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Topic: Water Conservation

Overview April 24, 2014

Water Conservation

Water conservation has become a way of life throughout the West, with water demand commonly outpacing supply.

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Aquafornia news May 26, 2022 Los Angeles Times

California just adopted new water restrictions: What you need to know

California water regulators strengthened the state’s drought rules this week, ordering local suppliers to take steps to reduce water usage to stretch limited supplies this summer. Gov. Gavin Newsom warned that more stringent statewide water restrictions could come if the state doesn’t make more progress on conservation soon. … As part of the new rules, the state also banned the use of drinking water for irrigating grass that is purely decorative at businesses and in common areas of subdivisions and homeowners associations. Here is a breakdown of what is going on:

Related articles: 

  • Los Angeles Times: Flush less. Bathe less. L.A. Times readers’ tips for saving water in the drought
  • Times of San Diego: California Businesses Face Turf Watering Ban Amid Historic Drought Conditions
  • EcoWatch: What is Greywater?
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Aquafornia news May 25, 2022 J- The Jewish News of Northern California

Opinion: California Jews, enough with your green, grassy Jewish cemeteries

Jewish law has a lot to say about what’s supposed to happen when you die: your lifeless body must be washed and buried quickly, with a simple headstone to mark your grave. But nowhere, in 4,000 years of Jewish law, custom or tradition does it say you need to rest eternally under bright, green grass. As California struggles with the West’s longest megadrought in 1,200 years, emergency water conservation rules are set to take effect on June 1. Yet cemeteries in L.A., including the three largest Jewish ones, remain as grassy and green as a Scottish golf course.
-Written by Rob Eshman, national editor of the the Forward.

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Aquafornia news May 25, 2022 The San Francisco Examiner

As Bay Area faces prolonged drought, recycling and desalination are the only two real options

Despite being surrounded by water, Bay Area residents are routinely told during dry years to take shorter showers, let lawns brown and slow the rush of water from their taps. But as climate change prolongs drought and challenges local water supply, regional water managers are warning that none of those actions will be enough. Many say the time has come to invest in technically feasible, though politically and environmentally complicated alternatives like purifying wastewater and sucking salt out of seawater to bolster stores.

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Aquafornia news May 25, 2022 The Associated Press

Explainer: How cities in the West have water amid drought

As drought and climate change tighten their grip on the American West, the sight of fountains, swimming pools, gardens and golf courses in cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Boise, and Albuquerque can be jarring at first glance. Western water experts, however, say they aren’t necessarily cause for concern. Over the past three decades, major Western cities — particularly in California and Nevada — have diversified their water sources, boosted local supplies through infrastructure investments and conservation, and use water more efficiently. 

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Aquafornia news May 25, 2022 Los Angeles Times

Editorial: California’s water shortage requires updates in technology, law — and mindset

Californians responded to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request for voluntary water conservation earlier this year by using more, not less. … Already, residents face sharp new outdoor water restrictions June 1, and serious doubts over whether those limits will be enough to cope with a historic water shortage. It’s a good time to imagine the ideal California of the future, in which information technology and rational pricing make water conservation simple, understandable and a common way of life. Here’s how it should work, as a resident pulls out his or her phone and at the touch of a button checks the household’s water use for that day in real time: 

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Aquafornia news May 25, 2022 Mercury News

California drought: Water wasters could face fines of up to $10,000 in Santa Clara County under new rules

Residents in Santa Clara County could face fines of up to $500 — and in extreme cases, $10,000 — for wasting water, under new drought rules approved Tuesday afternoon that are among the toughest of any urban area in California. … The new rules take effect June 1, but depend largely on citizen complaints and very few “water cops” to investigate them. Under the rules, residents who see water being wasted can notify the district of the address and date of incident by calling 408-630-2000, or emailing WaterWise@valleywater.org, or reporting online…. 

Related articles:

  • ABC 10 – Sacramento: Drought tolerant landscape might be key to state water usage issues
  • KCRW – Santa Monica: Say no to gravel, yes to drought-resistant plants amid CA water shortage
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Aquafornia news May 25, 2022 The Sacramento Bee

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: California bans watering of ‘non functional’ lawns around businesses as drought persists

Californians can expect to see more yellow grass around hospitals, hotels, office parks and industrial centers after water regulators voted Tuesday to ban watering of “nonfunctional” turf in commercial areas. The State Water Resources Control Board also moved to order all the state’s major urban water providers to step up their conservation efforts. The moves are the strongest regulatory actions state officials have taken in the third year of the latest drought.

Related articles: 

  • New York Times: California Approves New Water Restrictions Amid Worsening Drought
  • Los Angeles Times: California bans watering ‘non-functional’ grass in some areas, strengthening drought rules
  • San Francisco Chronicle: California orders water suppliers to mandate restrictions. Here’s how much further they could go
  • San Diego Union-Tribune: State tightens drought rules as S.D. officials fear higher water rates
  • SJV Sun: Calif. officials ban watering “useless” grass over drought worries
  • Manteca Bulletin: State edict - Say goodbye green grass
  • Regional Water Authority: Statement - Local Water Providers Support Emergency Conservation Regulations
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news May 24, 2022 Los Angeles Times

Trees are critical infrastructure. Water them amid drought

The lowly sidewalk tree often stands invisible. We rest in its shade, bask in the scent of springtime flowers, and we don’t notice it until it’s gone. But the tree works hard. It captures and filters stormwater runoff and helps replenish groundwater. It cleans our air and cools our neighborhoods. It improves our mental health. It saves lives. With Southern California officials clamping down on outdoor water use amid worsening drought, the message is clear: It’s fine for lawns to go brown, but we need to keep trees alive and healthy.

Related article: 

  • Los Angeles Times: Best California native plants for when summer heats up
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Aquafornia news May 24, 2022 Mercury News

Tuesday Top of the Scroll: Newsom calls for increased water conservation, warning of mandatory statewide restrictions

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday warned major water agencies to show better conservation results or face mandatory statewide water restrictions as California heads into its third summer of severe drought. The threat is a sign of Newsom’s growing impatience with the state’s failure to reduce urban water use, as he has requested since last year. In fact, people have been using more. … Newsom also said the state will closely monitor the situation over the next 60 days, and he told the agencies to submit water use data more frequently to the state and to step up outreach and education efforts to communicate the urgency of the crisis to the public.

Related articles: 

  • San Francisco Chronicle: Newsom says California could get mandatory water restrictions as drought crisis deepens
  • Los Angeles Times: Newsom urges aggressive water conservation and warns of statewide restrictions
  • The Guardian: California threatens ‘mandatory water restrictions’ if people don’t cut back
  • Chico Enterprise-Record: Chico, Oroville enter new phase of water conservation
  • Associated Press: Californians could see mandatory water cuts amid years-long drought, Gov. Newsom says  
  • City News Service: Newsom warns of statewide watering restrictions if local drought efforts fall short
  • Malibu Times: Outdoor watering restrictions cause panic
  • WaterWorld: Inland Empire Utilities Agency adopts drought resolution
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Aquafornia news May 23, 2022 ABC7 Los Angeles

California water officials urge conservation amid dim outlook for improvement in drought conditions

Outdoor watering restrictions area set to take effect in Los Angeles at the end of the month, and the prospect of an improvement in drought conditions appears dim. Just how bad is the drought? According to state figures, the first three months of the year were the driest in the state’s recorded history. California is currently in the third year of a drought. Wade Crowfoot is the state secretary for natural resources. The one resource he oversees that we all use is water. According to his agency, the drought is getting worse, not better.

Related articles: 

  • NBC Los Angeles: Why Trees Are Not Part of LA’s Two-Day Outdoor Watering Restrictions
  • KSBY: Why scientists believe this summer will be warmer than usual
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Aquafornia news May 23, 2022 ABC7 Los Angeles

CA water and energy crisis: New plan wants to install solar panel canopies over parts of Turlock Irrigation District’s canals

California needs more water and renewable energy, and Solar AquaGrid CEO Jordan Harris is trying to help. … A big idea is starting with a small stretch of canals in the Turlock Irrigation District, located just south of Modesto. This fall, groundbreaking will begin on a pilot project to build solar panel canopies over existing canals. … A study from UC Merced concluded that shading all of the roughly 4,000 miles of California canals with solar panels could save 63 billion gallons of water every year by reducing evaporation, while potentially creating about one sixth of the state’s current power capacity.

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Aquafornia news May 20, 2022 The Sacramento Bee

Watering tips for Sacramento lawns during California drought

California cities are enforcing water-saving measures, summer heat has crept in early and your lush green grass is probably starting to wither. As reported by the California’s drought information system, 40% of the state is experiencing extreme drought. … In response to the record dryness, the city of Sacramento is under a “Water Alert,” asking residents to cut back on water use by 15% and to follow a seasonal watering schedule. Fines for water waste have doubled. … As you cut back on watering your home’s lawn, there are ways to still keep it green.

