Tag Archive for: Climate Change

The sustainable landscape demonstration garden at the Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s (OMWD) headquarters provides customers with examples of water-efficient landscaping techniques that can save water and money.

Demonstration Garden is Inspiration for Olivenhain MWD Customers

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Using water efficiently is a way of life and an important responsibility in the San Diego region. Water users have learned how to make the most of every drop and avoid wasteful or careless habits. Homeowners are replacing impractical thirsty lawns with beautiful low-water-use landscaping.

Over the past decade, residents have adopted habits that not only save money, but also create vibrant yards, reduce energy use, protect natural resources, and reduce landscape maintenance.

Customers can visit the California-friendly demonstration garden and hydroponic gardening tower at OMWD’s headquarters free any day of the year. Photo: Olivenhain Municipal Water District

Customers can visit the California-friendly demonstration garden and hydroponic gardening tower at OMWD’s headquarters free any day of the year. Photo: Olivenhain Municipal Water District

The sustainable landscape demonstration garden at Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s headquarters provides customers with examples of water-efficient landscaping techniques that can save water and money. Techniques include rain harvesting, and the garden features a rain barrel, a larger cistern, and a dry stream bed to capture water for later use.

Sustainable landscape demonstration gardens can help inspire homeowners to create and maintain their own beautiful, low-water-use landscapes at home. Since half of the water used in California’s urban areas goes toward landscape irrigation, any reduction contributes to successful conservation efforts.

New hydroponic gardening system 

A hydroponic growing system called a Tower Garden is the newest addition to the Olivenhain Municipal Water District's demonstration garden. Photo: Olivenhain Municipal Water District

A hydroponic growing system called a Tower Garden is the newest addition to the Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s demonstration garden. Photo: Olivenhain Municipal Water District

OMWD has added a hydroponic gardening unit to its demonstration garden. It was provided through a donation by Tower Garden. The Tower Garden unit displays a water-efficient form of growing produce in a compact and vertical system. It is of particular interest to people who are looking for more water-wise methods of growing produce than traditional growing practices.

“OMWD encourages ratepayers to continue to make conservation a way of life and explore the many innovative and water-use efficient products that are available on the market,” said OMWD Board Treasurer Neal Meyers. “A great place to start is outdoors. We hope customers take advantage of free resources and rebates to design a water-efficient landscape, and consider other water-saving options like graywater and hydroponic systems.”

Save water, money and go hydroponic

Hydroponic systems grow plants in a water-based nutrient solution rather than soil. Hydroponic systems use less water than traditional soil-based growing systems. In commercial agricultural settings and farms, hydroponic systems can produce faster growth and higher yields of crops. The systems can also be used in home gardens.  Some units can use up to 90% less water than traditional produce gardens.

The demo garden hydroponic unit is operational and will be maintained by BCK Programs. Local scout troops in the district will help maintain the unit under supervision. The scouts earn conservation patches for their volunteer work. Crops harvested will be donated to scout volunteers, or donated to a local community food bank. A second system donated by Tower Garden will be used by BCK Programs to provide hydroponic gardening lessons in local schools.

Customers can visit the California-friendly demonstration garden and hydroponic gardening tower at OMWD’s headquarters free any day of the year. It is also viewable online. The garden highlights four key principles of sustainable landscaping. Visitors can learn about healthy soils, rainwater as a resource, climate-appropriate plants, and low-water-use irrigation.

Demonstration gardens inspire water savings

Demonstration gardens can provide inspiration to homeowners to achieve water savings through landscape makeover projects. Photo: Olivenhain Municipal Water District

Demonstration gardens can provide inspiration to homeowners to achieve water savings through landscape makeover projects. Photo: Olivenhain Municipal Water District

In a 2007 survey published in The Journal of the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta, half of those surveyed during a visit to the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College, found that making a change to their landscape was due to their visit to the water conservation demonstration garden. The results illustrate the value of demonstration gardens to the community.

The demonstration garden at Olivenhain’s headquarters received financial support from the Hans & Margaret Doe Charitable Trust at San Diego Foundation, Hunter Industries, Grangetto’s Farm & Garden Supply, and Bushman USA.

(Editor’s note: The Olivenhain Municipal Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the San Diego County region.) 

Is It a Lake, or a Battery? A New Kind of Hydropower Is Spreading Fast.

/in , /by /New York Timesby Mira Rojanasakul and Max Bearak

For a century, hydroelectric power has been synonymous with gigantic dams — feats of engineering that provide renewable energy but displace communities and destroy ecosystems.

New research released Tuesday by Global Energy Monitor reveals a transformation underway in hydroelectric projects — using the same gravitational qualities of water, but typically without building large, traditional dams like the Hoover in the American West or Three Gorges in China. Instead, a technology called pumped storage is rapidly expanding.

