Connect with us

California

California to mandate statewide water restrictions up to nearly 40% in some cities

Published

on

California to mandate statewide water restrictions up to nearly 40% in some cities



Some cities may be forced to cut water use by 40% over the next 15 years.

play

The State Water Resources Control Board on Wednesday approved a policy that could force some municipal water suppliers to reduce the amount of water they provide by close to 40% over the next 15 years.

Advertisement

If suppliers and their customers don’t reduce water use, the districts could be fined up to $10,000 a day. Districts can reduce customer water use by mandating restrictions, raising rates on high-volume water users, or encouraging low-flow appliances.

 “Our climate has changed. Our uses should match the hydrology that we’re now facing,” Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the state water board, said in a statement.

Suppliers must make a first round of water cuts by 2025, with additional cuts mandated in 2030, 2035, and 2040.

Most of the most extensive required cuts are all in California’s Central Valley, ranging from the City of Redding (39% cut by 2040 and 21% by 2025) in the north to Visalia’s California Water Service Company (22% cut in 25 years). Smaller Central Valley cities will face mandatory reductions, too: Tulare County town Exeter, with a population of 10,000, will face a 39% cut by 2040. The Central Valley’s largest city, Fresno, will face a 21% cut by 2040 and cuts 4% by 2025.

Advertisement

The parched Coachella Valley in Southern California also will face steep mandatory reductions. Desert Water Agency, based in Palm Springs, will have to cut its water supply by 32% by 2040 and 24% by 2025.

In the high desert, water districts in Victorville, Hesperia, and Adelanto will have to cut water use from 18% to 23% by 2040

Not all cities in California will face drastic cuts, though. Salinas’ California Water Service Company will only face a 1% cut by 2040, while the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission will face no reductions.

Some environmentalist groups say the mandated water cutbacks don’t go far enough.

Advertisement

“The regulation does not meet the moment of growing water scarcity in California,” Mark Gold, director of water scarcity solutions and environmental health for the Natural Resources Defense Council, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “A strong regulation will exist in 2040, but that’s 15 years from now and there’s going to be a heck of a lot of water scarcity over that period.”

How California is forcing regions to cut back on water use

In April, for the first time in California history, state officials cracked down on the overpumping of groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley by putting Kings County water districts on probation for failing to protect the region’s underground water supply. The unprecedented decision was the first step that could lead to millions in fines for overpumping groundwater or the state taking over the districts. In adjacent Tulare County, one of the largest agriculture-producing counties in the world, the State Water Resources Control Board is threatening similar action if the Kaweah subbasin users don’t cut back on groundwater pumping.

The State Water Resources Control Board repeatedly warned both counties that their groundwater management plans are deficient because they fail to stop dried-up wells, contaminated water, and sinking earth worsened by overpumping. 

Recently, the Imperial Irrigation District in Southern California proposed a plan to pay farmers not to grow hay during the year’s hottest months. The plan is just one step to conserve water from the stressed Colorado River.

Advertisement

Tips on saving water

Below are some tips for you and your family to save water from the California Public Utilities Commission 

  • Install water-saving devices, such as low-flow showerheads and high-efficiency toilets,
  • Take shorter showers, reduce the time by 1-2 minutes, and save 5 gallons.
  • Turn the water off while brushing your teeth. Save 3 gallons.
  • Fix leaky faucets. Save up to 20 gallons per day.
  • Wash a full load of laundry. Save 15 to 50 gallons per load.
  • Don’t use a hose to clean your driveway. Sweeping with a broom can save as much as 100 gallons of water.
  • Water your yard before 8 a.m. because watering early reduces evaporation.
  • Make the switch from lawn to low-water-use landscaping. Outdoor watering accounts for 50 to 70% of all household water use.



Source link

California

All lanes reopen on 5 Freeway in Oceanside after officer-involved shooting forces closure

Published

on

All lanes reopen on 5 Freeway in Oceanside after officer-involved shooting forces closure


OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KABC) — Hours after an officer-involved shooting prompted the full closure of the 5 Freeway in Oceanside, all lanes were reopened Saturday afternoon as the investigation continues.

“The 5 is closed in both directions between Oceanside and the Orange County border while police investigate a shooting,” Caltrans said in a social media post at 9:39 a.m., adding that drivers should use the 15 Freeway as an alternative route.

The Buena Park Police Department said its officers attempted to pull over a car for vehicle code violations just before 1 p.m. in the area of La Palma Avenue and San Marino Drive, but the car failed to stop and a pursuit ensued.

“At 1:05 a.m. we asked CHP to take over the pursuit. They did but requested our K-9 unit stay in the pursuit,” Buena Park police said in a statement.

Advertisement

Police said that at 2:10 a.m., the suspect vehicle was brought to a stop and then an officer-involved shooting occurred. It was not immediately known what led to the shooting.

A SigAlert was issued shortly after 2:30 a.m. between Harbor Drive in Oceanside and Christianitos Road in San Clemente, according to the California Highway Patrol.

As several lanes were reopened hours later, the Highway Patrol urged motorists to continue to use caution and watch for personnel in the area.

The investigation is ongoing.


