Monterey County Local News: Water


All Local Water News articles contributed by our local media allies and other local newsrooms.

Image caption: Since the Gold Rush era, land reclamation has cost California 90 percent of its wetlands.
How Land Reclamation Hurts California’s Environment

Since the Gold Rush era, land reclamation projects have helped to build California, but they are also damaging the state’s environment for people, plants and animals by eliminating essential wetlands.

Image caption: How California reclamation districts turned millions of acres of wetlands into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush.
Reclamation Districts: Turning ‘Swamps’ Into Farmland

California has used reclamation districts to turn millions of acres of unusable swamps into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush. Here’s how it happened.

Image caption: From nitrates to arsenic to “forever chemicals,” California’s water supply faces a serious pollution threat.
Dirty Water: California Faces a Water Contamination Crisis

Almost one million California residents are forced to drink from contaminated water supplies, or pay for bottled water. Economic inequality makes the crisis worse. What is the state doing to fix it?

Image caption: Just because record rains have been falling, the state’s water crisis remains.
What Is Drought? Probably Not What You Think

2023’s torrential rainstorms have eased California's drought conditions. But there’s a lot more to drought than the amount of rain, and this drought isn't over yet.

Image caption: There are more than 300 community service districts in California.
Community Services Districts, Explained

Community service districts can do most anything a city government can do. Here’s how they work and how to start one.

Image caption: RCDs look after the land, whether it’s used for grazing, growing, or getting out into nature.
California Dirt

What do resource conservation districts protect? Pretty much everything that’s worth saving.

Image caption: Water is a human right under California law, but it doesn’t always work out that way.
Agriculture and Water Shortages in the State’s Breadbasket, Explained

Residential wells are drying up in the state’s main agricultural region at the same time that agricultural businesses consume almost 90 percent of the water there.

Monterey County Weekly logo From Monterey County Weekly...

07/23/2024
Image for display with article titled Lake San Antonio to Reopen; Cause of Fish Die-Off Remains Unknown.

On Monday, July 22, the County of Monterey announced that Lake San Antonio, which the county Parks division closed on July 10, will reopen Wednesday, July 24 at 6am.

California Local Pin Marker From Monterey Herald...

07/19/2024
The City of Marina is working with the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District on plans for improvements to the 17-acre Locke Paddon Park.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

07/16/2024
A Kings County judge today issued a temporary restraining order against the state that pauses its unprecedented move to crack down on groundwater depletion in California’s agricultural heartland.

King City Rustler logo From King City Rustler...

07/10/2024
Image for display with article titled Officials Investigate Why Lake San Antonio Fish Have Gone Belly-Up

Monterey County officials are closing Lake San Antonio to visitors Wednesday and asking all campers to vacate following a mass fish dieoff that county staff first noticed last week.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

07/10/2024
Harnessing clean energy is a venture of unprecedented scope in California, bringing big changes to Humboldt and the Central Coast, and requiring 26 ports along the coast.

King City Rustler logo From King City Rustler...

07/08/2024
Image for display with article titled Large-Scale Fish Die-Off Reported at Lake San Antonio

A large number of fish were found dead at Lake San Antonio, in South Monterey County, the county’s spokesperson Maia Carroll said on Saturday.

Monterey County Weekly logo From Monterey County Weekly...

07/06/2024
Image for display with article titled Extreme Heat Believed to Be the Cause of Large Fish Die-Off at Lake San Antonio.

The County of Monterey put out an unusual announcement today, as the Central Coast is in the throes of a heat wave.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

07/03/2024
The measures are substantially weaker than a previous proposal after an onslaught of criticism. But they will still save enough water through 2050 to supply the state’s entire population for a year, at a cost of $4.7 billion.

Monterey County Weekly logo From Monterey County Weekly...

07/02/2024
Image for display with article titled Switching Sanitation Billing to the Tax Rolls Is Still a Thing After the Idea Fails With Monterey One Water Board.

When the sanitation district Monterey One Water began over a year ago to move from billing six times a year through a third-party contractor to twice a year through the Monterey County Tax Collector, other jurisdictions that have their own sewer collection services planned on making the switch as well at the same time on July 1.

KSQD logo From KSQD...

06/29/2024
Image for display with article titled All About Sea Otters With PK Hattis

With the recent reemergence of otter 841, the surfboard swiping sea critter raised in captivity, I'll be facilitating a panel conversation that includes several sea otter experts and the local photographer whose photos went viral about a year ago.

Monterey County Weekly logo From Monterey County Weekly...

06/26/2024
Image for display with article titled In a Stunning Vote, Two Cities Nix Monterey One Water's Billing Process One Week Before It Begins.

A cost-saving plan to shift all of Monterey One Water's billing to collection through county property tax bills was killed just seven days before it was to go into effect, thanks to opposition from just two of the board's 10 members in a weighted vote.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

06/25/2024
Almost 400 suppliers, two-thirds in communities of color, don’t meet safety and reliability standards. Fixing them would cost billions.

California Local Pin Marker From The Mercury News...

06/18/2024
A new round of litigation began when environmental groups opposed to the Sites reservoir in Colusa County filed an appeal on a ruling which dismissed their suit seeking to halt the project from proceeding.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

06/17/2024
Legal rights to use water — particularly those obtained prior to 1914 — lie at the heart of California’s perpetual wrangling over the allocation of increasingly limited water supplies.

California Local Pin Marker From SF Gate...

06/13/2024
Young Great White sharks are convening in the warm waters of Soquel Cove off Seacliff State Beach between Capitola and Rio Del Mar.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

06/12/2024
Aiming to store more water and protect the public, legislators are negotiating with the governor to restore $50 million to help repair 42 aging dams throughout the state.

California Local Pin Marker From The Mercury News...

06/05/2024
The $4.5 billion Sites Reservoir project is advancing after a judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by environmental groups.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

06/05/2024
A new study, conducted by researchers at three University of California campuses, projects that a combination of factors will reduce California’s water supply by up to 9 million acre-feet a year.

California Local Pin Marker From Los Angeles Times...

06/01/2024
Cal State Fullerton researchers released findings of ancient floods in Southern California which indicate the state may be more prone to mega flooding than previously thought.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

05/30/2024
Researchers say if California could collect and treat more stormwater in cities, it could provide enough water to supply a quarter of the state’s urban population.
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