Related article: 

  • Sacramento Bee: Video:  ‘It’s an honor to participate.’ See new river-themed mural for Wide Open Walls
  • Colorado Sun: Aurora may ban sprawling lawns, new golf courses to save water. Other Denver-area cities could follow.
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Aquafornia news May 20, 2022 SJV Water

Blog: Drought, groundwater restrictions and – oh yeah, drought – pervade talk at annual Kern water summit

Local and state water leaders were practically upbeat two years ago at the last in-person Water Summit put on by the Water Association of Kern County. At least as upbeat as California water folks typically get. They advocated for new ideas, radical partnerships and solutions that could benefit both ag and environmental interests. That was then. Facing a third year of punishing drought and the bleak realities of new groundwater restrictions, the vibe at this year’s summit was more “in the bunker” than “in it together.”

Related article:

  • ABC 23 – Bakersfield: Kern County Water Summit looks for solutions to California’s drought
  • Western Farm Press: Watering the valley of the future
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Aquafornia news May 20, 2022 ABC7 San Francisco

California drought: How CA coastal communities are working to conserve, combat saltwater intrusion

For Executive Pastor Mark Spurlock, expanding classroom space at the Twin Lakes Christian School in Aptos has been addition by subtraction. At least when it comes to saving water. Following development offset rules outlined by the Soquel Creek Water District, the school engineered water-saving solutions to offset the new space they were building including replacing lawn areas with a drought-friendly plaza that catches and diverts water routed from nearby rooftops. … To better understand seawater intrusion, Duncan says the layman can think of the Santa Cruz area’s aquifer as a giant bathtub with mountain watershed on one side, and ocean on the other.

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Aquafornia news May 19, 2022 ABC7 Los Angeles

San Gabriel Valley Water supplier issuing water conservation kits to residents

Steve Bray lives in Monrovia and is already doing what he can to save water. He has installed Wi-Fi-connected sprinklers. … The Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District worries state’s historic drought will get worse. … The district actually captures 100% of rainwater and is able to store it in spreading basins. They use that water during dry years to deliver it into the drinking water system, but it’s quickly disappearing.

Related articles: 

  • Daily Bulletin: New lawn-watering schedule starts June 1 in La Verne
  • Sacramento News and Review: Blog – Pressure mounts in Sacramento as Big Ag, Newsom’s corporate donors, prove that voluntary water conservation is a failure
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Aquafornia news May 18, 2022 ABC7 - Los Angeles

Gov. Newsom pushes need for conservation during visit to SoCal water recycling facility

Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging Californians to find ways to reduce their water use in an effort to combat the historic drought and said upcoming conservation mandates are a priority. The governor visited a water recycling facility Tuesday afternoon in Carson. It was originally built as a demonstration project to recycle household wastewater and replenish groundwater supplies…. Statewide, water consumption is up just 3.7% since July compared to 2020, woefully short of Newsom’s 15% goal. Newsom pledged to spend $100 million on a statewide advertising campaign to encourage water conservation.

Related articles:

  • Capitol Weekly: California’s drought, relentless and inexorable, takes its toll
  • State Water Resources Control Board: State Water Board releases draft emergency water conservation regulation
  • Washington Post: Opinion - Reasons for rising food prices go beyond pandemic and war 
  • Half Moon Bay Review: Let’s think twice before wasting precious water
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Aquafornia news May 18, 2022 Fox 13 - Salt Lake City

Utah lawmakers consider pipeline from Pacific Ocean to Great Salt Lake

A legislative commission is floating the idea of a pipeline to bring water from the Pacific Ocean into the Great Salt Lake. “There’s a lot of water in the ocean and we have very little in the Great Salt Lake,” said Sen. David Hinkins, R-Orangeville, who co-chairs the Legislative Water Development Commission. … The study would look at the cost to actually create a pipeline from the Pacific Ocean, across California and the Sierra-Nevada mountains, across the deserts of Nevada and ultimately into the Great Salt Lake in Utah.

Related article: 

  • E&E News: Western states turn to homeowners to deflect drought
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Aquafornia news May 17, 2022 Marin Independent Journal

San Anselmo approves water conservation upgrades at park

San Anselmo has approved a plan to renovate the playing fields at Memorial Park with phased-in water conservation upgrades. After being presented with three project options Tuesday, the Town Council voted 4-1 to combine elements of two alternatives, but to do the work in stages. The project calls for new grass and an upgraded irrigation and drainage system to be installed as soon as possible. A stormwater and grey water harvesting system and a 100,000-gallon underground water storage tank will be added later.

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Aquafornia news May 16, 2022 Desert Sun

Opinion: Coral Mountain La Quinta wave basin irresponsible in a desert

John Gamlin’s recent defense of his Coral Mountain wave basin resort in The Desert Sun (guest column, May 8) fails to address the main issue. Planning development according to historic water levels is extremely naive in the desert, and we have seen this story pan out before. In 1959, the North Shore Beach and Yacht Club opened on the shore of the Salton Sea — a massive lake created in the early 1900s when engineers accidentally flooded the ancient basin with diverted Colorado River water intended to irrigate the dry, fertile Imperial Valley.
-Written by Sydney Hayes, a student majoring in environmental studies and economics at Bowdoin College. 

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Aquafornia news May 16, 2022 Ventura County Star

Opinion: Clean drinking water should be a right, but now we must fight for it

As a young person growing up in Ventura County for the past 19 years, I am no stranger to droughts. Not watering the lawn and taking shorter showers is simply a part of life in Southern California. Although water is scarce in Ventura County, there is currently a direct threat to our drinking water. Unfortunately, the oil industry wants to profit at the expense of our precious groundwater that supplies drinking water to over 400,000 Ventura County residents and irrigation water to our $2 billion agriculture economy.
-Written by Alex Masci, an undergraduate in environmental studies at UC Berkeley, a coordinator with CA Youth Vs Big Oil, and a supporter of VC-SAFE. 

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Aquafornia news May 16, 2022 Pasadena Star News

Opinion: We are the problem in California’s housing shortage

Everything everyone — by which I mean the wrong ones, the NIMBYs — says about housing in Southern California is always wrong. … Fact: Take your average Southland single-family homestead, raze it and replace it with an eight-unit apartment building, and you’d be … saving water. That’s because, even in our xeriscaped age, unless you have Astroturfed your entire yard, your landscaping uses a lot more water than your sinks, shower and dishwasher do.
-Written by Larry Wilson, a member of the Southern California News Group editorial board.

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Aquafornia news May 16, 2022 Bloomberg

How California can survive another historic drought

There is no end in sight for California’s drought. … I spoke to [professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Davis Jay Lund] via email this month and last. A lightly edited transcript follows. Francis Wilkinson: When we spoke last summer, you were optimistic about California’s capacity to manage drought and still prosper. Since then, the drought has not gotten better … Are you more worried now or are you still confident that California has enough water for its economy and its people? Jay Lund: Most of California’s economy and people will be fine, despite being affected by this drought. 

Related articles: 

  • California Waterblog: How engineers see the water glass in California 
  • High Country News: Yes, the drought really is that bad
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news May 16, 2022 The Sacramento Bee

California drought wipes out much of Sacramento Valley rice crop

Don Bransford has been growing rice in the fertile Sacramento Valley for 42 years. Not this summer. California’s worsening drought has cut so deeply into water supplies on the west side of the Valley that Bransford and thousands of other farmers aren’t planting a single acre of rice. … It’s spring in the Sacramento Valley, normally the season for planting rice. It’s the region’s most important crop, a $900 million-a-year business that employs thousands of workers and puts Valley agriculture on a global stage.

Related article: 

  • Sacramento Bee: California drought could mean ‘devastation across the board’ for fowl on Pacific Flyway
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Aquafornia news May 16, 2022 CNN

California is in a water crisis, yet usage is way up. Officials are focusing on the wrong things, advocates say

[R]esidents and businesses across the state are also using more water now than they have in seven years, despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s efforts to encourage just the opposite. … Part of the problem is that the urgency of the crisis isn’t breaking through to Californians. The messaging around water conservation varies across different authorities and jurisdictions, so people don’t have a clear idea of what applies to whom. And they certainly don’t have a tangible grasp on how much a 15% reduction is with respect to their own usage.

Related articles: 

  • Los Angeles Times: What about my koi pond? A wealthy L.A. enclave copes with water restrictions
  • State Water Resources Control Board: State Water Board releases draft emergency water conservation regulation
  • Ventura County Star: Editorial - Snapping out of drought fatigue
  • Los Angeles Business Journal: Prepping for the Dry Days Ahead
  • San Luis Obispo Tribune: SLO County cities, towns call for cutbacks as drought worsens: ‘All the easy water is gone.’
  • ABC 7 – San Francisco: Bay Area landscaping business sees 300% increase in irrigation repairs as drought worsens
  • San Jose Spotlight: Silicon Valley residents could face fines for wasting water
  • MyMotherLode.com: A Master Gardener’s Seasonal Lawn
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news May 13, 2022 San Francisco Chronicle

Water conservation order lifted in Benicia four days after pipe break

Mandatory water conservation orders in Benicia lifted Thursday afternoon after a leak inside the city’s water treatment plant was finally located and repaired. Residents were asked to cut back on usage by 30% on Sunday, when the leak was detected. A total of 4.5 million gallons of fresh water was saved over the four days.

