Water

Environment

In the West, pressure to count water lost to evaporation

Suman Naishadham / The Associated Press

More than 10% of the water carried by the Colorado River evaporates, leaks or spills as the 1,450-mile powerhouse of the West flows through the region’s dams, reservoirs and open-air canals.
Environment

Warming to make California downpours even wetter, study says

Seth Borenstein

More than 32 trillion gallons of rain and snow have already fallen on California. But a new study says in a worst-case climate change scenario, that could grow by another one-third.
Environment

California storms feed systems set up to capture rainwater

Suman Naishadham and Brian Melley

The banked rainwater is a rare bright spot from downpours that killed at least 20 people, crumbled hillsides and damaged thousands of homes. In rural parts of the state, depleted groundwater basins got a boost thanks to the storms.
KPBS Midday Edition

New podcast explains why the Colorado River is in 'crisis'

Andrew Bracken

Jade Hindmon

The Colorado River, a central source of water for much of the western U.S., is drying up.
Local

San Diego Bay's eelgrass stores CO2 equivalent of 370,000 vehicles, port study Finds

City News Service

The amount of carbon sequestered in eelgrass beds in San Diego Bay may offer scientists insight on greenhouse gas emissions for the region, the results of a nine-month study revealed Monday.
Local

Health officials issue water contact warning for Coronado shoreline

City News Service

A water contact warning issued Sunday for the Coronado shoreline by the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and Quality remained in effect Monday.
Environment

Imperial Beach and Silver Strand Shorelines closed due to sewage

City News Service

The closure extends from the international border to the south end of Imperial Beach and extends a water contact closure previously in place for the Tijuana Slough shoreline.
Environment

Swimmers beware: Rain brings contaminated urban runoff to beaches

City News Service

Urban runoff may contain large amounts of bacteria from a variety of sources, including animal waste, soil and decomposing vegetation, officials said.
Local

Biden signs bill to study salt lakes in drought-hit US West

The Associated Press

Federal officials will more closely monitor the impacts of shrinking lakes throughout the U.S. West after President Joe Biden signed legislation that creates and funds monitoring efforts into the region's saline lakes.
Environment

California to flip from warm and dry to rainy and snowy

The Associated Press

In Southern California, forecasters say skies will become overcast ahead of the approaching storm, followed by rain Tuesday into Wednesday. Chances of rain will continue the rest of the week.