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

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

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.

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As Storm Hits California, What About Drought, Wildfires?

/in , /by /CalMattersby Emily Hoeven

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.

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

/in , , /by /The Desert Sunby Janet Wilson

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.

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

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Kathleen Ronayne

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.

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

/in , /by /CNBCby Tasia Jensen and Jennifer Liu

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.

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NOAA Winter Outlook Released: What It Means for California

/in , , /by /KTLAby Alix Martichoux

Most Californians don’t expect to see anything like a white Christmas, but this year, even a damp Christmas is looking unlikely. An update to the Climate Prediction Center’s official winter forecast shows a hot and dry season ahead for much of the Golden State.

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A Southern California Town Reckons With Its Disappearing Beaches

/in , /by /Marketplaceby Jill Replogle

On a sunny fall morning, waves crashed against a slope made up of huge boulders, or riprap, sending spray over the adjacent railroad tracks. These tracks, south of San Clemente State Beach in Southern California, are part of the only freight rail line that connects the Port of San Diego with the rest of the country. This is also the route of the popular Amtrak Surfliner that hugs the coast all the way up to San Luis Obispo in Central California.

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Western US Cities to Remove Decorative Grass Amid Drought

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Sam Metz and Kathleen Ronayne

A group of 30 agencies that supply water to homes and businesses throughout the western United States has pledged to rip up lots of decorative grass to help keep water in the over-tapped Colorado River. The agreement signed Tuesday by water agencies in Southern California, Phoenix and Salt Lake City and elsewhere illustrates an accelerating shift in the American West away from well-manicured grass that has long been a totem of suburban life, having taken root alongside streets, around fountains and between office park walkways.

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‘Pennies From Heaven’ Could Save Sweetwater Water Authority Customers Millions

/in , , /by /NBC San Diegoby Joe Little

They looked down at the water blasting through the Loveland Dam and called it “Pennies from Heaven.”

Sweetwater Water Authority engineers opened a valve at the base of the dam shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday.

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UC Expert Helps Save Water, Increase Supply

/in , , /by /Western Farm Pressby Saoimanu Sope

Earlier this year, officials in Southern California declared a water shortage emergency resulting in restrictions such as limiting outdoor water use to one day of the week.

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