Related article:

  • The Fresno Bee: Kerman residents asked to boil water — ‘slight’ potential of contamination in city’s supply
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Aquafornia news May 12, 2022 Woodland Daily Democrat

Woodland City Council implements 20% water use reduction

The Woodland City Council received an update on the city’s planned water supply for 2022 and adopted a resolution implementing stage two of Woodland’s water shortage contingency plan. “The state of California is in the third year of a drought and issued a governor’s executive order in March 2022 requiring urban water suppliers to implement at least stage two of their water shortage contingency plans,” the city staff report stated. “Stage two of the WSCP implements a goal of reducing water use by 20%.”

Related articles: 

  • Fast Company: Lawns are terrible for the environment. California’s water restriction
  • Los Angeles Times: California drought - How L.A.’s watering restrictions work
  • Fox 40 Sacramento: Roseville renews efforts to conserve water
  • Patch – Marin County: Marin Water Among State’s Efficiency Leaders: Report
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news May 11, 2022 KSL - Salt Lake City

Utah water restrictions vary based on rights and state history

Why are Utah water restrictions so confusing and seemingly unfair to residents in one city yet generous to citizens of another? For example, different cities in the Weber Water Basin District have different restrictions: In West Haven, a homeowner is allowed — beginning in mid-May — to water outside once a week. But in Roy, homeowners can water their lawns and plants twice a week. Do the state’s and the West’s ongoing, historic drought play a major part in today’s water restrictions?

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Aquafornia news May 11, 2022 Los Angeles Times

LADWP orders two-day-a-week watering restrictions citywide

Nearly 4 million Angelenos will be reduced to two-day-a-week watering restrictions on June 1 under drought rules released by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on Tuesday. … Under the rules, residents will be assigned two watering days a week based on their addresses — Monday and Friday for odd addresses and Thursday and Sunday for even ones — with watering capped at only eight minutes, or 15 minutes for sprinklers with water-conserving nozzles. No watering will be allowed between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. regardless of the watering days.

Related articles: 

  • KTLA: LADWP announces 2-days a week watering restriction
  • CalMatters: Increased water use paves way for more penalties
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Aquafornia news May 11, 2022 Los Angeles Times

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: California urban water use rose 19% in March despite drought

Despite official calls to increase conservation amid worsening drought, urban water use across California increased by nearly 19% in March, according to the State Water Resources Control Board. The startling conservation figure was among a number of grim assessments water officials offered reporters Tuesday in a California drought outlook. Others included critically low reservoir levels and major shifts in the water cycle due to climate change. … The increase was even greater in the South Coast Hydrologic Region, which is home to more than half the state’s population. In this region, which includes Los Angeles, urban water use increased 26.9%.

Related articles: 

  • San Francisco Chronicle: California drought - Water usage jumps 19% in March despite Newsom’s plea for savings
  • Mercury News: California drought - State ignores Gavin Newsom’s conservation goal, increases water use
  • Sacramento Bee: Water use grows during California drought, flouting Newsom’s call for conservation
  • The Guardian: California water use leaps 19% in March, amid one of the driest months on record
  • CalMatters: How bad is water use in California? March is the worst so far, up 19%
  • CBS Sacramento: California Water Use Up Dramatically in March
  • ABC 7 Sacramento: Despite pleas for conservation, California’s March water usage jumped nearly 19%
  • KTVU San Jose: Enforcement officers poised to crack down, fine water wasters in South Bay
  • Sacramento Bee: California wants you to stop using so much water, but Sacramento has a long way to go
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news May 10, 2022 CalMatters

Opinion: California crises abound, but they won’t be debated

Throughout the state, water agencies are telling Californians that they must seriously curtail lawn watering and other water uses. We can probably scrape through another dry year, but were drought to persist, its impacts would likely be widespread and permanent. … It didn’t have to be this way. We could have built more storage to capture water during wet years, we could have encouraged more conservation, we could have more efficiently captured and treated wastewater for re-use and we could have embraced desalination.
-Written by Dan Walters, CalMatters columnist.  

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Aquafornia news May 10, 2022 Mercury News

“Water cops” likely this summer as Santa Clara County misses drought goal by large margin

If you waste water in Santa Clara County, water cops could soon be on the way. Since last summer, Santa Clara County residents have been asked to cut water use by 15% from 2019 levels to conserve as the state’s drought worsens. But they continue to miss that target — and by a growing amount. In March, the county’s 2 million residents not only failed to conserve any water, but they increased use by 30% compared to March 2019, according to newly released data…. Santa Clara Valley Water District … is proposing to hire water enforcement officials to issue fines of up to $500 for residents … wasting water ….

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  • Los Angeles Times: Lessons in adapting to California drought and water scarcity
  • ABC 7 Los Angeles: Garcetti to give update on LADWP watering restrictions, conservation efforts amid California drought
  • NBC Los Angeles: What Are LA’s Water Conservation Plans? Mayor to Announce LADWP’s Next Steps
  • Bay City News – Benicia: Benicia adds mandatory 30% water cutbacks after city pipeline break
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Aquafornia news May 9, 2022 The Washington Post

California drought could wither many Los Angeles lawns

Amid the historic drought now entering its third painful summer … the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, has demanded [millions of homes] cut irrigation by 35 percent as of June 1. If things don’t improve by September, authorities say, outdoor water use could be banned entirely. … Since the restriction warnings began, customers have bombarded the Las Virgenes water office — one of 26 public water agencies which operate under the Metropolitan Water District — with angry phone calls.

Related articles: 

  • Los Angeles Times: What’s your drought plan, Southern California? Tell us how you’re saving water
  • Patch – Benicia: Benicia Pipeline Break – Residents Required To Cut Water Use By 30%
  • Havasu News: California’s water conservation has been a bust so far. Will drought restrictions work?
  • One Green Planet: Blog – New Law in Las Vegas Mandates Removal of ‘Nonfunctional’ Grass to Save Water
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Aquafornia news May 6, 2022 The Hill

Opinion: Droughts are ravaging the US — it’s time to get serious about water recycling

Water reuse is a national solution that can be tailored to address many local challenges. Faced with the worsening impacts of drought and climate change, the City of Los Angeles has committed to recycling 100 percent of its water by 2035. Local recycling will protect the city’s residents from water shortages caused by diminished rainfall, natural disasters and competing demands on the Colorado River.
-Written by Craig Lichty, client director and vice president for Black & Veatch and president of the WateReuse Association; and Patricia Sinicropi, the executive director of the WateReuse Association 

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  • Marin Independent Journal: Opinion - New water ethic should include drinking recycled wastewater  
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Aquafornia news May 6, 2022 CBS Bay Area

Marin Water Board rescinds emergency declaration for new watering rules

The Marin Water Board of Directors rescinded the county’s water shortage emergency declaration and updated its water use rules this week, adopting new requirements for outdoor irrigation and swimming pools. …Now that the water emergency has been canceled, residents are permitted to wash their cars at home, irrigate golf courses in areas outside of the green or tees, fill swimming pools but cover them when not in use, and install new landscaping and irrigation systems. Outdoor irrigation using overhead spray systems is permitted up to two days per week; drip irrigation is permitted up to three days per week.

Related articles: 

  • San Jose Spotlight: San Jose sets stricter water rules for future construction
  • KSBY: Water conservation efforts underway in Santa Maria
  • Los Angeles Times: We’re in a megadrought. Here’s how to keep your veggie garden alive this summer
  • Orange County Register: Getting Wise to Water Use
  • CBS Sacramento: NorCal Residents Worry Over Water Restrictions As SoCal Experiences Major Cutbacks
  • CBS News: Water districts targeting wasteful residents as historically bad drought continues
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Aquafornia news May 5, 2022 E&E News

As Colorado River shrinks, pain of drought to spread

Rolf Schmidt-Petersen knows what can happen when a water shortage hits: Reservoirs shrink and tempers flare. “We had people literally throwing rocks, tomatoes when Elephant Butte went down,” recalled Schmidt-Petersen, director of the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission. He was talking about a 2003 deal to release water from a reservoir in southern New Mexico and drop the lake by about 33 feet to assist farmers in the state and neighboring Texas. … Decades later, the 2.2-million-acre-foot reservoir, part of the Rio Grande Basin, contains only about 260,000 acre-feet of water, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. 

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  • Boulder City Review: Operation begins for Lake Powell conservation effort
  • LAs Vegas Sun: Editorial – As Lake Mead water levels fall, government must rise to the occasion
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Aquafornia news May 5, 2022 Marin Independent Journal

Marin water supplier makes some drought rules permanent

Some water use restrictions that were imposed on most Marin County residents during the drought last year are now set to become permanent. The Marin Municipal Water District Board of Directors voted unanimously on Tuesday to continue limiting sprinkler use to two days per week, which is down from three days it allowed before it adopted its drought restrictions in 2021. Drip irrigation will be allowed three days a week. All pool owners in the district must also have a pool cover. These rules will be part of the district’s list of permanent conservation rules …

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Aquafornia news May 5, 2022 Orange County Register

Editorial: Newsom gets it right on desalination

Kudos to Gov. Gavin Newsom for increasing his support for the $1.4 billion Poseidon Water desalination in Huntington Beach. … California is thirsty. And another drought is making us thirstier. … Water authorities already are asking Californians to cut down on shower times, watering lawns and washing cars. Gov. Newsom’s “more tools in the tool kit” approach is the right one.

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Aquafornia news May 5, 2022 Los Angeles Times

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Patrols, fines, altered landscapes: How severe SoCal water restrictions will roll out

More than a week after the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California announced its harshest-ever water restrictions for millions of residents across the region, several of the affected water agencies are offering a preview of how life will change throughout Southland when the rules kick in June 1. … MWD’s largest member agency, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, has so far offered few details about how the restrictions will be applied to their customers, but said more information will be provided in the coming days.

Related articles: 

  • The New York Times: Will California’s new water conservation measures be enough?
  • Arizona Republic: Will Colorado River shortages limit water use? Arizona cities seek ‘culture change’ first
  • CNN: Officials worry Southern California won’t have enough water to get through summer without unprecedented cuts
  • Fox 40 Sacramento: Dozens of water agencies meet to discuss drought
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Aquafornia news May 4, 2022 NBC Bay Area

Watch: State water agencies executive discusses latest on California drought

State water leaders begin the second day of a three-day conference to address the drought and lack of water in California. NBC Bay Area’s Laura Garcia spoke with the executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies about the issue.

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  • Politico: The wolf of the West
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Aquafornia news May 4, 2022 The Guardian

California’s new drought rules: will they be enough to halt the ‘alarming challenges’ ahead?

With little hope of reprieve ahead of the warming summer months, demand for water in parts of drought-stricken California is outpacing supply. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California declared a water shortage emergency last week for areas that rely on the State Water Project…. The move is a marked shift in a drought disaster that’s only expected to deepen with warmer and drier days ahead. Now in the third year of the drought, supplies across the region are becoming increasingly strained. Experts say more restrictions across the state are likely as the effects of climate crisis unfold faster than expected.

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  • Antelope Valley Press: Program to address water restrictions 
  • San Diego Union-Tribune: Column – San Diego remains afloat amid grim water scenarios
  • San Benito.com: Guest view – Be aware of your water
  • Fox 40 Sacramento: Yuba City imposes mandatory water cutbacks; enforcement to begin June
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Aquafornia news May 4, 2022 Los Angeles Times

A way around California water restrictions: greywater

Southern California officials have imposed unusually strict limits on outdoor water use in response to a water shortage emergency, effective June 1. So you may need to find an alternative way to keep your plants from desiccating in the summer sun. How about irrigating them with grey water instead of sprinkling them with clean water? Grey water is the water from faucets, showers, bathtubs, washing machines — anything that’s not laden with human waste, food or toxic chemicals.

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  • Santa Barbara Independent: A Floating Sewer Line in the Ocean?
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Aquafornia news May 4, 2022 KUNC

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: Federal government rolls out ‘extraordinary actions’ to prop up Lake Powell

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced two measures [Tuesday] to boost water levels in Lake Powell, keeping them high enough to continue generating hydropower at the Glen Canyon Dam. Both moves are being framed as painful but necessary band-aids, cutting into reserves elsewhere in the region to stave off the worst effects of a decades-long drought that has sapped the nation’s second-largest reservoir. One measure will send water from upstream to help refill Lake Powell. About 500,000 acre-feet of water will be released from Flaming Gorge Reservoir, which straddles the border between Wyoming and Utah.

Related articles: 

  • U.S. Bureau of Reclamation: News release – Reclamation’s drought response actions will boost Lake Powell
  • Associated Press: US to hold back Lake Powell water to protect hydropower
  • Los Angeles Times: As drought crisis deepens, government will release less water from Colorado River reservoir
  • Colorado Public Radio: The federal government will make the unprecedented move to hold back water in drought-stricken Lake Powell
  • Salt Lake Tribune: ‘It feels like a dying reservoir’: Deltas of sediment are pushing into Glen Canyon as Lake Powell disappears
  • Bloomberg Law: Historic Drought Forces Feds to Withhold Water From States (2)
  • Los Angeles Times: Skeleton in barrel revealed by receding waters of Lake Mead are of a gunshot victim, police say
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Aquafornia news May 3, 2022 The New York Times

To save water amid a megadrought, Las Vegas outlaws grass

Under a state law passed last year that is the first of its kind in the nation, patches of grass like this, found along streets and at housing developments and commercial sites in and around Las Vegas, must be removed in favor of more desert-friendly landscaping. The offense? They are “nonfunctional,” serving only an aesthetic purpose. Seldom, if ever, walked on and kept alive by sprinklers, they are wasting a resource, water, that has become increasingly precious.

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Aquafornia news May 3, 2022 Marin Independent Journal

Marin water districts study options for new supply

Marin County’s two largest water utilities are working to narrow down what new sources of supply would provide the most benefit in droughts. The North Marin Water District presented findings of a study looking at how to bolster supplies for the more than 60,000 residents it serves in its greater Novato service area. The top scorers were projects to enhance the storage at the district’s Stafford Lake reservoir. Other options such as desalination, creating new reservoirs, dredging the lake and a major recycled water expansion were deemed too expensive or infeasible given the district’s size.

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Aquafornia news May 3, 2022 Los Angeles Times

Water cuts due to California drought will require sacrifice

In less than a month, residents in large portions of Southern California will be under unprecedented water restrictions due to a worsening drought that has severely limited water supplies. The biggest change is the requirement from the Metropolitan Water District that local water suppliers in those areas, from Ventura County to northwestern L.A. County to parts of the Inland Empire, limit outdoor watering to once a week. But behind that is a big cut in water use needed to avoid even more serious measures. Can we do it? Here’s what we know:

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  • Patch Northern California: Water Restrictions Could Expand To Northern California – What To Know
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  • KTLA: Here are some native California plants to consider for a more water efficient yard
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Aquafornia news May 2, 2022 Arizona Republic

Opinion: Arizona has too many homes without water. How to stop this trend

It’s far better to stop a water problem before it starts than to try to fix it after it appears. We’re seeing that all over the state, from the rapidly developing Rio Verde Foothills near Scottsdale to the farming community of Willcox. Those who thought they could build without water – or who had a well and surrounding uses sucked it dry – are now in a world of hurt. Some are hoping that if they create a water improvement district, it can save the day. This is not a dig on those efforts, but rather a cautionary tale about what happens when our development decisions fail to reflect our water realities.
-Written by Arizona Republic columnist Joanna Allhands. 

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Aquafornia news May 2, 2022 Los Angeles Times

Can you get by on just 80 gallons of water a day?

When the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California this week unveiled its strictest-ever water restrictions for about 6 million residents, it did so with an urgent goal in mind: a 35% reduction in water consumption, equating to an allocation of about 80 gallons per person per day. …But what does 80 gallons per person look like, and what would it mean for the daily life of average Californians? For starters, more brown lawns are a given.

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  • ACWA News: Yuba City Implements Mandatory 20% Water Conservation
  • Sacramento Bee: Northern California city enters ‘severe’ water shortage protocols, adding restrictions
  • Fox 40 Sacramento: Sacramento County launches project to monitor water usage
  • Manteca Bulletin: To avoid the ‘if it is yellow let it mellow’ toilet rule we need to ban new ornamental lawns
  • Simi Valley Acorn: When it comes to life, water is more valuable than gold
  • The Signal: Water use restrictions announced for the Santa Clarita Valley
  • KCLU: Drought prompting new water use restrictions for hundreds of thousands of people on South Coast
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Aquafornia news May 2, 2022 San Luis Obispo Tribune

Los Osos and Cambria must stop new development, CA says

The California Coastal Commission wants San Luis Obispo County to immediately halt all new water-using development, including housing, in Los Osos and Cambria. … The Coastal Commission also sent a letter on the same day to the Cambria Community Services District (CCSD) notifying that it had violated the California Coastal Act over more than three decades due to its water extractions from wells in the San Simeon and Santa Rosa creek aquifers … 

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Aquafornia news May 2, 2022 NBC News

Watch: Consequences of severe drought and climate change ripple across California

Water officials believe the past three years could end up as the driest in California’s history. State reservoir levels are alarmingly low, and measurements of the Sierra Nevada snowpack are “grim,” the state’s natural resources secretary tells Lester Holt. The drought is impacting the water supply for residents and farms, which supply critical crops for the nation.

Related articles:

  • ABC 10 Sacramento: Final Sierra snow survey of the year comes up dry
  • CBS News: New government maps show nearly all of the West is in drought and it’s not even summer yet: “This is unprecedented”
  • KCRA Sacramento: Here’s a look at California’s drought map — and how it compares to this time last year
  • Sacramento Bee: Tahoe ski resort extends season after April snow. Here’s how long the fun might last
  • CBS San Francisco: Spring rain, quirky climate wipes out early strawberry crop in Monterey County
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Western Water April 29, 2022 Nick Cahill Colorado River Basin Map Layperson's Guide to Water Recycling WESTERN WATER-As Drought Shrinks the Colorado River, A SoCal Giant Seeks Help from River Partners to Fortify its Local Supply By Nick Cahill

As Drought Shrinks the Colorado River, A SoCal Giant Seeks Help from River Partners to Fortify its Local Supply
Metropolitan Water District's wastewater recycling project draws support from Arizona and Nevada, which hope to gain a share of Metropolitan's river supply

Metropolitan Water District's advanced water treatment demonstration plant in Carson. Momentum is building for a unique interstate deal that aims to transform wastewater from Southern California homes and business into relief for the stressed Colorado River. The collaborative effort to add resiliency to a river suffering from overuse, drought and climate change is being shaped across state lines by some of the West’s largest water agencies.  

