Tag Archive for: Drought

Spring A Leak? Google Will Find it Through a New Partnership Aimed at Saving Water in New Mexico

New Mexico is teaming up with Google to hunt for leaky water pipes using satellite imagery as the drought-stricken state prepares for a future in which growing demand puts more pressure on already dwindling drinking water supplies.

OPINION – Local Agencies Need More Than “Words on Paper” From The State to Help Fight Drought and Flood

A Tulare County official who’s faced multiple droughts and devastating floods over the past decade appreciated the California Water Commission’s latest “policy paper” on how best to respond to such calamities but she had some advice of her own for the state.

Spying on Beavers From Space Could Help Save California

For the first time in four centuries, it’s good to be a beaver. Long persecuted for their pelts and reviled as pests, the dam-building rodents are today hailed by scientists as ecological saviors. Their ponds and wetlands store water in the face of drought, filter out pollutants, furnish habitat for endangered species, and fight wildfires. In California, Castor canadensis is so prized that the state recently committed millions to its restoration.

A ‘Messy Compromise’ On Tap as Western Leaders Hash Out What’s Next for the Colorado River

Millions of people rely on water from the Colorado River, but there’s just not enough to quench everyone’s thirst. In other words, there’s a big gap between the amount of water in the river, and the amount that people are using.

California Set to Become 2nd State to OK Rules for Turning Wastewater Into Drinking

When a toilet is flushed in California, the water can end up in a lot of places — the ice in a skating rink, the manufactured snow on ski slopes, in pipes providing irrigation for farmland. And — coming soon — in your drinking glass.

Is El Niño’s Reputation as a Legendary Rainmaker Overblown?

In the minds of many Californians, El Niño has long loomed as a rainmaker of epic proportions. In 1982-83, the Pacific climate pattern caused storms that pounded the state’s shoreline, damaging 1,000 homes between Santa Barbara and the Mexican border and washing the tip of the Santa Monica Pier out to sea.

Major California Water Users Agree to Historic Cuts to Protect Colorado River

In a historic effort to protect the Colorado River from extended drought, the San Diego County Water Authority and five other major California water districts have signed the first of a series of agreements to save 1.6 million acre-feet of water.

California Water Agencies Announce Conservation Plans to Ease Strains on Colorado River

The Biden administration has announced new water-saving agreements with California water agencies intended to shore up supplies on the overburdened Colorado River.

Newsom Administration Advances Delta Tunnel Project Despite Environmental Opposition

In the face of heavy opposition from environmental groups, Gov. Gavin Newsom and his administration are pushing forward with a controversial plan to build a 45-mile water tunnel beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta — a project the governor says is vital to modernizing the state’s aging water system.

L.A. County Aims to Collect Billions More Gallons of Local Water by 2045

Over the next two decades, Los Angeles County will collect billions more gallons in water from local sources, especially storm and reclaimed water, shifting from its reliance on other region’s water supplies as the effects of climate change make such efforts less reliable and more expensive.