Tag Archive for: Water Supply
California Reservoirs Continue to Rise After Major Winter Storms
California has seen big changes in reservoir levels so far this rainy season and the trend is up for the foreseeable future.
At the beginning of the water year for 2020-2021, some major reservoirs, such as Lake Oroville, were at record lows. California’s well-known reliance on water capture and transport was under severe strain until a record October storm provided quick relief.
With Less Water on the Surface, How Long Can Arizona Rely on What’s Underground?
In Arizona, verdant fields of crops and a growing sprawl of suburban homes mean a sharp demand for water in the middle of the desert. Meeting that demand includes drawing from massive stores of water in underground aquifers. But some experts say they’re overtaxed, and shouldn’t be seen as a long-term solution for a region where the water supply is expected to shrink in the decades to come.
Opinion: The Importance of California’s Agricultural Water Supplies
Wendell Berry famously said that eating is an agricultural act. That makes all of us into farmers, and nowhere is that more true than in water terms.
For farming is irreducibly the process of mixing dirt, water and sunshine to bring forth from the ground what we need to eat. And no matter who you are, it’s true: somebody, somewhere, must devote a lot of water to the process of feeding you.
Plentiful Early-Season Sierra Snowpack Signals ‘Remarkable Turnaround’ Amid Historic Drought
A series of record-setting blizzards in recent weeks that buried roads, snarled holiday traffic and even temporarily shut down ski resorts have combined to offer California a glimpse of hope after two years of historic and punishing drought.
Snowpack across the Sierra Nevada appears far ahead of historical averages — an unexpected respite from years of bone-dry forecasts, leaving climatologists cautiously optimistic about drought conditions improving across the state.
California Snowpack Jumps to Nearly 160% of Average, Nourishing Hopes for Drought Recovery
After a year of historic drought and wildfire, California will go into 2022 cold and wet, with more snow on the ground than it has had at year’s end in a decade.
State water officials, who plan to conduct the first snow survey of the winter on Thursday, are expected to find the snowpack across California’s mountains measuring close to 160% of average for the date.
Otay Water District Celebrates 65 Years of Service to Southeast Communities
Sixty-five years ago in 1955, six South Bay community leaders met at Christie’s Restaurant in Chula Vista to discuss ways to import water into the southern part of San Diego County. The shared vision of a plumber, civil engineer, an attorney, a newspaper publisher, and two regional landowners created the framework and found seed funding for what became the Otay Water District.
Merced Irrigation Officials Scramble to Fix Groundwater Plan, As Fear of Restrictions Loom
Officials with Merced-area water agencies say they’re updating a key regional groundwater plan after the California Department of Water Resources said it didn’t go far enough to reach state water sustainability targets.
Large Water Pipeline in Kings County Raising Questions, Concerns
A large water pipeline being built near Lemoore in Kings County is raising eyebrows as much for its possible uses as for the name associated with its construction — John Vidovich.
Danger in Droughtsville: California’s Urban Water at Risk
Droughtsville, California, is in trouble.
Its water supply is endangered as multiple crises intensify: worsening droughts, competition for scarce supplies, sea level rise, groundwater contamination, earthquakes, wildfires and extreme weather. All of these factors, and more, threaten Droughtville’s ability to provide clean water to its residents.
The city is fictional, but the threats are not.