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Water Authority Testifies on California’s Efforts to Support the Colorado River

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

During state Assembly testimony on Tuesday, May 2, San Diego County Water Authority General Manager Sandra L. Kerl highlighted the steps taken by the Water Authority and partner water agencies across California to support the Colorado River in the era of climate change.

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Opinion: When Flooding Season Runs Into Fire Season

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Michael Smolens

The state’s first notable wildfire of the year broke out a week ago in the San Bernardino National Forest, signaling the start of the fire season and creating an odd juxtaposition.

At about the same time, some 300 miles to the north, Yosemite National Park announced it was temporarily closing because of the threat from anticipated melting of the vast Sierra snowpack.

California, which has been battered by extreme weather for some time, is used to being whipsawed by the elements — though not quite like this past year.

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Water Authority Testifies on California’s Efforts to Support the Colorado River

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During state Assembly testimony on Tuesday, May 2, San Diego County Water Authority General Manager Sandra L. Kerl highlighted the steps taken by the Water Authority and partner water agencies across California to support the Colorado River in the era of climate change.

Kerl joined representatives from the Colorado River Board of California, the Imperial Irrigation District, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the California Natural Resources Agency, and the environmental community. A theme throughout the hearing was that California is prepared to do more to help the river, but all seven Basin states must be involved in a consensus-based approach.

“When you ask how California is responding and preparing for the effects of climate change, I offer the San Diego region’s focus on a diversified water supply portfolio as an example of focusing on conservation and water management while also developing new drought-proof supplies,” Kerl told the committee.

Climate change and water supply

Tuesday’s hearing before the state Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife in Sacramento focused on the effects of climate change on the Colorado River and actions California water agencies have taken to address the river’s challenges.

More than 20 years of drought have led to record low elevation levels in lakes Mead and Powell, the two critical reservoirs California and the Lower Basin depend on for their river supplies. While heavy storms this winter and spring improved river conditions, concerns remain over the long-term effects of climate change. Efforts are underway to find lasting, durable solutions for the river.

Kerl highlighted the leadership California has shown in conservation through the 2003 Quantification Settlement Agreement or QSA, which has enabled California to live within its 4.4-million-acre-foot apportionment while helping the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation manage river supplies. At the center of the QSA, is the conserved water transfer agreement between the Water Authority and the Imperial Irrigation District.

“In total, our QSA partnerships have conserved more than 3 million acre-feet of Colorado River water since 2003 and done so in a way that supports California’s critical agricultural economy, funds socio-economic needs, and addresses the environment, most importantly the Salton Sea,” Kerl said. She noted that the QSA is an example for other Basin states to follow in implementing conservation.

Collaboration on Colorado River Basin solutions

Kerl and others expressed hope that Basin states can collaborate to keep the water flowing for all river users.

“I am confident that we will find a shared solution that moves us forward to conserve the water we need to stabilize the system and then look forward to guideline updates,” said California Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot.

His comments referenced upcoming discussions on the river’s future operating guidelines, which take effect in 2026.

Colorado River Board of California Chairman JB Hamby from the Imperial Irrigation District said, “California is working with our in-state stakeholders, tribes, and Mexico via the United States to be able to deal with this in the next short-term basis and the long term.”

Metropolitan Water District General Manager Adel Hagekhalil added, “Working together, we must develop equitable, realistic solutions that reduce our collective reliance on the river.”

During her testimony, Kerl told the committee that any solutions must uphold the Law of the River, the priority right system and California’s senior rights. “It’s critical that Reclamation consider both the near-term and future operations of the river by building on the foundation of the laws, court decisions, compacts and agreements that have come before,” she said.

Snow Surveys Help Plan Snowmelt Runoff Forecasts

/in , , /by /Water News Networkby California Department of Water Resources

The California Department of Water Resources May 1 conducted the fifth snow survey of the season at Phillips Station. The manual survey recorded 59 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 30 inches, which is 241% of average for this location on May 1.

The last time there was measurable snow at the Phillips snow course on May 1 was 2020, when only 1.5 inches of snow and .5 inches of snow water equivalent was measured.

DWR’s electronic readings from 130 snow sensors placed throughout the state indicate the statewide snowpack’s snow water equivalent is 49.2 inches, or 254% of average for May 1.

The snow water equivalent measures the amount of water still contained in the snowpack and is a key component of DWR’s water supply run-off forecast.

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‘We’re Not Prepared’: Experts Call for Doubling Levee Protections as California Faces Increasing Floods

/in , , /by /KQED by Ezra David Romero

California water experts and environmental justice advocates are calling for state leaders to mandate that new levees be built with double the federal required protection to withstand the increasingly severe storms caused, in part, by human-caused climate change.

California’s levee protection regulations are not uniform; the state’s seemingly endless dikes and causeways are overseen by a patchwork of widely varying rules. Some communities like Pajaro in Monterey County, which was swamped by floodwaters this year, are protected only against smaller storms that happen every eight years, while levees protecting urban areas of the Central Valley are bolstered against much more powerful storms.

