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Topic: Drought

Overview April 24, 2014 All Things Drought

Drought

Lake Oroville shows the effects of drought in July 2021.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.

No portion of the West has been immune to drought during the last century and drought occurs with much greater frequency in the West than in other regions of the country.

Most of the West experiences what is classified as severe to extreme drought more than 10 percent of the time, and a significant portion of the region experiences severe to extreme drought more than 15 percent of the time, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center.

Experts who have studied recent droughts say a drought occurs about once every 10 years somewhere in the United States. Droughts are believed to be the most costly of all natural disasters because of their widespread effects on agriculture and related industries, as well as on urbanized areas. One of those decennial droughts could cost as much as $38 billion, according to one estimate.

Because droughts cannot be prevented, experts are looking for better ways to forecast them and new approaches to managing droughts when they occur.

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Aquafornia news September 27, 2023 Wired

Why rain is getting fiercer on a warming planet

One of the weirder side effects of climate change is what it’s doing to rainfall. While most people think about global warming in terms of extreme heat—the deadliest kind of natural disaster in the United States—there is also an increasing risk of extreme precipitation. On average, it will rain more on Earth, and individual storms will get more intense.  Intuitively, it doesn’t make much sense. But the physics is clear—and highly consequential, given how destructive and deadly floods already were before climate change.

Related articles: 

  • San Francisco Chronicle: ‘Unusually heavy’ storm brought record rainfall totals to these California cities  
  • Eureka-Times Standard: Northern California fires dampened, but still burning
  • Patch: Wet El Niño ahead brings concerns for Palos Verdes landslide complex
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news September 27, 2023 Public Policy Institute of California

Blog: Managing water and farmland transitions in the San Joaquin Valley

Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval acknowledged the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act’s (SGMA) importance to the valley in his opening remarks. … As water supplies decline, said Central Valley Community Foundation CEO Ashley Swearengin, it is key to bring all the valley’s many players to the table to hammer out coping strategies. The need for coordination is paramount, given the magnitude of the challenge. As PPIC research fellow Andrew Ayres explained, reducing groundwater pumping ultimately will help the valley maintain its robust agricultural industry and protect communities. But even with new water supplies, our research found that valley agriculture will need to occupy a smaller footprint than it does now: at least 500,000 acres of farmland will likely need to come out of intensively irrigated production.

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Aquafornia news September 27, 2023 Colorado Sun

After a wet water year, can Colorado hope for a repeat? Not quite.

As March rolled into April, Ken Beck was keeping his eye on the snowdrifts piled on slopes around Vallecito Reservoir in Colorado’s southwestern mountains. Snow reports showed there was about 300,000 acre-feet of water in that snow waiting to flow into the reservoir, he said. … Beck, superintendent of the Pine River Irrigation District, which manages the reservoir located northeast of Durango … was in good company: Reservoir managers around the state saw water levels rise this year, a boon to downstream users who depend on stored water for drinking, growing crops, supporting industries and managing ecosystems. And as the year progressed, precipitation just kept coming in the form of rain, hail and severe storms.

Related articles: 

  • Arizona Republic: Arizona’s monsoon will end as one of the hottest and driest on record. What happened?
  • Bloomberg: What Is El Niño and How Does it Affect Weather Around the World?
  • Bloomberg: El Niño Is Creating Fear and Mystery This Year - Weather Watch
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news September 27, 2023 CalMatters

Opinion: Blue barrels offer a lifeline to migrants lost in California’s desert

The terrain just outside the town of Ocotillo in California’s Imperial County is rugged. With volunteers from a humanitarian group, we recently drove alongside an old railroad track path tasked with servicing and repairing large barrels of water meant to keep people lost in the desert alive. … For 24 years, Water Station, an all-volunteer organization, has been installing large blue barrels containing water in Imperial County’s deserts to prevent people from dying from environmental exposure during March to October, the hottest months of the year.
-Written by Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee’s U.S./Mexico Border program and a longtime human rights advocate.

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Aquafornia news September 27, 2023 City of Roseville

Roseville gets $8 million grant for two new groundwater wells

In a proactive move to address the challenges posed by climate change and to align with statewide water management objectives, Roseville has received an $8 million grant from the California Natural Resources Agency and Department of Water Resources. This financial infusion, thanks to the efforts of the Regional Water Authority and local water agencies, will help finance the development of two groundwater wells within the city by covering nearly half the cost. Roseville’s share is part of a more extensive regional funding package totaling $55 million, dedicated to supporting essential groundwater infrastructure initiatives spanning the Sacramento region.

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Aquafornia news September 27, 2023 Ag Alert

Water and high prices aid California potato farmers

After a four-year decline in potato production nationwide, this season’s crop appears poised to buck the trend, spurred by strong demand and improved water supplies. While higher processing contract prices are driving much of the increased acreage, California’s mostly fresh-market growers may see prices decline once harvest starts elsewhere, said Almuhanad Melhim, a fruit and vegetable market analyst for Rabobank’s RaboResearch division. … During the past few years, processors have been short on russet potatoes that go into french fries, so they snapped up fresh-market russet supplies, driving up fresh prices. To encourage more processed potato production this year, processors increased contract prices substantially.

Related articles: 

  • Action News Now – Redding: Harvest underway for rice farmers
  • Western Farm Press: CDFA hands out $106m in healthy soils grants
  • Chico Enterprise-Record: Tomatoes have shown to be attractive alternative for area growers
  • Drinks Business: ‘Atmospheric river’ threatens California wine harvest
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news September 27, 2023 KUNC - Greely, Colo

Colorado River growers say they’re ready to save water, but need to build trust with states and feds

The Colorado River is in trouble, and farmers and ranchers are on the front lines of the crisis. A new report surveyed more than 1,020 irrigators across six of the seven states that use the river’s water: Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. About 70% said they are already responding to water shortages but many identified a trust gap with state and federal agencies that are trying to incentivize further water savings. The report, from the Western Landowners Alliance and the University of Wyoming’s Ruckelshaus Institute, sheds light on attitudes in an industry that has an outsized role in the fate of the Colorado River.

Related articles: 

  • Growing Produce: Why compromise should not be a dirty word for farmers
  • Phys.org: Feds’ cash stream supports Colorado River conservation—but the money will dry up
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Aquafornia news September 26, 2023 Drought.gov

News release: NIDID invests approximately $2 million to build tribal drought resilience

NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) has announced approximately $2 million in funding for projects to support tribal drought resilience as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. This investment will help tribal nations address current and future drought risk on tribal lands across the Western U.S. while informing decision-making and strengthening tribal drought resilience in a changing climate.  Proposals may request funding of up to $700,000 total to be disseminated in the first year and expended over three years in the form of cooperative agreements. A total of 3–5 projects may be funded depending on the project budget requested. 

Related articles: 

  • Fox 40 – Sacramento: Millions in state funding received to improve Sacramento groundwater storage 
  • CA Department of Water Resources: State delivers $55 million to Sacramento water agencies in support of local water resilience projects
  • KCRA – Sacramento: Sacramento water managers receive $55 million in state funding to improve water resilience
  • Engineering News-Record: Army Corps begins taking applications for new dam loan program
  • WaterWorld: News release - EPA announces $7.5B available in WIFIA funding
  • Water Finance & Management: Survey: 66% of Americans say water requires more federal funding
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news September 26, 2023 Arizona Republic

What’s being done to protect the Southwest’s dwindling water supply? A new online tool shows you

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture have created a searchable atlas that compiles regional research and efforts to deal with water scarcity and drought. The map, called the Water Adaptation Techniques Atlas, was developed by the agency’s Southwest and California Climate Hubs and so far contains 183 case studies from Arizona, California, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah. … The map offers a range of case studies, many of them related to agricultural and ranching practices, crop choice, and irrigation methods. Silber-Coats hopes it can be a resource for agricultural professionals and advisers, like cooperative extension workers.

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Aquafornia news September 26, 2023 American Council on Science and Health

Blog: Innovation abounds – Floating cows and vertical farms  

Last week, the U.N. hosted a summit on sustainable development, including access to clean water. I have previously written about declining water levels in the western U.S. and the use of desalination to transform seawater into freshwater. Although over 17,000 desalination plants are operating worldwide, there are only about 325 in the U.S., with 45% in Florida, 14% in California, and 9% in Texas. The reason they have not been more widely adopted is traditionally, they are expensive to build and use a lot of energy. Most of the desalination plants operating today heat the salt water and pump it through specialized membranes that separate the water from the salts. 

