Newsletter: Water and Power: A new sign of El Niño’s power

Your guide to the California drought from the Los Angeles Times.

NEWS AND POLICY

Passing grades: The latest drought report card is out. Type in your address to see how well your community conserved water.

Next disaster: Could California experience its own version of Hurricane Katrina? The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is protected by levees, which could break in the event of an earthquake or strong El Niño storm. A break in the levees could endanger the water supply for 25 million people. In the short term, the only thing to do is routine maintenance. “Patch and pray,” said Robert Bea, professor emeritus of civil engineering at UC Berkeley.

Weather signs: Tiny red crabs could be the latest sign that the winter’s El Niño storm system may come on strong. A biologist found tens of thousands of them off the Channel Islands. Typically, the pleuroncodes planipes hang out in the warm waters of Mexico. “This is very important because the water is already very warm and it is said that the El Niño is still on its way. This could be a record event,” said Jeff Harris.

ON THE GROUND

Fish vs. wine: In Sonoma County, residents are blaming winemakers for using too much water and endangering chinook, whose population is about two-thirds of what it should be. “When state water regulators this summer announced emergency drought restrictions to protect salmon in some of those same watersheds, residents were shocked to find that agricultural properties faced no water cutbacks.”

Concentrated flavor: California’s stone fruits are about 10% to 20% smaller this year thanks to the drought. The smaller sizes, however, pack quite a taste. When it comes to peaches, this year’s smaller varieties are often sweeter than the larger peaches that have been available in the past.

Drought road trip: In photos and a Q&A, get a behind-the-scenes look at the Los Angeles Times’ #drylandsCA road trip. “We were going out on the road and heading to very tiny, remote places, where people don’t read newspapers or watch the news every day, really just people who are just living their lives—and everyone we met was ready to talk about the drought in one form or another even without prompting it,” said photographer Robert Gauthier.

OFFBEAT

Sanitary conditions: San Francisco has a urine problem. With a lack of public restrooms, some people are turning to the city’s streets and sidewalks. And without any rain, the public right-of-ways aren’t getting clean, writes columnist Robin Abcarian. “A good stretch of rain — perhaps this winter's predicted El Niño — wouldn't make things more pleasant for the city's homeless, but it would do wonders for the city's smell,” she writes.

Water for weed: The California Department of Fish and Wildlife wants marijuana growers to be more aware of their water use. “In addition to the environmental compliance program, the state has begun issuing marijuana water permits and ramped up efforts to target environmental offenders through civil lawsuits.”

BIG IDEAS

“People are just ripping up their lawns and putting down gravel. They’re saying ‘forget about it.' It’s not a real attractive look. Kind of nouvelle San Quentin.”

– Los Angeles attorney Laura Vender on how the drought is changing California landscaping

“It's a good year to be a researcher, but a bad year to be a tree,”

– Biologist Anthony Ambrose, who is studying the drought’s effect on sequoias

DROUGHT SNAPSHOT

UC Berkeley biologist Wendy Baxter prepares to climb a sequoia; a team of researchers is studying the effects of drought on the huge trees.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

UC Berkeley biologist Wendy Baxter prepares to climb a sequoia; a team of researchers is studying the effects of drought on the huge trees. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

DAILY TIP

This infographic from Southern California Edison has tips on saving water around the house. You can save 50 gallons of water a week by running only full loads in the dishwasher and the washing machine. Fixing a leaky faucet could save as much as 20 gallons of water a day.

LOOKING AHEAD

Tuesday: The State Water Resources Control Board will meet in Sacramento.

Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to Alice Walton or Shelby Grad.