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Aquafornia news April 29, 2022 Los Angeles Times

Essential California: As some cities face water restrictions, a desalination debate grows

California’s extreme drought over the last three years has been intensified by hotter temperatures, putting strains on the shrinking reserves in the state’s reservoirs. … Yet even as the northern third of the MWD’s vast service area faces unprecedented water restrictions, a different sort of struggle is underway in Orange County, where a company’s plan to build a large desalination plant is to face a critical vote next month before the California Coastal Commission.

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Aquafornia news April 29, 2022 Time

California sunshine could be key to combating drought

Some ideas are so satisfying that you wonder how they haven’t been done before. Solar canals, which will get their first U.S. pilot later this year in California, fit that mold. Western states are crisscrossed by thousands of miles of irrigation canals, some as wide as 150 feet, others just 10 feet across. By covering those channels with solar panels, researchers say, we could produce renewable energy without taking up precious land. At the same time, the added shade could prevent billions of gallons of water loss through evaporation.

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Aquafornia news April 29, 2022 Los Angeles Times

Friday Top of the Scroll: Why some SoCal neighborhoods face dire water cuts while others escape restrictions

Major water restrictions are about to take effect in areas ranging from Rancho Cucamonga to Thousand Oaks, and Baldwin Park to North Hollywood. But many nearby areas will escape the mandatory one-day-a-week watering limits — among them Santa Monica, Long Beach, Torrance and Beverly Hills. Why? The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has targeted these first-ever water restrictions for areas that rely heavily or entirely on the State Water Project — a Northern California water supply that officials say faces a real risk of running dry. 

Related articles: 

  • New York Times: California’s new water restrictions - What to know 
  • Sacramento Bee: Southern California gets drastic water cutbacks amid drought. What’s next for Sacramento
  • Los Angeles Times: Sweeping water restrictions will change life in Southern California - A guide
  • Los Angeles Times: Cloudy skies and cool temperatures but no rain as drought persists, forecasters say
  • KRCR-Redding: Cal Water applies to enter stage two of its water shortage contingency plan
  • The Packer: Water woes hit hard in Southern California
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Aquafornia news April 28, 2022 Petaluma Argus-Courier

How Petaluma is tackling this drought – and the next one

Despite a glut of recent rain descending on Sonoma County in late spring and ratcheting rainfall totals to more than double last winter’s paltry numbers, the region remains locked in drought, and local water experts say residents should prepare for ongoing restrictions. Since last September, Petaluma has sought to curb the city’s overall water usage by 30% compared to 2020 numbers, implementing restrictions on water use to help the city meet mandatory cutback targets set by Sonoma Water, the region’s primary supplier.

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Aquafornia news April 28, 2022 The Revelator

Author interview: Why we need slow solutions to solve our water problems

What does Slow Water mean? In our attempt to control water we’re often trying to eradicate the slow phases and move it a lot more quickly. We’re putting up levees so that it won’t settle on floodplains. We’re filling in wetlands so that we can build or farm on top of them. We’re cutting down mountain forests that act as water towers, generating water and releasing it slowly. In all of the cases I looked at, the water detectives were trying to give water access to its slow phases again, whether that meant restoring or protecting wetlands, or reclaiming floodplains, or protecting wet meadows, or in a city, creating something like bioswales.

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Aquafornia news April 28, 2022 Monterey County Weekly

The state says the Peninsula must build, but also holds back on water

Right on time, the Monterey Peninsula, along with the rest of the region, learned on April 21 how many new housing units the state not only expects, but will require, it to plan to build between 2023 and 2031. Historically, for the Peninsula, this has been as awkward as a relationship between local and state government can get. The local governments here agree they need to add housing, yet the region, served by water utility California American Water, remains under a cease and desist order from the state that has, for years, barred adding new water connections.

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Aquafornia news April 28, 2022 KRCR Chico

Butte County working to understand the impacts of the drought

During Tuesday’s Butte County Board of Supervisors Meeting, the board heard from Luhdorff and Scalmanaini Consulting Engineers, who they hired in December 2021 to do a drought impact analyst study. The results found that for agriculture: Areas that utilize surface water in normal years pump more in drought years, as is expected. Total cost of water compared to total cost of production remains low but may increase in the future… 

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Aquafornia news April 28, 2022 ABC7 San Francisco

San Francisco building brings water efficiency to low-income tenants

Mark Puchalski is the director of facilities with the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation. The nonprofit is integrating a wide range of water-saving technologies into its buildings, which serve low-income residents in San Francisco. … “This building uses 50% less water, 51% to be exact, less water than a building of comparable size and community … ,” says Puchalski. … Their water conservation model is so successful it’s being highlighted in a new sustainability report by the nonprofits SPUR and the Pacific Institute.

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  • SPUR and Pacific Institute: Report - Water efficiency and reuse in affordable housing   
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Aquafornia news April 28, 2022 Los Angeles Times

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Parts of SoCal face full outdoor watering ban by September

The Metropolitan Water District said Wednesday that the unprecedented decision to reduce outdoor watering to one day a week for about 6 million Southern Californians could be followed by even stricter actions in September if conditions don’t improve, including a total ban in some areas. … The MWD’s board has never before taken such a step, but officials said it became an inevitability after California’s driest ever January, February and March left snowpacks shrunken and reservoirs drained.

Related articles: 

  • Daily Bulletin: Drought prompts outdoor watering limits, possible fines for 6 million in Southern California
  • Times of San Diego: Lawn Watering Restricted for Millions in Southern California, But Not Yet in San Diego
  • KQED: New Water Restrictions Ordered for 1.4 Million East Bay Residents, Amid Ongoing Drought Conditions
  • Washington Post: California declares historic water emergency measures amid drought
  • KPCC: Listen – Metropolitan Water District Declares Drought Emergency & Snow Survey Shows Improved Snowpack
  • CBS Sacramento: Is Northern California Next For Water Conservation Rules?
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Aquafornia news April 27, 2022 Press Telegram

Opinion: You can have a new showerhead, but you can’t have any new water

Would it surprise you to know that California could have all the water anybody could want, but various government officials refuse to take the actions that would provide it? Consider, for example, the recent report by the staff of the California Coastal Commission about the long-suffering proposal for a desalination plant in Huntington Beach. The staff recommended that the commissioners vote to kill the project. Poseidon Water’s project was first proposed in 1998.
-Written by Susan Shelley. 

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Aquafornia news April 27, 2022 CalMatters

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: 6 million Southern Californians face order to conserve water

Unprecedented water restrictions are in store for about 6 million Southern Californians, a sign of deepening drought in counties that depend on water piped from the state’s parched reservoirs.  The Metropolitan Water District’s board voted unanimously today to require six major water providers and the dozens of cities and local districts they supply to impose one of two options: limit residents to outdoor watering once a week or reduce total water use below a certain target.

Related articles: 

  • Sacramento Bee: Millions must cut water use in drought-stricken California
  • CNN: Southern California businesses and residents are asked to reduce outdoor watering as drought leaves ‘half the water that we need’ for summer
  • San Francisco Chronicle: Oakland, Berkeley residents to see water usage capped amid drought fears
  • KRON 4: New East Bay drought measures now in effect
  • Vallejo Times-Herald: California drought - New water restrictions coming to 1.4 million East Bay residents
  • Los Angeles Times: Unprecedented water restrictions ordered as MWD declares water shortage emergency
  • Associated Press: Millions face unprecedented order to conserve water in drought-stricken California
  • ABC 7: Watch – 6 million SoCal residents asked to limit outdoor watering to 1 day a week under new restrictions
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Aquafornia news April 26, 2022 Associated Press

Surge of desert surf parks stirs questions in dry California

Hours from the California coast, surfers are hoping one of the next spots where they can catch a wave is in the desert. At least four large surf lagoons are proposed for the region around Palm Springs, which is more commonly known for art festivals, mountain hikes and golf, and has no natural waves in sight. But some environmentalists and residents say it isn’t water-wise to build large resorts in one of the driest spots in California during one of its driest periods in recent memory. 

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Aquafornia news April 25, 2022 Marijuana Business Daily

California drought plan could exclude cannabis as growers prepare for dry summer

Heading into another brutally dry summer, struggling cannabis growers in California could be excluded from the state’s latest assistance plan to save water. A proposal by Gov. Gavin Newsom would pay farmers to not plant crops, known as fallowing, this year as drought conditions worsen. The plan with some of the state’s largest water providers earmarks $268 million in upfront payments for voluntarily leaving fields uncultivated, or fallowing.

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Aquafornia news April 22, 2022 San Francisco Chronicle

Friday Top of the Scroll: Bay Area’s biggest water agency may start capping household use

As California faces a third dry year, the Bay Area’s biggest water agency may push forward with caps on customer water use, and fines for those who exceed the limit. The move would put the East Bay Municipal Utility District among a small, and perhaps soon-to-grow, number of water suppliers in the region that have taken the unusual step of compelling households to cut back, instead of simply encouraging conservation.

