The very real threat of losing water from the Colorado River is the potential cuts to California’s agriculture.
The Imperial Valley alone has 500 thousand acres of farmland at the lower basin of the Colorado River.
Farms like Bear Valley Organic Farm in Valley Center run on water.
The ocean temperature off Del Mar fell to 52.25 degrees this week, the lowest reading in San Diego County waters since UC San Diego began using a buoy system in the 1970s to monitor large areas of the U.S. coastline.
UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography said near-record low readings also were recorded this week at many other stations, including off Imperial Beach and Leucadia, where the temperature was 53.5 degrees on Wednesday.
Public health officials have long known that sewage-ladened coastal waters threaten the health of swimmers and surfers. However, new research shows that this common form of water pollution might also pose health risks to those who stay ashore.
Bacteria and pollutants found in sewage-tainted water can be ejected into the atmosphere via sea spray aerosols—tiny droplets that form when waves break—according to a study published in Environmental Science and Technology.
With an exceptionally rainy season for California, much of the state is free from drought, including most of San Diego County, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The latest drought monitor map released Thursday shows all but 11% of San Diego County remains in some form of drought, which is the same as last week. But that’s significantly down from 3 months ago when all of San Diego County was in some form of drought.
The Pacific storm that passed through San Diego County on Tuesday and early Wednesday was among the strongest, most widespread systems to hit the region since the rainy season began on Oct. 1.
The system pushed March rainfall at San Diego International Airport to 3.42 inches. The airport averages 1.46 inches for the entire month of March.
San Diego County’s Local Agency Formation Commission requires a deposit to process applications to LAFCO for jurisdictional changes, and the Rainbow Municipal Water District approved an additional deposit amount during the Tuesday, Feb. 28, Rainbow board meeting.
The board’s 5-0 vote approved the additional payment of $32,648.91, bringing the total Rainbow payment to $245,932.10. Rainbow and the Fallbrook Public Utility District are sharing the processing costs.
Record rainfall was reported across San Diego County on Wednesday, with numerous roads closed by flooding.
Oceanside Harbor received a record 4.21 inches, Vista 2.24 inches, Alpine 1.80 inches, Ramona 1.73 inches and Campo 1.17 inches.
Many areas have seen upwards of two inches of rain. The rain has caused sinkholes in Scripps Ranch and Encinitas to grow even bigger.
It’s a race against the rain as Encinitas city workers try to stabilize a growing sinkhole on Lake Drive. Rainfall last Friday totaling 1.3 inches caused the pre-existing sinkhole on Lake Drive to expand.
Patricia Dunlap, who lives nearby said, “It’s getting bigger and bigger with more rains coming. It’s a scary thing.”
As the rainfall figures below show, San Diego County received heavy precipitation overnight and early Wednesday from a Pacific storm that was enhanced by moisture from the sub-tropics. The system also has kicked up 26 mph winds at San Diego International Airport. And it created fog that reduced the carrier Carl Vinson to a silhouette in San Diego Bay.
The National Weather Service said that an additional 0.50 inches to 0.70 inches could fall by Wednesday night.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
