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.
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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.”
Our premier event of the year,
the Foundation’s 38th annual Water Summiton Oct. 27 in Sacramento will highlight
conversations that examine our relationship with water resources
and how best to address the challenges presented by ongoing
drought and a changing climate.
With this year’s theme, Rethinking
Water in the West, a variety of policymakers,
experts and officials will be discussing important topics in
water across California and the West. Conversations will
take place around rethinking:
Water management in a drought-driven West
Water rights in light of drought-spawned shortages and
climate change
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which acts as the state’s
crucial water hub and serves as a vital ecological resource
In addition, there will be an update on the status of
California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
Our third La Niña weather pattern in three years seems almost
certain, and one climate expert says that could be bad news for
the already overtapped Colorado River. … The Climate
Prediction Center for the National Atmospheric and Oceanic
Administration forecast a 91% chance of a La Niña weather
pattern dominating the Northern Hemisphere from September
through November, and a 54% chance from January through March
of 2023. La Niña winters typically mean drier, warmer weather
in the Southwest that can, although doesn’t always, spread as
far north as Colorado’s southern Rockies, which would clearly
drive down Colorado River flows. The last two to three
years in particular have seen fairly low to very low river
flows in the basin, at the same time La Niña conditions were
present.
Fear and confusion over a new groundwater monitoring technology
pushed back the “penalty phase” of Madera County’s attempt to
get a handle on its pumping problem. The Madera County Board of
Supervisors was supposed to have voted on penalties for growers
who pump more than they’re allowed at its Sept. 13 meeting. But
after three hours of debate and hearing from more than 15
members of the ag community about whether the county’s new
water monitoring system – Irriwatch – is working properly,
supervisors pushed the decision off to Sept. 27.
A lush green lawn has long been a symbol of the perfect
American home. But as a prolonged drought reshapes life
in California, many residents are rethinking what a
beautiful yard should look like. In Los Angeles, which
imposed sweeping restrictions on outdoor water
use this year, thirsty lawns are out – and California
native plants are in. … The choice to conserve may be
contagious. Starting this June, more than a thousand
southern California residents a month made plans to replace
their lawns with more drought-friendly landscapes, according to
data from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California.
Antioch is investing in its water supply future. A new $110
million desalination plant is being built in Antioch. With
construction underway at an existing water treatment facility,
the new desalination plant will service the needs of Antioch’s
population of more than 115,000 people, as well as help to
improve its water supply reliability, city officials say.
… The primary reason for the need for the desalination
plant is due to increased salinity in the water supply. The
city of Antioch derives much of its water source from the San
Joaquin River …
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.