Related articles:

  • Red Bluff Daily News: Tehama County prepares to adopt new water conservation tactics
  • Mercury News: Drought rules tightening in more Bay Area cities
  • CBS San Francisco: Drought Emergency - Contra Costa Water District Calls For 15% Conservation, Mulls Surcharge
  • NBC Los Angeles: Showers soak LA. Here’s how much rain fell
  • MyMotherLode.com: Late Season Precipitation Helping During Dry Year
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Aquafornia news April 22, 2022 The Associated Press

California Senate OKs lower standard for indoor water use

Mired in an extreme drought, California lawmakers on Thursday took the first step toward lowering the standard for how much water people use in their homes — a move that won’t be enforced on individual customers but could lead to higher rates even as consumption declines. California’s current standard for residential indoor water use is 55 gallons per person per day…. The California Senate voted 28-9 on Thursday to lower the standard to 47 gallons per person per day starting in 2025; and 42 gallons per person per day beginning in 2030. The bill has not yet passed the Assembly, meaning it is still likely months away from becoming law. 

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Aquafornia news April 21, 2022 Press Democrat

North Bay contractors, California trade groups lament swimming pools as latest drought casualty

Facing a giant hole in her year-old yard, Tania Weingart’s dream of summer fun in Novato runs deep. But one thing to fill it is in short supply these days — water. Her water company, North Marin Water, along with Marin Water, has imposed drought-related water restrictions that prohibit the filling of new pools and refilling existing ones. The mandate comes as the state is asking water agencies to impose restrictions for residents and businesses to cut water use by 10% among California residents and businesses as of March 28.

Related articles: 

  • Marin Independent Journal: Column - With water supply normal, Marin Municipal Water District should wait on setting benchmarks 
  • Channel 5: How San Diego stands out amid California drought
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Aquafornia news April 20, 2022 Newsy

Las Vegas enforces new water restrictions

In the Southwestern U.S., the massive Lake Mead Reservoir near Las Vegas is not as massive as it used to be. The water level has dropped to near-record-low levels. Drought has reduced the flow of water into the river, which has forced communities to cut back. … The water authority targeted the lush green grass that’s not native to the desert, encouraging people to remove it. … At first, residents and businesses were slow to pull up their lawns. 

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  • Los Altos Online: Lawn gone - Revitalizing the garden with native plants
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Aquafornia news April 19, 2022 Marin Independent Journal

Marin district weighs permanent water use restrictions

Some drought restrictions imposed on most Marin residents last year could become permanent, while others could be repealed in the coming weeks. On Friday, the Marin Municipal Water District proposed keeping a two-day-per-week sprinkler irrigation limit in place for good but also rescinding some prohibitions to allow residents to wash their cars at home or refill their pools.

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Aquafornia news April 18, 2022 Western Farm Press

Drip irrigation cleans the air while saving water

Under the blistering sun of Southern California’s Imperial Valley, it’s not surprising that subsurface drip irrigation is more effective and efficient than furrow (or flood) irrigation, a practice in which up to 50% of water is lost to evaporation. But a recent study also concludes that drip irrigation can dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from soil – which contribute to climate change and unhealthy air quality in the region – without sacrificing yields of forage crops alfalfa and sudangrass.

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Aquafornia news April 15, 2022 Office of Governor Gavin Newsom

News release: State expands save our water public awareness campaign as drought intensifies

Over the past few months, the state has ramped up communications efforts around the Save Our Water campaign focused on encouraging Californians to reduce water use as drought conditions worsen. This week, the campaign rolled out new content across various multimedia platforms including social, digital and streaming platforms, out-of-home, and radio. The multilingual ads communicate the urgent need to save water and provide actionable steps Californians can take.

Related articles: 

  • Thousand Oaks Acorn: Regional water wholesaler calls on customers to cut back 30%
  • Union-Democrat: TUD to encourage water conservation despite lack of shortage
  • Environmental Defense Fund: Drought in California is intensifying. It’s time to rise to the challenge.
  • San Francisco Chronicle: Democrats and Republicans see California’s problems very differently, according to a new poll
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Aquafornia news April 15, 2022 The San Francisco Examiner

Opinion: The good news in California’s growing water crisis

The Pacific Institute just released a new assessment of a set of urban water strategies for California that offers concrete solutions for saving water through improved water-use efficiency measures, while boosting local water supplies by expanding water reuse and capturing more stormwater that falls on our urban areas. … [E]fforts have led to a 30% drop in total urban water use statewide – a remarkable improvement in efficiency! The new study, however, shows that another 30% savings is possible simply by bringing California homes, businesses and industries up to current standards.
-Written by Peter H. Gleick, Heather Cooley and Amanda Bielawski, of the Pacific Institute.

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Western Water June 25, 2021 Colorado River Basin Map As Climate Change Turns Up The Heat in Las Vegas, Water Managers Try to Wring New Savings to Stretch Supply By Gary Pitzer

As Climate Change Turns Up The Heat in Las Vegas, Water Managers Try to Wring New Savings to Stretch Supply
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: Rising temperatures are expected to drive up water demand as historic drought in the Colorado River Basin imperils Southern Nevada’s key water source

Las Vegas has reduced its water consumption even as its population has increased. Las Vegas, known for its searing summertime heat and glitzy casino fountains, is projected to get even hotter in the coming years as climate change intensifies. As temperatures rise, possibly as much as 10 degrees by end of the century, according to some models, water demand for the desert community is expected to spike. That is not good news in a fast-growing region that depends largely on a limited supply of water from an already drought-stressed Colorado River.

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Western Water May 21, 2021 Colorado River Bundle Layperson's Guide to the State Water Project MWD's Jeff Kightlinger Reflects On Building Big Things, Essential Partnerships and His Hopes For the Delta By Gary Pitzer

MWD’s Jeff Kightlinger Reflects On Building Big Things, Essential Partnerships and His Hopes For the Delta
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Veteran Water Boss, Retiring After 25 Years With SoCal Water Giant, Discusses ‘Permanent’ Drought, Conservation Gains & the Struggling Colorado River

Jeff Kightlinger, longtime general manager of Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.When you oversee the largest supplier of treated water in the United States, you tend to think big.

Jeff Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California for the last 15 years, has focused on diversifying his agency’s water supply and building security through investment. That means looking beyond MWD’s borders to ensure the reliable delivery of water to two-thirds of California’s population.

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Western Water June 13, 2019 Layperson's Guide to California Wastewater Gary Pitzer

As Californians Save More Water, Their Sewers Get Less and That’s a Problem
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Lower flows damage equipment, concentrate waste and stink up neighborhoods; should water conservation focus shift outdoors?

Corrosion is evident in this wastewater pipe from Los Angeles County.Californians have been doing an exceptional job reducing their indoor water use, helping the state survive the most recent drought when water districts were required to meet conservation targets. With more droughts inevitable, Californians are likely to face even greater calls to save water in the future.

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Western Water May 9, 2019 Layperson's Guide to the Colorado River Colorado River Basin Map Gary Pitzer

With Drought Plan in Place, Colorado River Stakeholders Face Even Tougher Talks Ahead On The River’s Future
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: Talks are about to begin on a potentially sweeping agreement that could reimagine how the Colorado River is managed

Lake Mead, behind Hoover Dam, shows the effects of nearly two decades of drought. Even as stakeholders in the Colorado River Basin celebrate the recent completion of an unprecedented drought plan intended to stave off a crashing Lake Mead, there is little time to rest. An even larger hurdle lies ahead as they prepare to hammer out the next set of rules that could vastly reshape the river’s future.

Set to expire in 2026, the current guidelines for water deliveries and shortage sharing, launched in 2007 amid a multiyear drought, were designed to prevent disputes that could provoke conflict.

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Western Water April 25, 2019 California Water Map Gary Pitzer

California’s New Natural Resources Secretary Takes on Challenge of Implementing Gov. Newsom’s Ambitious Water Agenda
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Wade Crowfoot addresses Delta tunnel shift, Salton Sea plan and managing water amid a legacy of conflict

Wade Crowfoot, California Natural Resources Secretary.One of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first actions after taking office was to appoint Wade Crowfoot as Natural Resources Agency secretary. Then, within weeks, the governor laid out an ambitious water agenda that Crowfoot, 45, is now charged with executing.

That agenda includes the governor’s desire for a “fresh approach” on water, scaling back the conveyance plan in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and calling for more water recycling, expanded floodplains in the Central Valley and more groundwater recharge.

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Western Water March 28, 2019 California Groundwater Map Layperson's Guide to Groundwater Gary Pitzer

As Deadline Looms for California’s Badly Overdrafted Groundwater Basins, Kern County Seeks a Balance to Keep Farms Thriving
WESTERN WATER SPOTLIGHT: Sustainability plans required by the state’s groundwater law could cap Kern County pumping, alter what's grown and how land is used

Water sprinklers irrigate a field in the southern region of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County.Groundwater helped make Kern County the king of California agricultural production, with a $7 billion annual array of crops that help feed the nation. That success has come at a price, however. Decades of unchecked groundwater pumping in the county and elsewhere across the state have left some aquifers severely depleted. Now, the county’s water managers have less than a year left to devise a plan that manages and protects groundwater for the long term, yet ensures that Kern County’s economy can continue to thrive, even with less water.

