California’s worsening drought and mandatory new state water
rules are prompting Bay Area water agencies to beef up their
conservation staffs — the employees sometimes called “water
cops.”
When the San Francisco 49ers’ stadium opens next month in Santa
Clara, almost all of it will be new except for one thing: the
water used to irrigate the field and flush the toilets.
Drew Mathers doesn’t carry a badge or a gun, but he’s still a
detective — one who spends his days snooping through the
bathrooms and backyards of Silicon Valley. … He’s on the
hunt for water waste.
A wildfire burning in a remote area of northern Napa County west
of Lake Berryessa was only 30 percent contained Wednesday morning
as firefighters prepared for a full day on the fire lines.
Pole Mountain towers 2,204 feet over the ocean between Jenner and
Cazadero, the highest peak along the Sonoma coast. … On Monday,
private owners sold a 238-acre parcel, which includes the peak,
to the Sonoma Land Trust, ensuring preservation and public
access.
Homeless camps are becoming a growing source of wildland fires in
San Rafael, and given the severity of this year’s fire threat
they are a hazard that needs to be cleaned up. … The
drought has left the landscape parched and there is extreme risk
of a wildland fire growing out of control.
San Francisco’s Ocean Beach may be one long stretch of sand, but
no fewer than six government bureaucracies are tasked with
keeping it and the neighboring Great Highway from washing away as
winter storms and rising seas batter them.
An appellate court
has upheld state rules regulating how hundreds of farmers in
Sonoma and Mendocino counties divert water from the Russian River
to ward off frost.
“The Sunnyvale City Council will consider adopting a resolution
on June 24 declaring a water shortage emergency and calling for a
15 percent water use reduction through Dec. 31.”
“City officials are exploring whether Antioch can turn the salty
Delta water off its shoreline into a true liquid asset by
building a desalination plant.”
“Nearly five months after Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought
emergency and asked Californians to use 20 percent less water,
almost everyone believes they’re doing their part.”
“On Sunday, San Rafael reached a high of 100 degrees while
Kentfield saw a high of 95 degrees. Novato reached 85 degrees and
Point Reyes reached 66 degrees.”
“Tuesday marked the end of the line for the Patterson family’s
150-year reign as Bay Area land barons, but it was a $10 million
day for the East Bay Regional Park District.”
“The Bay Area’s Big One will still be plenty big, but it might
not be just one, according to a study released Monday by U.S.
Geological Survey scientists.”
“Cherry lovers from around the Bay Area who annually flock to the
orchards here for the U-pick season better hurry this year
because the dry, warm winter has resulted in pickings that are
slimmer than usual. Those who wait much past Memorial Day might
be out of luck.”
“After a week of record-high temperatures scorched the Bay Area
and intensified already dangerously dry conditions around the
state, things will cool down Monday as a storm system moves into
the region, forecasters said.”
