Tag Archive for: California drought

New Report: Drought to Hit Rural Latino Communities Hardest

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

Rural, low-income Latino communities across California were hardest hit by the last drought and could see drinking water shortages again this year as extreme drought spreads across the state, according to a report released today by non-partisan advisors to California’s lawmakers.

The report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office warns state officials to prepare by ramping up monitoring of wells in vulnerable communities and lining up emergency drinking water supplies to send there.

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California and the West Are in for Another Tough Fire Year, Federal Officials Forecast

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Anna M. Phillips

After a 2020 fire season that shattered records and killed 33 people in California, federal wildfire experts predict another tough one for the state due to widespread and worsening drought conditions.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack told reporters Thursday that they had been briefed by government wildfire experts at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, to expect another extremely active fire season complicated, for the second year, by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. With nearly half of the United States gripped by a severe drought, officials said that Americans living throughout much of the West should plan for a year of “above average wildfire potential.”

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Sierra Snowpack is Already “Wiped Out” This Year, Adding to California Drought and Fire Worries

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicle by Kellie Hwang

The Sierra Nevada snowpack, a crucial water source for California’s cities and farms, has already dwindled to next to nothing this year, adding to the state’s worsening drought situation.

The latest data from the state Department of Water Resources on Tuesday showed California’s snowpack was just 6% of normal for May 11, and 4% of the normal average for April 1. That date is typically when California’s snowpack is the deepest and has the highest snow water equivalent — the depth of water that would result if the snow melted upon falling.

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California Drought: Recycled Water Investment Paying Off For North Marin Water District

/in , /by /KPIX 5by John Ramos

This is shaping up to be a long, dry summer and water managers across the state are looking for new sources to meet their demand.  But one small district in Marin County placed a bet on a drought-proof supply of water that may pay off big this year.

The town of Novato relies on Lake Stafford for its summer water supply and like most reservoirs this year, it is dangerously low. However, the local water district actually has more water than it can even use – but there’s a catch: most of it is recycled.

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San Diego County Has ‘Sufficient’ Water Supplies as Drought Grips State

/in , /by /Patch.comby City News Service Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Despite a drought emergency declaration in northern and central California, the San Diego County Water Authority said Tuesday the region was well positioned to outlast drought conditions until 2045. On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded a drought emergency declaration from Sonoma and Mendocino counties to 41 counties.

San Diego Spared as Newsom Declares Drought Emergency in 41 of California’s 58 Counties

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Reuters Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday issued an expanded “drought emergency proclamation” for 41 of the state’s 58 counties, citing above-average temperatures and dry conditions for April and May.

So far, Southern California has been spared the worst of the drought, and the San Diego County Water Authority has said it has supplies to withstand several dry years.

“Gov. Newsom’s latest drought emergency declaration is a grim reminder of the growing water supply challenges across California — and of the value of three decades of our collective dedication to use water efficiently combined with strategic investments that protect San Diego County from dry years,” said Gary Croucher, board chair of the water authority.

“Thanks to efforts of ratepayers, the water authority, and our 24 member agencies, we have sufficient water supplies for 2021 and the foreseeable future,” he said.

 

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This is How California’s Water Use Has Changed Since the Last Drought

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Yoohyun Jung

California is in a serious drought. The National Drought Mitigation Center’s drought monitor puts most of the state in extreme drought zones for the first time since 2015.

The latest instance of drought has once again put the state’s water use under the microscope to identify opportunities for conservation, a task that’s expected to become more challenging as the impacts of climate change intensify.

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Sonoma County Officials to Cut Pumping from Russian River by 20% Amid Deepening Drought

/in , , /by /Santa Rosa Press-Democratby Mary Callahan

Sonoma County supervisors are expected to offer their formal support Tuesday for a plan to pump 20% less water than normal from the Russian River for the remainder of the year, preserving dwindling supplies in local reservoirs but making less water available to more than 600,000 consumers in Sonoma and northern Marin counties.

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In California’s Farm Country, Climate Change Is Likely to Trigger More Pesticide Use, Fouling Waterways

/in , /by /Inside Climate Newsby Liza Gross

Every spring, California farmers brace themselves for signs of wriggling organisms destined to launch multigenerational attacks on their crops.

Many insect species survive the winter as eggs or larvae and then emerge in early spring as the first generation to feed and breed on millions of acres of California vineyards, orchards and row crops. Climate change will complicate farmers’ efforts to control these pests in complex and unpredictable ways.

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Could This $36 Million Central Valley River Restoration Project Help with California’s Droughts?

/in , , , /by /San Francisco Chronicle by Tara Duggan

As California enters what could be a record-breaking drought, a just-completed nine-year floodplain restoration project at the confluence of the San Joaquin and Tuolumne rivers offers an ambitious attempt at one mitigation solution.

At a 1,600-acre former dairy ranch called Dos Rios, the conservation organization River Partners removed berms that farmers had originally constructed to protect their alfalfa and wheat crops from the river. It turned fields into seasonal pools where endangered baby salmon and migratory birds can rest, and water can trickle down to refill aquifers. Last month, it planted the last of more than 350,000 native grasses, shrubs and trees — acres of towering willows, flowering elderberry and creeping wild rye chosen to thrive in flood or drought.

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