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Western Water February 28, 2019 California Groundwater Map Layperson's Guide to Flood Management Gary Pitzer

Southern California Water Providers Think Local in Seeking to Expand Supplies
WESTERN WATER SIDEBAR: Los Angeles and San Diego among agencies pursuing more diverse water portfolio beyond imports

The Claude “Bud” Lewis Desalination Plant in Carlsbad last December marked 40 billion gallons of drinking water delivered to San Diego County during its first three years of operation. The desalination plant provides the county with more than 50 million gallons of water each day.Although Santa Monica may be the most aggressive Southern California water provider to wean itself from imported supplies, it is hardly the only one looking to remake its water portfolio.

In Los Angeles, a city of about 4 million people, efforts are underway to dramatically slash purchases of imported water while boosting the amount from recycling, stormwater capture, groundwater cleanup and conservation. Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2014 announced a plan to reduce the city’s purchase of imported water from Metropolitan Water District by one-half by 2025 and to provide one-half of the city’s supply from local sources by 2035. (The city considers its Eastern Sierra supplies as imported water.)

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Western Water February 28, 2019 Groundwater Education Bundle Gary Pitzer

Imported Water Built Southern California; Now Santa Monica Aims To Wean Itself Off That Supply
WESTERN WATER SPOTLIGHT: Santa Monica is tapping groundwater, rainwater and tighter consumption rules to bring local supply and demand into balance

The Santa Monica Urban Runoff Recycling Facility (SMURRF) treats dry weather urban runoff to remove pollutants such as sediment, oil, grease, and pathogens for nonpotable use.Imported water from the Sierra Nevada and the Colorado River built Southern California. Yet as drought, climate change and environmental concerns render those supplies increasingly at risk, the Southland’s cities have ramped up their efforts to rely more on local sources and less on imported water.

Far and away the most ambitious goal has been set by the city of Santa Monica, which in 2014 embarked on a course to be virtually water independent through local sources by 2023. In the 1990s, Santa Monica was completely dependent on imported water. Now, it derives more than 70 percent of its water locally.

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Western Water November 16, 2018 California Water Map Layperson's Guide to the State Water Project Gary Pitzer

As He Steps Aside, Tim Quinn Talks About ‘Adversarialists,’ Collaboration and Hope For Solving the State’s Tough Water Issues
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Tim Quinn, retiring executive director of Association of California Water Agencies

ACWA Executive Director Tim Quinn  with a report produced by Association of California Water Agencies on  sustainable groundwater management.  (Source:  Association of California Water Agencies)In the universe of California water, Tim Quinn is a professor emeritus. Quinn has seen — and been a key player in — a lot of major California water issues since he began his water career 40 years ago as a young economist with the Rand Corporation, then later as deputy general manager with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and finally as executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. In December, the 66-year-old will retire from ACWA.

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Western Water October 5, 2018 Douglas E. Beeman Douglas E. Beeman

What Would You Do About Water If You Were California’s Next Governor?
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Survey at Foundation’s Sept. 20 Water Summit elicits a long and wide-ranging potential to-do list

There’s going to be a new governor in California next year – and a host of challenges both old and new involving the state’s most vital natural resource, water.

So what should be the next governor’s water priorities?

That was one of the questions put to more than 150 participants during a wrap-up session at the end of the Water Education Foundation’s Sept. 20 Water Summit in Sacramento.

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Western Water October 5, 2018 California Water Map Gary Pitzer

In Water-Stressed California and the Southwest, An Acre-Foot of Water Goes a Lot Further Than It Used To
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK-As households get stingier with water, a common guide for describing how much they need gets a refresh

The Antioch/Oakley Regional Shoreline park displays a sign announcing their water conservation efforts at the park in 2014.People in California and the Southwest are getting stingier with water, a story that’s told by the acre-foot.

For years, water use has generally been described in terms of acre-foot per a certain number of households, keying off the image of an acre-foot as a football field a foot deep in water. The long-time rule of thumb: One acre-foot of water would supply the indoor and outdoor needs of two typical urban households for a year.

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Western Water August 10, 2018 Colorado River Basin Map Layperson's Guide to the Colorado River Gary Pitzer

New Leader Takes Over as the Upper Colorado River Commission Grapples With Less Water and a Drier Climate
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Amy Haas, executive director, Upper Colorado River Commission

Amy Haas, executive director, Upper Colorado River CommissionAmy Haas recently became the first non-engineer and the first woman to serve as executive director of the Upper Colorado River Commission in its 70-year history, putting her smack in the center of a host of daunting challenges facing the Upper Colorado River Basin.

Yet those challenges will be quite familiar to Haas, an attorney who for the past year has served as deputy director and general counsel of the commission. (She replaced longtime Executive Director Don Ostler). She has a long history of working within interstate Colorado River governance, including representing New Mexico as its Upper Colorado River commissioner and playing a central role in the negotiation of the recently signed U.S.-Mexico agreement known as Minute 323.

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Western Water June 15, 2018 Jenn Bowles Colorado River Basin Map Layperson's Guide to the Colorado River Jennifer Bowles

Domino Effect: As Arizona Searches For a Unifying Voice, a Drought Plan for the Lower Colorado River Is Stalled
EDITOR'S NOTE: Finding solutions to the Colorado River — or any disputed river —may be the most important role anyone can play

Nowhere is the domino effect in Western water policy played out more than on the Colorado River, and specifically when it involves the Lower Basin states of California, Nevada and Arizona. We are seeing that play out now as the three states strive to forge a Drought Contingency Plan. Yet that plan can’t be finalized until Arizona finds a unifying voice between its major water players, an effort you can read more about in the latest in-depth article of Western Water.

Even then, there are some issues to resolve just within California.

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Western Water June 15, 2018 Layperson's Guide to the Colorado River Colorado River Basin Map Gary Pitzer

As Colorado River Levels Drop, Pressure Grows On Arizona To Complete A Plan For Water Shortages
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: A dispute over who speaks for Arizona has stalled work with California, Nevada on Drought Contingency Plan

Hoover Dam and Lake Mead

It’s high-stakes time in Arizona. The state that depends on the Colorado River to help supply its cities and farms — and is first in line to absorb a shortage — is seeking a unified plan for water supply management to join its Lower Basin neighbors, California and Nevada, in a coordinated plan to preserve water levels in Lake Mead before they run too low.

If the lake’s elevation falls below 1,075 feet above sea level, the secretary of the Interior would declare a shortage and Arizona’s deliveries of Colorado River water would be reduced by 320,000 acre-feet. Arizona says that’s enough to serve about 1 million households in one year.

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Western Water May 18, 2018 Layperson's Guide to Groundwater Gary Pitzer

Could the Arizona Desert Offer California and the West a Guide to Solving Groundwater Problems?
WESTERN WATER SPOTLIGHT: Environmental Defense Fund report highlights strategies from Phoenix and elsewhere for managing demands on groundwater

Skyline of Phoenix, ArizonaAs California embarks on its unprecedented mission to harness groundwater pumping, the Arizona desert may provide one guide that local managers can look to as they seek to arrest years of overdraft.

Groundwater is stressed by a demand that often outpaces natural and artificial recharge. In California, awareness of groundwater’s importance resulted in the landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in 2014 that aims to have the most severely depleted basins in a state of balance in about 20 years.

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Western Water April 6, 2018 California Water Bundle Gary Pitzer

Statewide Water Bond Measures Could Have Californians Doing a Double-Take in 2018
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Two bond measures, worth $13B, would aid flood preparation, subsidence, Salton Sea and other water needs

San Joaquin Valley bridge rippled by subsidence  California voters may experience a sense of déjà vu this year when they are asked twice in the same year to consider water bonds — one in June, the other headed to the November ballot.

Both tackle a variety of water issues, from helping disadvantaged communities get clean drinking water to making flood management improvements. But they avoid more controversial proposals, such as new surface storage, and they propose to do some very different things to appeal to different constituencies.

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Western Water November 27, 2017 Layperson's Guide to Climate Change and Water Resources Gary Pitzer

The Drought May Be Over, But California Still Wants Residents to Act Like It’s On Forever
State considers adopting permanent wise water use rules starting in April

For decades, no matter the weather, the message has been preached to Californians: use water wisely, especially outdoors, which accounts for most urban water use.

Enforcement of that message filters to the local level, where water agencies routinely target the notorious “gutter flooder” with gentle reminders and, if necessary, financial penalties.

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Aquapedia background February 6, 2017

Water Use Efficiency

The message is oft-repeated that water must be conserved and used as wisely as possible.

The California Water Code calls water use efficiency “the efficient management of water resources for beneficial uses, preventing waste, or accomplishing additional benefits with the same amount of water.”

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Aquapedia background September 8, 2016

Xeriscaping

From the Greek “xeros” and Middle Dutch “scap,” xeriscape was coined in 1978 and literally translates to “dry scene.”  Xeriscaping, by extension, is making an environment which can tolerate dryness. This involves installing drought-resistant and slow-growing plants to reduce water use.

