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Less Water May Mean Less Power for California

/in , , /by /NBC7 San Diego by Joe Little Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The summer of 2021 could go down as one of the hottest and driest summers in California’s history.

“In Northern California, where we get a lot of our water supply, it has been one of the driest 18 months on record in 120 years,” said Goldy Herbon, a Senior Water Resources Specialist for the San Diego County Water Authority.

Herbon said there is no snowpack in Northern California and the Colorado River is almost down to 60% of its normal water levels.

That’s usually very bad for counties that import a lot of their water. However, Herbon said the San Diego County Water Authority and its member agencies like the city of San Diego have invested billions of dollars in infrastructure improvements over the last 30 years that have given San Diego County enough to withstand any potential water restrictions brought on by drought.

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Water Shortages: Why Some Californians are Running Out in 2021 and Others Aren’t

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

In Los Angeles, people have been hearing about the dangers of drought for decades. But in this land of infinity pools and backyard putting greens — better suited for rattlesnakes and scrub — water never seems to run out.

Yet little Redwood Valley in Mendocino County, which gets a bountiful 38 inches of rain in an average year and sits near the headwaters of the Russian River, has been devastated by this year’s drought. Each resident has been told to use no more than 55 gallons per day — enough to fill a bathtub and flush a toilet six times.

And in San Jose, where less than half of its usual rain has fallen this year, people have been asked to cut water use by 15% — a target that could become mandatory if locals fail to comply.

When it comes to the impact of drought, location is key. Rain and snow vary greatly across California’s myriad microclimates, leaving some towns, mostly in the north, accustomed to yearly refills of their rivers, reservoirs and aquifers. Others farther south have fewer natural supplies of their own, and in parts of the Central Valley, the drought never really left.

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NASA Images Show Effects of Drought on California’s Largest Reservoirs

/in , , /by /The Press Democratby Elissa Chudwin

Satellite images recently released by NASA show how drought has affected Northern California’s Shasta Lake and Lake Oroville, the largest reservoirs in the state. NASA compared images taken earlier in June with images taken in the summer of 2019 to illustrate how water levels have declined over the two-year period.

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City Approves Purchase of Desalination Unit

/in , /by /Fort Bragg Advocate-Newsby Robin Epley

The Fort Bragg City Council’s special meeting on Monday went fairly quickly — all of 10 minutes — and unanimously approved the purchase of a desalination and reverse osmosis machine for no more than $335,818.50.

At the last city council meeting, city staff requested the council set aside $600,000 to pursue various options during this summer’s expected drought, including hurdles with sourcing and permitting.

The flow in the Noyo River, which is the city’s primary water source in summer and fall months, is at levels below the worst drought year on record, 1977.

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Gary Croucher-Board Chair-San Diego County Water Authority-Primary

San Diego Region is Drought-Safe This Summer

/in , /by

Statewide drought conditions are highlighting the value of regionally and locally controlled water supplies in San Diego County, where the Water Authority announced June 21 that the region is protected from drought impacts this summer, and through 2045, despite continued hot and dry conditions. No shortages or regional water-use mandates are in the forecast – the result of three decades of strategic investments that create an aquatic safety net for San Diego County’s $253 billion economy and our quality of life.

The region’s diversified water supply portfolio includes highly reliable and locally controlled supplies, including desalinated seawater from the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant. It also includes high-priority, low-cost, conserved water from the Quantification Settlement Agreement, the nation’s largest conservation-and-transfer agreement. The combination offers significant protection against droughts and other emergencies even during multiple dry years.

San Diego region is “drought-safe” thanks to water-smart practices

I offer my sincere thanks to all San Diegans for everything you have done to make sure that we have enough water to meet the region’s needs now and for decades into the future. You have invested through your water bills and your water-smart practices, and those efforts are paying off in tangible ways.

At the same time, it’s important that we all continue embracing water-use efficiency strategies that have become part of our regional ethic. Simple but important steps include turning off the faucet while brushing teeth, fixing irrigation system leaks, and using hoses with automatic shut-off nozzles.

Thanks again for all you do, and remember to stay water-smart this summer!

San Diego Region is Drought-Safe This Summer

/in , , /by /Water News Network Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority announced June 21 that the region is protected from drought impacts this summer, and through 2045, despite continued hot and dry conditions.

Statewide drought conditions are highlighting the value of regionally and locally controlled water supplies in San Diego County. No shortages or regional water-use mandates are in the forecast, the result of three decades of strategic investments that create an aquatic safety net for San Diego County’s $253 billion economy and quality of life for 3.3 million residents.

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Opinion: Farmers and Ranchers Need Support During Drought

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Karen Ross and David Shabazian

While California is known for its world-famous entertainment industry and ever-transforming tech sector, agriculture is the often-overlooked backbone of our diverse state and one of its earliest economic engines.

Our state’s multigenerational farmers and ranchers not only feed Californians, but also supply one-third of our country’s vegetables and two-thirds of its fruits and nuts, while also leading the nation in milk production.

This Giant ‘Inland Ocean’ is Southern California’s Last Defense Against Drought

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Louis Sahagun

Mechanical engineer Brent Yamasaki set out amid the recent blistering heat wave to take stock of the giant dams, pumps and pipes that support Diamond Valley Lake in Riverside County, the largest storehouse of water in Southern California.

The reservoir, which he helped build 25 years ago, is 4½ miles long and 2 miles wide and holds back nearly 800,000 acre-feet of water — so much that it would take 20,000 years to fill it with a garden hose.

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San Diego County Water Authority Confirms Region ‘Drought Safe’ This Summer

/in , , /by /Times of San Diego by Debbie L. Sklar and City News Service Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Despite continued hot and dry conditions in California, the San Diego region is protected from drought impacts this summer and through 2045, the San Diego County Water Authority announced Monday.

According to a statement released by the Water Authority, “no shortages or regional water-use mandates are in the forecast, the result of three decades of strategic investments that create an aquatic safety net for San Diego County’s $253 billion economy and quality of life for 3.3 million residents.”

Gary Croucher, Water Authority Board chairman, thanked San Diegans for their efforts to “make sure that we have enough water to meet the region’s needs now and for decades into the future.”

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Drought: Emergency Project Being Built to Protect California Water Supplies

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rodgers

In a new symbol of California’s worsening drought, construction crews are putting the finishing touches on a $10 million emergency project to build a massive rock barrier through part of the Delta in Contra Costa County to preserve water supplies for millions of people across the state.

The 800-foot long barrier — the size of San Francisco’s Transamerica Pyramid laid on its side — is essentially a rock wall, 120 feet wide, built in water 35 feet deep.

Its purpose: To block salt water from the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay from flowing too far east and contaminating the huge state and federal pumps near Tracy that send fresh water south to 27 million people — from San Jose to Los Angeles — and to millions of acres of farmland in the Central Valley and beyond.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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