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Opinion: No Choice But For Big Cuts Along The Colorado River Basin

/in , , /by /Denver Postby Ved Nandy
The mighty Colorado River is endangered. Persistent massive drought, exacerbated by climate change, overuse, and ever-rising demand, has taken a heavy toll.
Water levels have dwindled and remain at a historic low in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the largest human-made reservoirs in the United States – so low in Lake Mead a year ago that it came close to hitting dead pool status, which occurs when water levels are too low to generate electricity.
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Hundreds Of Hazardous Sites in California Are At Risk Of Flooding As Sea Level Rises, Study Finds

/in , , /by /CNNby Rachel Ramirez

Hundreds of hazardous industrial sites that dot the California coastline – including oil and gas refineries and sewage-treatment plants – are at risk of severe flooding from rising sea levels if the climate crisis worsens, new research shows.

If planet-warming pollution continues to rise unabated, 129 industrial sites are estimated to be at risk of coastal flooding by 2050 according to the study, published Tuesday in the journal Environmental Science & Technology by researchers from University of California at Los Angeles and Berkeley, as well as Climate Central.

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Snow Surveys Help Plan Snowmelt Runoff Forecasts

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The California Department of Water Resources May 1 conducted the fifth snow survey of the season at Phillips Station. The manual survey recorded 59 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 30 inches, which is 241% of average for this location on May 1. The last time there was measurable snow at the Phillips snow course on May 1 was 2020, when only 1.5 inches of snow and .5 inches of snow water equivalent was measured

DWR’s electronic readings from 130 snow sensors placed throughout the state indicate the statewide snowpack’s snow water equivalent is 49.2 inches, or 254% of average for May 1.

The snow water equivalent measures the amount of water still contained in the snowpack and is a key component of DWR’s water supply run-off forecast.

“While providing a significant boost to California’s water supplies, this year’s massive snowpack is posing continued flood risks in the San Joaquin Valley,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “The snowpack will not disappear in one week or one month but will lead to sustained high flows across the San Joaquin and Tulare Basins over the next several months and this data will help us inform water managers and ultimately help protect communities in these regions.”

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Snowmelt runoff forecasts

Snow surveys like the one at Phillips Station are critical to planning for impacts of the coming snowmelt runoff on communities. DWR uses the most updated technology to gather data from snow surveys, a network of 130 remote snow sensors, and airborne snow observatory data to gather information on current real-world conditions to create the most accurate snowmelt runoff forecasts possible. These runoff forecasts, published through DWR’s Bulletin 120, allow reservoir operators to plan for anticipated inflows and water managers downstream of reservoirs to plan and prepare for flood risks.

Despite a brief increase in temperatures in late April, the statewide snowpack overall melted at a slower pace than average over the month of April due to below average temperatures early in the month and increased cloud cover. An average of 12 inches of the snowpack’s snow water equivalent has melted in the past month and it now contains an average of 49.2 inches.

Water supply, flood control planning

“No matter how you look at the data, only a handful of years in the historical record compared to this year’s results,” said Sean de Guzman, manager of DWR’s Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Unit. “Survey results from our partners in the California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program and other data, including data from Airborne Snow Observatory flights, allow us to incorporate these data into our models to provide the most accurate snowmelt runoff forecasts possible right now to inform water supply, flood control, and planning.”

Climate Change and snowpack averages

According to historical records, only the April 1 measurements from the years 1952, 1969, 1983 and this year were above 200 percent, although it is difficult to directly compare individual years across the decades due to changes in the number of snow courses measured over time.

Due to the impact of climate change on California’s snowpack, since 2021, snowpack averages have been calculated using a timeframe of 1991 through 2020 so that results better reflect the current climate conditions.

DWR is maximizing the amount of water that can be stored and diverted from this record snowpack.

In April, DWR announced a 100% allocation of requested supplies from the State Water Project, which delivers water to 29 public water agencies that serve 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland. The last time the SWP allocated 100% was in 2006. DWR is also maximizing the amount of water that can be diverted towards recharging groundwater basins so more water is stored for future use in underground reservoirs.

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Flooding impacts in California

Last week, Governor Newsom visited the Tulare Basin to tour flood impacts first hand, met with community leaders and emphasized the state’s commitment to supporting and providing appropriate assistance to counties impacted by recent and anticipated flooding this spring and summer.

Snowmelt runoff forecasts are an instrumental part of the assistance provided by DWR’s State-Federal Flood Operations Center (FOC), which is supporting emergency response in the Tulare Lake Basin and Lower San Joaquin River by providing technical and materials assistance to support ongoing flood response activities.

Storms this year have caused impacts across the state including flooding in the community of Pajaro and communities in Sacramento, Tulare, and Merced counties. The FOC has helped Californians by providing more than 1.4 million sandbags, 1 million square feet of plastic sheeting, and 9,000 feet of reinforcing muscle wall, across the state since January.

(Editor’s  Note: Information in this story was provided by the California Department of Water Resources).