Opinion: Why California will still have a water shortage no matter how much it rains this year
1 year, 9 months ago

Opinion: Why California will still have a water shortage no matter how much it rains this year

LA Times  

A sunrise view of flooded fields in Yolo County in January, part of the state’s efforts to recharge its groundwater basins. During a winter of blizzards, floods and drought-ending downpours, it’s easy to forget that California suffers from chronic water scarcity — the long-term decline of the state’s total available fresh water. The gap is filled by groundwater, which has for a century underpinned California’s water resources — in particular, during drought, when it provides 60% or more of agriculture’s irrigation water supply. It is the long-term disappearance of groundwater that is the major driver behind the state’s steady decline in total available fresh water, which hydrologists define as snowpack, surface water, soil moisture and groundwater combined. Groundwater, even in its depleted state, is California’s most valuable water asset, and the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act is the state’s only hope to protect it.

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History of this topic

Landmark government report calls for national mobilization to curb groundwater depletion
2 weeks, 6 days ago

Landmark government report calls for national mobilization to curb groundwater depletion

LA Times  

Even as groundwater levels have rapidly declined in farming regions from California’s Central Valley to the High Plains, the federal government has mostly taken a hands-off approach to the chronic depletion of the nation’s aquifers. In the western U.S. groundwater resources are being depleted at alarming rates, mostly from agricultural withdrawal.” They said that groundwater, which sustains communities, food production …

Southern California water agency votes to keep funding state tunnel plans
4 weeks, 1 day ago

Southern California water agency votes to keep funding state tunnel plans

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — A Southern California water agency has approved key funding needed to support plans for a giant underground tunnel that would reroute a big part of the state’s water supply. State officials say the project is critical to help shore up water supplies in the nation’s most populous state due to aging infrastructure and climate-change induced shifts in …

Groundwater pumping is causing land to sink at record rate in San Joaquin Valley
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Groundwater pumping is causing land to sink at record rate in San Joaquin Valley

LA Times  

For decades, a costly problem has been worsening beneath California’s San Joaquin Valley: the land has been sinking, driven by the chronic overpumping of groundwater. The study by Stanford University researchers is the first to quantify the full extent of land subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley, one of the world’s major farming regions, during the last two decades. In …

Amid controversy, California and the Biden administration are preparing new water plans
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Amid controversy, California and the Biden administration are preparing new water plans

LA Times  

The Biden and Newsom administrations will soon adopt new rules for California’s major water delivery systems that will determine how much water may be pumped from rivers while providing protections for imperiled fish species. Nemeth said state officials are working with federal partners to ensure the rules governing operations of both systems “are aligned to benefit listed and endangered fish …

Opinion: Does California stand a chance of preserving our precious groundwater?
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Opinion: Does California stand a chance of preserving our precious groundwater?

LA Times  

One of the most consequential environmental laws in state history turned 10 years old last month. In the early days of SGMA, conversations colleagues and I had with growers throughout the valley made it clear groundwater decline was as much a land problem as a water one: We needed a robust transition plan for the hundreds of thousands of acres …

Decision to reduce water flows in California’s delta sparks debate over imperiled fish
3 months, 1 week ago

Decision to reduce water flows in California’s delta sparks debate over imperiled fish

LA Times  

State and federal officials have decided to curtail additional water flows intended to support endangered fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta this fall — a controversial step that is being praised by major California water districts but condemned by environmental groups as a significant weakening of protections for imperiled fish. A coalition of environmental and fishing groups said that …

Letters to the Editor: How California’s big farms kill effective groundwater management
3 months, 1 week ago

Letters to the Editor: How California’s big farms kill effective groundwater management

LA Times  

Orchards and farmland at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County are seen in 2019. To the editor: California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act was enacted in 2014. Ten years later, wells in the San Joaquin Valley are still going dry, water quality is poor, and land subsidence is still happening. Large-scale agriculture is more than satisfied …

A decade after signing of California groundwater law, major challenges remain
3 months, 3 weeks ago

A decade after signing of California groundwater law, major challenges remain

LA Times  

Water flows from a well to irrigate an orchard in Visalia in 2021. The state’s approach to intervention, he said, would saddle growers with an estimated $10 million annually in pumping fees, and would bring rapid and “extreme” restrictions on water use. “Under SGMA, local agencies are responsible for the sustainable management of their groundwater basins,” said Edward Ortiz, a …

State Water Project supplies could fall up to 23% within 20 years due to climate change
5 months, 1 week ago