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Aquapedia background September 8, 2016

Irrigation

Irrigation is the artificial supply of water to grow crops or plants. Obtained from either surface or groundwater, it optimizes agricultural production when the amount of rain and where it falls is insufficient. Different irrigation systems are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but in practical use are often combined. Much of the agriculture in California and the West relies on irrigation. 

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Foundation Event October 14, 2014 Inland Empire Utilities Agency Riverside County Watershed Protection San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck Dudek Eastern Municipal Water District Jackson DeMarco Tidus Peckenpaugh San Bernardino County Flood Control District Western Municipal Water District BABCOCK Laboratories, Inc. Carollo Engineers, Inc. Chino Basin Water Conservation District CVStrategies and IEfficient The Dolphin Group The Energy Coalition GEOSCIENCE Support Services, Inc. Irvine Ranch Water District Kidman Law LLP Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Orange County Sanitation District Orange County Water District Riverside Public Utilities San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency Stetson Engineers Vali Cooper & Associates, Inc. West Valley Water District Conference Exhibitors

2014 Santa Ana River Watershed Conference

The 6th Annual Santa Ana River Watershed conference was held October 14, 2014 at the Riverside Convention Center in Riverside.

The event was convened by the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA) and coordinated by the Water Education Foundation.

What is One Water One Watershed (OWOW)?

OWOW is an innovative Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (IRWMP) planning process being developed within the Santa Ana River Watershed.

  • Agenda
  • Garry Brown presentation
  • Paul Brown presentation
  • Col. Kimberly Colloton presentation
  • Girish Balachandran presentation
  • Paul Granillo presentation
  • Jim Herberg presentation
  • Kamyar Guivetchi presentation
  • Glen MacDonald presentation
  • Michael Osur presentation
  • Kurt Schwabe presentation
  • Jason Uhley presentation
  • Al Zelinka presentation
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Product May 29, 2014

Colorado River Facts Slide Card

This card includes information about the Colorado River, who uses the river, how the river’s water is divided and other pertinent facts about this vital resource for the Southwest. Beautifully illustrated with color photographs.

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Video May 27, 2014

The Klamath Basin: A Restoration for the Ages (60 min. DVD)

For over a century, the Klamath River Basin along the Oregon and California border has faced complex water management disputes. As relayed in this 2012, 60-minute public television documentary narrated by actress Frances Fisher, the water interests range from the Tribes near the river, to energy producer PacifiCorp, farmers, municipalities, commercial fishermen, environmentalists – all bearing legitimate arguments for how to manage the water. After years of fighting, a groundbreaking compromise may soon settle the battles with two epic agreements that hold the promise of peace and fish for the watershed. View an excerpt from the documentary here.

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Video May 27, 2014

Restoring a River: Voices of the San Joaquin

This 30-minute documentary-style DVD on the history and current state of the San Joaquin River Restoration Program includes an overview of the geography and history of the river, historical and current water delivery and uses, the genesis and timeline of the 1988 lawsuit, how the settlement was reached and what was agreed to.

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Video May 27, 2014

A Climate of Change: Water Adaptation Strategies

This 25-minute documentary-style DVD, developed in partnership with the California Department of Water Resources, provides an excellent overview of climate change and how it is already affecting California. The DVD also explains what scientists anticipate in the future related to sea level rise and precipitation/runoff changes and explores the efforts that are underway to plan and adapt to climate.

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Video May 27, 2014

Drinking Water: Quenching the Public Thirst (60-minute DVD)

Many Californians don’t realize that when they turn on the faucet, the water that flows out could come from a source close to home or one hundreds of miles away. Most people take their water for granted; not thinking about the elaborate systems and testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to households throughout the state. Where drinking water comes from, how it’s treated, and what people can do to protect its quality are highlighted in this 2007 PBS documentary narrated by actress Wendie Malick. 

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Video May 27, 2014

Drinking Water: Quenching the Public Thirst (30-minute DVD)

A 30-minute version of the 2007 PBS documentary Drinking Water: Quenching the Public Thirst. This DVD is ideal for showing at community forums and speaking engagements to help the public understand the complex issues surrounding the elaborate systems and testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to households throughout the state.

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Video May 21, 2014

Water on the Edge (60-minute DVD)

Water truly has shaped California into the great state it is today. And if it is water that made California great, it’s the fight over – and with – water that also makes it so critically important. In efforts to remap California’s circulatory system, there have been some critical events that had a profound impact on California’s water history. These turning points not only forced a re-evaluation of water, but continue to impact the lives of every Californian. This 2005 PBS documentary offers a historical and current look at the major water issues that shaped the state we know today. Includes a 12-page viewer’s guide with background information, historic timeline and a teacher’s lesson.

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014

Carson River Basin Map
Published 2006

A companion to the Truckee River Basin Map poster, this 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, explores the Carson River, and its link to the Truckee River. The map includes Lahontan Dam and Reservoir, the Carson Sink, and the farming areas in the basin. Map text discusses the region’s hydrology and geography, the Newlands Project, land and water use within the basin and wetlands. Development of the map was funded by a grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region, Lahontan Basin Area Office.

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014

Nevada Water Map
Published 2004

This 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, illustrates the water resources available for Nevada cities, agriculture and the environment. It features natural and manmade water resources throughout the state, including the Truckee and Carson rivers, Lake Tahoe, Pyramid Lake and the course of the Colorado River that forms the state’s eastern boundary.

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014

Water Cycle Poster

Water as a renewable resource is depicted in this 18×24 inch poster. Water is renewed again and again by the natural hydrologic cycle where water evaporates, transpires from plants, rises to form clouds, and returns to the earth as precipitation. Excellent for elementary school classroom use.

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Publication May 20, 2014

Layperson’s Guide to Integrated Regional Water Management
Published 2013

The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) is an in-depth, easy-to-understand publication that provides background information on the principles of IRWM, its funding history and how it differs from the traditional water management approach.

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Aquapedia background February 11, 2014

Water Conservation

Drought-tolerant landscaping reduces the amount of water used on traditional lawns

Water conservation has become a way of life throughout the West with a growing recognition that the supply of water is not unlimited.

Drought is the most common motivator of increased water conservation but the gradual drying of the West as a result of climate change means the amount of fresh water available for drinking, irrigation, industry and other uses must be used as efficiently as possible.

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Western Water Magazine January 1, 2013

Viewing Water with a Wide Angle Lens: A Roundtable Discussion
January/February 2013

This printed issue of Western Water features a roundtable discussion with Anthony Saracino, a water resources consultant; Martha Davis, executive manager of policy development with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency and senior policy advisor to the Delta Stewardship Council; Stuart Leavenworth, editorial page editor of The Sacramento Bee and Ellen Hanak, co-director of research and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California.

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Western Water Magazine November 1, 2012

A Call to Action? The Colorado River Basin Supply and Demand Study
November/December 2012

This printed issue of Western Water examines the Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study and what its finding might mean for the future of the lifeblood of the Southwest.

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Western Water Magazine March 1, 2012

Keeping It Down on the Farm: Agricultural Water Use Efficiency
March/April 2012

This printed issue of Western Water examines agricultural water use – its successes, the planned state regulation to quantify its efficiency and the potential for greater savings.

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Western Water Magazine September 1, 2009

Dollars and Sense: How We Pay for Water
September/October 2009

This printed issue of Western Water examines the financing of water infrastructure, both at the local level and from the statewide perspective, and some of the factors that influence how people receive their water, the price they pay for it and how much they might have to pay in the future.

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Western Water Magazine November 1, 2008

Dealing with the ‘D’ Word: The Response to Drought
November/December 2008

This printed copy of Western Water examines California’s drought – its impact on water users in the urban and agricultural sector and the steps being taken to prepare for another dry year should it arrive.

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Western Water Excerpt January 1, 2008 Gary PitzerRita Schmidt Sudman

A Significant Challenge: Adapting Water Management to Climate Change
January/February 2008

Perhaps no other issue has rocketed to prominence in such a short time as climate change. A decade ago, discussion about greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the connection to warming temperatures was but a fraction of the attention now given to the issue. From the United Nations to local communities, people are talking about climate change – its characteristics and what steps need to be taken to mitigate and adapt to the anticipated impacts.

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Western Water Magazine May 1, 2005

Smart Water Use: Stretching the Urban Supply
May/June 2005

This issue of Western Water examines the continuing practice of smart water use in the urban sector and its many facets, from improved consumer appliances to improved agency planning to the improvements in water recycling and desalination. Many in the water community say conserving water is not merely a response to drought conditions, but a permanent ethic in an era in which every drop of water is a valuable commodity not to be wasted.

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Western Water Magazine November 1, 1999

Managing the Colorado River
November/December 1999

Drawn from a special stakeholder symposium held in September 1999 in Keystone, Colorado, this issue explores how we got to where we are today on the Colorado River; an era in which the traditional water development of the past has given way to a more collaborative approach that tries to protect the environment while stretching available water supplies.

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Western Water Magazine November 1, 1998

Cutting Colorado River Use: The California Plan
November/December 1998

This issue updates progress on crafting and implementing California’s 4.4 plan to reduce its use of Colorado River water by 800,000 acre-feet. The state has used as much as 5.2 million acre-feet of Colorado River water annually, but under pressure from Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and the other six states that share this resource, California’s Colorado River parties have been trying to close the gap between demand and supply.

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