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Opinion: California is One of the Most Biodiverse Places On the Planet. Here’s Why We are Losing Our Biodiversity at an Alarming Rate

/in , , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Charlton H. Bonham

Bonham is the director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom stood on a bone-dry lakebed in Northern California and announced the state is experiencing drought conditions again. Thus far, the most severe conditions are in specific northern watersheds such as the Russian and Klamath river basins. In the San Diego region, investments in diversifying water sources, conserving and recycling have enhanced resiliency to drought conditions.

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Stunning Drone Photos over Lake Oroville Show Drought Emergency in Northern California

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby By Robert St. John (L.A. Times) and Justin Sullivan (Getty Images)

Stunning drone photographs of Lake Oroville help illustrate the drought emergency declared by Gov. Gavin Newsom in two Northern California counties. Water levels at Lake Oroville have dropped to 42% of its 3,537,577 acre foot capacity.

Conditions are particularly acute in Mendocino and Sonoma counties because the local water supply depends on rainfall in the Russian River watershed.

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Lessons Learned from Previous California Drought Helpful in ‘Dry Years’

/in , , /by /KCRA3by Melanie Wingo

As the rain season comes to a close across Northern California, water districts are keeping a close eye on rain totals that are below average, and water managers are explaining what another “dry water year” means for our region. According to California’s Department of Water Resources, or DWR, the state is well into its second consecutive dry year. That causes concern among water managers. However, it comes as no surprise.

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California’s Wet Season Nears an End with Big Concerns About Drought

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

A disappointingly dry February is fanning fears of another severe drought in California, and cities and farms are bracing for problems. In many places, including parts of the Bay Area, water users are already being asked to cut back.

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Rain in the Bay Area, Snow in Tahoe: Here’s When Storms are Forecast to Hit

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Nora Mishanec

A series of storms will usher in a wet holiday weekend across Northern California, threatening to put a damper on outdoor activities and cause driving delays for holiday travelers.

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EPA Water Pollution Permit Limits Challenged by San Francisco

/in , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Maya Earls

San Francisco is challenging the EPA over conditions imposed in a permit that allows the city to send discharge from its combined sewer system into the Pacific Ocean, according to a petition for review in the Ninth Circuit. The city’s filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit comes after the Environmental Protection Agency refused to review three conditions in the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Permit. The EPA approved the permit in December 2019.

 

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Biggest Storm of the Year is About to Hit Northern California. When to Expect the Worst of It

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Michael McGough

Clear out the gutters. Plan some extra time for the morning commute Wednesday. And don’t even think about heading up the hill for a few days. The biggest storm of the season is barreling down on Northern California. The Sacramento region could see up to 3 inches of rain this week – perhaps doubling the amount of rain we’ve received for the entire winter season – as an extreme storm arrives Tuesday afternoon. The cold, wet system will bring dangerous winds to the region, localized flooding and up to 80 inches of snow – yes, that’s nearly 7 feet – to the summits on Interstate 80 and Highway 50.

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Sea Level Projections Drive San Francisco’s Adaptation Planning

/in , /by /Smart Water Magazine

As a utilities planner for the City and County of San Francisco, David Behar knows that access to the latest information about sea level rise is crucial to his job — and his city. Behar is climate program director for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. He tracks the latest climate science and leads the translation of that work for the agency and other city departments, working with a team of engineers and planners.

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Groundwater Beneath Your Feet Is Rising With the Sea. It Could Bring Long-Buried Toxins With It

/in , /by /KQEDby Laura Klivans

Rising seas can evoke images of waves crashing into beachfront property or a torrent of water rolling through downtown streets. But there’s a lesser-known hazard of climate change for those who live along shorelines the world over: freshwater in the ground beneath them creeping slowly upward. For many Bay Area residents who live near the water’s edge, little-publicized research indicates the problem could start to manifest in 10-15 years, particularly in low-lying communities like those in Oakland, Alameda and Marin City.

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We May Have a Colder Winter, but Experts Say the Climate is Still Warming

/in , , /by /CapRadioby Ezra David Romero

This winter may seem colder than previous warmer winters Californians have experienced in recent history, because a moderate to strong La Niña is forming over the pacific.

But La Niña, an annual weather pattern off of the Pacific Ocean that often dictates California’s drier conditions in the winter, doesn’t buck global warming trends, according to Michelle Mead, a warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento.

Mead says since California is this long skinny state, La Niña’s impact will differ depending on where you live, just like the storm moving across Northern California this week.

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