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Aquafornia news September 26, 2023 KUNC - Greeley, Colo

Colorado River’s Upper Basin will re-up a plan that pays farmers and ranchers to use less water

Some states in the arid West are looking to invest more money in water conservation. Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico have agreed to re-up a water conservation program designed to reduce strain on the Colorado River. Those states, which represent the river’s Upper Basin, will use money from the Inflation Reduction Act to pay farmers and ranchers to use less water. The four states are re-implementing the program amid talks with California, Arizona, Nevada and the federal government to come up with more permanent water reductions by 2026.

Related articles: 

  • Oil City News: New survey of Colorado River Basin irrigators points to challenges, pathways for agricultural water conservation
  • Arizona Capital Times: Water cuts force Pinal County farmers to scale back
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news September 26, 2023 Courthouse News Service

Tuesday Top of the Scroll: More than 90% of California out of historic drought as water year ends

Less than one week until California’s new water year begins, experts say the state is nearly free of drought — but there is no guarantee that another wet winter is soon to arrive.  The state, according to the Sept. 19 U.S. Drought Monitor, is 93% free of drought, a big improvement since measuring at 72% drought-free three months ago.  Only small regions of drought remain along the state’s southeast corner bordering Arizona and in the northernmost region at the Oregon border.

Related articles: 

  • Newsweek: Chart shows how California reservoirs water levels compare to Texas lakes
  • CBS – Sacramento: El Niño set to strengthen this winter, what does it mean for Northern California?
  • KCRA – Sacramento: Early onset of fall rains in Northstate offers positive outlook for water year, says state climatologist
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news September 25, 2023 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Solutions: These farmers are harvesting scarce water from fog

A nonprofit in Peru is gaining attention for its work in developing a simple system that gathers moisture from fog and channels it to storage containers for use in areas where water is in short supply. The systems are dropping in price and increasing in efficiency, experts say. The “fog catchers” have been installed in several countries and were even considered for possible use in the San Francisco area. … “It’s a very intriguing idea,” says Jay Lund, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California-Davis. … Lund explored the idea of demisting fogs over San Francisco in the aftermath of the droughts in the Bay Area between 2012 and 2016, but concluded it would likely not be economically viable.

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Aquafornia news September 25, 2023 Aspen Journalism

Colorado River managers vote to continue conservation program, with tweaks, in 2024

Colorado River managers [last week] decided to continue a water conservation program designed to protect critical elevations in the nation’s two largest reservoirs. The Upper Colorado River Commission decided unanimously to continue the federally funded System Conservation Program in 2024 — but with a narrower scope that explores demand management concepts and supports innovation and local drought resiliency on a longer-term basis. … The System Conservation Program is paying water users in the four upper basin states — Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah — to voluntarily cut back with $125 million from the Inflation Reduction Act. According to Upper Colorado River Commission officials, nearly $16.1 million was spent on system conservation in 2023. 

Related article: 

  • Telluride Daily Planet: Western states vote to narrow focus of Colorado River program
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news September 25, 2023 The Fresno Bee

Commentary: San Joaquin Valley farmers face challenges in managing water

… a conference held this past week at Fresno State, “Managing water and farmland transitions in the San Joaquin Valley,” drew a large crowd of growers and water district managers. The event was sponsored by the Public Policy Institute of California [PPIC], a nonpartisan group that provides analysis on key issues facing the state.The PPIC’s report on the Valley’s water situation makes clear the stakes: Even if growers do everything right, a half million acres could go out of production because of water-supply shortages. … Using water wisely while re-purposing land properly will be the key issue facing San Joaquin Valley farmers for years to come. -Written by Tad Weber, The Bee’s opinion editor.

Related article: 

  • Fresnoland: Is groundwater trading the future of California water?
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news September 25, 2023 Drought.gov

Blog: Summer 2023 in review – A look back at drought across the US in 10 maps

We’re just days away from turning the page from summer to fall. Drought in the United States expanded and intensified in Summer 2023, largely influenced by not only lack of precipitation, but extreme heat and evaporative demand. While the number and size of wildfires were relatively small in the western U.S. compared to recent summers, unhealthy levels of smoke still poured into the contiguous United States from record-breaking Canadian wildfires, and a wildfire in dry Maui destroyed the town of Lahaina. The maps below show how precipitation, temperature, and evaporative demand influenced drought and wildfires across the United States and Canada during Summer 2023.

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Aquafornia news September 25, 2023 The New York Times

Meet the climate-defying fruits and vegetables in your future

… Recent floods left more than a third of California’s table grapes rotting on the vine. Too much sunlight is burning apple crops. Pests that farmers never used to worry about are marching through lettuce fields. Breeding new crops that can thrive under these assaults is a long game. Solutions are likely to come from an array of research fronts that stretch from molecular gene-editing technology to mining the vast global collections of seeds that have been conserved for centuries. … Here’s a quick look at some of the most promising.

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Aquafornia news September 25, 2023 Reuters

Monday Top of the Scroll: California escapes fire season mostly unharmed, but danger could lie ahead

California is on the verge of recording a second straight year of relatively mild wildfire damage, after historic rains put the state on track to avoid the calamities of recent fire seasons. … Cal Fire also says the state benefited from a program that nearly doubled the acreage deprived of fuel by prescribed burns from a year ago and the addition of 24 aircraft leased during fire season that improved response times.

Related articles: 

  • Associated Press: The threat of wildfires is rising. So is new artificial intelligence solutions to fight them
  • San Francisco Chronicle: Rain expected in San Francisco Bay Area on Monday
  • CNN: An El Niño winter is coming - What could that mean for the US?
  • SJV Water: Valley agencies in a race against winter and a fast-approaching state deadline to repair flood damage
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news September 25, 2023 California WaterBlog

Blog: Evolution of drought response and resilience in California’s cities

… In recent decades, California has experienced five prolonged drought periods (1976-77, 1987-1992, 2007-09, 2011-16, 2020-22). Urban water agencies have responded with investments in supply and demand management measures, which have made California’s cities more resilient to drought effects. What motivated these investments? Our current habits of water use in California’s cities are shaped by past policies and habits.

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Aquafornia news September 22, 2023 Governing.com

Blog: Warming climate, human impacts make better data about rivers essential

Sept. 24 is World Rivers Day, first celebrated in 2005 following a declaration by the U.N. General Assembly that 2005-2015 would be the “Water for Life” decade. … Concern about abuse and neglect of rivers has led to an international movement to recognize rivers as living entities with fundamental rights, entitled to legal guardians. … The ability of America’s public health system to detect the emergence and spread of diseases, or to mount timely responses to them, is hampered by the lack of a national data system. Post-pandemic, it’s one of the major priorities of public health officials to change this.

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Aquafornia news September 22, 2023 Oregon Capital Chronicle

U.S. Senate panel grapples with how to ensure access to water amid Western drought

Decades of drought in the West has made water quality and quantity a major issue requiring government funding and innovation to fix, members of a U.S. Senate panel said Wednesday. Demand for water in growing municipalities is stretching agricultural and tribal communities, while shrinking availability is leading to higher water prices, witnesses told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s Water and Power Subcommittee. … Kyle Jones, the policy and legal director at the advocacy group Community Water Center, told the panel about a woman whose California well ran dry as her husband recovered from open-heart surgery. A new well would have required a $30,000 loan, he said.

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Aquafornia news September 22, 2023 San Francisco Chronicle

Friday Top of the Scroll: Atmospheric river-fueled storm is headed to California

Astronomical fall begins Friday night, and autumn storms are already knocking on California’s door. A major September storm is forecast to bring heavy rains and strong winds to Washington, Oregon and Northern California beginning Sunday night. … The jet stream is forecast to strengthen across the Pacific Ocean this weekend, pushing an atmospheric river all the way from Japan to the western U.S. Atmospheric rivers are ribbons of moisture that can ferry large amounts of moisture thousands of miles through the sky.

