The driest start to the calendar year in recorded history is
taking a toll on water resources during California’s third
year of drought. Find resources to stay up-to-date with the
latest on drought.
Some people in California and across the West struggle to access
safe, reliable and affordable water to meet their everyday needs
for drinking, cooking and sanitation.
Join the Water Education Foundation, an impartial
nonprofit, in its mission to create a better understanding
of water issues and help resolve water problems through
educational programs.
The team at the Water Education Foundation is gearing up for a
busy fall programming season. Check out the details below. We
hope to see you at some point!
With 25 years of experience working
on the Colorado River, Chuck Cullom is used to responding to
myriad challenges that arise on the vital lifeline that seven
states, more than two dozen tribes and the country of Mexico
depend on for water. But this summer problems on the
drought-stressed river are piling up at a dizzying pace:
Reservoirs plummeting to record low levels, whether Hoover Dam
and Glen Canyon Dam can continue to release water and produce
hydropower, unprecedented water cuts and predatory smallmouth
bass threatening native fish species in the Grand Canyon.
“Holy buckets, Batman!,” said Cullom, executive director of the
Upper Colorado River Commission. “I mean, it’s just on and on and
on.”
An independent review panel convened to evaluate water
importation concepts for the shrinking Salton Sea is advising
against water importation plans, instead recommending a
combination of desalination and water from the Imperial
Irrigation District. The state-appointed Salton Sea
Independent Review Panel … was specifically tasked with
taking a “long-term” perspective for resolving longstanding
public health issues caused by receding shorelines at
California’s largest lake. … Instead of importing water
to bring the sea back to its former levels, the panel is
instead proposing constructing a large desalination
facility to remove 100,000 acre-feet per year of brine and
return 100,000 acre-feet per year of pure water.
Nearing the end of the water year on Sept. 30, California
farmers and water officials are eager to turn the page to begin
the next opportunity for the state to accrue snowpack and
precipitation. However, with a La Niña atmospheric phenomenon
in the Pacific Ocean, which generally signals drier, warmer
conditions, water officials say they are preparing for a fourth
dry year next year…. Farmers in Southern California,
with senior water rights on the Colorado River, expressed
concern that emergency water delivery cuts for more junior
water users did not go far enough to keep the supply
sustainable….
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced new steps
that, if approved, could save enough water to supply 4.7
million Californians annually while making conservation more
affordable through financial assistance and tax exemptions. The
actions improve long-term water conservation and reduce
wasteful outdoor water use as California adapts to a hotter,
drier future driven by climate change. … The new actions
will build on California’s ongoing long-term efforts to make
water conservation a way of life while advancing water
efficiency efforts outlined in California’s Water Supply
Strategy: Adapting to a Hotter, Drier Future. The plan,
released by Governor Newsom this summer, sets a target of
securing 500,000 acre-feet of additional water per year through
increased efficiency and conservation.
Water affordability for ratepayers was the topic of discussion
during a legislative roundtable Thursday at the San Diego
County Water Authority. The Water Authority convened state,
regional and local officials in search of winning strategies
for enhancing water affordability for ratepayers across the
county and the state. Water agency managers, board members,
elected officials and their representatives from throughout the
county joined E. Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the State Water
Resources Control Board, to assess and address water
affordability issues.
As part of the historic Colorado
River Delta, the Salton Sea regularly filled and dried for
thousands of years due to its elevation of 237 feet below
sea level.
Drought—an extended period of
limited or no precipitation—is a fact of life in California and
the West, with water resources following boom-and-bust patterns.
During California’s 2012–2016 drought, much of the state
experienced severe drought conditions: significantly less
precipitation and snowpack, reduced streamflow and higher
temperatures. Those same conditions reappeared early in 2021
prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom in May to declare drought emergencies
in watersheds across 41 counties in California.
