Tag: water

California Emergency Drought Relief Act

New Bill would support California Emergency Drought Relief

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On July 30th, U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer introduced the California Emergency Drought Relief Act, a bill with both short and long-term provisions designed to help communities cope with the ongoing drought and combat future droughts.

The bill is the product of months of meetings between Senator Feinstein and her staff, federal, state and local officials, environmental groups, water districts and other stakeholders.

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10 Ways Farmers are Saving Water

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California DroughtAs California faces a historic drought, many farmers are relying on groundwater reserves to carry them through the dry season. Pumping groundwater is currently unregulated in California (that could soon change), and drawing on reserves now could cause shortages in the future. Sustainability-minded farmers are looking ahead and using an arsenal of ways to save water. Here are just a few:

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Amid Drought, California Farmers Rely on Water Equipment Companies

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California’s drought could prove devastating to the state’s farmers and ranchers. But the dry spell has brought a gusher of new business to companies that provide them with water.

That much was clear at this year’s World Ag Expo, which kicked off Tuesday in Tulare, a town of 60,000 about 45 miles south of Fresno. At one booth was a well repair company that had to add extra shifts to meet all the agricultural demand for groundwater. Nearby, a firm that provides turbine pumps for wells said orders were coming in so furiously it was running out of parts. And several feet away, a drip irrigation maker said it was taking orders from farmers months ahead of schedule as the prospect of enough rain over the winter appeared remote.

The World Ag Expo is the largest farm equipment show in the world — a three-day extravaganza of high-tech tractors, automated dairy milkers and mechanized tree harvesters on 2.6 million square feet of fertile Central California soil.

But this year, the annual event is also a window into the frantic struggle taking place to keep the world supplied with fruit, nuts and vegetables from the Golden State. Amid what could be one of the worst droughts in California’s recorded history, growers are relying on a host of companies to help them deliver what water remains to their fields.

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U.S. Water Prize Winners to be Announced at the California Irrigation Institute Conference

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The U.S. Water Alliance will announce the 2014 winners of the esteemed U.S. Water Prize on Thursday, January 23, at the 52nd annual California Irrigation Institute (CII) conference in Sacramento addressing water and energy use. Alliance President Ben Grumbles will announce the winners in his keynote directed to the audience of agricultural, urban and environmental water experts.

“Given the urgent and critical challenges California faces due to drought, there couldn’t be a better place to announce and celebrate U.S. Water Prize winners,” explains Grumbles. “America’s future looks bright blue with these shining water stars. Our 2014 winners are leading the way by reducing water waste, reusing water resources, and rethinking watershed strategies and technologies.”

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