The atmospheric river currently impacting the West Coast, while creating dangerous weather conditions for millions of people, could possibly have a chance of temporarily reversing drought conditions in states that desperately need water, experts say. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration describes atmospheric rivers as “rivers in the sky” because they’re somewhat long and narrow regions in the atmosphere that send most of the water vapor outside the tropics.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-12-29 10:30:392022-12-29 10:41:45Could West Coast’s Atmospheric River Help Undo Drought Conditions? Too Early to Tell, Experts Say
The Department of the Interior announced $84.7 million in funding for 36 drought resiliency projects in the West. The investment supports the development of innovative drought resilience efforts, such as groundwater storage, rainwater harvesting, aquifer recharge, water reuse, ion exchange treatment, and other methods to stretch existing water supplies.
North Bay farmers, fire agencies and other water stakeholders prepare to enter a new year hoping to avoid a “Groundhog Day” movie-like repeat of events akin to 2022’s. 2022 ended much like 2021, with downpours creating a sense of optimism of more consistent rain. However, if early 2023 weather patterns mimic 2022’s, the fear exists that the North Bay will see more drought in the coming years.
Scientists will get $25 million to study salt lake ecosystems in the drought-stricken U.S. West, as President Joe Biden signed legislation Tuesday allocating the funds in the face of unprecedented existential threats caused by the lack of water. The funding allows the United States Geological Survey to study the hydrology of the ecosystems in and around Utah’s Great Salt Lake, California’s Mono Lake, Oregon’s Lake Albert and other saline lakes.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-12-29 10:24:332022-12-29 11:08:52Biden Signs Bill to Study Salt Lakes in Drought-Hit US West
A series of storms bringing much needed rain to the San Diego region is also a reminder for residents and businesses to turn off irrigation systems when wet weather is predicted and for at least a week after significant rainfall.
While a series of atmospheric rivers is boosting Sierra snowpack and easing dry conditions statewide, there is still a long way to go to overcome three extremely dry years. Water-saving actions today can help conserve more of our most precious natural resource for when it’s needed most.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SDCWA-200x200-1.png200200Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-12-29 09:11:042022-12-29 09:11:04Turn Off Irrigation During and After Rainstorms
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-12-28 09:56:042022-12-28 09:57:57Here’s How Much Rain Fell in 30 San Diego County Communities Before Dawn Wednesday
Surrounded by miles of creosote and ocotillo in the Sonoran Desert, state officials and business leaders gathered in October against the backdrop of the ragged peaks of the White Tank Mountains to applaud a plan to turn 37,000 acres of arid land west of Phoenix into the largest planned community ever proposed in Arizona. The development, Teravalis, is expected to have 100,000 homes and 55 million square feet of commercial space. But to make it happen, the project’s developer, the Howard Hughes Corporation, will need to gain access to enough water for its projected 300,000 residents and 450,000 workers.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-12-28 09:53:012022-12-28 10:02:01Thousands Will Live Here One Day (as Long as They Can Find Water)
The Colorado River Basin is in the midst of a sustainability crisis. Climate change and severe drought, coupled with historic overallocation of the river, have caused water users to rapidly drain the system’s major reservoirs to their lowest levels since construction.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-12-27 10:15:132022-12-27 10:20:47Opinion: No More Band-Aids: How to Make the Colorado River Sustainable for the Long Term
The Water News Network top stories of 2022 were drought-related and features about technology and college scholarships also engaged readers.
Water News Network Top Stories of 2022
The #1 Water News Network Top Story of 2022 focused on scholarship opportunities for water industry education and the growing need for water and wastewater industry workers:
Multiple California water associations and water agencies in San Diego County are offering college scholarships to help candidates achieve their goals.
A large number of recent retirements combined with the need for a skilled workforce up to date on new technologies have resulted in a critical need to increase the talent pool of skilled individuals in the water and wastewater industry, including in San Diego County.
Funding water industry education and training
Otay Water District officials presents the first donation for a scholarship fund to Cuyamaca College President Dr. Julianna Barnes named after Otay General Manager Mark Watton. Photo: Otay Water District
Among the highlights in the January 20 story, was news about the Mark Watton Scholarship Fund, established by the Otay Water District at the Foundation for Grossmont and Cuyamaca Colleges. The fund supports students attending the Center for Water Studies at Cuyamaca College. It honors Otay Water District General Manager Mark Watton’s four decades of service to the district.
Patent for pipeline inspection system
The #2 most viewed story on the Water News Network in 2022 highlighted an innovative tool to inspect pipelines developed by the San Diego County Water Authority:
The Water Authority has been granted its first ever utility patent for a device that inspects interior sections of water pipelines that are inaccessible or not safe to inspect without expensive specialized gear and training.
