Recent News

Source: City of Santa Barbara

It is a dry year; the City’s rainfall to date is 11 inches, far below the annual average of 18 inches. Because we live in a semi-arid climate it is common to have a dry year. One dry year does not mean we have a water shortage, but it does reinforce the need to always manage our water supplies to prepare for a prolonged drought.

Fortunately, the City has a diverse water supply portfolio. The City’s primary Read More >

IAPMO, the preeminent developer of codes governing plumbing, mechanical, swimming pool and solar systems, has expressed public support for two proposed pieces of legislation concerning national water supplies introduced by U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas).

The Energy and Water Research Integration Act of 2012 focuses attention on the energy-water nexus, which means the energy required to provide reliable water supplies and the water required to provide reliable energy supplies. The Act directs the Secretary of Energy to integrate water considerations Read More >

Summer season is getting closer and the City of Laredo is urging the community to take action in conserving water.

Our reporter Carolina Garcia speaks to a representative with the utilities department who says citations will be given to those who take advantage and use the resource without paying for it.

5 Hundred dollars per violation per day is the fine residents who are caught stealing water from a water hydrant or making any other violations could face.

Water Conservation Planner Karla Robles Read More >

The Top 25 water users in Worcester have consumed a combined 934 million gallons of water and paid $4 million in fiscal 2012. The majority are schools, hospitals and housing projects.

Leading the pack in water consumption is the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMass), which used 138,157,096 gallons of water between July 1, 2011 and April 13, 2012, according to documents GoLocalWorcester obtained from city hall. That’s enough to fill more than 77,000 average-sized, above-ground swimming pools. All that Read More >

Tampa Bay experienced the 11th driest winter since 1915 and it is once again in a drought. Tampa Bay residents continue to demand more water than the Southwest Florida Water Management District, or Swiftmud, and Tampa Bay Water can supply. To reduce water demand, lawn watering is limited to once a week and the operation of outdoor fountains to four hours a day.

What is wrong with limiting frivolous uses of water during a drought? During the area’s last drought, the Read More >

Metropolitan Water District’s new rates, higher water costs are among factors

One month after protesting rate increases at the Metropolitan Water District in Los Angeles, the San Diego County Water Authority proposed boosting prices for local agencies by nearly 10 percent in 2013.

Just less than half of the price hike is linked to Metropolitan’s new rates. The rest is due to higher cost of water from the Imperial Irrigation District, increases in debt payments and other factors over which Read More >

Amy Graham of Carlsbad and her family saved so much water in 2011 that Olivenhain Municipal Water District awarded her $250.

Carlsbad was awarded top prize among Olivenhain Municipal Water District customers in San Diego County’s ninth-annual California Friendly Landscape Contest. OMWD’s Board of Directors recognized Ms. Graham and her family at its May 2 meeting.

Ms. Graham has lived at her current residence since 1999 and recently renovated her landscape to reduce water demands. After removing a variety of water-intensive plant Read More >

Having a short shower can save some water but people can do more than that by purchasing a water-friendly pair of jeans.

“About 95 percent of the water we use everyday is not the water we use at home,” said Mina Guli, founder and chief executive of Thirst, a nongovernmental organization run by the Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum to raise awareness among young people of water conservation.

Guli said people are using water in all sorts of places Read More >

They say oil and water don’t mix, but when it comes to oil and gas drilling, water and oil are practically joined at the hip.

It takes millions of gallons of water to drill a well. Water is the “hydraulic” in the hydraulic fracturing process used to release oil and gas deposits. Disposing of wastewater is a costly challenge for drillers. And, at every step along the way, preventing groundwater contamination is the paramount concern for inspectors and regulators.

All of these Read More >

Evanston and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning presented an efficiency program that would conserve the city’s water during a public hearing at Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center on Thursday night.

The meeting aimed to alert Evanston residents to the city’s water use and supply issues as well as gather feedback on the city’s Water Efficiency Program, said Catherine Hurley, the city’s sustainable programs coordinator.

CMAP is working with city staff to develop a plan for improving Evanston residents’ and businesses’ water efficiency Read More >