State Water Project supplies could fall up to 23% within 20 years due to climate change

LA Times  

Climate change threatens to dramatically shrink the amount of water California can deliver over the next 20 years and could reduce supplies available from the State Water Project by up to 23%, according to new projections released Wednesday by Gov. Such a loss in the State Water Project’s water delivery capacity, if not addressed, could lead to major shortages for …

Amid extreme heat, California adopts long-term water-saving targets for cities
6 months ago

Amid extreme heat, California adopts long-term water-saving targets for cities

LA Times  

Welcome to Boiling Point. of California Water Agencies, which represents more than 470 public agencies, said the new rules will be challenging to meet and will require a “whole statewide effort to change the way that we use water in California.” She said the additional five years will be important for achieving the long-term goals. One National Weather Service meteorologist …

California adopts sweeping statewide water conservation framework
6 months ago

California adopts sweeping statewide water conservation framework

LA Times  

After years of deliberation, California water officials have adopted landmark rules that will guide future water use and conservation in the state. “To do this well and to do this right — and to achieve all of those long-term goals that we really desire as a community — the additional five years that the state water board provided is really …

A wet year boosted California’s groundwater, but not enough to address long-term declines
8 months ago

A wet year boosted California’s groundwater, but not enough to address long-term declines

LA Times  

After years of pervasive declines, groundwater levels rose significantly in much of California last year, boosted by historic wet weather and the state’s expanding efforts to replenish depleted aquifers. The state’s aquifers gained an estimated 8.7 million acre-feet of groundwater — nearly double the total storage capacity of Shasta Lake — during the 2023 water year that ended Sept. 30, …

L.A.’s water supplies are in good shape. But is the city ready for the next drought?
8 months, 3 weeks ago

L.A.’s water supplies are in good shape. But is the city ready for the next drought?

LA Times  

California’s second wet winter in a row has left L.A.’s water supplies in good shape, and the city has used its reprieve from drought to make progress on water-saving infrastructure projects. After the state’s final snow survey of the season, officials with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power announced that Eastern Sierra snowpack is measuring 103% of normal, …

Opinion: California has to conserve water. Why is Sacramento dragging its heels?
9 months, 1 week ago

Opinion: California has to conserve water. Why is Sacramento dragging its heels?

LA Times  

State law set in motion a process of setting of standards for indoor and outdoor water use that utilities and consumers can meet in flexible ways. That legislation established a framework for creating long-term water-use efficiency standards for urban water suppliers that would govern indoor use, allowable water loss and outdoor use. Because the water board’s latest plan for implementing …

Groundwater depletion is worsening worldwide. Parts of California are suffering rapid declines
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Groundwater depletion is worsening worldwide. Parts of California are suffering rapid declines

LA Times  

From California’s Central Valley to the croplands of Iran, groundwater depletion has accelerated over the last four decades across the world’s arid food-producing regions. Groundwater levels have rapidly declined in many areas, while some aquifers' levels have risen since 2000 Median change in groundwater depth per year, in meters Deeper Shallower >1 1 0.1 0 0.1 1 >1 Reno NEVADA …

California’s water-saving plan slammed as costly, complicated and unrealistic
11 months, 3 weeks ago

California’s water-saving plan slammed as costly, complicated and unrealistic

LA Times  

In a scathing review, advisors to the state Legislature have found that California’s proposed regulations for urban water conservation would be costly, overly complicated and difficult to implement. But the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office said in its report that the regulations, as proposed by the State Water Resources Control Board, would create challenges for water suppliers, “in many cases without …

Drought-prone California OKs new rules for turning wastewater directly into drinking water
1 year ago

Drought-prone California OKs new rules for turning wastewater directly into drinking water

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When a toilet is flushed in California, the water can end up in a lot of places: An ice skating rink near Disneyland, ski slopes around Lake Tahoe, farmland in the Central Valley. California regulators on Tuesday approved new rules to let water agencies recycle wastewater and put it right back into the pipes that carry drinking …

Inside California’s plan to transform sewage into drinkable water
1 year ago

Inside California’s plan to transform sewage into drinkable water

LA Times  

It’s Tuesday, Dec. 19. California’s State Water Resources Control Board is set to approve new regulations today that would allow suppliers to begin treating wastewater and providing it to households across the state. “The new rules represent a major milestone in California’s efforts to stretch supplies by recycling more of the water that flows down drains,” my colleague Ian James …

