Tag Archive for: southern California

How is San Diego Doing in This Drought?

A drought emergency has been declared in Southern California amid dwindling water supplies in the region. NBC 7’s Audra Stafford has details on how San Diego County fairs in this predicament.

All of Southern California Under Drought Emergency, According to Metropolitan Water District

Outside of Mark Larson’s home are 12 acres of blossoming Bird of Paradise. Flowers have grown on his farm since the 1960s. “Once you get used to the country and all this open space it’s hard to go back to the city,” said Larson. However, he says agriculture is disappearing from San Diego County, due in part to the cost of and access to water.

Brown and Caldwell to Help Replace Southern Calif. Water Pipeline

Brown and Caldwell, an engineering and construction services firm, announced that it has been hired by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to design a sectional replacement of a critical Southern California water supply pipeline, the Rialto Pipeline. The Rialto Pipeline, constructed in 1972, is approximately 30 miles long with a diameter ranging from 96 inches to 144 inches.

Is California’s Drought Over? Water Providers Still Predict Shortages Next Year

December has delivered a powerful punch of storms to California. But the wet weather comes with a dry dose of reality: The state’s largest reservoirs remain badly depleted, projected water deliveries are low, wells are drying up, and the Colorado River’s water, already diminished by a megadrought, is severely overallocated. Throughout California, urban water managers are bracing for a fourth consecutive drought year.

Storm Blankets Sierra Nevada in Heavy Snow, Brings Rain Across California

A storm blanketed the Sierra Nevada in heavy snow and soaked much of California with rain, bringing a wet start of winter weather after three years of record drought. The storm brought 3 to 4 feet of fresh snow in parts of the Sierra Nevada over the weekend. From the San Francisco Bay Area to Southern California, between 1 inch and 4 inches of rain fell in many areas.

Drought-Ravaged L.A. Seeks Surprising Source of Water: A Contaminated Superfund Site

As drought and climate change ravage California’s once-reliable supply of drinking water, officials in Los Angeles are setting their sights on a relatively new, almost untapped resource for the city’s 4 million residents: the Superfund site in their own backyard. Nearly 70% of the city’s 115 wells in the San Fernando Valley groundwater basin — the largest such basin under the purview of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power — have been sitting unused for decades after dangerous contaminants seeped into the aquifer.

As Storm Hits California, What About Drought, Wildfires?

Many Californians will wake up this morning to a relatively rare phenomenon: Rain. Today, the freezing-cold temperatures and high-powered winds that have gripped much of the state this week are set to give way to a good old-fashioned winter storm: Both Northern and Southern California are expecting rain, strong winds and heavy mountain snow, with an avalanche warning in effect through Friday for backcountry areas in the Sierra Nevada.

IID Approves Possible $250 Million Salton Sea Deal With Feds, State

Southern California’s powerful Imperial Irrigation District voted late Tuesday 3-2 to ink an agreement with federal and state officials that could yield as much as $250 million for Salton Sea restoration projects in exchange for not using another 250,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water. An acre-foot is enough to supply about two households.

Drying California Lake to Get $250M in US Drought Funding

The federal government said Monday it will spend $250 million over four years on environmental cleanup and restoration work around a drying Southern California lake that’s fed by the depleted Colorado River. The future of the Salton Sea, and who is financially responsible for it, has been a key issue in discussions over how to prevent a crisis in the Colorado River.

On the Job: What It Takes to Earn $70,000 a Year as a Water Operator in California

The promise of job security and work-life balance drew Fernando Gonzalez to become a water operator. Now that he’s worked as one for a few years, he sees his job as much more than fining people for using too much water. On a given day, he’s patrolling neighborhoods spanning from farmland to Malibu mansions, looking for evidence that residents are wasting water.