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Topic: Southern California

Aquafornia news March 21, 2023 ABC News

Amid extreme climate and natural disasters, is California still a desirable place to live and vacation? Experts weigh in.

Earthquakes, snow, wildfires, flooding, smog, fog, heat, drought — these are just some of extreme natural disasters and climate conditions experienced in the Golden State in any given year. California is notoriously the “land of extremes,” Kristina Dahl, senior climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told ABC News. Snowpack from the winter could quickly melt into flooding come spring. Heat waves in the summer pave the way for wildfires in the fall. Now, intense moisture from atmospheric rivers is walloping the West Coast with an inundation of precipitation — oftentimes too much at once. A pervasive megadrought has been plaguing the region for decades and to top it off, tectonic shifts could cause an earthquake at almost any given moment.

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Aquafornia news March 21, 2023 ABC7 - Los Angeles

SoCal rain: 40,000 pounds of storm trash collected since February after back-to-back storms, county says

Could too much rain cause more pollutant problems? It’s definitely something to keep an eye on as Southern California prepares for yet another storm. The wet conditions have caused sinkholes and toppled tress, but all the rain is also sending more pollutants into the ocean. … One way Los Angeles County has prevented more trash from flowing into the ocean is with the latest device called “The Interceptor,” which sits at the mouth of the Ballona Creek near Marina del Rey. It has collected trash since October 2022. According to the county, since then, it captured nearly 122,000 pounds of trash. Of that load, 40,000 pounds of trash was captured from February to today.

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Aquafornia news March 20, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Concern grows about Los Angeles River’s ‘choke point’

Heavy rain this week turned the Los Angeles River flood-control channel into a raging torrent, and with new storms expected on Monday, emergency officials are keeping a wary eye on a well-known stretch that has long been vulnerable to flooding. Glendale Narrows is a lush seven-mile section of rumbling runoff between Griffith Park and downtown that attracts numerous sightseers and bicyclists. But despite its Instagram appeal, the narrows is a flood manager’s nightmare. It remains one of the few areas along the World War II-era channel that has a soft bottom due to its high water table. As a result, it is prone to erosion and buildups of sediment, vegetation and debris that could back up flows dumped by major storms.

Related article: 

  • Sierra Club: Blog - Los Angeles reimagined
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Aquafornia news March 17, 2023 The San Diego Union-Tribune

The price of San Diego’s ‘drought-proof’ water could spike a whopping 14 percent

San Diegans are facing a tidal wave of rate increases in coming years for so-called drought-proof water — driven in large part by new sewage recycling projects coupled with the rising cost of desalination and importing the Colorado River. While many residents already struggle to pay their utility bills, the situation now appears more dire than elected leaders may have anticipated. The San Diego County Water Authority recently announced that retail agencies should brace for a massive 14 percent spike on the cost of wholesale deliveries next year…. Officials on the wholesaler’s 36-member board are anxiously exploring ways to temper such double-digit price hikes, even contemplating the sale of costly desalinated water produced in Carlsbad.

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Aquafornia news March 17, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Sewage spill closes Doheny State Beach in Orange County

Health officials have closed access to parts of Doheny State Beach after roughly 4,000 gallons of sewage spilled onto the beach in Dana Point on Wednesday. The spill came from a main city sewer line in San Juan Capistrano, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency. The closure extends 3,000 feet around the spill site at the mouth of San Juan Creek at the beach in Dana Point, according to officials. The area will remain closed to swimming, surfing and diving until follow-up tests show the water meets acceptable standards. Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley’s office is monitoring the situation and asked the community to stay clear of the area. After the recent rainfall, landslides closed a section of Pacific Coast Highway in Dana Point and an area behind four apartment buildings in San Clemente, Foley said in a written statement.

