Tag Archive for: Climate Change

Opinion: Climate Change Demands Reorganizing California Policies and Institutions

/in , /by /CalMattersby Lester Snow

In California, our natural resource world has changed and continues to change faster than our policies and institutions can adapt. Temperature records are being set annually, tinder-dry watersheds experience raging wildfire driven by high winds, and reduced snowpack often evaporates without running into rivers. Higher temperatures have put natural systems in a tailspin, and California institutions are too narrow, calcified and cautious to respond with the speed needed to protect us from natural disasters.

We can try to adapt to the floods, droughts, heat waves and sea-level rise now upon us with institutions built for a past regime. Or we can start doing now what we need to do — organize ourselves in new ways to match the speed of change and the size of the challenge.

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Biden Moves to Blunt Trump Water Permitting Rule

/in , /by /E&E Newsby Hannah Northey

EPA today laid out a path for states and tribes to take more time to negotiate and tackle challenges before signing off on water permits — an attempt to defang a controversial Trump-era rule that allows only a year to approve or deny permits for utilities and oil and gas pipelines.

Sources say the move is an attempt by the Biden administration to mitigate the adverse effects of the Trump water rule finalized last year that’s still on the books while showing sensitivity to advocates fighting the proliferation of fossil fuel projects.

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San Diego Launching Pure Water, Largest Infrastructure Project in City’s History

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby David Garrick

San Diego formally launched Friday the largest infrastructure project in city history, a sewage recycling system that will boost local water independence in the face of more severe droughts caused by climate change.

Dubbed “Pure Water,” the multibillion-dollar project is the culmination of a lengthy process featuring thorny lawsuits, complex labor deals and an aggressive public education campaign to fight the derogatory early nickname “toilet to tap.”

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Mayor, EPA Chief Celebrate First Phase of San Diego’s Drought-Resistant Water Recycling Project

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Debbie L. Sklar and City News Service

Mayor Todd Gloria, along with state and federal leaders, formally kicked off construction of Phase 1 of the city’s Pure Water program Friday, intended to provide nearly 50% of the city’s drinking water by 2035 and reduce the need for imported water.

Helping the mayor celebrate the historic occasion in University City were Rep. Scott Peters, California Senate President Pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael S. Regan and California State Water Resources Control Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel.

“Today, we celebrated the launch of the largest, most ambitious infrastructure project in San Diego’s history,” Gloria said. “The Pure Water program will guarantee us a local water resource that allows San Diego to be drought-resilient and environmentally sustainable. This is a key part of how we will provide clean drinking water to our residents for generations to come.”

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Drought Could Result in Water Reduction Mandates

/in , , /by /KPBS-FM/TVby Alexandra Rangel Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Continued droughts are forcing the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to ask water agencies to voluntarily conserve water.

Jeff Stephenson, the water resources manager for the San Diego County Water Authority, said the county is decades ahead in conservation practices.

“Here in San Diego we have a great history of water efficiency. We cut water use per person in half over the last 30 years,” he said.

The supply alert comes a day after the first ever water shortage was reported on the Colorado River.

Although that shortage mostly affects Nevada and Arizona, San Diego does receive 60% of transfer water from the Colorado River.

“What puts us in a better position versus other parts of the state, especially Northern California, is 30 years ago when we started diversifying our water supplies,” Stephenson said.

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California Drought Could Lead to Mandatory Water Restrictions Reinstated Statewide

/in , , /by /NBC7 San Diego by Dana Griffin Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Even on an overcast, dewy day at the beach, drought conditions are of concern.

In July, Governor Gavin Newsom urged everyone across the state to cut their water use by 15%, but some water experts say that may not be enough.

“For us in San Diego County, we live in an arid region and we should be really behaving like we live in a drought 365 days of the year,” said Ian Monahan said, director of marketing and philanthropy for I Lova A Clean San Diego, an environmental non-profit focused on zero waste.

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With Drought Worsening, How Close is Southern California to Strict Water Restrictions?

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Times by Hayley Smith, Julia Wick

Unlike other parts of the state, Southern California has avoided the worst of the drought-inspired water restrictions because of ample supplies. But that could be changing.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California on Tuesday issued a supply alert, calling on the region to conserve vital resources and prepare for continued drought.

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San Diego Prepping Long-Term Water Solutions as State Requests Cuts

/in , , /by /10 News (KGTV) San Diego by Leah Pezzetti Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

As California Governor Gavin Newsom asks residents of the state to cut water usage by 15%, the San Diego County Water Authority is supporting that request while simultaneously working on long-term solutions to combat water shortages.

Goldy Herbon, Senior Water Resources Specialist for the Water Resources Department at San Diego County Water Authority, said there is no imminent concern over water shortages in San Diego County, however, it is important for locals to cut back now to set the area up for success in the future.

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California Enacted a Groundwater Law 7 Years Ago. But Wells Are Still Drying Up — and the Threat is Spreading

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

Kelly O’Brien’s drinking water well had been in its death throes for days before its pump finally gave out over Memorial Day weekend.

It wasn’t a quiet death at O’Brien’s home in Glenn County, about 100 miles north of Sacramento.

Spigots rattled. Faucets sputtered. The drinking water turned rusty with sediment. In the end, two houses, three adults, three children, two horses, four dogs and a couple of cats on her five acres of land were all left with no water for their sinks, showers, laundry, troughs and water bowls.

As extreme drought spread across the state, O’Brien feared that the water underneath her property had sunk so low that it was out of the reach of her well.

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Southern California Water Officials Declare Supply Alert Amid Worsening Drought

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Haley Smith and Julia Wick Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Just one day after U.S. officials declared the first-ever water shortage on the Colorado River, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California issued a water supply alert calling on the region to conserve vital resources and prepare for continued drought.

The MWD supplies water to approximately 19 million people across six Southern California counties and is one of the largest water distributors in the nation. The decision by its board Tuesday marks the first time in seven years the agency has issued an official supply alert — the third of four escalating phases in its water supply framework.

The declaration marks a call for regional agencies and consumers to voluntarily reduce their water consumption in order to mitigate the need for more severe restrictions.

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