desalination plants on the state’s coast. The California Coastal Commission is scheduled to take a final vote on the project in two weeks.

“We need more tools in the damn tool kit,” Newsom said during a meeting with the Bay Area News Group editorial board when asked about the project. “We are as dumb as we want to be. What more evidence do you need that you need to have more tools in the tool kit than what we’ve experienced? Seven out of the last 10 years have been severe drought.”

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Vegas Water Intake Now Visible at Drought-Stricken Lake Mead

/in , , /by /AP News

A massive drought-starved reservoir on the Colorado River has become so depleted that Las Vegas now is pumping water from deeper within Lake Mead where other states downstream don’t have access.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority announced this week that its Low Lake Level Pumping Station is operational, and released photos of the uppermost intake visible at 1,050 feet (320 meters) above sea level at the lake behind Hoover Dam.

“While this emphasizes the seriousness of the drought conditions, we have been preparing for this for more than a decade,” said Bronson Mack, water authority spokesman. The low-level intake allows Las Vegas “to maintain access to its primary water supply in Lake Mead, even if water levels continue to decline due to ongoing drought and climate change conditions,” he said.

The move to begin using what had been seen as an in-case-we-need-it hedge against taps running dry comes as water managers in several states that rely on the Colorado River take new steps to conserve water amid what has become perpetual drought.

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Government Spending on Stormwater Management in California

/in , , /by /California WaterBlogby Erik Porse, Maureen Kerner, Brian Currier, David Babchanik, Danielle Salt, and Julie Mansisidor

Stormwater infrastructure in cities is highly visible and serves to mitigate flooding and reduce pollution that reaches local waterbodies. Being so visible, it might be reasonable to assume that stormwater is adequately funded both in infrastructure and water quality management. Yet, stormwater infrastructure and water quality improvement are notoriously difficult to fund. Paying for stormwater quality improvements in California has been a multi-decade challenge due to the industry’s relatively recent emergence during a time of fiscal constraints on local governments.

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Unprecedented Water Restrictions Ordered as MWD Declares Water Shortage Emergency

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

Southern California officials on Tuesday took the unprecedented step of declaring a water shortage emergency and ordering outdoor usage be restricted to just one day a week for about 6 million people in parts of Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties.

The outdoor watering restrictions will take effect June 1 under the decision by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and will apply to areas that depend on water from the drought-ravaged State Water Project.

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Drought Alert Triggers Irrigation Limits for Inland Water Customers

/in , , /by /The Coast News Groupby Laura Place Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

In observance of growing drought conditions statewide, the Vallecitos Water District has declared new water conservation requirements for thousands of customers in San Diego County’s inland area under a Level 2 drought alert.

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MWD’s Water-Use Mandates Don’t Impact San Diego Region

/in , /by

April 26, 2022 – “The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s Board of Directors today voted to implement a series of actions to address serious water shortages in parts of its service area that solely depend on the State Water Project. Those restrictions do not directly affect residents and businesses who receive water from the San Diego County Water Authority through their retail water provider because our region is not currently receiving water from the State Water Project.

“The San Diego region continues to have reliable water supplies for 2022 and beyond due to a long-term commitment to conservation and investments in a diversified water supply portfolio, including drought-resilient sources like the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant. However, extreme drought conditions are felt widely across the West, and we strongly support agencies taking appropriate conservation actions where they are needed.

“The Water Authority’s Board of Directors has not enacted water-use mandates as we wait for the State Water Board’s direction and final emergency regulations in late May. In addition, Water Authority’s diversified supplies remain intact.

“We continue to support the Governor’s call for increased voluntary conservation at homes and businesses. We encourage actions such as taking shorter showers and fixing leaks immediately, along taking advantage of rebates for replacing turf with landscapes that are WaterSmart and climate-appropriate.”

— Sandra L. Kerl, General Manager, San Diego County Water Authority

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A Quiet Revolution: Southwest Cities Learn to Thrive Amid Drought

/in , , /by /Yale e360 (Yale Environment 360)by Jim Robbins Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

In the rolling hills around San Diego and its suburbs, the rumble of bulldozers and the whine of power saws fill the air as a slew of new homes and apartments rise up. The region is booming, its population growing at a rate of about 1 percent a year.

This, in spite of the fact that Southern California, along with much of the West, is in the midst of what experts call a megadrought that some believe may not be a temporary, one-off occurrence, but a recurring event or even a climate change-driven permanent “aridification” of the West. The drought is so bad that last year federal officials ordered cuts to water provided to the region by the Colorado River for the first time in history.

Water officials in San Diego, though, say they are not worried. “We have sufficient supplies now and in the future,” said Sandra Kerl, general manager of the San Diego Water Authority. “We recently did a stress test and we are good until 2045” and even beyond.

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