California Gov. Gavin Newsom advances water tunnel project amid opposition from environmental groups
1 year, 1 month ago

California Gov. Gavin Newsom advances water tunnel project amid opposition from environmental groups

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A long-sought and disputed project in drought-prone California aimed at capturing more water during heavy rain storms reached a key milestone on Friday when Gov. The Sierra Club said in a statement that the tunnel’s construction and operation would “cause mass environmental destruction for Delta communities and ecosystems.” Scott Artis, executive director of the Golden State Salmon …

California cities and farms will get 10% of requested state water supplies when 2024 begins
1 year, 1 month ago

California cities and farms will get 10% of requested state water supplies when 2024 begins

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California water agencies serving 27 million people will get 10% of the water they requested from state supplies to start 2024 due to a relatively dry fall, even though the state’s reservoirs are in good shape, state officials said Friday. “California’s water year is off to a relatively dry start,” Karla Nemeth, director of the Department of …

Thousands of California wells are at risk of drying up despite landmark water law
1 year, 3 months ago

Thousands of California wells are at risk of drying up despite landmark water law

LA Times  

Michael Torres gestures toward his dry well in the unincorporated Fresno County community of Tombstone Territory in August 2022. “I hope that there’s a conversation around how we can support particularly rural and lower-income communities that will be impacted by declining groundwater levels.” The researchers said contingency plans could include securing funds to lower people’s pumps, drill new wells or …

Sweeping California water conservation rules could force big cuts in some areas
1 year, 4 months ago

Sweeping California water conservation rules could force big cuts in some areas

LA Times  

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. “That legislation, and the board’s regulation, really mark a turning point and a major improvement …

Winter storms boost Central Valley water supplies, but aquifer levels remain depleted
1 year, 7 months ago

Winter storms boost Central Valley water supplies, but aquifer levels remain depleted

LA Times  

Snow geese gather on a flooded farm near Dunnigan, in Yolo County, in January. The historic winter storms that filled California’s reservoirs and covered the Sierra Nevada with snow have brought a major boost to water supplies across Central Valley watersheds — an increase that measurements from NASA satellites show is the largest year-over-year gain in more than two decades …

California farmers flood fields to boost groundwater basin
1 year, 9 months ago

California farmers flood fields to boost groundwater basin

Associated Press  

A field that has long grown tomatoes, peppers and onions now looks like a wind-whipped ocean as farmer Don Cameron seeks to capture the runoff from a freakishly wet year in California to replenish the groundwater basin that is his only source to water his crops. “We’re doing our part to protect communities downstream, but we’re also putting the water …

Newsom rolls back California drought restrictions after remarkably wet winter
1 year, 9 months ago

Newsom rolls back California drought restrictions after remarkably wet winter

LA Times  

A Rancho Cucamonga housing tract was among those where outdoor watering was restricted to one day a week during last year’s drought. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced that he will roll back some of the state’s most severe drought restrictions and dramatically increase water supplies for agencies serving 27 million people. “We’re modifying it as opposed to eliminating it because …

3 reasons why California's drought isn't really over, despite all the rain
1 year, 9 months ago

3 reasons why California's drought isn't really over, despite all the rain

NPR  

3 reasons why California's drought isn't really over, despite all the rain Enlarge this image toggle caption Ken James/California Department of Water Resources Ken James/California Department of Water Resources Ask a water expert if California's drought is finally done, and the answers sound something "Yes and no." "While we've seen some pretty fantastic wet weather and we've seen conditions improve, …

Amid soaking storms, California turns to farmland to funnel water into depleted aquifers
1 year, 9 months ago

Amid soaking storms, California turns to farmland to funnel water into depleted aquifers

LA Times  

As storms have drenched Northern California, water diverted from the swollen Sacramento River has been flowing from a canal and pouring onto 200 acres of farmland. “This is how we’re going to start to recover from the drought, get water back into our drought buffer, our storage bank,” said Tim Godwin, a technical and policy advisor in the state Department …

California risk shifts from drought to floods after record rain, snow
1 year, 9 months ago

California risk shifts from drought to floods after record rain, snow

LA Times  

Though California may be ending its winter with quenched reservoirs and near record snowpack, meteorologists are warning that the state will face increased flooding risk in the coming months as Sierra Nevada snowmelt fills rivers and streams. “Is it gradual snowmelt — in which case the flood concerns would be mostly minor — or is it more rapid … in …

Flush with rain, California plans to replenish drought-depleted groundwater with floodwaters
1 year, 9 months ago

