UCI Study: Too Much Fresh Water Hitting Oceans

Satellite tracking of worldwide storms for more than a decade show melting polar ice sheets and increased rainfall are sending more fresh water into the oceans at the same time areas that need rain are getting less, according to a first-of-its-kind study by scientists at UC Irvine.

“In general, more water is good,” said Jay Famiglietti, UCI Earth system science professor and principal investigator on the study. “But here’s the problem: Not everybody is getting more rainfall, and those who are may not need it.”

“What we’re seeing,” he added, “is exactly what the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted — that precipitation is increasing in the tropics and the Arctic Circle, with heavier, more punishing storms. Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of people live in semiarid regions, and those are drying up.”

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California raised the amount of water it will deliver to cities and farms this year after a string of abnormally late, heavy storms.

California raised the amount of water it will deliver to cities and farms this year after a string of abnormally late, heavy storms.

The state Department of Water Resources said Wednesday that it expects to supply its customers with 50 percent of the water they have requested – up from a 45 percent estimate in late May and a rock-bottom 5 percent estimate early in the year.

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Late rains mean plenty of water

An abundant snowpack boosted by late spring storms could fill Northern California’s thirsty reservoirs, state water officials said.

On Monday, the state’s snowpack was 167 percent of normal for this time of year, California Department of Water Resources spokesman Don Strickland said.

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State water survey shows huge gains

A relentless winter left Californians a gift: One of the best Sierra Nevada snowpacks in more than a decade.

Yet shortages from three straight drought years are expected to continue to impact farmers and cities throughout the state.

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Bountiful rainfall means lower water rates for some

The Russian River Flood Control District voted earlier this week to restore its water rates to what the district was charging in 2008.

The RRFC’s board of directors voted unanimously Monday night to reduce last year’s emergency rates of $94 per acre foot to $47 per acre foot.

“It is the budget of the district divided by the amount of water that we have to sell,” said Sean White, general manager of the Russian River Flood Control District.

Read more in … Ukiah Daily Journal