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Aquafornia news March 17, 2023 Patch - Lake Elsinore

Toxic algae reaches ‘danger’ level at Lake Elsinore

For the time being, it is not safe for pets or people to go into the water at Lake Elsinore, the city warned Tuesday. The reason is high levels of toxins from algae were found in the lake. … Lake users are advised to stay out of the water until further notice, including boating and other water recreation activities. People should also keep their pets out of the water and not eat fish caught in the lake, according to the city. The toxins are enough to kill pets and make humans sick, the city reported. In humans, symptoms of exposure include diarrhea, vomiting, skin rashes and eye irritation. Pets may experience diarrhea, vomiting, convulsions and death, according to the notice.

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Aquafornia news March 16, 2023 Nevada Current

‘A very political little wildflower’ in danger of extinction in Southern Nevada

Like many deserts, lack of rainfall in the Mojave has pushed life to the furthest limits of adaptation, saturating the region with rare and unique species found nowhere else in the world. In fact, one-fourth of plant species growing in the Mojave Desert—the smallest of four major deserts in North America—are one of a kind. One of those plants is the white-margined penstemon, a small pink bell-shaped flower fixed on long hardy stems with waved oblong leaves. The highly adapted flower has carved a niche in the Mojave by occupying sandy desert washes, valley floors, and mountain foot-slopes where little else grows. … But the imperiled wildflower faces a number of threats to its survival, including urban sprawl, climate change, energy development, off-road recreation, and invasive grasses. 

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Aquafornia news March 16, 2023 Ag Alert

Colorado River crisis tests a proud region

Despite its arid climate, California’s Imperial Valley produces most of the U.S. winter vegetables, providing the lettuce, celery, cilantro, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, carrots and other crops that allow people from Seattle to Boston to eat salads and cook fresh produce year-round. Unlike most agricultural regions, the Imperial Valley—with little rain and no groundwater—depends on a single source of water: the Colorado River. … Now, that lifeblood may be threatened, as competing interests battle over supplies from the depleted river and federal officials threaten to intervene. Despite holding senior water rights, which give them priority in times of scarcity, [farmer Mark] Osterkamp and other Imperial Valley growers face an uncertain future.

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Aquafornia news March 16, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Mandatory water restrictions lifted in Southern California

Mandatory water restrictions are being lifted for nearly 7 million people across Southern California following winter storms that have boosted reservoirs and eased the severe shortage that emerged during the state’s driest three-year period on record. Citing improvements in available supplies, the board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has decided to end an emergency conservation mandate for agencies in Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties that rely on water from the State Water Project. However, officials urged residents and businesses to continue conserving, and to prepare for expected cuts in supplies from the Colorado River. The announcement follows an onslaught of atmospheric rivers that have dumped near-record snowfall in the Sierra Nevada and pushed the state‘s flood infrastructure to its limits.

Related articles: 

  • Washington Post: Water restrictions lifted in Southern California amid rainy winter 
  • Guardian: California water restrictions eased for millions after atmospheric river storms
  • Associated Press: Storms end Southern California water restrictions for millions
  • Metropolitan Water District of Southern California: Metropolitan board rescinds emergency conservation mandate imposed on dozens of communities
  • Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Santa Rosa ends emergency drought declaration following winter storms
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Aquafornia news March 15, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: SoCal sees record rainfall as storm brings flooding, evacuations and power outages in NorCal

California’s 11th atmospheric river storm of the season barreled through a beleaguered state this week, dropping more rain and snow, sending thousands scrambling for higher ground and leaving more than 300,000 without power. The rain was expected to continue into Wednesday across Southern California, which saw rainfall records Tuesday. … The storm arrives amid near-record snowpack and one of California’s wettest winters in recent memory. Nine back-to-back atmospheric river storms hit the state in late December and early January, and a 10th deluged the state last week. Though conditions are expected to clear after the storm, the relief will be short-lived as yet another atmospheric river has set its sights on California next week, forecasters said — just in time for the first day of spring.

