Tag Archive for: Water

‘A Scary Scenario’: Water Bills in San Jose Headed for Costly, Decade-Long Spike Starting this Summer

/in , /by /The Mercury Newsby Maggie Angst

Residents across San Jose can expect to see their water bills increase in the coming months no matter what company they get their water from — a trend that could continue year after year for the next decade.

Santa Clara Valley Water District, the region’s wholesale water provider, plans to raise its rates by up to 9.6% each year for the next eight years, followed by an 8.7% jump the following two years. The monthly rate increases would equate to an approximate $4.50 to $5.10 increase per month for customers, according to the water district.

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Toxic Tap Water: California Needs $4.6 Billion to Fix Failing Infrastructure

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Monica Vaughan

A new state analysis estimates a $4.6 billion funding gap for water system infrastructure needed to ensure Californians have access to safe and affordable drinking water.

The State Water Resources Control Board this month released the first-ever drinking water needs assessment, showing that approximately 620 public water systems and 80,000 domestic wells are at-risk of failing to provide a sufficient amount of drinking water that meets basic health standards.

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Opinion: Failure to Prepare Deepens the Pain from Dry Years

/in , /by /AgAlertby Danny Merkley and Chris Scheuring

It’s that time of year, when we find out it’s that kind of year. We appear at the doorstep of a “critically dry year,” and most reservoir levels are significantly below average. Those conditions bring painfully to mind the awful drought years of 2014 and 2015, and threaten water supplies for California farms and cities, and for the protected fish species that must also get by in these lean years. For direct diverters, the State Water Resources Control Board recently sent letters to 40,000 water right holders of record, asking them to start planning for potential water supply shortages later this year, and identifying actions water users can take to increase drought resilience.

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Cadiz Faces New Suit Over Water Pipeline

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Business Journalby Howard Fine

Another legal challenge has been launched against a project by downtown-based water infrastructure company Cadiz Inc. to pump and transport water from its desert aquifer to connect with existing water conveyance systems. This latest lawsuit was filed March 23 against the Bureau of Land Management by the Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice and the Sierra Club.

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The Water Fight Over the Shrinking Colorado River

/in , , /by /BBC Newsby Paige Sutherland

Scientists have been predicting for years that the Colorado River would continue to deplete due to global warming and increased water demands, but according to new studies it’s looking worse than they thought.

That worries rancher Marsha Daughenbaugh, 68, of Steamboat Springs, who relies on the water from the Colorado River to grow feed for her cattle.

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Newsom Rejects Valley Lawmakers’ Request for Statewide Water Emergency Declaration

/in , , /by /GV Wireby Bill McEwen

With California in drought conditions amid the third-driest precipitation totals in state history, Valley lawmakers want Gov. Gavin Newsom to take immediate action.

On Wednesday, a bipartisan group asked Newsom to declare a statewide water emergency. The governor’s office responded by saying Newsom will take action “if it becomes necessary.”

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Study: Drought-Breaking Rains More Rare, Erratic in US West

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Matthew Brown

Rainstorms grew more erratic and droughts much longer across most of the U.S. West over the past half-century as climate change warmed the planet, according to a sweeping government study released Tuesday that concludes the situation is worsening.

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How I Got Beyond the Concrete and Learned to Love my Watershed

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sammy Roth

A year ago, when stay-at-home orders were a newly disorienting fact of life, I started taking long walks through my neighborhood on L.A.’s Westside. Wandering south from Palms into Culver City, I realized I live near a huge concrete channel — a creek, trapped in place — with a bike path along the water, and a view of oil pumpjacks rising and falling atop the Baldwin Hills. There were beautiful murals, too, showing a healthy, thriving waterway. They were hashtagged #KnowYourWatershed. And the more I admired them, the more I realized that I did not, in fact, know my watershed, despite growing up not far from here.

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Opinion: California Needs Comprehensive Groundwater Management

/in , /by /CalMattersby Jeanette Howard, Melissa M. Rohde and Barton H. Thompson

While California’s landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act promised comprehensive protection of the state’s groundwater, significant gaps remain in its coverage. The Department of Water Resources now has an opportunity to reduce or eliminate those gaps and should seize the moment. We know all Californians will experience another year of water shortages and warmer, drier conditions that will require conservation and which are likely to fuel destructive wildfires in our forests and around our communities.

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Marin Municipal Water District Proposes Mandatory Conservation

/in , /by /Marinijby Will Houston

The Marin Municipal Water District is proposing mandatory conservation rules for the first time since 1988 in response to record-low rainfall levels akin to those of the notorious 1976-77 drought. The proposed ordinance would require customers to limit outdoor watering to one day per week starting May 1 and adhere to other restrictions. The district board of directors plans to vote on the ordinance on April 20. The district has received just 20 inches of rain this year, its second-lowest amount in 143 years of records. The lowest was 18 inches in 1924.

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