Tag Archive for: Climate Change

Gavin Newsom Calls on Californians to Cut Water Use by 15%, Expands Drought Emergency

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded his drought emergency declaration Thursday and called on Californians to reduce water consumption by 15%.

In a pair of emergency orders issued during an appearance at parched Lopez Lake near San Luis Obispo, the governor added nine more counties to the list of those covered by his emergency declaration from two months ago. That makes the drought official in 50 of the state’s 58 counties — essentially, everywhere except San Francisco and urban Southern California.

The counties added to the list: San Luis Obispo, Inyo, Marin, Mono, Monterey, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz. Extending the emergency to a broader area makes it easier for the State Water Resources Control Board to cut off water rights to farmers who pull water from rivers and streams.

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Water Authority General Manager Issues Statement on Governor Newsom’s Expanded Drought Proclamation

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July 8, 2021 – Sandra L. Kerl, general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority, issued the following statement on today’s expanded drought declaration and proclamation of a state emergency by Gov. Gavin Newsom and his call for Californians to voluntarily reduce water use by 15%:

“While the San Diego region is thankfully drought-safe this summer due to sound planning and decades-long ratepayer investments in new water supplies and storage and adoption of water conservation as a way of life, we must also be part of the statewide movement now underway to address water supply challenges created by drought and climate change in other parts of California.

“The Water Authority strongly supports the governor’s call for the public to voluntarily cutback water use by 15% in order to allow local, regional and state water agencies to plan and take the steps necessary under these changed conditions to maximize the availability of limited water supplies going forward, through the investment of state funding and implementation of other provisions of the Governor’s Proclamation of a State Emergency and Executive Order N-10-21 calling for water conservation.

“The Water Authority will be working closely with our member agencies and with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California over the next several days, weeks and months, to design and implement strategies to maximize water supply development in collaboration with Governor Newsom and state agencies, in order to protect California.”

Information about the Water Authority’s water-use-efficiency programs is at www.watersmartsd.org/.

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Governor Asks Californians to Voluntarily Cut Water Use

/in , /by /KPBS-FM/TVby Adam Beam / Associated Press

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday asked people and businesses in the nation’s most populous state to voluntarily cut how much water they use by 15% as the Western United States weathers a drought that is rapidly emptying reservoirs relied on for agriculture, drinking water and fish habitat.

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Governor Newsom Addresses California’s Response to Deepening Drought Conditions

/in , , /by /CBS8 San Diegoby CBS News 8 Team Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Amid deepening drought and record-breaking temperatures across the West, Governor Gavin Newsom traveled to San Luis Obispo County Thursday to discuss the state’s emergency response, preparations for a potential third dry year and proposed investments to address immediate needs and build long-term water resilience.

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Southland Heat Wave Will Bring Unstable Conditions, Intense Fire Danger

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

As crews continue to combat wildfires in Northern California, the southern part of the state is preparing for extreme heat and elevated fire danger.

The National Weather Service on Wednesday issued an excessive heat warning across portions of Southern California’s high desert, with the Apple and Lucerne valleys preparing for temperatures that could climb as high as 120 degrees by the weekend — potentially the hottest of the year so far.

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Western Governors Make Bipartisan Plea as States Battle Record Heat and Drought

/in , , /by /CNN Politicsby Chandelis Duster

A pair of governors on Sunday called on the federal government for help and pushed for solutions as their states grapple with recording-breaking temperatures, drought and wildfires that officials have said is being driven by climate change.

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Authors Say Plan For the Worst on Colorado River

/in , , /by /KUNMby Megan Kamerick

The Colorado River provides water to 40 million people around the West, including New Mexico, but the historic drought gripping our region has prompted a 20% drop in flows in the river. Reservoirs are drying, with Lake Mead at its lowest levels since it was filled in the 1930s. As scientists incorporate these changes into future projections, an article in Science magazine urges them to plan for even greater declines in the river.

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UCLA Study: Climate Change Causing ‘Extreme’ Rain and Snowfall Across Globe

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby City News Service

A UCLA study shows that abnormally heavy rain and snowfall events since as early as the 1980s are intensifying globally due to human-driven climate change, researchers said Tuesday.

“These findings further elevate the urgency of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to prevent even larger impacts down the road,” said senior author Alex Hall, director of the UCLA Center for Climate Science, which is a part of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. “We can now say that extreme precipitation is increasing globally due to human-induced climate change.”

EPA’s Top Water Official On Biden’s Climate, Equity Goals

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

Radhika Fox vividly remembers growing up in rural India without running water or flushing toilets.

The newly confirmed head of EPA’s Office of Water lived with her grandmother while her parents finished their medical training in New York City.

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Warming Climate, Low Sierra Snowpack, Evaporating Runoff Extend California Drought

/in , , /by /CBS SF Bay Area

Skiers and snowboarders pray for snow so they can shred the slopes. Climatologists and hydrologists have an entirely different and more critical reason to cross their fingers for the “white gold.”

The West’s historic drought has many impacts, including water shortages, more severe wildfire seasons and unprecedented heat waves, to name a few. Intense droughts are a result of many factors, one of which scientists have recently begun to analyze with more scrutiny: snow drought.

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