A California lawmaker is dramatically raising the stakes in water management, proposing fines that could reach thousands of dollars a day and public shaming of people who use too much. Legislation introduced this week would require the state’s 411 urban water districts to set local limits on household water consumption during drought emergencies.
Cold weather and heavy snowfall this winter may mean the end of drought in 2016 — maybe. According to the first water supply outlook report for the year — released by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service — all basins in Oregon are experiencing above-normal snowpack levels, an estimated 125 percent of average. That’s […]
The Vallecitos Water District is now receiving high-quality desalinated water directly from the Claude “Bud” Lewis Desalination Plant in Carlsbad, California. The direct connection pipe, located at the corner of Pawnee and Cherokee Streets in San Marcos, will deliver as much as 4,083 acre feet of desalinated water annually to Vallecitos’ distribution system. This equates […]
The San Diego River is overflowing from this week’s El Niño-driven downpours. Four days of relentless rain have transformed the river to a raging torrent at times, flooding roads and parking lots across Mission Valley. The U.S. Geological Survey is closely monitoring conditions with a small, boat-like instrument called an acoustic Doppler profiler, […]
Scott Slater has a plan. It is not a popular plan, but he wants to pump 814 billion gallons of water from under the Mojave Desert to Los Angeles and other drought-stricken communities in southern California, and make more than $2 billion doing so. “Yes, it’s quite a lot of money,” Slater, the 57-year-old […]
The latest storm to hit the Sierra Nevada region dropped a foot of snow on ski resorts around Lake Tahoe on Wednesday, with a couple of inches in the valleys and freezing fog that caused dozens of crashes on slippery roads from Reno to Fallon about 60 miles east. The only potentially serious injury […]
Lawmaker Wants To Throw the Checkbook at California Water Hogs
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /San Jose Mercury Newsby By Denis CuffA California lawmaker is dramatically raising the stakes in water management, proposing fines that could reach thousands of dollars a day and public shaming of people who use too much. Legislation introduced this week would require the state’s 411 urban water districts to set local limits on household water consumption during drought emergencies.
Oregon On Pace to Reverse Drought Designation
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Wallowa County Chieftain (Wallowa County, Ore.)by By Kathleen EllynCold weather and heavy snowfall this winter may mean the end of drought in 2016 — maybe. According to the first water supply outlook report for the year — released by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service — all basins in Oregon are experiencing above-normal snowpack levels, an estimated 125 percent of average. That’s […]
Vallecitos Water District Delivers Desalinated Water
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water WorldThe Vallecitos Water District is now receiving high-quality desalinated water directly from the Claude “Bud” Lewis Desalination Plant in Carlsbad, California. The direct connection pipe, located at the corner of Pawnee and Cherokee Streets in San Marcos, will deliver as much as 4,083 acre feet of desalinated water annually to Vallecitos’ distribution system. This equates […]
Tracking San Diego River Levels during El Niño Storms
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /KPBSby By Susan MurphyThe San Diego River is overflowing from this week’s El Niño-driven downpours. Four days of relentless rain have transformed the river to a raging torrent at times, flooding roads and parking lots across Mission Valley. The U.S. Geological Survey is closely monitoring conditions with a small, boat-like instrument called an acoustic Doppler profiler, […]
The $2.4 Billion Plan to Water California
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Wiredby By Draining the MojaveScott Slater has a plan. It is not a popular plan, but he wants to pump 814 billion gallons of water from under the Mojave Desert to Los Angeles and other drought-stricken communities in southern California, and make more than $2 billion doing so. “Yes, it’s quite a lot of money,” Slater, the 57-year-old […]
Storm Drops Another Foot Of Snow Around Tahoe; Many Crashes
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Associated Press (As published by CBS Sacramento)The latest storm to hit the Sierra Nevada region dropped a foot of snow on ski resorts around Lake Tahoe on Wednesday, with a couple of inches in the valleys and freezing fog that caused dozens of crashes on slippery roads from Reno to Fallon about 60 miles east. The only potentially serious injury […]