Posts

Regional Water Agencies Boost Efforts to Fight Hunger

/in , /by

San Diego – An effort to bolster food bank supplies in San Diego County is getting a helping hand from the region’s public water agencies.

The San Diego County Water Authority and its member agencies are supporting a virtual food drive in partnership with the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank. The campaign allows donors to select and purchase items such as canned meats, vegetables, fruits, peanut butter and oatmeal for distribution to needy residents. To donate, go to https://bit.ly/SDWaterAgencyFoodDrive. 

Download File

Droughts Exposed California’s Thirst for Groundwater. Now, the State Hopes to Refill its Aquifers

/in , , /by /Science Magazine (American Association for the Advancement of Science) by Erik Stokstad

California’s Central Valley — one of the richest agricultural regions in the world — is sinking. During a recent intense drought, from 2012 to 2016, parts of the valley sank as much as 60 centimeters per year. “It isn’t like an earthquake; it doesn’t happen, boom,” says Claudia Faunt, a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. But it is evidence of a slow-motion disaster, the result of the region’s insatiable thirst for groundwater.

Full Story

Study: Warming Makes US West Megadrought Worst in Modern Age

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Seth Borenstein

A two-decade-long dry spell that has parched much of the western United States is turning into one of the deepest megadroughts in the region in more than 1,200 years, a new study found.

And about half of this historic drought can be blamed on man-made global warming, according to a study in Thursday’s journal Science.

Scientists looked at a nine-state area from Oregon and Wyoming down through California and New Mexico, plus a sliver of southwestern Montana and parts of northern Mexico. They used thousands of tree rings to compare a drought that started in 2000 and is still going — despite a wet 2019 — to four past megadroughts since the year 800.

Full Story

Opinion: California Water Policies Inhibit Food Production by Valley Farmers

/in , , /by /CalMattersby William Bourdeau

Over the past several weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic has created images Americans never expected to see in this country: Empty supermarket shelves and people lined up outside of markets waiting to enter to purchase food.

Full Story

RMWD Implements Plan to Dissolve Some Untreated Water Delivery

/in , , /by /Ramona Sentinelby Julie Gallant

In an effort to save costs and reduce the impacts of declining untreated water sales, the Ramona Municipal Water District (RMWD) recently approved of implementing a three-phase strategy for converting from an untreated water system to treated, and in some cases, recycled water systems.

Full Story

Opinion: For California’s Water, a Tale of Two Letters

/in , /by /The Sunby Wayne Western

Two weeks after the State of California rolled out its plan that spells the end of coordinated distribution of the state’s water resources from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California Democrats in Congress have finally spoken out, sort of.

Full Story

Orange County’s Water Importer Backs Off Proposals After Widespread Opposition

/in , , /by /The Orange County Registerby Martin Wisckol

Facing objections from water districts throughout Orange County, the agency that sells imported water to those districts has backed off — at least temporarily — on two proposals that critics said overstepped its mission and the appropriate bounds of its authority.

Full Story

Wet Spring a Boon to Water Supply, Native Plants

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Robert Krier Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

In San Diego County and across California, it’s been an awesome April for precipitation.

The Sierra snow pack, although still much smaller than normal for this point in spring, has partially made up what had been a huge shortfall just a few weeks ago. And just about every place from the desert to the coast has benefited from a substantial soaking.

Last week’s record-breaking storm lifted San Diego County well above normal precipitation for the rainfall season. The city of San Diego has had its wettest spring in decades, and it has already recorded 3 more inches of rain since Oct. 1 than it normally gets in an entire year.

Full Story

More Drought Predicted for Western U.S. Amid Low River Flows

/in , , /by /The Salt Lake Tribuneby Susan Montoya Bryan

The mighty Rio Grande is looking less mighty as U.S. forecasters predict spring flows will be less than half of average — or worse — and that signals potential trouble for the already stressed waterway.

Full Story

12-Hour Shifts, Sleeping in RVs: Carlsbad Desalination Plant Gets New Crew

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby City News Service

A 10-person crew is in the midst of a three-week shelter-in-place shift at the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant, relieving an initial crew that self-quarantined on site for three weeks to continue producing clean drinking water for county residents amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Starting March 19, the first crew of 10 “mission-critical employees” was stationed at the plant to continue operations, working two 12-hour shifts each day and sleeping in RVs in the plant parking lot, according to Poseidon Water, which manages the plant. Food and other supplies were delivered on a daily basis.

The crew was relieved last Thursday and the current crew will remain at the plant until April 30.

Full Story