Flush with rain, California plans to replenish drought-depleted groundwater with floodwaters

LA Times  

The Delta-Mendota Canal, part of the federal Central Valley Project, runs along the western edge of the San Joaquin Valley. California water officials have approved a plan to divert more than 600,000 acre-feet of floodwaters from the San Joaquin River to recharge groundwater and supply wildlife refuges. “We are taking steps to maximize groundwater recharge in a way that the …

Half of California freed from drought thanks to rain, snow
1 year, 10 months ago

Half of California freed from drought thanks to rain, snow

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — Tremendous rains and snowfall since late last year have freed half of California from drought, but low groundwater levels remain a persistent problem, U.S. Drought Monitor data showed Thursday. “Clearly the amount of water that’s fallen this year has greatly alleviated the drought,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles. “The …

California regulators reject San Joaquin Valley groundwater management plans
1 year, 10 months ago

California regulators reject San Joaquin Valley groundwater management plans

LA Times  

Construction continues on a section of the Friant-Kern Canal damaged by subsidence, a sinking of the earth from groundwater removal, in Terra Bella. California regulators have told local agencies in large portions of the San Joaquin Valley that their plans for combating overpumping of groundwater are inadequate, a step that clears the way for state intervention to curb chronic declines …

Amid well-drilling and pumping, calls grow for stronger California water regulation
1 year, 10 months ago

Amid well-drilling and pumping, calls grow for stronger California water regulation

LA Times  

Craig Branco owns an olive orchard and a rental home outside Visalia, where two wells went dry in 2021. The governor directed counties and cities to obtain written verification from a groundwater sustainability agency that issuing a well-drilling permit would be consistent with the local plan and wouldn’t “decrease the likelihood of achieving a sustainability goal for the basin.” The …

California storms improve initial federal water allocations
1 year, 10 months ago

California storms improve initial federal water allocations

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — After early winter storms put a dent in California’s drought, officials Wednesday cautiously announced a jump in initial allocations of federally controlled water to agricultural, municipal and industrial users of the Central Valley Project system. Nine atmospheric river storms from late December into January greatly improved the water supply outlook following three years of record drought, U.S. …

California debates what to do with water from recent storms
1 year, 10 months ago

California debates what to do with water from recent storms

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Weeks after powerful storms dumped 32 trillion gallons of rain and snow on California, state officials and environmental groups in the drought-ravaged state are grappling with what to do with all of that water. “This governor is the most anti-environmental governor, with respect to endangered species and California water, that we’ve had in my lifetime,” said Jon …

Why Southern California water restrictions remain despite so much rain
1 year, 11 months ago

Why Southern California water restrictions remain despite so much rain

LA Times  

A housing tract last year in Rancho Cucamonga, where outdoor watering has been reduced to one day a week. But Southern California still gets about one-quarter of its water from the Colorado River, which didn’t really benefit from the storms and remains remarkably strained, Hagekhalil said. He said MWD’s board will be evaluating the water supply between now and June …

Battling to avoid massive water cuts, California offers proposal on Colorado River crisis
1 year, 11 months ago

Battling to avoid massive water cuts, California offers proposal on Colorado River crisis

LA Times  

California has given the federal government its own proposal for making cuts in Colorado River water use, saying a plan offered by six other states would disproportionately burden farms and cities in Southern California. In the proposal letter, J.B. Hamby, chair of California’s Colorado River Board, said the state’s alternative “provides a realistic and implementable framework to address reduced inflows …

States miss deadline to address Colorado River water crisis; pressure builds on California
1 year, 11 months ago

States miss deadline to address Colorado River water crisis; pressure builds on California

LA Times  

Water levels in Lake Powell have been dropping during the past 23 years of drought in the Colorado River Basin. In announcing the proposal Monday, Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, called it a key step in the “ongoing dialogue” among the seven states “as we continue to seek a collaborative solution to stabilize the Colorado …

California winter storms boost water allocations for cities
1 year, 11 months ago

California winter storms boost water allocations for cities

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Weeks of historic rainfall in California won’t be enough to end a severe drought, but it will provide public water agencies serving 27 million people with much more water than the suppliers had been told to expect a month ago, state officials announced Thursday. “We’re not out of drought in California, but this certainly makes a significant …

California to get major boost in water supplies after January storms
1 year, 11 months ago

