By the Los Angeles Times, 4/12/22. Green lawns, old appliances and leaky pipes all consume significant amounts of California’s water, and researchers have calculated in a new study that the state could reduce water use by more than 30% in cities and suburbs by investing in measures to use water more efficiently.
By the San Diego Union-Tribune, 4/10/22. East County is moving closer to building a new wastewater treatment plant to recycle millions of gallons a day, amid a severe lack of rainfall that’s pushed the region into its driest period in a millennium. Officials with the local Helix Water District have announced they and other project leaders are more than halfway done designing a system to make the region less reliant on outside water. The governing body overseeing the project is scheduled to vote May 19 on a final price with contractors, a spokeswoman said.
By the San Luis Obispo Tribune, 4/11/22. Drought conditions and overpumping have caused the San Luis Obispo Valley groundwater basin’s water levels to plummet in the past year, according to a new report. The report, released in mid-March, outlines how much water was estimated to be pumped from the basin — comprised of the San Luis and Edna Valley subarea basins — in 2021 compared to previous years.
By the Los Angeles Times, 4/11/22. As severe drought persists in Northern California and southern Oregon, the federal Bureau of Reclamation announced Monday that farmers and ranchers will be allocated a limited amount of water in the Klamath River Basin this summer.
By Sierra Sun Times, 4/12/22. On April 8, DWR published the Bulletin 120 and Water Supply Index (WSI) forecast update. The Bulletin 120 is a key tool for water managers across the state to understand how the melting Sierra Nevada snowpack will reach streams, rivers and eventually California reservoirs. The forecast also has important legal impacts for water rights holders across the state, especially during this third year of drought.
By KDVR.com, 4/10/22. Record low snowpack levels continue to plaque the state of California as dry and unseasonably warm temperatures continue to persist. According to measurements taken by the U.S. Forest Service for the April survey, in the Klamath National Forest, the snowpack is at 16% of the historic average snow height (snow depth) and at 18% of the historic Snow Water Equivalent (“SWE”, measure of water content) across all survey points.
By Sierra Sun Times, 4/10/22. Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit to stop the Mendocino Redwood Company from logging nearly 1,000 acres of redwood forest in a California watershed that provides habitat for threatened northern spotted owls and fish. The lawsuit, filed on April 1, in Mendocino County Superior Court, says the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection approved the logging project even though it violates a voter-approved county ordinance intended to reduce fire danger and ignores spotted owl protections required by the California Environmental Quality Act.
By the Sacramento Bee, 4/11/22. PG&E Corp. cut a dramatic deal with prosecutors in six California counties Monday that enables it to sidestep criminal prosecution from two notorious wildfires. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. instead will pay tens of millions of dollars in fines, charitable contributions and other expenditures.
By Wired News, 4/12/22. Don Cameron, clad in dark green waders, sloshed through the pond that had formed in his orchards and vineyards. More of his crops were underwater than at any time since he began farming in California’s San Joaquin Valley—a quarter of the almonds, a third of the grapes, half the pistachios, and all of the walnuts and olives. Most of his neighbors would have been racing to pump out their fields; accepted agricultural wisdom holds that too much water will suffocate the roots. About an hour’s drive southeast, farmers were so desperate to hold the flood back that they dropped sandbags from rented helicopters. At Terranova, Cameron took an entirely different tack. He measured the depth of the drink and inspected the new growth on his vines and trees. Then he ordered more water to come.
By the Mercury News, 4/12/22. Concerned about diminishing water supplies this summer and a failure of the public to hit conservation targets, Santa Clara County’s largest water agency is moving forward with plans to ask the county’s 2 million residents to water landscaping no more than two days a week, down from the current three days.
By California Water News Daily, 4/11/22. Western Municipal Water District (Western) recently announced the approval of an agreement that will provide a connection to imported water for the Rubidoux Community Services District (Rubidoux) in partnership with four other regional water agencies.
The California Department of Water Resources (DWR), in collaboration with the State Water Board, is hosting a series of stakeholder meetings to inform the development of an abridged Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP) template as part of a comprehensive effort to assist small water systems.
Agenda includes Resolutions of Necessity for eminent domain proceedings in the Yolo Bypass Salmonid Habitat Restoration and Fish Passage (Big Notch)Project. Meeting will be in person or on Zoom.
Second meeting for the California Water Plan Policy Advisory Committee. Start: Wed 4 May 2022, 9:00 AM End: Wed 4 May 2022, 12:00 PM
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