Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
The lawsuit states that they checked into the beachside US$800 per night hotel without incident. When they realized they ran out of water on November 18, they called the front desk, and an employee delivered five bottles of water. Jane went to bed and reached for a bottle of water in the middle of the night. After taking a sip, she knew something was wrong and notified hotel security and management. She initially assumed it was a chemical contamination before suspecting it was semen.
The Department of Water Resources significantly overestimated the state water supply in 2021 because of an error to take into account severe drought due to climate change, the California State Auditor said in a report Thursday. The agency has relied on historical climate data when developing its forecasts, instead of taking into account new methods that better account for extreme conditions, the report said.
Arizona, California and Nevada on Monday proposed a plan to significantly reduce their water use from the drought-stricken Colorado River over the next three years, a potential breakthrough in a year-long stalemate over how to deal with a rising problem that pitted Western states against one another. The plan would conserve an additional 3 million acre-feet of water from the 1,450-mile river that provides water to 40 million people in seven U.S. states, parts of Mexico and more than two dozen Native American tribes.
California will provide 100% of the water requested by cities and farms for the first time in years thanks to winter storms that filled reservoirs and runoff from a record snowpack, regulators announced Thursday. The State Water Project will provide full allocations to 29 water agencies supplying about 27 million customers and 750,000 acres of farmland, the Department of Water Resources said. As late as March, the agency was only expecting to provide 75% of requested water supplies.
Water levels fell so low in key reservoirs during the depth of California's drought that boat docks sat on dry, cracked land and cars drove into the centre of what should have been Folsom Lake. Those scenes are no more after a series of powerful storms dumped record amounts of rain and snow across California, replenishing reservoirs and bringing an end — mostly — to the state's three-year drought.
California's recent spate of epic Pacific storms has blanketed the Sierra Nevada range in a snowpack at or above record levels, state water resource officials said on Monday at a measuring station where less than 3 inches was documented last April. The bounty of mountain snow, on which California has long relied as a critical natural storehouse of fresh water during dry weather, comes as welcome relief after three years of record drought that had still gripped the state a few months ago.
California's stormy winter, which has brought severe flooding and landslides to the state, has led some local officials to lift water rules. Water conservation restrictions have been relaxed for nearly seven million people in Southern California after the state's 11th atmospheric river this season helped ease drought. But experts cautioned drought remains a long-term concern for the state. "Dry conditions could return as soon as next year," local officials said.
Celebrations in a beachside California city will soon have to take place without an iconic, single-use party favour: balloons. The city council of Laguna Beach, about 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles, banned the sale and use of all types of balloons recently, citing their contribution to ocean litter as well as risks from potential fires when they hit power lines. Starting in 2024, people using balloons on public property or at city events could incur fines of up to $500 for each violation. (Balloons used solely within people’s homes are exempt.)
Waves of torrential rainfall drenched California into the new year. Snowpacks in the Sierra Nevada Mountains have swelled to more than 200% their normal size, and snowfall across the rest of the Colorado River Basin is trending above average, too. While the much-needed water has improved conditions in the parched West, experts warn against claiming victory. About 60% of the region remains in some form of drought, continuing a decades-long spiral into water scarcity.
The Colorado River, which provides drinking water to 40 million people in seven U.S. states, is drying up, straining a water distribution pact amid the worst drought in 12 centuries, exacerbated by climate change. California split from the six states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming on Tuesday in the face of a U.S. government deadline to negotiate their own supply cuts or face possible mandatory cutbacks by the federal government.
Weeks of historic rainfall in California won't be enough to end a severe drought but it will provide 27 million people with five times more water than suppliers had been told to expect a month ago, state officials announced Thursday. The Department of Water Resources said public water agencies will now get 30% of what they had asked for, up from the 5% officials had previously announced in December. That’s because for the first three weeks of January nine atmospheric rivers dumped an estimated 32 trillion gallons of rain and snow on California. It was enough water to increase storage in the state’s two largest reservoirs by a combined 66%.
The earth under Dennis Lebow's gumboots is saturated. He's in the Salinas Valley in California, about an hour south of San Jose. The valley is often referred to as the "salad bowl of the world" as it's one of the most productive agricultural areas in the U.S. Most of Canada's lettuce, strawberries and tomatoes are grown in its fertile soil, according to California's Department of Food and Agriculture.
The earth under Dennis Lebow's gumboots is saturated. He's in the Salinas Valley in California, about an hour south of San Jose. The valley is often referred to as the "salad bowl of the world" as it's one of the most productive agricultural areas in the U.S. Most of Canada's lettuce, strawberries and tomatoes are grown in its fertile soil, according to California's Department of Food and Agriculture.
At least 14 people have died in California as a fierce storm brings torrential downpours, high winds and flooding to the state. Thousands of people have evacuated their homes, while millions more are under severe weather warnings. Nearly 188,000 homes and businesses were without electricity, according to data from Poweroutage.us. Heavy rain is forecast to last much of the state throughout Tuesday, with some areas at risk of dangerous mudslides.
California - one of the driest states in the US - is being inundated with torrential rain and flooding. And given the decades-long drought in the region, which has led to restrictions on water usage in some areas, you might be wondering if this extreme weather could in some ways be a positive. But the downpour is unlikely to have a big impact on the drought. In fact, experts say it would take consecutive years of severe wet weather to reverse it in the long-term.
Renowned water scientist Dr. Jay Famiglietti (PhD), lead researcher of a scientific team that in late December published a paper in the prestigious Nature Communications journal detailing what their analysis indicates, has a blunt message: “All around the world, we have been kicking the can down the road for a long time on effectively managing groundwater. Now we are at the end of the road, and it’s a dead end.”
The snowpack covering California's mountains is off to one of its best starts in 40 years, officials announced Tuesday, raising hopes that the drought-stricken state could soon see relief in the spring when the snow melts and begins to refill parched reservoirs. Roughly a third of California's water each year comes from melted snow in the Sierra Nevada, a mountain range that covers the eastern part of the state. The state has built a complex system of canals and dams to capture that water and store it in huge reservoirs so it can be used the rest of the year when it doesn't rain or snow.
In a blistering third year of drought, Californians have been asked to limit their indoor water usage to 55 gallons (208 litres) per person per day. It takes about 30 gallons to fill a bathtub, so forget about a deep Jacuzzi experience. Yet in the gated communities of Calabasas and Hidden Hills - exclusive enclaves in the Santa Monica Mountains above Malibu - lush lawns and filled swimming pools and koi ponds make it clear that some are ignoring the rules.
A swath of Canada better known for maple syrup is being tested to mass produce berries normally grown in warmer locales, making it the unexpected beneficiary of extreme weather, local demand and rising costs in traditional growing areas like California. Driscoll's and grower-owned Naturipe Farms LLC, two of North America's largest fruit sellers, are both testing commercial production of berries in Ontario and Quebec, executives said.
Our closest neighbour to the south has a serious problem — and I’m not talking about racial animus, gun violence or political polarization. No, I’m referring to water shortages that the United States has never experienced before. To put it bluntly, the U.S. is literally running out of accessible water. And without water, the lives of millions of Americans are in immediate danger. I mean, you can’t live without safe water to drink.
