Posts Tagged: drought
News
Despite the hottest June on record, Californians cut back on their water use statewide by by 27.3 percent statewide compared with June 2013, a reduction that exceeded the level ordered in the governor’s emergency drought regulations. The cut in usage amounted to more than 182,000 acre-feet of water, or about 59.4 billion gallons by urban water suppliers.
News
As the state suffers through its fourth year of drought, most Californians say the lack of water is the single most important environmental issue facing the state, a dramatic increase over the number who expressed similar concerns a year ago. A survey by the nonprofit Public Policy Institute of California reported that 58 percent of Californians ranked the drought as the top issue — up 23 points from July 2014 and up 50 points from July 2011.
News
No matter what you might have heard, Felicia Marcus wants you to know she doesn’t hate your lawn. At least not on general principle. “No, no, no,” Marcus, the chair of the Water Resources Control Board, says emphatically when asked about a quote from California Farm Bureau Federation president Paul Wenger that claimed Marcus has a personal vendetta against green lawns.
News
Water and the lack of it is the No. 1 issue confronting California, and most people across the state believe their neighbors aren’t doing enough to deal with the drought. The nonprofit Public Policy Institute of California reported that nearly four in 10 of those surveyed said water and drought was the most important issue, about double those – 20 percent – who saw jobs and the economy as the key issue.
News
Field Poll: By a nearly three-to-one margin (65% to 23%) Californians support Governor Jerry Brown’s call to require urban water districts to reduce their water use by an average of 25% statewide. Support for the Governor’s plan is broad-based and bipartisan, and spans all major subgroups of the state’s adult population.
News
As drought-parched California withers, salt water captures attention – again. Santa Barbara, which built a desalination plan more than 20 years ago and then abruptly shut it down because of costs, is considering upgrading and restarting the project and provide the city of 91,000 with about a fourth of its drinking water. The tentative price tag is $40 million. In Sacramento, the State Water Resources Control Board is poised to adopt new regulations in May governing desalination.
Opinion
As part of the newly formed Californians for Water Security, we support moving forward with Governor Jerry Brown’s Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP), a bold strategy to ensure our state is making the most of our limited water supplies. That’s why we are disappointed to see certain groups opposing the plan to build a modern water pipeline to fix California’s aging statewide water distribution infrastructure.
News
Gov. Jerry Brown, standing in bright sunshine in a dry Sierra Nevada field usually deep in snow, ordered unprecedented measures across California to deal with the state’s historic drought, including 25 percent cuts for residents and businesses. The governor issued an executive order making the reductions mandatory. “As Californians, we must pull together and save water in every way possible,” Brown said.
News
John O’Hagan of the Division of Water Rights told the board that the state’s snow water equivalent — which is the amount of water that the Sierra snow pack will produce — is only 14% of average. He added the states reservoirs are only 50 percent of capacity. Both figures elicited a gasp from those present.
News
Oil and water don’t mix, but in Kern County they’ve joined to create a double-whammy. Already confronting a drought of historic proportions, Kern County — the nation’s No. 2 agricultural county — also faces a severe financial hit because of falling oil prices. The county is home to more than two-thirds of California’s oil production.
A suburban home with a lawn that hasn't been watered in months. (Photo: Suzanne Tucker, via Shutterstock)
