California looks to Australia for ways to manage its groundwater after worst-ever drought

In the powerhouse food bowl of California, the impact of its most recent drought — which finally ended in 2017 after eight gruelling years — continues to be felt across the sunshine state.

San Luis Dam is California's fifth-largest reservoir
but fell to less than 10 per cent capacity during the drought.

Farmers, experts and lawmakers are working to find more sustainable ways to droughtproof farms and address the vexed issue of water allocation.

And it turns out many farmers and water experts in California are looking to Australia for answers as they face up to the biggest water reforms in the history of the US.

When California's worst drought in history ended in 2017, it cost the country $US3.8 billion ($AU5.6 billion) and exposed deep flaws in its water management processes.

Read the ABC News story - “California looks to Australia for ways to manage its groundwater after worst-ever drought.”

Snow in the 'Sunshine State' attracts international attention

J

uly means winter “down under” in Australia. And winter they are getting. “Icy blasts of wind have led to an unusual blanket of heavy snowfall across Queensland—which typically calls itself the “sunshine state”—during some of the coldest winter weather in decades,” reports The Telegraph.

While it’s not uncommon for parts of eastern Australia, including Queensland and New South Wales, to see snowflakes or minor accumulation, there hasn’t been snow or cold like this in a while. The last significant snowfall in this area was a little more than an inch in 2007.

This time some areas saw three inches of snow and recorded their lowest temperatures in more than 40 years. “Cold fronts, caused by blasts of icy winds from Antarctica, are common during Australian winters but this year’s has been much stronger than usual,” says The Telegraph.

Read the Ecowatch story - “Australia’s ‘Sunshine State’ Gets Rare Dumping of Snow During Record Cold Snap”.