Tag Archive for: California

How Improved Atmospheric River Forecasting Can Help Keep Water Flowing in California

/in , , /by /ABC10by Monica Woods

Atmospheric rivers can bring dangerous flooding, but, without them, California can head into drought. Improving forecasts for these huge storms is a focus for the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes to keep water flowing in the state.

Marty Ralph remembers living in Los Angeles in the 1980s when a huge rainstorm dropped nearly half the rainfall for the whole year in 12 hours. It was at that moment he realized he wanted to study these kind of storms

Full Story

As Need to Test Water for Microplastics Increases, California Finds a Way

/in , /by /Spectrum News 1by Parker Collins

Wherever you get your drinking water, there’s a good chance it contains some amount of tiny plastic pieces.

There aren’t a lot of rules or regulations around this particular pollutant because it is considered an emerging contaminant, but that is changing.

Full Story

California May Soon Impose New Water Restrictions. Here’s What That Means in San Diego.

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith

San Diegans could be forgiven for not knowing how seriously to take California’s current drought.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency last week, reiterating a desire that urban water users from San Diego to Sacramento voluntarily cut consumption by 15 percent. That would bring water use back down to roughly where it was in 2016, after then-Gov. Jerry Brown issued the state’s first-ever mandatory drought restrictions.

Full Story

Southwest States Facing Tough Choices About Water as Colorado River Diminishes

/in , , /by /60 Minutesby Bill Whitaker

This past week, California declared a statewide drought emergency. It follows the first-ever federal shortage declaration on the Colorado River, triggering cuts to water supplies in the Southwest. The Colorado is the lifeblood of the region. It waters some of the country’s fastest-growing cities, nourishes some of our most fertile fields and powers $1.4 trillion in annual economic activity. The river runs more than 1,400 miles, from headwaters in the Rockies to its delta in northern Mexico where it ends in a trickle. Seven states and 30 Native American tribes lie in the Colorado River Basin. Lately, the river has been running dry due to the historically severe drought.

Full Story

Unchecked Oil and Gas Wastewater Threatens California Groundwater

/in , , /by /Inside Climate Newsby Liza Gross

California has a reputation as a leader on climate and environmental policy. So it doesn’t advertise the fact that it allows the oil and gas industry to store wastewater produced during drilling and extraction in unlined pits in the ground, a practice that began in the early 1900s.

Now, though, researchers have revealed the environmental costs of California’s failure to regulate how its $111 billion oil and gas industry manages the wastewater, known as produced water.

Full Story

Top Expert on California’s Atmospheric Rivers: ‘It Can Break the Drought’

/in , /by /SF Gateby Amy Graff

A moisture-rich atmospheric river is forecast to hit California on Sunday and Monday, delivering a much needed drenching of rain to a drought-plagued state at a time of year when big storms are unusual.

It’s unclear at this point where the bull’s-eye of the storm will dump the most rain, but forecasters agree it will likely be anywhere from far Northern California to Central California, with the San Francisco Bay Area being impacted. The wettest spots could see up to a foot of rain.

Full Story

At S.F.’s Anchor Brewing, the Beer’s for Drinking but the Water’s for Recycling

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

Anchor Brewing is San Francisco’s oldest operating brewery, producing its flagship steam beer since 1896. Now it’s making history in a new way.

The brewery will soon operate the city’s largest commercial water reuse facility. Instead of dumping out water after rinsing fermentation tanks and cleaning bottling lines, Anchor will collect, treat and recycle much of what used to go down the drain.

It’s not an undertaking to go into lightly. California is contending with one of its worst droughts in modern history, and water shortages are becoming an increasing part of day-to-day life. Getting Anchor’s water reuse system up and running is part of a broader effort by San Francisco water officials to preserve supplies by encouraging water users to recycle more and use less.

 

Full Story

Oceanside Wins Top Award From Watereuse California

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Linda Mcintosh

The City of Oceanside won an Award of Excellence for its recycled water outreach and education program on its water purification project, called Pure Water Oceanside, at the recent WateReuse California annual conference.

The award recognizes the city’s community outreach on the benefits of water reuse and its furthering of water recycling through its Pure Water Oceanside project.

The project, billed as the first fully operational indirect potable reuse project in San Diego County, is expected to provide about a third of Oceanside’s water supply.

Full Story

In This California County, One Town Has No Water. Another Has Enough to Share.

/in , /by /The Washington Postby Scott Wilson

This town took a big step toward making fresh water along the rocky, wild North Coast of California.

As its wells ran dry this month, town officials looked to technology as an emergency measure, hoping to keep both residents and a lifeblood tourism industry with running faucets. The town spent $335,000 on a desalination plant, a small machine of tubes and pumps that officials christened earlier this month. Turning brackish water into useful water, the plant now provides a quarter of the local supply.

Full Story

Why San Diego Has Plenty Of Water Despite California’s Devastating Drought

/in , , /by /600 KOGO News Radioby Rebekah Gonzalez Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

In many parts of the state, reservoirs are hitting some of their lowest recorded levels.

However, San Diego County’s water supply has stayed mostly the same.

According to a new report from the New York Times, the San Diego County Water Authority estimates that it would have sustainable water supplies through 2045 even if these dry conditions persist for years.

The county’s key water storage site San Vicente Reservoir is about as full as usual, which is in stark contrast to the rest of the state’s reservoirs.

Full Story