Related articles: 

  • Weather West: Fall-like weather pattern for CA as El Niño continues to strengthen; Odds of a second consecutive wet winter rise (though with caveats!)
  • Western Farm Press: UC – Grow cover crops before wet winter
  • Drought.gov: Drought Deteriorations Due to Late Summer Hot and Dry Conditions in Southern Portions of Intermountain West Region
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news September 22, 2023 KSL - Salt Lake City

Why Cox isn’t surprised with $1.5B price tag to mitigate Great Salt Lake dust

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox says he isn’t surprised by a new report showing that mitigating dust from the Great Salt Lake would likely cost at least $1.5 billion in capital costs, but it highlights why the state is “so passionate about getting more water” into the drying lake. The Utah Office of the Legislative Audit General released a report on the state’s “critical vulnerabilities” this week, which notes Great Salt Lake dust mitigation is “estimated to be at a minimum $1.5 billion in capital costs with ongoing annual maintenance of $15 million,” increasing in cost as more of the lakebed is exposed.

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Aquafornia news September 22, 2023 CBS News

As California’s toxic Salton Sea shrinks, it’s raising health alarms for the surrounding community

Damien Lopez, age 4, has symptoms that many people who live near Southern California’s Salton Sea also have. “His cough gets very wheezy. I try to control him,” his mother Michelle Lopez said. … A 2019 University of Southern California study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that between 20% and 22% of children in the region have asthma-like symptoms, a little more than triple the national rate for asthma, according to numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. David Lo, a professor of biomedical sciences at the University of California, Riverside, led a university study last year that determined the Salton Sea itself is responsible for the high incidence of asthma for those who live near it. 

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Aquafornia news September 21, 2023 ABC 4 - Salt Lake City

Leonardo DiCaprio calls on fans to help save Great Salt Lake

Hollywood icon Leonardo DiCaprio urged his fans to sign a petition asking Utah’s political leaders to protect and restore the Great Salt Lake. In an Instagram post on Monday, DiCaprio posted a photo of a receding Great Salt Lake shoreline, sharing with his over 61 million followers the dangers a disappearing lake poses. … DiCaprio shared his support for the group of conservation organizations that filed a lawsuit against the State of Utah over alleged “failures” to protect the lake. The lawsuit claims Utah’s diversion of water upstream is preventing necessary water from reaching the lake, depleting water levels.

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Aquafornia news September 21, 2023 E&E News

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Hydropower delays pose grid threat as permits lapse

When the operator of the nation’s tallest dam applied for a new federal permit in 2005, few expected the process to drag on for more than a decade. It’s still not done. California’s Oroville Dam is among a dozen major hydroelectric projects that have been waiting over 10 years to receive a long-term permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The sluggish process is fueling uncertainty about the future of a key source of clean power that has bipartisan support in Congress — but that faces new challenges as the climate warms.

Related articles: 

  • King City Rustler: Gov. Newsom approves $17M for dam safety funding
  • Chico Enterprise-Record: Oroville Dam construction routine in nature, DWR says
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news September 21, 2023 Marin Independent Journal

Newsom weighs restrictions on watering decorative grass

A state bill on the verge of becoming law would ban the use of drinking water to irrigate decorative grass, a mandate endorsed by Marin leaders who are already largely prepared for it. Assembly Bill 1572, which has made its way to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, would involve the kind of grassy areas in street medians, business parks and city sidewalks. Decorative grass could still be irrigated with recycled water. The restrictions proposed under were first implemented by the state as temporary provisions during the recent three-year drought. The rules are set to expire in June. The bill would make these rules a permanent way of life in California. Violations would carry fines of $500. 

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Aquafornia news September 21, 2023 Capital Public Radio

Why California rivers saw fewer harmful algal blooms this year

Outbreaks of harmful algal blooms have wreaked havoc on California river ecosystems for years. The toxic algae — a neon green layer of muck that floats atop water — thrives in warm, stagnant conditions brought on by drought.  Presence of this algae can make life difficult for other plants and fish in the river, and even cause concerns for humans that accidentally ingest or possibly breathe the area around it. But this year was different. Faster, colder river waters led to fewer outbreaks of the harmful algae throughout the state. 

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  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news September 20, 2023 NASA

Blog: Water-watching satellite monitors warming ocean off California coast

Warm ocean waters from the developing El Niño are shifting north along coastlines in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Along the coast of California, these warm waters are interacting with a persistent marine heat wave that recently influenced the development of Hurricane Hilary. … In its September outlook, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast a greater than 70% chance for a strong El Niño this coming winter. In addition to warmer water, El Niño is also associated with a weakening of the equatorial trade winds. The phenomenon can bring cooler, wetter conditions to the U.S. Southwest and drought to countries in the western Pacific, such as Indonesia and Australia.

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Aquafornia news September 20, 2023 KTLA - Los Angeles

Water district in California floats plan to turn ocean water into drinking water

A local water district is proposing an ambitious plan to turn ocean water into drinking water, and while the idea of a “Blue Water Farm” sounds promising, some environmental groups say that ocean desalination should be a last resort and that more can be done to conserve water in affluent communities.   Over the last two years, customers of the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (LVMWD) have seen restrictions and fines over how much water they use. [District communications manager Mike] McNutt added that the water district is exploring new ways to keep lawns lush and green in big-money neighborhoods like Calabasas, Westlake Village and Hidden Hills. … Officials are hoping that they can bring in precisely 10 million gallons of fresh water a day to the district. 

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Aquafornia news September 20, 2023 Stateline

Feds’ cash stream supports Colorado River conservation — but the money will dry up

Despite a megadrought, states in the West have been able to avoid drastic cuts to their allocations of Colorado River water this year not only because of surprising storms but also thanks to generous financial incentives from all levels of government that have encouraged people to conserve. The temporary Colorado River water-sharing agreement that Arizona, California and Nevada announced in May depends on an injection of $1.2 billion from the federal government. Some of the 30 tribal nations in the river basin also are getting federal dollars. The Gila River Indian Community, for example, will receive $233 million from the feds over the next three years, mostly to conserve water. Fueled by the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the feds will spend a total of $15.4 billion for drought resiliency programs …

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  • Fox 5 – Las Vegas: Once-exposed boats in Lake Mead covered by water again, but progress is minimal amid drought
  • KTAR – Phoenix: ‘Cloud seeding’ offers water generation possibilities for Arizona
  • KJZZ – Tempe: ‘Fill Mead First’ proposal picking up steam as Colorado River faces ongoing drought
  • Colorado Public Radio: Southern Colorado property owners are starting to receive notices of illegal ponds. Here’s why hundreds of them may need to go
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Aquafornia news September 20, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Study: Thousands of California wells are at risk of drying up despite landmark water law

Even though California enacted sweeping legislation nearly a decade ago to curb excessive agricultural pumping of groundwater, new research predicts that thousands of drinking water wells could run dry in the Central Valley by the time the law’s restrictions take full effect in 2040. The study, published this month in the journal Scientific Reports, casts critical light on how the state is implementing the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. The research reveals that plans prepared by local agencies would allow for heavy pumping to continue largely unabated, potentially drawing down aquifers to low levels that would leave many residents with dry wells.

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  • The Fresno Bee: Opinion – Water use by San Joaquin Valley farmers closely examined
  • Phys.org: Q&A: Researcher discusses work to solve America’s groundwater crisis
  • University of Nebraska: California turns to Nebraska know-how on aquifer analysis, groundwater management
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Aquafornia news September 20, 2023 Capital Press

Feds prevail in lawsuit against Klamath Drainage District

An irrigation district in the Klamath Project can no longer divert water from the Klamath River under a state-issued water right without approval from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, a federal judge has determined. Reclamation sued the Klamath Drainage District in July 2022 for taking water from the river despite curtailments intended to protect endangered fish. The 2022 irrigation season was severely hampered in the project following several consecutive years of drought. Reclamation allotted just 62,000 acre-feet of water from Upper Klamath Lake for irrigators, about 14% of full demand, including zero water for districts with junior rights.

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  • Yurok Tribe: Klamath River reach prepped for post dam removal flows
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Aquafornia news September 20, 2023 Mercury News

California tops FEMA’s new list of areas vulnerable to weather disasters. What does it mean for the Bay Area?

Despite the name, “Community Disaster Resilience Zones” are not local havens capable of withstanding storms and other extreme weather. But the Federal Emergency Management Agency, better known as FEMA, is spending billions in hopes that they can be. The agency has identified nearly 500 such “zones,” swaths of land generally covering several miles that are ill-prepared to tolerate flooding, earthquakes, heat waves, wildfires, landslides and other natural hazards. As extreme weather is expected to continue shattering expectations and local records — from downpours drenching Death Valley to hurricanes pummeling California’s coastline — these areas will be prioritized for additional funding for protective improvements.

