The first week of February brought only modest amounts of rain and snow but despite that, California’s snowpack and many of the state’s largest reservoirs are in good shape.
According to data tracked by California’s Department of Water Resources, the statewide snowpack is at 135% of the average peak. Typically the snowpack peaks in late March to early April.
In a move that activists hope could shift how water regulators statewide manage dwindling groundwater basins, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors this week banned the drilling of all new wells for six months countywide while they draft a set of longer-lasting rules on using groundwater.
If you’re reading this, chances are you don’t really have to think about where your drinking water is coming from, how your food was grown, or what effects such processes have had on the environment. Specifically, in reference to our drinking water, around half of the US population gets their drinking water from either public or private wells.
A relatively dry winter and new state-set levels for the presence of a carcinogen in water threatening the closure of groundwater wells have local water officials considering water from new sources and looking to use water they’ve already banked.
Santa Clarita Valley water users get their supply from two main sources via the SCV Water Agency — water imported from Northern California through the State Water Project and water from the ground under the SCV.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
