TOP STORIES
The San Francisco Chronicle, 3/15/2022
With a record dry start to 2022, Californians have begun using more water - not less, like the governor has asked for - leaving the state well short of its drought-time conservation goal of 15% savings.
State data released Tuesday shows urban water consumption across California rose 2.6% in January, compared to the same month in 2020. Some cities and towns, though, increased water use nearly 50% in January. The state’s cumulative water savings since July, when Gov. Gavin Newsom first called for voluntary reductions, was 6.4%, less than half of what was requested.
Courthouse News, 3/15/2022
FRESNO, Calif. (CN) — In a long-running dispute over water rights in California, a federal judge will allow a pair of challenged Trump-era biological opinions to remain in effect over the next three years with added safeguards that some groups complain fail to ensure the survival of endangered fish.
In December 2021, a coalition of fishing industry and environmental groups asked a judge to temporarily block agencies from relying on two “scientifically unsound and fatally flawed” biological opinions issued during the Trump administration in 2019.
WATER SUPPLY & QUALITY
Cal Matters, 3/16/2022
California is going in the wrong direction when it comes to addressing the state’s persistent drought. Urban residents used 2.6% more water in January 2022 than they did in January 2020, state water officials reported Tuesday — despite Gov. Gavin Newsom last year urging all Californians to voluntarily cut their water use by 15% and declaring a statewide drought emergency.
CLIMATE & WEATHER
CBS 13 (Sacramento), 3/15/2022
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — After 66 consecutive days without significant rain, Northern California got a break Tuesday.
It’s a different story than what the area saw in October, November and December with an atmospheric river bringing record rain and flooding along creeks and streams to the area.
Bloomberg, 3/15/2022
California’s demand for electricity could nearly double by 2045 as the state phases out gasoline-guzzling automobiles and weans buildings off natural gas.
Load on the state’s grid could rise 60% to 90% as a flood of electric vehicles hits roads and people swap out gas-burning stoves and hot water heaters for electric ones, according to a study prepared for California regulators by the consulting firm Energy and Environmental Economics Inc.
CALIFORNIA WATERSHEDS
ABC 23 (Bakersfield), 3/14/2022
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Groundwater and surface water serve as lifelines to communities, agriculture, and ecosystems here in California.
That is why it’s important that our local farmers and ranchers have sufficient water supply as drought concerns continue to linger.
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
Politico, 3/15/2022
The Biden administration has unveiled ambitious plans to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfires that have plagued the West in recent summers. The “Great Resignation” has thrown a serious wrench in that strategy.
The U.S. Forest Service has had chronic staffing shortages for over a decade. But amid rising wages and a fierce competition for labor across the U.S. economy, the agency faces a particularly bleak hiring picture, even as it looks to add an untold number of forest management staff (the Forest Service has declined to estimate just how many people it needs to hire) — to fight wildfires in what could be another tough season, carry out an aggressive new land management plan and continue regular forest management and surveys.
AGENCIES, PROGRAMS, PEOPLE
Maven’s Notebook, 3/16/2022
Judge OKs plan for water projects pending review of Trump-era policies; Californians used more water as state braces for another dry year; Drought is a growing threat to Central Valley farms, food, and people; Judge rejects challenge to extension of SWP contracts; and more …
EVENTS
Agenda includes the Big Notch Project,Water Storage Investment Program, and the Six-Year Drought Workplan. Start: Wed 16 Mar 2022, 9:30 AM. End: Wed 16 Mar 2022, 1:30 PM
By the Water Education Foundation. A one-day workshop taught by some of California's leading policy and legal experts providing a deeper understanding of California water. Fri Apr 8, 2022, 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM PDT
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