Related article: 

  • The Conversation: As extreme downpours trigger flooding around the world, scientists take a closer look at global warming’s role 
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Aquafornia news September 19, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Tuesday Top of the Scroll: California just passed these climate and environment bills

[Editor's note: Scroll to fourth section of story for water-related bills] A bill headed to Newsom’s desk would ban the use of drinking water to irrigate purely decorative grass that no one uses. Another bill approved by lawmakers would allow cities to ban the installation of artificial turf at homes, based on research showing that fake grass can result in microplastics washing into streams and the ocean. Assembly Bill 249 would tighten standards for lead testing in schools’ drinking water. In the latest chapter in San Diego County’s ongoing water drama, lawmakers approved a bill that could make it harder for local water agencies to withdraw from larger regional water authorities — but too late to stop the contentious bureaucratic divorce already underway in San Diego County due to high water costs. Assembly Bill 779 would tweak California’s work-in-progress groundwater rules to “level the playing field for all groundwater users, particularly small farmers and farmers of color,” according to three UCLA law students who helped write the bill.

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Aquafornia news September 19, 2023 Arizona State University

News release: Water sustainability at center of new mixed-reality game

With no end in sight for Arizona’s megadrought, many researchers at Arizona State University are developing innovations to mitigate the drought’s effects on residents, agriculture and industry, and promote water resilience and security. Claire Lauer, a professor of technical communication in the School of Applied Professional Studies, part of the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (CISA) at ASU’s Polytechnic campus, is applying her knowledge of user experience, or UX, and Arizona’s water landscape to educate the public about the intricacies of water usage because “there’s a lot of misinformation about water out there,” she said. “Educating the public on water management will help communities make informed decisions, which can have a huge effect on Arizona’s water policies and conservation efforts.”

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Aquafornia news September 19, 2023 CA Department of Fish and Wildlife

News release: Water shortages will limit waterfowl hunting at Shasta Valley wildlife area, other northeastern properties

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) will reopen the Shasta Valley Wildlife Area in Siskiyou County to limited waterfowl hunting this season after a complete closure the past two seasons. Although many parts of California received record rainfall and snowpack during the winter and spring of 2022-23, northeastern California remained comparatively dry. As a result, only dry field hunting will be allowed for waterfowl hunting this season at the Shasta Valley Wildlife Area. The Northeastern Zone waterfowl season runs from Oct. 7, 2023, through Jan. 17, 2024. Hunting at the Shasta Valley Wildlife Area will be allowed on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays throughout the season.

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Aquafornia news September 19, 2023 Los Angeles Times

A celebrity-studded L.A. water district has a very big drought idea: Seafloor desalination

A water district best known for supplying the celebrity-studded enclaves of Calabasas and Hidden Hills could soon become famous for a very different reason. The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District recently partnered with California-based OceanWell to study the feasibility of harvesting drinking water from desalination pods placed on the ocean floor, several miles off the coast of California. The pilot project, which will begin in Las Virgenes’ reservoir near Westlake Village, hopes to establish the nation’s first-ever “blue water farm.” … The process could produce as much as 10 million gallons of fresh water per day — a significant gain for an inland district almost entirely reliant on imported supplies.

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Aquafornia news September 19, 2023 Public Policy Institute of California

Report: Managing water and farmland transitions in the San Joaquin Valley

Successful implementation of the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) is vital to the long-term health of the San Joaquin Valley’s communities, agriculture, environment, and economy. But the transition will be challenging. Even with robust efforts to augment water supplies through activities like groundwater recharge, significant land fallowing will be necessary. How the valley manages that fallowing will be paramount to protecting the region’s residents—including the growers and rural, low-income communities who will be most directly impacted by the changes. With coordinated planning and robust incentives, the valley can navigate the difficult water and land transitions coming its way and put itself on a path to a productive and sustainable future.

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Aquafornia news September 18, 2023 Arizona Capitol Times

State considers using effluent water credits

The Arizona Water Banking Authority is exploring the possibility of buying purified wastewater to distribute later – which would be unprecedented. At the AWBA commission’s meeting on Sept. 13, new bank manager Rebecca Bernat asked whether she should look into the possibility of the bank using effluent water credits. Until 2019, AWBA has only used excess Colorado River water long-term storage credits. That’s for the Central Arizona Project water stored in aquifers. Users can get the water later during a potential shortage by pumping it back out.

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Aquafornia news September 18, 2023 Newsweek

Will Lake Mead water levels rise again? What we know about El Niño

Last week, Lake Mead water levels started to even out after experiencing a steep increase for the last five months, but it isn’t expected to last for long. After years of drought, Lake Mead, which is in Nevada and Arizona, reached drastically low levels last summer, prompting fears that a dead pool—the point where water levels are too low to flow downstream—would occur much sooner than originally thought. Water levels started to recover this year because of above-average precipitation and snowpack that melted throughout the summer. The lake has since recovered more than 20 feet, supplemented at times by excessive rainfall such as that from storm Hilary in August. AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DaSilva told Newsweek that he doesn’t expect the lake to rise much more this water year, which ends September 30.

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  • Newsweek: What Lake Mohave’s water level change means for Lake Mead’s future
  • KNAU – Arizona Public Radio: Minimum releases in Glen Canyon Dam raised for boater safety
  • Morning Ag Clips: Legislators to discuss Colorado drought pathways​
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Aquafornia news September 18, 2023 State Water Resources Control Board

News release: State Water Board delivers $3.3 billion to California communities to boost drought resilience and increase water supplies

Seizing a generational opportunity to leverage unprecedented state funding to combat drought and climate change, the State Water Resources Control Board provided an historic $3.3 billion in financial assistance during the past fiscal year (July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022) to water systems and communities for projects that bolster water resilience, respond to drought emergencies and expand access to safe drinking water. The State Water Board’s funding to communities this past fiscal year doubled compared to 2020-21, and it is four times the amount of assistance provided just two years ago. 

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Aquafornia news September 18, 2023 Salt Lake Tribune

A year after Great Salt Lake’s record low, half the lake is left for dead

During the winter of 2022, Utah lawmakers on Capitol Hill boarded a pair of Black Hawk helicopters to tour something bleak: the sprawling exposed lakebed, drying mud flats and the water that remained at the Great Salt Lake, which had reached an all-time low. It inspired them to act. The following months saw a flurry of water conservation bills and millions of dollars dedicated to reversing the lake’s decline, including a $40 million trust. The Great Salt Lake sunk to a record low in the fall of 2022, and another round of water reforms followed. Then came a record-busting amount of snowpack in 2023 that many Utahns hoped would buy some time and stave off the lake’s collapse.

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Aquafornia news September 18, 2023 The Associated Press

California lawsuit says oil giants deceived public on climate, seeks funds for storm damage

The state of California filed a lawsuit against some of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, claiming they deceived the public about the risks of fossil fuels now faulted for climate change-related storms and wildfires that caused billions of dollars in damage, officials said Saturday. The civil lawsuit filed in state Superior Court in San Francisco also seeks creation of a fund — financed by the companies — to pay for recovery efforts following devastating storms and fires. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement the companies named in the lawsuit — Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and BP — should be held accountable.

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  • Los Angeles Times: California sues five major oil companies for ‘decades-long campaign of deception’ about climate change
  • New York Times: California sues giant oil companies, citing decades of deception
  • E&E News: ‘Watershed moment’ - California enters climate litigation fray
  • CalMatters: Newsom to sign corporate climate accountability bills
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Aquafornia news September 18, 2023 SF Gate

A strong El Niño is likely this winter: What that means for California

El Niño — a weather pattern that can cause impacts around the world — developed in summer and is expected to persist through winter, long-term forecasters said Thursday. In its latest monthly forecast, the federal Climate Prediction Center said there’s a 95% chance El Niño will continue through winter, January to March, and it will most likely be strong, as opposed to weak or moderate. In California, El Niño has near-celebrity status, as the state has seen some epic wet winters when it has developed in the past, but meteorologists say that the state has also seen dry or normal precipitation in El Niño winters.

