Tag Archive for: Water

Mammoth Mountain received record snowfall in May 2019. Photo: Mammoth Mountain, Inc. California Reservoirs

Water Year 2020 Begins With Robust Reservoir Storage

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Last winter was a bountiful one in terms of water supply for California, but it’s still too early to tell whether 2020 will be as generous.

The 2018-19 winter was one for the record books, with above-average precipitation. Snow continued to fall in late-spring, with several inches or more in the Sierra Nevada and the Southern California mountains.

Ski seasons were extended into May and June, delighting skiers and resort operators.

The snowfall, and a boost from late-season storms, increased the northern Sierra snowpack in May 2019, which was “atypical,” according to Alexi Schnell, water resources specialist with the San Diego County Water Authority.

The statewide Sierra Nevada snowpack was 164% of normal, with the northern Sierra at 172% of normal on May 23, 2019.

Major California Reservoirs Above Historical Average on November 8, 2019

Most major California reservoirs are above their historical averages as of November 8, 2019. (Graphic: California DWR)

Water Year 2020 begins with robust reservoir storage

The 2019 water year (October 1 – September 30) pushed snowpack levels well-above average and swelled major reservoirs to above-average. There were more than 30 atmospheric rivers, with many making landfall in Northern California. The state’s snowpack on April 1 was 175% of average.

The California Department of Water Resources said that makes a great start to 2020.

“We start the new water year in a good place,” said Karla Nemeth, director of the DWR. “However, we all know too well that California’s weather and precipitation are highly variable. What we have today could be gone tomorrow.”

Above average rainfall in San Diego

While the biggest gains in precipitation over the past year were in Northern California, the San Diego region also benefited. Water Year 2019 ended with the region at 125% of average rainfall at Lindbergh Field. The rainfall helped increase supplies in regional reservoirs.

Schnell cautioned that the climatological cycle in California can bring several consecutive years of drought, like the 2015-17 period, which prompted mandatory water-use reductions statewide.

Above-average temperatures in California in 2019

NOAA reported on November 6 that California experienced above-average to much-above-average temperatures from January through October 2019. The average U.S. temperature during that same period was 55.5°F, (0.5 of a degree above 20th-century average) “ranking in the warmest third of the record,” according to NOAA.

NOAA reported that California has had above-to much-above-average temperatures from January to October 2019.

NOAA reported that California has had above-to much-above-average temperatures from January to October 2019. (Graphic: NOAA)

Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, or CW3E, just released an analysis that calculated the odds of water year 2020 reaching 100% of water year normal precipitation totals. The odds range from 20 to 40% of the Southwest reaching 100% of water year normal precipitation.

Odds of reaching normal precipitation for Water Year 2020. (Graphic: CW3E, Scripps, UC San Diego)

National Weather Service seasonal outlook for precipitation

The three-month seasonal precipitation outlook for November-December-January by the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center shows below-normal to normal precipitation in Central to Northern California and equal chances of below, near- or above-normal in southern California and much of the Southwest.

The November-December-January precipitation outlook from the National Weather Service.

The November-December-January precipitation outlook from the National Weather Service. (Graphic: NWS/NOAA)

“There will always be fluctuations based on weather and other factors, but the San Diego region continues to embrace water-use efficiency,” said Schnell. “The Water Authority and its 24 member agencies continue to increase San Diego County’s water supply reliability through supply diversification to provide a safe, reliable water supply to the region.”

Protecting California’s Clean Waters

/in , /by /San Gabriel Valley Tribuneby Grace Napolitano

Water is life. It is essential to the survival of all living things and has been at the center of my work for over three decades as a public servant. I did not select this cause arbitrarily, but because our communities were suffering, and no one was speaking out about safe, clean water supplies for residents of the San Gabriel Valley and greater east Los Angeles County.

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OPINION: A Listening California Should Consult The Real Experts On Water

/in , , /by /The Sun by Wayne Western, JR.