Related articles: 

  • CNN: Hundreds of thousands in deluged California are without power as state’s 11th atmospheric river sweeps through
  • Bay Area weather: Thousands in Monterey, Santa Cruz county evacuated — possibly for days
  • Eureka Times-Standard: Highway 101 washes out in SoHum; flood warnings issued in Humboldt County
  • USA Today: 350,000 without power as winter storms pound Northeast, California - Live weather updates
  • New York Times: California Levee Failures Mount as Storms Continue Relentless Drive
  • Lake County News: Clear Lake reaches ‘full’ level; county Health Services issues health advisory due to flood waters
  • LADWP: LADWP Makes Progress on Repairs to Storm-Damaged Los Angeles Aqueduct, Plans for Next Rain Event
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Aquafornia news March 15, 2023 Scientific American

Landslides kill and hurt thousands, but science largely ignores these disasters

This winter devastating floods and mudslides in California killed at least 17 people, closed roads for days and caused thousands to be evacuated. Mud and water ripped through the hillside town of Montecito five years to the day after a 2018 slide there killed 23 people and destroyed more than 100 homes. Between 1998 and 2017 landslides and mudslides affected nearly five million people worldwide and took the lives of more than 18,000, according to the World Health Organization. In contrast, wildfires and volcanic activity killed 2,400. In the U.S. alone, slides and other debris flows kill 25 to 50 people every year. Yet by and large we don’t hear very much about hazardous slides. Tornadoes, volcanoes, wildfires and hurricanes get more headlines. They get more scientific attention, too.

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Aquafornia news March 15, 2023 Grist

How rising temperatures are intensifying California’s atmospheric rivers

California is no stranger to big swings between wet and dry weather. The “atmospheric river” storms that have battered the state this winter are part of a system that has long interrupted periods of drought with huge bursts of rain — indeed, they provide somewhere between 30 and 50 percent of all precipitation on the West Coast.  The parade of storms that has struck California in recent months has dropped more than 30 trillion gallons of water on the state, refilling reservoirs that had sat empty for years and burying mountain towns in snow. But climate change is making these storms much wetter and more intense, ratcheting up the risk of potential flooding in California and other states along the West Coast. 

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Aquafornia news March 14, 2023 KTLA - Los Angeles

EPA looking to shut down cesspools at Southern California mobile home park

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has filed a complaint against the operator of a mobile home park in Acton, alleging that the park is using two large unlawful cesspools to collect untreated raw sewage. The complaint identifies Eric Hauck as the operator of Cactus Creek Mobile Home Park in Acton. He’s also identified as a trustee of Acton Holding Trust. The EPA alleges that Hauck has two illegal cesspools on the property, despite large capacity cesspools being banned by the environmental agency more than 15 years ago. Cesspools, according to the EPA, collect and discharge waterborne pollutants like untreated raw sewage into the ground. The practice of using cesspools can lead to disease-causing pathogens to be introduced to local water sources, including groundwater, lakes, streams and oceans.

Related article: 

  • KSBW 8 – Monterey: San Ardo Water District issues advisory against drinking tap water
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Aquafornia news March 14, 2023 CalMatters

Opinion: California must intervene on Mono Lake water dispute with L.A.

Even with winter’s remarkable rainfall, Mono Lake will not rise enough to reduce unhealthy dust storms that billow off the exposed lakebed and violate air quality standards. Nor will it offset increasing salinity levels that threaten Mono Lake Kutzadika’a tribe’s cultural resources and food for millions of migratory birds. Any gain Mono Lake makes surely won’t last due to the [Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's] ongoing diversions….If DWP won’t voluntarily cooperate in finding a way to protect Mono Lake, then the State Water Board needs to step up and save Mono Lake – again.
-Written by Martha Davis, a board member for the Mono Lake Committee.

