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La Niña: Is California Heading Into Another Drought?

/in , /by /The Mercury News (Bay Area)by Paul Rogers

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.

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Party Houses Defying COVID-19 Orders May Have Utilities Shut Off, Mayor Says

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Leila Miller, Richard Winton, Luke Money

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.

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A Small City Wants to Unload a Leaky Water System, but Regulators Say Not So Fast

/in , , /by /LAistby Sharon McNary

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.

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A Long-Simmering Water Battle Comes to a Boil in Southern California

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sammy Roth

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.

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Rare April Deluge Boosts Southern California Rainfall to Normal Levels After Bone-Dry Winter

/in , , /by /The Washington Postby Mike Branom

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.

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Los Angeles County’s Water Supply Analysis of Development Stands

/in , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Maeve Allsup

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.

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L.A. Threatens to Shut Off Water, Power of Businesses Breaking Coronavirus Rules

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Times by Sarah Parvini and Richard Winton

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.

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LA City Officials: Tap Water Still Safe To Drink, Even as Coronavirus Spreads

/in , , /by /CBSN Los Angeles

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.

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Don’t Fall for This Old Hoax About Showering and Doing Laundry in California

/in , , /by /PolitiFact (Washington)by Bill McCarthy

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.

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Trump Team Proposes Rollback of Desert Protections to Boost Geothermal Energy

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Louis Sahagun

In step with President Trump’s push for more energy development in California’s deserts, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced Thursday it wants to transform 22,000 acres of public land in the southern Owens Valley into one of the largest geothermal leasing sites in the state.

The agency has determined that the aquifer deep beneath the surface of the vintage Old West landscape of Rose Valley, about 120 miles north of Los Angeles, is a storehouse of enough volcanically heated water to spur $1 billion in investments and provide 117,000 homes with electricity.

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