Industry-leading asset management program
Water Authority Operations and Maintenance Manager Martin Coghill invented the tool to save time, reduce costs and improve safety during ongoing aqueduct inspections. The Water Authority’s industry-leading Asset Management Program includes a proactive search for pipeline weaknesses that can be addressed before they become large and costly problems.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office awarded Patent #US011,293,581 on April 5, 2022, for the Water Authority’s pipeline inspection system, which comprises a body, cameras, support members and light sources to capture high-resolution images of pipeline walls.
The San Diego County Water Authority has been granted its first ever utility patent for a device that inspects interior sections of water pipelines that are inaccessible or not safe to inspect without expensive specialized gear and training. Inventor Martin Coghill calls the tool “Scanny.” Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
Commitment to innovation
“This new pipeline inspection tool is a prime example of the Water Authority’s commitment to innovation that benefits ratepayers by saving money and enhancing reliability,” said Water Authority General Manager Sandra L. Kerl. “We have a long history of advancing industry-leading solutions, from state legislation to adopt low-flow toilets in the early 1990s to the nation’s largest water conservation-and-transfer program a decade later to the largest seawater desalination plant on the continent.”
Rebates and water conservation
The third most-viewed story detailed the California state tax breaks available and rebates to remove grass and save money, as California edged into the fourth consecutive year of drought:
A newly signed state law exempts local rebates for grass replacement from state income tax, ensuring more dollars can be spent creating beautiful and functional WaterSmart yards.
“Drought conditions make it imperative to boost water conservation in San Diego County and across the state,” said Sandra L. Kerl, general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority. “Using California tax incentives and regional rebates to install WaterSmart landscapes is a clear winner for stretching water supplies both today and for generations to come.”
San Diego County residents can take advantage of savings on water-saving technologies such as high-efficiency clothes washers & toilets, rain barrels — and can schedule free #WaterSmart checkups to make their properties more water-efficient.https://t.co/yFi2DgXixS
The WNN feature story alerted homeowners and businesses in San Diego County that they are eligible to receive between $2 and $4 per square foot for removing grass and replacing it with low water-use plants that are better suited to withstand the hot and dry conditions that continue to hammer the West. All customers are eligible for the base rebate of $2 per square foot, but other agencies offer additional funding, including the City of San Diego and the County of San Diego.
Reverse osmosis is the heart of the Carlsbad Desalination Plant. During this process, dissolved salt and other minerals are separated from the water, making it fit for consumption. This reverse osmosis building contains more than 2,000 pressure vessels housing more than 16,000 reverse osmosis membranes. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
Drought-proof supply
Coming in as the 4th most popular story on the WNN in 2022 was the benefit of seawater desalination providing a drought-proof supply for San Diego County:
As the worst drought in 1,200 years grips the West, the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant is protecting the San Diego region with 50 million gallons a day of drought-proof water.
Completed in 2015, the plant was built before the period of increasing inflation that’s driving up prices for water infrastructure projects that are just starting. That means the desal plant is safeguarding the region’s economy and quality of life today at a lower cost than it would be to build now.
The Carlsbad Desalination Plant uses reverse osmosis to produce approximately 10% of the region’s water supply; it is a core supply regardless of weather conditions, and it is blended with water from other sources for regional distribution. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
100 billion gallons
“Desalination remains a valuable tool for our community when it comes to ensuring safe and reliable water supplies no matter the weather,” said Jeremy Crutchfield, water resources manager for the Water Authority. “It has shown its value by generating nearly 90 billion gallons over the past six years, and I’m confident it will continue to do so in the years ahead.”
In late-October 2022, the Carlsbad Desalination Plant passed a milestone, having served more than 100 billion gallons of high-quality, locally controlled water over the past seven years – as California entered a fourth consecutive year of severe drought.
(Editor’s Note: Click on the years to see the most viewed stories from 2019, 2020, and 2021. The Otay Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across San Diego County.)
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Scientists have discovered that the pace of groundwater depletion in California’s Central Valley has accelerated dramatically during the drought as heavy agricultural pumping has drawn down aquifer levels to new lows and now threatens to devastate the underground water reserves. The research shows that chronic declines in groundwater levels, which have plagued the Central Valley for decades, have worsened significantly in recent years, with particularly rapid declines occurring since 2019.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-12-22 10:15:432022-12-22 10:16:28‘Full On Crisis’: Groundwater in California’s Central Valley Disappearing at Alarming Rate