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Aquafornia news March 13, 2023 MSN

El Niño queues up as three-peat La Liña ends: What it means to California

After enduring historic drought conditions exacerbated by three years of the La Niña weather phenomenon, California is finally free from her clutches, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday. However, El Niño may be looming, and with it, comes a whole new set of weather and climate challenges. Unlike the typically dry years La Niña brings to California, El Niño tends to bring increased chances of torrential storms, flooding, mudslides and coastal erosion. It typically occurs every three to five years when surface water in the equatorial Pacific becomes warmer than average. This week, the World Meteorological Organization forecast a 55 percent chance of an El Niño developing heading into autumn.

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Aquafornia news March 13, 2023 Grid

The Great Salt Lake may turn into a toxic dust bomb. Can we stop it?

In many ways, Owens Lake — which dried up early last century when the city of Los Angeles began diverting the lake’s water supply to a major aqueduct — is a cautionary tale and a harbinger of disasters to come. Climate change is altering patterns of drought and rainfall across the world, and demand for water is growing. Just 500 miles from Owens Lake, Utah’s Great Salt Lake is drying rapidly and creating another stream of toxic dust. And while Owens Lake has finally managed to get its air pollution problems in check, it came at enormous cost. In a sense, it is lucky that there is such an example already out there, if only to demonstrate how important it will be to avoid a similar fate.

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Aquafornia news March 10, 2023 Patch - San Diego

How San Diego climate action works and what it might cost

San Diego has a dozen years to cut almost 11 million metric tons of annual greenhouse gas emissions from its economy to meet climate goals set by Mayor Todd Gloria last year. That’s like removing 2.2 million gas-powered cars from the road. Jumpstarting those emissions cuts will cost the city $30 million per year through 2028, according to a new cost analysis produced by the city’s consultant, the Energy Policy Initiatives Center at University of San Diego Law School. And then, it’ll be up to the City Council to prioritize that spending.

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Aquafornia news March 9, 2023 KUNC - Greeley, Colo.

Was California consulted in recent Colorado River negotiations?

States that use water from the Colorado River are caught in a standoff about how to share shrinking supplies, and their statements about recent negotiations send mixed messages. California officials say they were not consulted as other states in the region drew up a letter to the federal government with what they called a “consensus-based” set of recommendations for water conservation. Leaders in states that drafted the letter disagree with that characterization. The reality of what happened during negotiations may lie somewhere in between, as comments from state leaders hint at possible differences between their definitions of what counts as “consultation.” The squabble is a microcosm of larger tensions between states that use water from the Colorado River.

Related article: 

  • KUNC – Greeley, Colo.: Feds pause some Flaming Gorge water releases amid a snowy winter for the Colorado River
  • Arizona Republic: Commentary - SRP is releasing precious stored water. But it’s not going to waste
  • AZ Department of Water Resources: Heavy Winter Snowpack Prompting Releases From Salt River Project Reservoirs
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Aquafornia news March 9, 2023 The Hill

Raw sewage continues to flow from Tijuana into San Diego County

Some 22 billion gallons of raw sewage have flowed from Mexico into San Diego County since the end of December, the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) reported on Wednesday. … Acknowledging that sewage flows have dropped to 106 million gallons per day and continue to decrease, the agency noted that two wastewater collectors are out of service due to excessive sediment buildup. Last Thursday, flows reached 800 million gallons per day, according to the IBWC. The wastewater influx is the result of an extended bout of winter weather, which has made a chronic cross-border sewage situation worse over the past few months.

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Aquafornia news March 8, 2023 Fox 5 - San Diego

Recent storms sent 7 billion gallons of raw sewage from Mexico into U.S.

Imperial Beach’s new mayor, Paloma Aguirre, is dealing with an old problem in her city: beach closures forced by raw sewage from Mexico. A recent string of powerful storms in the region has forced lots of raw sewage, trash, tires and other debris across the southern border into California. “Because of the nature of our watershed, there’s an incredible amount of flow coming from across the border with trash, tires and sewage polluting not just our recreational valley but also the beaches,” Aguirre said. Imperial Beach, the first coastal city north of the U.S.-Mexico border, is covered in signs warning people to keep out of the water.

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