Copyright © 2025 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

California

Chris Bell scores 21, sparks California to 91-67 victory over Sacramento State

Published

on

Chris Bell scores 21, sparks California to 91-67 victory over Sacramento State


BERKELEY, Calif. — – Chris Bell scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half and California cruised to a 91-67 victory over Sacramento State on Friday night in a campus game of the Empire Classic.

Bell and Justin Pippen combined for 29 points to help California take a 47-33 lead into the break. Bell sank 6 of 8 shots with three 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes.

John Camden’s 3-pointer capped an 11-2 run to begin the second half and the Golden Bears (5-1) were never threatened. Cal took its biggest lead at 81-47 on a 3-pointer by Camden with nine minutes left to play.

Pippen finished with 16 points and five assists. Dai Dai Ames also scored 16 and Camden totaled 14 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Advertisement

Brandon Gardner hit 4 of 5 from 3-point range and scored 19 to lead the Hornets (3-4). Mark Lavrenov had 14 points and Prophet Johnson notched his fifth double-double of the young season with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Golden Bears shot 50.8% overall and made 15 of 38 from beyond the arc (39.5%).

Sac State made only 18 of 67 shots (26.9%) overall, including 7 of 24 from distance. The Hornets made 24 of 30 free throws, while Cal sank 10 of 19.

—— Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketballbr/]

Copyright © 2025 ESPN Internet Ventures. All rights reserved.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

California

‘Toxic’: California ex-police chief tells of colleagues’ racist harassment campaign

Published

on

‘Toxic’: California ex-police chief tells of colleagues’ racist harassment campaign


The embattled former police chief of Vallejo, a San Francisco Bay Area city that has attracted national attention over police violence, has said that he endured a steady procession of racist remarks from colleagues and online harassment and threats that ultimately led him to resign.

By the time Chief Shawny Williams tendered his resignation in 2022, he said he had received a slew of threats – at his office, at his home, and in his email inbox. Most demanded he step down. But even after resigning, the threats still came by mail to his home and a second property he owned outside the state.

“They were hostile, toxic,” Williams testified in a deposition on Wednesday. “I had safety concerns.”

Williams made the statements as part of a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Vallejo police department brought by Deyana Jenkins, whom officers pulled from a car and tased during a traffic stop in 2019. The incident occurred months after six Vallejo police officers shot her uncle, Willie McCoy, a 20-year-old rapper, 55 times while he was asleep in his car. The killing attracted widespread attention and thrust a spotlight on the department’s use of force.

Advertisement

The deposition, first reported by the Vallejo Sun, offers a window into what Williams describes as a pattern of hostile, threatening and retaliatory behavior that ended his brief attempt to impose accountability on a department known nationally for unchecked violence and resistance to reform.

Vallejo police officers have repeatedly drawn concern over their practices, perhaps most notoriously for the ritual of “badge bending”, in which officers reportedly fold back a tip on their badges after killing someone on duty.

Williams took over the department in 2019 with a mandate to reform it. His three-year stint coincided with a national reckoning over police violence, sparked by nationwide protests over the 2020 murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

But Williams said he experienced harsh backlash for his efforts to impose accountability on the department’s use of force.

“He was our first Black police chief in a department that’s always been known as a racist police department,” Melissa Nold, the lawyer representing Jenkins in the federal case, told the Guardian. “To hear that he was run off because he was doing reform and discipline – that’s very concerning. It doesn’t seem like it should be possible that the people being reformed have that much power.”

Advertisement

In his deposition, Williams said a colleague made several disturbing statements, including: “This Black Jesus can’t save us.”

He described “racial hostilities or comments” made to him by a former police captain. Williams also said the city attorney threatened him, but did not describe how.

The Vallejo police department did not immediately respond to a Guardian request for comment.

Williams also received several anonymous threats, through the post and online. Three weeks before resigning in October of 2022, he received a “Halloween card threat” that said “quit today” and emitted a deafening screech that “filled the hallway” and kept blaring until the battery ran out.

A secretary opened the letter. When Williams heard it he “actually thought it was some kind of domestic violence occurring outside the building because it was so loud”.

Advertisement

Williams also said that he received anonymous threats, after an officer who shot an unarmed 22-year-old in 2020 later rejoined the police department.

Officer Jarrett Tonn shot and killed Sean Monterrosa after an alleged looting incident at a Walgreens during a George Floyd-inspired protest. Williams dismissed Tonn after the shooting.

But an arbitrator reinstated Tonn in 2023, after Williams left the force. Tonn was promoted to sergeant in September of this year, according to the Vallejo Sun. Afterwards, Williams said he received messages that said “some bad things were coming”.

Williams said he asked the department to investigate the threats and raised concerns to city manager Mike Malone. But the city failed to act, and Malone appeared uninterested in helping him, Williams testified.

“One of the things that I guess exacerbated my concerns was [Malone’s] statement that this is not going to stop – or ‘They’re not going to stop until I fire you or you quit,’” Williams said in the deposition. “And he said that over half a dozen times.”

Advertisement

By “they”, Williams said the city manager was referring to the Vallejo Police Officers’ Association (VPAO), which serves as the bargaining unit for all ranks of police officer except the chief in its negotiations with the city. The VPOA did not immediately respond to a Guardian request for comment.

“My resignation was a result of a pattern of constructive termination hostility,” Williams testified. “There was racial animus, retaliatory things that were happening that just made it unbearable or impossible for me to perform my duties in a safe environment.”



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending