Experts in government, agriculture, water management and the environment stressed during a U.S. Senate hearing on Wednesday the danger that droughts fueled by climate change pose in the West, including the Colorado River Basin. During a hearing before an Energy and Natural Resources Committee panel, witnesses said long-term solutions and an investment in water infrastructure […]
Extended droughts broken up by rainy years are part of a natural cycle here in California. Our state is once again in another dry period, with areas of Northern California already experiencing a significant impact. It is not a question of if, but when the Coachella Valley faces a similar fate. Thanks to decades of […]
The Santa Clara Valley Water District, which is the main wholesale water provider in Santa Clara County, on June 9 declared a drought emergency and called on all residents to reduce water use 15% from 2019 levels to preserve supplies. In August, the most recent month for which data is available, countywide water use dropped […]
Following nearly two years of litigation regarding Trump-era water policy, the federal government has until Oct. 14 to come up a plan to balance competing needs for the precious resource. A minute order from District Judge Dale A. Drozd from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California extended by two weeks […]
The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency Thursday advised the public to be cautious at beaches and avoid contact with tar balls. There have been increased reports of tar balls washing ashore on North County beaches, the agency reported. It’s unclear if the increased numbers are directly related to the oil spill off […]
Northern California receives more annual rain and snow than Southern California, with 75% of the state’s precipitation falling in the watersheds north of Sacramento. Yet amid a drought, it seems people in the north are conserving water by letting their lawns turn brown and taking shorter showers as districts and municipalities impose mandatory water-use restrictions, […]
California’s reservoirs are so dry from a historic drought that regulators warned Thursday it’s possible the state’s water agencies won’t get anything from them next year, a frightening possibility that could force mandatory restrictions for residents. This year, unusually hot, dry conditions caused nearly 80% of that water to either evaporate or be absorbed into […]
The first-ever official shortage on the Colorado River has intensified a debate over how to provide water for 40 million people across the Southwest and irrigate fields of thirsty crops like wheat, cotton and alfalfa. Few voices outside government are more influential than that of the Walton family, billionaire heirs to the Walmart Inc. fortune, […]
With California’s extreme drought persisting and reservoirs declining to new lows, state officials said they will consider imposing mandatory water restrictions if dryness continues this winter. Gov. Gavin Newsom called on Californians in July to voluntarily reduce water use by 15%, saying state water regulators would track progress toward that target and decide whether additional […]
The storage level in Lake Mendocino was on pace to drop below 15,000 acre feet on Saturday, meaning a quarter of the supply water managers had hoped to keep in store by Oct. 1 already has been released. The rapid shrinkage of the reservoir after two years of historic drought raises unsettling questions about the […]