California to get major boost in water supplies after January storms

LA Times  

California water agencies that serve 27 million people will see an increased allocation of supplies from the state after a series of winter storms boosted reservoirs and snowpack, officials announced Thursday. “But make no mistake, while the recent storms will help alleviate the acute emergency in areas dependent on supplies from the State Water Project, Southern California’s water challenges are …

California downpours won't fix decades of drought: Scientists
1 year, 11 months ago

California downpours won't fix decades of drought: Scientists

The Hindu  

Near-record rainfall has battered California for weeks, sparking floods and landslides as the state struggles to cope with so much water. But scientists say even this much precipitation won't reverse the western US state's decades-long drought. Aquifers in deficit Beyond its reservoirs and snow reserves, the state faces a much deeper-seated problem with its depleted groundwater, says Nicholas Pinter, a …

California’s dilemma: How do you harness an epic amount of rain in a water-scarce state? Let it flood, scientists say
1 year, 11 months ago

California’s dilemma: How do you harness an epic amount of rain in a water-scarce state? Let it flood, scientists say

CNN  

CNN — California has gone from extreme drought to extreme flooding in a matter of days. “That will allow us to capture more of these flood flows, store it underground in these aquifers, and then use those ground water resources when we need them in dry years.” Many climate experts agree – using levees to prevent floods during the wet …

‘Full-on crisis’: Groundwater in California’s Central Valley disappearing at alarming rate
2 years ago

‘Full-on crisis’: Groundwater in California’s Central Valley disappearing at alarming rate

LA Times  

Water flows from an underground well to irrigate an orchard in Visalia, Calif. Scientists have discovered that the pace of groundwater depletion in California’s Central Valley has accelerated dramatically during the drought as heavy agricultural pumping has drawn down aquifer levels to new lows and now threatens to devastate the underground water reserves. “California’s groundwater, and groundwater across the southwestern …

Nation’s largest water supplier declares drought emergency
2 years ago

Nation’s largest water supplier declares drought emergency

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — The nation’s largest water supplier has declared a drought emergency for all of Southern California, clearing the way for potential mandatory water restrictions early next year that could impact 19 million people. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California provides water to 26 different agencies that supply major population centers like Los Angeles and San Diego counties. …

Nation's largest water supplier declares drought emergency
2 years ago

Nation's largest water supplier declares drought emergency

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The nation's largest water supplier …

Drought-hit California cities to get little water from state
2 years, 1 month ago

Drought-hit California cities to get little water from state

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California water agencies that serve 27 million people will get just 5% of what they requested from the state to start 2023, water officials announced Thursday. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which services Los Angeles and much of Southern California, relies on the state for about one-third of its water supply. We can get through …

Nearly 20% of California water agencies could see shortages if drought persists, state report shows
2 years, 1 month ago

Nearly 20% of California water agencies could see shortages if drought persists, state report shows

LA Times  

A 2013 aerial view of the Los Angeles Aqueduct as it flows south in its concrete-lined channel alongside Hwy 395 south of the Owens Valley town of Lone Pine. Most of California’s urban water agencies believe they have enough supplies to last through another seven months of drought, but nearly 20% of them — including many in Southern California — …

As California droughts intensify, ecosystems and rural communities will bear the brunt
2 years, 1 month ago

As California droughts intensify, ecosystems and rural communities will bear the brunt

LA Times  

As California droughts get longer and more severe, groundwater over pumping will disproportionately affect ecosystems and rural communities. Drought, human-caused climate change, invasive species and a “legacy” of environmental issues are permanently altering California’s landscape and placing some communities and ecosystems at increasing risk, a panel of experts told water officials recently. Although droughts in California date back to prehistoric …

From the air, scientists map ‘fast paths’ for recharging California’s groundwater
2 years, 1 month ago

From the air, scientists map ‘fast paths’ for recharging California’s groundwater

LA Times  

A helicopter tows an airborne electromagnetic system near Pine Flat Dam during a survey of the Kings River alluvial fan in December 2020. “The central question is, is there an efficient way to find these massive features that could provide the natural infrastructure we need to recharge California’s groundwater?” said Rosemary Knight, a geophysics professor at Stanford University and the …

California should expect a ‘fourth dry year’ as drought persists
2 years, 3 months ago

California should expect a ‘fourth dry year’ as drought persists

LA Times  

Officials said some of the state’s biggest reservoirs, including Lake Oroville, above, are a bit more full than they were at the same time last year, but still remain well below average. California’s reservoirs will enter fall in a slightly better position than last year, but the Golden State should prepare for more dryness, extreme weather events and water quality …

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