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  • Los Angeles Times: Warmest summer on record spurs dire warnings
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Aquafornia news September 15, 2023 Business Insider

Las Vegas wants to ensure firms have a water-conservation plan

Las Vegas isn’t just a hot spot for revelers. Thousands of businesses, particularly from California, have moved to the region over the past few decades, and the population is booming alongside other Southwestern cities. All of that growth in a region plagued by extreme heat, drought, and a dwindling water supply raises tough questions for city and state officials who want to spur economic growth without draining the Colorado River dry. In one example of that challenge, Arizona’s governor in June halted construction in areas around Phoenix, citing a lack of groundwater.

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Aquafornia news September 15, 2023 St George News

Lawsuit argues that Utah has failed to address shrinking Great Salt Lake

Conservation and community groups have filed a lawsuit against Utah for what they claim is the state’s failure to ensure enough water gets to the Great Salt Lake, to avoid what they call an “ecological collapse.” The lawsuit seeks a court order requiring Utah to let more water reach the largest natural lake in the Western Hemisphere. John Leshy, professor emeritus of law at the University of California-San Francisco, said the lake is a “public trust” resource per the state’s constitution. He added the court will examine what the designation means when it comes to managing and protecting it. Back in the 1970s, the California Supreme Court stepped in to protect Mono Lake from its water being diverted to Los Angeles utilizing the Public Trust Doctrine. Leshy argued it could set a strong precedent in Utah.

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Aquafornia news September 15, 2023 Chico Enterprise-Record

Butte County awarded $11 million for water projects

The California Department of Water Resources awarded multimillion-dollar grants to two groundwater subbasins in Butte County. DWR announced that the Vina subbasin, which includes Chico and Durham, and the Wyandotte Creek subbasin, which covers the Oroville area, are among 32 subbasins that will receive a total of $187 million to “help support local sustainable groundwater management.” Vina and Wyandotte Creek each received $5.5 million. The county’s third subbasin, Butte, did not get a grant in the funding announced this week. Tod Kimmelshue, chair of the Butte County Board of Supervisors and a member of the Vina subbasin board, praised the state for supporting local efforts. 

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Aquafornia news September 14, 2023 ABC7 - Los Angeles

NASA scientists use new tool to track harmful algal blooms across the world, including SoCal

It was the largest algal bloom on record and it took place in June off the California coast. The planktonic algae made the water look green while producing a toxin. Seals, sea lions and dolphins eat fish that have eaten these algae, therefore hundreds died as a result. … Using satellite data, Gierach and other scientists created new ways to study the changes in the ocean. … Satellites can even measure color and temperature changes. A lot of the increase in algal bloom is caused by what we dump into the ocean, runoff, fertilizer and climate change.

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Aquafornia news September 14, 2023 8 News - Las Vegas

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Lake Mead’s rise levels off after 5-month climb — 34% full as an incredible water year nears its end

Leveling off after steady increases since early April, Lake Mead appears to have reached its peak for the year — more than 22 feet above last year. … Average daily levels computed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation show the surface of Lake Mead at 1,066.32 feet above sea level on Thursday, Sept. 7. Since then, it has hovered around the same level and come down slightly, now at 1,066.25 feet as of midday Wednesday.

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  • Newsweek: Nevada official wants to completely drain Lake Powell
  • Civil Eats: Farming in dry places - Investors continue to speculate on Colorado water
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Aquafornia news September 14, 2023 CalMatters

California law would ban irrigation of some lawns

California businesses and institutions will have to stop irrigating decorative grassy areas with drinkable water under legislation approved by state lawmakers. The bill now goes to Gov. Gavin Newsom for his signature. Newsom’s office declined to comment today, but he previously called for an irrigation ban that led to a similar emergency measure that’s in effect until next June.  Authored by Assemblymember Laura Friedman, a Democrat from Burbank, the legislation would ban use of potable water — water that is safe to drink — to irrigate ornamental lawns or grasses at businesses, institutions, industrial facilities and certain developments. The grass could only be irrigated with recycled water.

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  • Natural Resources Defense Council: New bill marks climate transition for California landscapes
  • Mercury News: Guns, water, bathrooms, schoolbooks, weed cafes, magic mushroom bills head to Gov. Newsom’s desk
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Aquafornia news September 13, 2023 Vox

Fall weather extremes will be hit hard by El Niño and climate change

The wave of unusual disasters this summer now includes Hurricane Lee, a storm that swelled from Category 1 to Category 5 in just 24 hours as it barreled toward Canada. It’s a prime example of rapid intensification made worse by warming ocean temperatures. It will add to what’s already been an exceptional year of extreme weather. The US has set a new record for the number of billion-dollar disasters in a year — 23 so far — in its history, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). And this doesn’t even include the costs from Tropical Storm Hilary in California or from the ongoing drought in the South and Midwest, because those costs have yet to be fully calculated. 

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Aquafornia news September 13, 2023 ABC 10 - Sacramento

Reservoir levels remain elevated across California

Reservoirs across the state of California remain elevated as another wet season approaches.  Following the record wet winter, lakes and reservoirs were nearly full to the brim as the melting snowpack made its way into them. Following the melt-off period, Lake Shasta — the keystone of the Central Valley Project — was at 98% capacity, Oroville was at 100% capacity, and Folsom Lake was nearly full as well at 95% capacity. These bodies of water were quite parched heading into the winter due to the three years of drought preceding the past winter’s deluge and ranged from 25-32% capacity before the atmospheric river events rolled in.

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Aquafornia news September 13, 2023 KUNC - Greeley, Colo.

Researchers can now predict when drought will kill a forest

Researchers have found a way to predict whether or not a forest will survive based on drought conditions – information that can help forest managers deal with climate change. The researchers from the University of California Davis looked at a drought that caused the loss of tens of millions of trees in the Sierra Nevada forest from 2012 to 2015. In the early years, the trees were doing fine, despite drought conditions. But by 2015, 80% of them were essentially dead.

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Aquafornia news September 13, 2023 Los Angeles Times

California is moving to outlaw watering some grass that’s purely decorative

Outdoor watering accounts for roughly half of total water use in Southern California’s cities and suburbs, and a large portion of that water is sprayed from sprinklers to keep grass green. Under a bill passed by state legislators this week, California will soon outlaw using drinking water for some of those vast expanses of grass — the purely decorative patches of green that are mowed but never walked on or used for recreation. Grass covers an estimated 218,000 acres in the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s six-county area. Nearly a quarter of that, or up to 51,000 acres, is categorized as “nonfunctional” turf — the sort of grass that fills spaces along roads and sidewalks, in front of businesses, and around parking lots.

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  • Business Wire: News release - Metropolitan improving water supply reliability for 7 million people
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Aquafornia news September 13, 2023 KLAS - Las Vegas

Salton Sea obligations cited in letter as government formulates Colorado River plan

California’s largest lake didn’t even exist 120 years ago, but now it looms large over questions about how to manage the Colorado River. Depending on who you ask, the Salton Sea is either an important wildlife ecosystem or an environmental disaster that’s ticking like a time bomb — 50% saltier than the Pacific Ocean and a major source of dust as water recedes. The Salton Sea Authority, an organization created 30 years ago to work with the state of California to oversee comprehensive restoration of the lake, filed an 11-page response to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to lend its voice to decisions about the future of the Colorado River.

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  • Sen. Steve Padilla: News release – Legislation Accelerating Salton Sea Restoration Efforts Passes Assembly Floor
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Aquafornia news September 13, 2023 Courthouse News Service

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: California ponies up $300 million to prepare groundwater infrastructure for climate change

California will spend about $300 million to prepare a vast groundwater and farming infrastructure system for the growing impacts of climate change. California Department of Water Resources announced Tuesday that it has awarded $187 million to 32 groundwater sub-basins, which store water for future use that mainly flows from valuable snowmelt, through the Sustainable Groundwater Management Grant Program. Governor Gavin Newsom also announced Tuesday that California’s Department of Food and Agriculture will award more than $106 million in grants to 23 organizations, which will design and implement new carbon sequestration and irrigation efficiency projects. 

