Tag Archive for: California

Sweeping California Water Conservation Rules Could Force Big Cuts in Some Areas

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith, Ian James, Sean Greene

With California facing a hotter and drier future — punctuated by bouts of extreme weather — state officials are moving forward with a new framework for urban water use that could require some suppliers to make cuts of 20% or more as soon as 2025.

Many of the suppliers facing the harshest cuts are located in the Central Valley and in the southeastern part of the state — large, hot and primarily rural areas that have historically struggled to meet conservation targets.

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El Niño is Coming This Winter. The Question is, Will It Be a Whopper?

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Phil Diehl

San Diego County’s fragile shoreline and vulnerable beachfront properties could be in for a rough winter, according to the California Coastal Commission, the National Weather Service and some top San Diego scientists.

“We are looking at an emerging El Niño event,” staff geologist Joseph Street told the Coastal Commission at its meeting Wednesday in Eureka.

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New California Law Bolsters Groundwater Recharge as Strategic Defense Against Climate Change

/in , , /by /Water Education Foundation / Western Waterby Nick Cahill

A new but little-known change in California law designating aquifers as “natural infrastructure” promises to unleash a flood of public funding for projects that increase the state’s supply of groundwater.

The change is buried in a sweeping state budget-related law, enacted in July, that also makes it easier for property owners and water managers to divert floodwater for storage underground.

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As Colorado River Shrinks, California Farmers Urge ‘One-Dam Solution’

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

For years, environmentalists have argued that the Colorado River should be allowed to flow freely across the Utah-Arizona border, saying that letting water pass around Glen Canyon Dam — and draining the giant Lake Powell reservoir — would improve the shrinking river’s health.

Now, as climate change increases the strains on the river, this controversial proposal is receiving support from some surprising new allies: influential farmers in California’s Imperial Valley.

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Will Northern California See Another Stormy Winter This Year? Here’s What Experts Predict

/in , , /by /The Sacramento Bee by Hanh Truong

This summer’s heat seems to be easing down as temperatures decline to the 70s and 80s , a reminder that seasons are changing and winter is coming. In June, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association officially declared an El Niño, predicting that it will strengthen in the northern hemisphere this winter. But it’s too soon to know exactly what this winter will look like for California.

 

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California is Working on Solutions to Worsening Climate Change. Will They Be Enough?

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Dorany Pineda

In the opening chapter of “The Ministry for the Future,” science-fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson details a calamitous heat wave that kills almost all the residents of a small town. In another chapter, he imagines a catastrophic flood that wipes out Los Angeles.

The late Octavia Butler described a Southern California reeling from years of drought in “Parable of the Sower,” and Paolo Bacigalupi writes about a near-future Southwest that’s also been devastated by drought.

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Opinion: Why Assuming the Next Storm Will Be Relatively Mild Like Hilary is Dubious and Dangerous

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune

The arrival of Tropical Storm Hilary in the region on Sunday was an ordeal or a huge inconvenience for many people — especially those who struggled with flooding in Tijuana, air travelers dealing with flight cancellations and delays, and drivers using Interstate 8 who only learned the freeway was closed in the Ocotillo area when they came upon massive lines of cars and 18-wheelers.

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California Seeks to Introduce Purified Wastewater to Drinking Supplies

/in , , /by /Spectrum News 1 by Jeremy Lindenfield

Earlier this summer, state water officials introduced draft regulations that, if passed, would allow purified wastewater to be directly introduced to drinking supplies.

Currently, purified wastewater has to be introduced to environmental buffers like groundwater aquifers before being added to drinking supplies, but the new regulations would allow treated water to bypass this step after undergoing additional purification processes.

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I Love My Lawn. Can I Keep It Without Feeling Guilty?

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby David Wharton

Rip it all out, she said. Every blade of grass, frontyard and back. As soon as my wife heard the city was offering a rebate, she wanted to replace our lawns with bark mulch and bunchgrass.

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As Threat of El Niño Winter Looms, Newsom Signs Order to Hasten Levee Repairs

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith, Ian James, Susanne Rust

As forecasters sound the alarm about another potentially wet California winter fueled by El Niño, Gov. Gavin Newsom is taking urgent but controversial measures to prevent a repeat of the devastating floods that befell the state earlier this year.

An executive order signed by the governor this month will streamline levee repairs and debris removal to help protect and prepare communities for another potential inundation.

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