The Los Angeles region will be warm, dry and breezy next week, with a significant cool-down next weekend, the National Weather Service said. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s temperature outlook favors below-normal temperatures for much of the West from Nov. 6 to 10.
Federal scientists say that La Niña — the phenomenon where Pacific Ocean waters off South America are cooler than normal — is underway this winter.
A commonly held assumption among many Californians is that La Niña means a dry winter is coming, and in years when the opposite occurs, El Niño, a wet winter is considered more likely.
So brown lawns and water rationing are just around the corner, right?
Not necessarily. Looking at historical records, there isn’t a clear pattern. In the Bay Area, La Niña years have been drier than normal only about half the time.
Following reports of large parties that violate health orders aimed at slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Wednesday that he will authorize the city to shut off water and power services to residents who hold such gatherings.
The city of Bellflower wants to sell its aging water system to a big for-profit water company that is better able to manage it. But the deal could fall through. That’s because state regulators say the price is so high, it could hurt water customers across Southern California.
If, like me, you live in Los Angeles — or Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix or Salt Lake City — you drink water from the Colorado River. You probably eat vegetables grown with Colorado River water, and maybe you eat beef fed on alfalfa grown with Colorado River water. When you switch on a light or charge your phone, some of the electricity may be generated by Colorado River water.
To hear that the weather is producing average results prompts thoughts of a metronome, plain brown wrappers and the smell of vanilla. But that certainly is not how Los Angeles’s rain intake for the water year has reached its historical average.
Los Angeles County can move forward on plans to develop 2,000 acres along the Santa Clara River without conducting a new assessment of the project’s impact on local water supply, a California appeals court ruled.
Mayor Eric Garcetti expressed frustration and outrage that some nonessential businesses remained open despite coronavirus restrictions and vowed Los Angeles would take action against them.
Garcetti said his office was still receiving daily reports of nonessential businesses that continued to operate as normal — behavior he called “irresponsible and selfish.”
He also announced a “Safer at Home” business-ambassadors initiative that aims to bring about greater compliance from businesses that are ignoring the city’s order to close.
Such businesses should also expect to get a warning call from local prosecutors before the city takes more aggressive action, including turning off their water and power, he said.
Those who live in the city of Los Angeles don’t need to stockpile bottled water in the midst of growing fears about the spread of COVID-19, city officials urged Thursday.
The L.A. Department of Water and Power reminded residents that their tap water is safe to drink, even as the coronavirus spreads.
“There is no threat to your public drinking water supply and no need to use bottled water,” the department said in a statement. “LADWP’s treatment processes are specifically designed to protect the public from all viruses and harmful bacteria.”
L.A. water goes through several treatments before reaching customers’ taps, including filtration, ultraviolet light, and chlorine disinfection, according to the statement.
The police won’t come knocking for Californians who shower and do laundry on the same day, despite what some social media users would have you believe.
An old hoax about California’s water conservation laws recently resurfaced after a guest on a Los Angeles TV station shared misinformation on air.