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  • SJV Water: “Immense” flow of public funds to groundwater agencies is tapering off 
  • Office of Gov. Gavin Newsom: Governor Newsom Highlights Nearly $300 Million for Sustainable Water & Farming Projects 
  • CA Department of Water Resources: DWR Awards $187 Million to Improve Sustainable Groundwater Use and Storage Statewide 
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Aquafornia news September 13, 2023 Data Center Dynamics

Microsoft’s water consumption jumps 34 percent amid AI boom

Microsoft said that the company consumed 6.4 million cubic meters of water in 2022, primarily for its cloud data centers. That represents a 34 percent jump over the year before, with generative AI workloads believed to be at least partially to blame. In its annual environmental sustainability report, Microsoft reiterated its goal to be a water positive company by 2030. As part of that effort, it said that it had invested in six new projects that are expected to replenish more than 15 million cubic meters of water over the next decade.

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Aquafornia news September 13, 2023 AP News

Dry states taking Mississippi River water isn’t a new idea. But some mayors want to kill it

Community leaders along the Mississippi River worried that dry southwestern states will someday try to take the river’s water may soon take their first step toward blocking such a diversion. Mayors from cities along the river are expected to vote on whether to support a new compact among the river’s 10 states at this week’s annual meeting of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, according to its executive director Colin Wellenkamp. Supporters of a compact hope it will strengthen the region’s collective power around shared goals like stopping water from leaving the corridor. 

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Aquafornia news September 12, 2023 Napa Valley Register

Napa County leaders look at countywide water agency

Napa County civic leaders want to keep exploring whether the dozens of local agencies that deliver water to tens of thousands of residents and businesses should be working together more closely. County agencies involved with water range from the city of Napa serving 80,000 residents to rural districts serving a few hundred customers. They have various water sources and make their own water decisions. A study three years ago by the Local Agency Formation Commission of Napa County suggested they form some type of county water agency or district to better work together. The idea hasn’t been forgotten.

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Aquafornia news September 12, 2023 The Conversation

What Arizona and other drought-ridden states can learn from Israel’s pioneering water strategy

Arizona is one of the fastest-growing states in the U.S., with an economy that offers many opportunities for workers and businesses. But it faces a daunting challenge: a water crisis that could seriously constrain its economic growth and vitality. … Israel’s approach to desalination offers insights that Arizona would do well to consider.

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  • Business Insider: US Southwest riddled with mile-long cracks due to pumping groundwater
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Aquafornia news September 12, 2023 Bloomberg

Artificial intelligence climate forecast could help supply chain management

Himanshu Gupta knows full well the heavy toll climate change is taking on agriculture. Growing up in India and eventually working in public policy, he saw how the unpredictably late monsoon season was damaging crops and worsening farmers’ lives. … That eventually led him to co-found ClimateAi, a Bay Area-based startup that aims to help farms and other businesses prepare for a hotter, more disruptive climate using the power of artificial intelligence. By harnessing machine learning models, the company says its customers can anticipate and prepare for climate risks to their supply chains and operations over periods ranging from weeks to seasons.

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Aquafornia news September 12, 2023 Sacramento News & Review

This agreement puts water away for dry years: Roseville and PCWA work together to bolster groundwater reserves

Think of it as water in the bank for not-so-rainy days. To help bolster reserves, the City of Roseville and Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) recently amended their longstanding water agreement to allow Roseville to purchase and “bank” more water during “wet” years. … That additional water will be stored in the region’s vast underground aquifers for Roseville’s use as needed.

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Aquafornia news September 12, 2023 San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Walnut students partner with water district to promote water-saving technology

Returning middle and high school students in Walnut are adding an extra item to their agendas – helping members of their community monitor their home’s water usage. Dubbed Project Bright, the students earn community service hours by engaging with the public over the environmental and fiscal benefits of more efficient water usage. They spot any leaks with the help of water sensor technology, Flume, provided through the Walnut Valley Water District. … When water flows through a water meter, a magnetic disc spins inside the meter. The rate at which this disc spins indicated the water’s flow rate. The Flume Water Sensor straps onto the meter to measure the magnetic field.

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  • Lake County News: New AgVenture class gathers for first session
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Aquapedia background February 11, 2014 Layperson's Guide to Water Conservation Layperson's Guide to California Water

Water Conservation

Drought-tolerant landscaping reduces the amount of water used on traditional lawns

Water conservation has become a way of life throughout the West with a growing recognition that the supply of water is not unlimited.

Drought is the most common motivator of increased water conservation but the gradual drying of the West as a result of climate change means the amount of fresh water available for drinking, irrigation, industry and other uses must be used as efficiently as possible.

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Aquafornia news September 11, 2023 Inside Climate News

As the Colorado River declines, some upstream look to use it before they lose it

With the nation beginning to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy like solar and wind power, oil and gas companies are beginning to plug their wells here. So local leaders are looking for the next economic development opportunity. And they may have found their solution—divert more Colorado River water with a new dam and reservoir that will generate more hydropower, irrigate more agriculture and store more water for emergencies. They’re not alone in that quest. Wyoming ranchers are pushing for a new dam to be used for irrigation. Colorado has some diversions already under construction, with more proposed across the state, to help fuel growth. Across the states of the Upper Basin of the Colorado River—Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico—new dams are rising and new reservoirs are filling …

Related articles: 

  • Greeley Tribune: Environmental groups renew legal challenge of massive Denver Water reservoir expansion
  • 8 News – Las Vegas: Colorado River problems - Glen Canyon Dam, desalination and a city that could run dry
  • Nevada Current: August rains clear drought in three-quarters of Nevada
  • 8 News – Las Vegas: Here’s what 7 states say about solving the West’s water crisis
  • Wyoming Public Radio: Wyoming’s new Colorado River advisory committee is looking for long term solutions
     
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Aquafornia news September 11, 2023 E&E News

Can alfalfa survive a fight over Colorado River water?

Dirt roads neatly bisect acres and acres of vibrant green plants here: short, dense alfalfa plants fed by the waters of the Colorado River, flowing by as a light brown stream through miles of narrow concrete ditches. But on a nearby field, farmer Ronnie Leimgruber is abandoning those ditches, part of a system that has served farmers well for decades. Instead, he’s overseeing the installation of new irrigation technology, at a cost of more than $400,000, and with no guarantee it will be as dependable as the open concrete channels and gravity-fed systems that have long watered these lands. … What Leimgruber is pursuing on his acreage is part business savvy and part guarding against a drier future. Like many farmers in this region, he’s figuring out how to keep growing his crops with less water. Two decades of drought have shrunk the Colorado River, which feeds farms in the Imperial Valley, an agricultural oasis fed solely by the 82-mile All-American Canal, which delivers river water to this arid Southern California region.

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Aquafornia news September 11, 2023 NPR

Mines for climate-friendly technologies face growing water scarcity in the West

Climate solutions like solar panels and electric cars require lots of minerals – copper, lithium, manganese. The U.S. plans new mines for these metals across the West. But as NPR’s Julia Simon reports, the country’s need for these metals can sometimes collide with the region’s lack of water. … You do have a miner in there. JULIA SIMON, BYLINE: On a 107-degree morning in the mountains east of Phoenix, a miner in a hard hat peeps out of the top of an 11-foot-tall bucket. Tyson Nansel, spokesperson for the Resolution Copper mine, says the miner’s about to plunge… SIMON: …Where the copper lies. To process it, the mine will use water – a lot, says geologist James Wells, much of it from an area east of Phoenix. JAMES WELLS: The equivalent of a brand-new city of something like 140,000 people – that’s how much water we’re talking about.

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Aquafornia news September 11, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Baby beaver sighting inspires hope for California comeback

Bill Leikam was reviewing footage from a wildlife camera he placed along a Palo Alto creekbed recently when something unfamiliar scampered across the screen. … Eventually, he recognized the mysterious creature as a critically important species that has long been missing from his beloved Baylands — a mammal that California wildlife officials have hailed as a “climate hero.” … For decades, developers, municipalities and farmers focused on beavers as a problem that required mitigation or removal. Now, the species known as Castor canadensis is seen as offering myriad benefits: It can help to mitigate drought and wildfires through natural water management; it is considered a keystone species for its ability to foster biodiversity; and it can restore habitat through its ecosystem engineering.

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Aquafornia news September 11, 2023 Fast Company

What will it take to save the Great Salt Lake?

