Santa Cruz County Water Digest

Desalination, the process of filtering seawater into clean drinking water, has had a rocky past in Santa Cruz. However, a new city policy says the technology, and other strategies, could come in handy in a parched future.

The federal government will spend $250 million over four years on environmental cleanup and restoration work around the Salton Sea, which is fed by the depleted Colorado River.

In the fall, rice fields in the Sacramento Valley usually shine golden brown as they await harvesting. This year, however, many fields were left covered with bare dirt.

Drought, human-caused climate change, invasive species and a “legacy” of environmental issues are permanently altering California’s landscape and placing some communities and ecosystems at increasing risk.

Along most of the California coast, whales remain in peril from fishing lines; in the far north, crab meat content is low

A dozen independent fish scientists are calling for urgent changes to sport fishing rules to save California’s largest freshwater fish after an unprecedented red tide this summer left hundreds of them dead.

For eight straight days this summer, farmers in far Northern California drained almost all of the water out of a river in defiance of the state’s drought regulations. The move infuriated environmentalists and salmon-dependent Native American tribes downstream.

The California Department of Water Resources will conduct several surveys of groundwater basins along the state's coastline—including regions in Santa Cruz County—using helicopter-based technology.

Linda and Stewart Resnick have donated $50 million to UC Davis for an agricultural research center—the largest donation in the campus’s history—but the couple’s Wonderful Company is the state’s single biggest water user.

The Santa Cruz Port District Commission, the five-person governing body for the port district, has two open seats and three candidates. Lookout asked each of them two questions; only the incumbents Reed Geisreiter and Toby Goddard answered.

Wildfires, drought, extreme heat and other effects of climate change are compounding in California, according to a report from state scientists.

Not all septic systems are subject to new onsite wastewater treatment system rules. These rules are triggered in specific situations, including the sale of a home, a system replacement or a major remodel or bedroom addition.

As drought drives prices higher, families are facing water bills of more than $200 a month. With 1 in 10 households behind on water payments, calls are mounting for the state to step in and help.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a warm, dry winter is in store for much of California as La Niña conditions are expected to persist through at least January.

The system essentially captures toilet waste in sealable containers without need for water or connective sewer networks. Blanketed by sawdust to reduce odor, the waste is collected in biodegradable bags and transported to centralized composting facilities.

A financial gap in the Pajaro River Flood Risk Management Project will likely soon get filled after Gov. Gavin Newsom authorized funding assistance to bring flood protections to South Santa Cruz County.

According to a 2020 market analysis, imports accounted for over 98% of the seaweed Americans consume. Ian O’Hollaren’s Seaquoia, which harvests throughout Monterey Bay, is trying to change that.

A nearly 9-foot-tall white globe popped up on top of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office building last month. The fiberglass structure protects a rainfall monitoring system operated by the Santa Cruz County Flood Control Division.

Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Timothy Volkmann has sided with the city of Santa Cruz, ruling it is not required to provide water service to match future UC Santa Cruz expansion.

Cliffs along California’s northernmost coast have been eroding faster than the more populated bluffs of Southern California—one of many conclusions highlighted in a new map and study that analyzed, for the first time with high-resolution data, every cliff along the state’s long and varied shoreline.

The Santa Cruz City Council received updates for ongoing projects and general water outlook from the city’s Water Department. The staff presentation focused on 2015 recommendations from the city’s Water Supply Advisory Committee.

Former legislator Sam Farr writes, “There are four parts to the story of protecting Monterey Bay and the central coast.” He outlines them all, then notes that the fourth one—the effort to enact a National Standard for Ocean Protection—is still a work in progress in the rest of the nation.

With the help of University of Massachusetts professor Casey Brown, the Santa Cruz Water Commission has created a modeling tool that allows commission members to explore the ways that shifts in the climate could affect the Santa Cruz water supply.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is asking recreational anglers to begin practices to minimize stress and mortality among fish populations suffering from drought conditions. This means voluntarily changing how, when and where they fish.

In 1988 a visitor on the Monterey Aquarium’s observation deck would have seen a lush giant kelp forest canopy stretching thick from the breakwater to Point Pinos in Pacific Grove and beyond. These days it’s a patchwork at best.

The city of Santa Cruz is set to start construction of the San Lorenzo River Lagoon Culvert Project, which will address three issues: flooding, public safety and habitat protection. Project completion is expected this fall.

The seasonal fear of summer shark attacks spiked when a swimmer was attacked by a shark while at Lovers Point in Pacific Grove. Then last week came social media footage of a 9½-foot great white spotted in the area of Soquel Cove known as “Shark Park.”

While water use climbs for much of the rest of California, Santa Cruz’s efficient use of water and reliance on local water resources have earned the city an exemption from new statewide emergency water use restrictions.

A proposal in the state Senate would spend up to $1.5 billion to buy “senior water rights” that allow farmers to take as much water as needed from the state’s rivers and streams.

Too many coastal Californians are buying plants wrong for our climate and installing gardens more suitable for conditions east of the Mississippi, says Martin Quigley, director of UC Santa Cruz’s Arboretum & Botanic Gardens.

California faces the prospect of a drought-fueled summer of power shortages, hydroelectric plant shutdowns and rising electricity costs, a new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration warns.

As drought impacts deepen statewide, a local watchdog panel is pushing for greater effort to create sustainable water supplies. “The County has the means to achieve drought resilience,” the Santa Cruz Civil Grand Jury 2021-2022 panel writes. “The time to act is now.”