The Natural Resources Agency, California EPA, and California Department of Food and Agriculture want the public’s input on how best to manage and deal with an uncertain water supply in the future.

It seems every new administration in Sacramento must deal with water issues in California that never seem to get fixed.

Under the last administration, water rationing, increasing flows to the ocean, higher rates to customers, multi-billion dollar bonds, increased regulations, and a declaration of the human right to water obviously didn’t do the trick.

 

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Environment Report: Officials Worry Water Notices Are More Confusing Than Informative

/in , /by /Voice of San Diegoby Ry Rivard Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Two weeks ago, the San Diego County Water Authority notified thousands of customers across the region that San Diego’s main drinking water treatment plant wasn’t doing everything it was supposed to do to kill viruses and parasites.

We reported on this and rounded up other violations issued to local water agencies by state drinking water regulators.

A few water officials worried that the notices were likely to cause more alarm than necessary. Federal law requires that water agencies notify customers of drinking water issues.

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5 U.S. Cities That Potentially Could Run Out Of Water

/in , , /by /Asset Stewardshipby Ron Brackett

About 1,000 people arrive in Texas every day. The state’s population is expected to double by 2050 to more than 50 million people, according to the Associated Press. With drought a continual threat, water is a big worry in the Lone Star State. “The state is growing so fast that we’re constantly playing catch-up when it comes to building resilient water supplies,” Robert Mace, executive director of The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University, told AP. “The question is: When the bad times come will there be enough water for everybody?”

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In Los Angeles ‘Water Colony’, Tribes Fear A Parched Future

/in , , /by /Reuters by Laurie Goering

When the first white settlers arrived in California’s remote eastern Owens Valley, the name given to its indigenous tribes was Paiute, or “land of flowing water” in the local language. But for more than a century, the water in the valley has flowed in just one direction: toward Los Angeles, nearly 300 miles (480 km) away. In the early 1900s, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) quietly bought up broad swathes of ranchland and its associated water rights in the once-lush valley, fringed by snow-capped peaks.

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Marin Water Officials Heartened By Regional Supply Deal

/in , /by /Marin Independent Journal by Will Houston

Marin County water district officials expressed encouragement after an early agreement was reached that seeks to end longstanding conflicts of a major regional water supply 100 miles to the north. The agreement centers around the relicensing of the Potter Valley Project hydropower plant in Mendocino County, which holds a supply of water that affects fish, farmers and communities stretching from Marin to Humboldt counties. Sonoma Water, one of the main suppliers to Marin’s two water districts, draws water supplied by the power plant’s reservoirs.

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Thirsty Silicon Valley Water Agency Might Buy A Central Valley Farm. Why Agriculture Is Worried

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

Once again, a big thirsty metropolis is looking at buying Central Valley farmland with an eye toward boosting its water supplies. And once again, neighboring farmers are nervous about it. Silicon Valley’s main water agency, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, confirmed Wednesday that it’s considering buying a 5,200-acre Merced County ranch. The district would build a groundwater storage bank beneath the ranch as a buffer during drought conditions.

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OPINION: A Water Portfolio Planning Report Card For California

/in , /by /California Water Blogby Jay Lund

Governor Newsom recently called for a state portfolio of actions to manage water under rapidly changing climate and other conditions.  This post reviews the state of water portfolio planning in California today. In this complex changing world, major problems are rarely solved with a single solution or a single problem-solver. Portfolio-based planning and management tries to do many things in an organized and coordinated way, often wit

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Shasta Dam Expansion: California, Conservation Groups Sue Water District Over Plan

/in , /by /KQED News (Sacramento)by Craig Miller

The battle over Shasta Dam is escalating. This week, California’s attorney general and several fishing and conservation groups filed separate lawsuits to stop a controversial project to elevate the dam and expand the state’s largest reservoir, near Redding. “This project is unlawful,” wrote Attorney General Xavier Becerra in a statement announcing the state’s lawsuit. “

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