In the 1980s, the Great Salt Lake in Utah covered an area larger than Rhode Island. Now it has shrunk to less than half that size. Without major changes in local water use, it’s possible that it could dry up completely before the end of this decade. “Right now, the Great Salt Lake is on life support,” says Ben Abbott, an ecosystem ecologist at Brigham Young University. The ecosystem could collapse even before the water disappears. As the lake shrinks, the water is getting saltier, making it harder for the brine shrimp that live there to survive—and meaning that the 10 million birds that migrate through the area may soon have nothing to eat. The shrinking coastline means that former islands are now connected to land, and wildlife face new predators; this year, pelicans that used to raise young on one former island were forced to abandon it.

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Aquafornia news September 11, 2023 Eureka Times-Standard

’30,000 Salmon’ closing celebration set

The Morris Graves Museum of Art, at 636 F St., Eureka, will hold a closing celebration of Becky Evans’ Installation “30,000 Salmon” on Sept. 17 from 2 to 4 p.m. Museum-goers will hear a dozen poems about rivers and dams, water and power, spawning and dying, salmon and community, and half a century of life upriver and downriver and on Humboldt Bay by Jerry Martien. Martien will be accompanied by Becky Evans, Fred Neighbor (guitar), Gary Richardson (bass) and Mike Labolle (percussion and trumpet). … Engaging educators, students, community members and artists, the project culminated in an installation of 30,000 objects depicting or symbolizing the fish die off on the Klamath River, which was exhibited at the First Street Gallery in 2004.

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Aquafornia news September 11, 2023 Inside Climate News

Summer of record heat deals costly damage to Texas water systems

The hottest summer on record for many Texas cities has brought millions of dollars in damage to municipal plumbing and the loss of huge volumes of water during a severe drought.  Authorities across the state are struggling to keep up with widespread leakage even as they plead for water conservation and have restricted outdoor water use. The impact on Texas’s water systems highlights both the vulnerability of basic infrastructure to a warming climate and the high costs of adaptation.

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Aquafornia news September 11, 2023 The Washington Post

Can golf cure its water addiction?

At The Ranch at Laguna Beach, golfers tee off under the dramatic shadow of a vast canyon, zipping around in electric carts and strolling along gleaming grassy fairways. From the lush greenery, you’d never know California is emerging from a historic mega drought. Golf and the Southern California climate make for uneasy bedfellows. The sport is often a target of water cuts by regulators — and of environmentalists who believe the game uses far too many resources in a world of water scarcity. Kurt Bjorkman, The Ranch’s general manager, is quick to agree with all of it. He’ll also tell you that golf can be part of the solution. Since reopening in 2016 after an extensive renovation, the course has cut back its water use by switching to reclaimed water and planting less thirsty grass varieties.

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Aquafornia news September 8, 2023 The Journal

Report examines impacts of climate change on drought, vegetation in Four Corners area

By changing the climate, humans have doubled the magnitude of drought’s impact on the availability of vegetation for herbivores, including livestock, to eat in the greater Four Corners region, according to a study published this summer in the journal Earth’s Future. This is because increasing air temperatures and increasing levels of evaporative demand – or more water being soaked up into the atmosphere – stresses the grasses and shrubs that livestock and many other herbivores rely upon. Emily Williams, who is now a postdoctoral scholar at the Sierra Nevada Research Institute at the University of California Merced, was the lead author of the study. At the time, she was a doctoral student at the University of California Santa Barbara.

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Aquafornia news September 8, 2023 Western Water

Friday Top of the Scroll: New California law bolsters groundwater recharge as strategic defense against climate change

A new but little-known change in California law designating aquifers as “natural infrastructure” promises to unleash a flood of public funding for projects that increase the state’s supply of groundwater. The change is buried in a sweeping state budget-related law, enacted in July, that also makes it easier for property owners and water managers to divert floodwater for storage underground. The obscure, seemingly inconsequential classification of aquifers could have a far-reaching effect in California where restoring depleted aquifers has become a strategic defense against climate change — an insurance against more frequent droughts and more variable precipitation.

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  • Patch: $7.6M Beaumont flood protection, water conservation project completed 
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Aquafornia news September 8, 2023 Dairy Herd

What an El Niño event could mean for fall weather

So far, 2023 has been a wild year for weather. Flooding, drought and hail have all made their way into the headlines - not to mention the extreme high and low temperatures seen throughout the seasons. While weather patterns have been anything but predictable this year, Eric Snodgrass, Principal Atmospheric Scientist for Nutrien Ag Solutions, says America’s heartland may start to see wetter weather conditions just in time for fall. … Back in early June, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center issued an El Niño advisory, noting that El Niño conditions were present and would likely strengthen into the fall and winter months. … El Niño winters also bring better chances for warmer-than-average temperatures across the northern tier of the country.

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Aquafornia news September 8, 2023 Press Democrat

Editorial: Keep goat herds on grazing duty

Goats and sheep have proved their worth in devouring grasses and other potentially flammable vegetation, all without traditional mowing’s noise, pollution and, on hot days, risk of igniting fires. In 2021, Cal Fire awarded more than $10 million in grants for wildfire mitigation projects involving grazing. North Bay residents likely have seen animals grazing on public lands. Sonoma County Regional Parks use sheep and goats seasonally for vegetation management at Helen Putnam, Laguna de Santa Rosa Trail, Foothill, Cloverdale, Gualala and Maxwell parks. Cows deploy at Taylor Mountain, Crane Creek, North Sonoma Mountain and Tolay Lake parks. The parks agency notes that properly conducted and monitored grazing benefits the ecosystem by reducing invasive plant species, fertilizing the soil and making grassland more permeable for recharging groundwater, as well as reducing the risk of wildfire.

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Aquafornia news September 7, 2023 The New York Times

When drought gripped Minnesota in 2021, farmers increased water usage

The drought that gripped Minnesota in the summer of 2021 was one of the worst on record. Day after day a blazing sun shriveled leaves, dried up waterfalls and turned ponds to puddles. In a state known for its 10,000 lakes, many people could do little except hope for rain. But big farmers had another option. They cranked up their powerful irrigation wells, drenching their fields with so much water that they collectively pumped at least 6.1 billion gallons more groundwater than allowed under state permits. Nearly a third of the overuse happened on land affiliated with one company, R.D. Offutt Farms.

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Aquafornia news September 7, 2023 Arizona Family

Colorado River water cutbacks looking more favorable for Yuma

Federal restrictions are being eased on the Colorado River starting next year, partly due to a snow-packed winter. Tom Davis with the Yuma County Water Users’ Associations said water levels have been looking great and are on the right path across the state, especially with the recent rainfall around Arizona.

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  • Las Vegas Review-Journal: Rainfall and Lake Mead water levels, explained 
  • KNAU – Arizona: Federal officials to lower Lake Mohave level for razorback sucker conservation
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Aquafornia news September 7, 2023 The San Diego Union-Tribune

El Niño is coming this winter. The question is, will it be a whopper?

San Diego County’s fragile shoreline and vulnerable beachfront properties could be in for a rough winter, according to the California Coastal Commission, the National Weather Service and some top San Diego scientists. “We are looking at an emerging El Niño event,” staff geologist Joseph Street told the Coastal Commission at its meeting Wednesday in Eureka. An El Niño is a meteorological phenomenon that occurs every two to seven years. The water temperature at the surface of the Central Pacific Ocean along the equator warms a few degrees above its long-term average, creating conditions for stronger, more frequent seasonal storms across much of the globe.

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  • San Francisco Chronicle: Category 5 Hurricane Jova could send big waves to California
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Aquafornia news September 7, 2023 KCRA - Sacramento

Why Folsom Lake losing water to evaporation is not a problem

Folsom Lake has plenty of water heading into the fall. As of Wednesday morning, the reservoir is at 73% of capacity. That is the highest the water level has been in early September since 2019. … At this point in the year, the reservoir is drawn down as managers send water to local customers and provide for environmental needs. At the same time, a notable amount of water is lost to the dry air sitting just above it through evaporation. … Last month, evaporation accounted for 6,500 acre-feet of water loss at the lake, a rate of about 100 cubic feet per second. Lessard said that compared to the size of Folsom, which can hold more than 900,000 acre-feet, that loss is relatively small.

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Aquafornia news September 7, 2023 Time

Opinion: America should harvest a trillion gallons of rainwater

Over the weekend, Burning Man attendees were forced to shelter in place when the usually-parched Black Rock Desert got roughly 3 months’ worth of rain in 24 hours. … In the U.S., there’s strikingly little mainstream discussion of scaling what’s arguably the simplest, cheapest and most sustainable solution for harvesting water: catching it from the sky. The time is ripe for a national policy agenda to dramatically scale up rainwater harvesting. Around the world, humans have been systematically gathering rainwater since ancient times. The technologies are simple: Collect rainwater from rooftops—on homes, warehouses, factories—and send it down gutters into tanks, where it can be filtered and used for domestic purposes, landscaping, or industrial processes. For farms, harvesting rainwater typically means configuring land with slopes and basins that maximize natural irrigation.
-Written by Justin Talbot Zorn, senior adviser to the Center for Economic and Policy Research; and Israel Mirsky is a New York-based writer and technologist. 

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Aquafornia news September 7, 2023 California Department of Water Resources

News release: DWR joins Stockton East Water District to announce $12.2M investment for water resilience project

On Wednesday, Stockton East Water District and the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) joined local and federal officials to highlight a $12.2 million project that will support groundwater recharge, water quality and habitat restoration project along the Calaveras River. … The event was held at the Bellota Weir Modification Project site on the Calaveras River. Funded by DWR’s Urban Community Drought Relief Program, the project will make conveyance improvements and install a modern fish screen at the Stockton East Water District’s Bellota municipal diversion intake on the Calaveras River. The conveyance improvements would double the amount of groundwater recharge per year and improve water reliability and quality for the city of Stockton’s drinking water. Additionally, the fish screen and new fishways will restore fish habitats along the Calaveras River and allow safe passage through the river for the threatened Central Valley Steelhead and Chinook Salmon.

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  • KCRA – Sacramento: Sacramento’s Regional Water Authority wants to make groundwater storage more flexible. Here’s how you can provide input
  • The Sacramento Bee: Elk Grove - Large water pipeline will soon cut through city
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Aquafornia news September 7, 2023 Salt Lake Tribune

Groups sue Utah, trying to save Great Salt Lake with the public trust doctrine

Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit to save the Great Salt Lake as its water continues receding and its lakebed blows dust. The case uses a legal concept that recently stifled plans to turn Utah Lake into a private island development and, years ago, stopped a salty lake from getting sucked dry in California. A complaint filed in 3rd District Court on Wednesday invokes the public trust doctrine, claiming the Utah Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has failed in its duty to protect the largest saline ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere for the benefit of its residents. While lawmakers and resource managers have taken steps in recent years to bolster the imperiled Great Salt Lake and the unique ecology it supports, they must take more drastic steps to reduce Utahns’ overconsumption of water, the suit argues.

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  • Salt Lake Tribune: New lithium company wants billions of gallons from Great Salt Lake, but says it will put it all back
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Aquafornia news September 7, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Sweeping California water conservation rules could force big cuts in some areas

With California facing a hotter and drier future — punctuated by bouts of extreme weather — state officials are moving forward with a new framework for urban water use that could require some suppliers to make cuts of 20% or more as soon as 2025. Many of the suppliers facing the harshest cuts are located in the Central Valley and in the southeastern part of the state — large, hot and primarily rural areas that have historically struggled to meet conservation targets. … The move marks a shift away from the one-size-fits-all approach that has governed California water for years. If adopted, the new rules would require the state’s more than 400 urban water suppliers to come up with a new water-use budget every year beginning in 2025. They could face hefty fines for failing to comply or meet their targets.

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  • Monterey Herald: For Monterey Peninsula water users, updated ban will be enforced
  • Politico: Keep off the grass
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Western Water September 7, 2023 Nick Cahill California Groundwater Map Layperson's Guide to Groundwater By Nick Cahill

New California Law Bolsters Groundwater Recharge as Strategic Defense Against Climate Change
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: State Designates Aquifers 'Natural Infrastructure' to Boost Funding for Water Supply, Flood Control, Wildlife Habitat

Groundwater recharge in Madera CountyA new but little-known change in California law designating aquifers as “natural infrastructure” promises to unleash a flood of public funding for projects that increase the state’s supply of groundwater.

The change is buried in a sweeping state budget-related law, enacted in July, that also makes it easier for property owners and water managers to divert floodwater for storage underground.

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Aquafornia news September 6, 2023 Western Farm Press

Research results: Producing food in a drying climate

Searching 150 Best Quotes About Agriculture for something appropriate to discuss The Future of Agriculture and Food Production in a Drying Climate, this comment stood out — “At the very heart of agriculture is the drive to feed the world. We all flourish…or decline…with the farmer.” That core concept, “the heart of agriculture”, resonated with Bobby Robbins, a cardiologist by trade whose day job is President of the University of Arizona in Tucson. Living in the Northern Sonora Desert, Robbins has watched a changing climate threaten food and agriculture systems in the arid Southwest. “The agriculture industry needs innovative research-based solutions to continue producing food year-round,” he said in announcing a high-IQ Commission to tackle the job.

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Aquafornia news September 6, 2023 Crosstown - Los Angeles

Residential water use in Los Angeles declines after winter rains

Los Angeles saw its eighth wettest season in 145 years last winter. The torrential downpours did more than fill aquifers, shrink water waste complaints and ease drought concerns—they also led to the biggest cutbacks in regional residential water use in four years.   The average customer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power used 59.5 gallons per day from Jan. 1–May 31, according to publicly available water use and conservation data from the California State Water Resources Control Board. This marked an 11% drop from the same period last year, and was the lowest recorded figure since 2019 (the 2023 figures are preliminary and subject to a slight revision).

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Aquafornia news September 5, 2023 CalMatters

Wildfire smoke and climate change: 4 things to know

Wildfires and climate change are locked in a vicious circle: Fires worsen climate change, and climate change worsens fires. Scientists, including those at the World Resources Institute, have been increasingly sounding the alarm about this feedback loop, warning that fires don’t burn in isolation — they produce greenhouse gases that, in turn, create warmer and drier conditions that ignite more frequent and intense fires.  Last week, wildfire smoke prompted another round of unhealthy air quality in California. Fires in Oregon and Northern California sent smoke into Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area. And it’s a global nightmare: This summer, world temperatures hit an all-time high, the worst U.S. wildfire in more than a century devastated Maui, a deadly fire in Greece was declared Europe’s largest ever, and swaths of the Midwest and Northeast have been blanketed by smoke from Canada’s forest fires. 

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Aquafornia news September 5, 2023 Las Vegas Sun Newspaper

SNWA, partners develop tool to rank incoming businesses’ water consumption against benefits to the community

Cities and economic development organizations could start saying no to incoming businesses seeking tax abatements and grants if they consume too much water and won’t bring enough economic benefits to Southern Nevada. The Southern Nevada Water Authority is nearly finished developing its new “water investment tool,” which ranks businesses on a scale from one to five based on how much water they would annually consume. The Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development and the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance partnered with the water authority to develop the ranking system over the last year and a half.

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Aquafornia news September 5, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Tuesday Top of the Scroll: As Colorado River shrinks, California farmers urge ‘one-dam solution’

For years, environmentalists have argued that the Colorado River should be allowed to flow freely across the Utah-Arizona border, saying that letting water pass around Glen Canyon Dam — and draining the giant Lake Powell reservoir — would improve the shrinking river’s health. Now, as climate change increases the strains on the river, this controversial proposal is receiving support from some surprising new allies: influential farmers in California’s Imperial Valley. In a letter to the federal Bureau of Reclamation, growers Mike and James Abatti, who run some of the biggest farming operations in the Imperial Valley, urged the government to consider sacrificing the Colorado’s second-largest reservoir and storing the water farther downstream in Lake Mead — the river’s largest reservoir.

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  • Colorado Sun: Here’s how Colorado uses its water amid climate change
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  • Live Science: Will El Niño end the Southwest’s megadrought?
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Aquafornia news September 1, 2023 KCBX - Central Coast

“It’s not going to be an easy one”: Central Coast vineyards to see late harvest after winter storms

California experienced triple the amount of average rainfall within the first few months of 2023, leading to heavy plant growth across the Central Coast. It even caused a super bloom of wildflowers off of Highway 1 and 58, creating excitement for locals and visitors alike. Months later, one of the Central Coast’s biggest industries is grappling with the storms’ after-effects, as harvest season for vineyards is looking a lot different this year. Walking through Paso Robles on a hot August afternoon, it’s almost like the storms never happened. The rolling hills at Tablas Creek Vineyard are lined with healthy grapevines and olive trees.

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Aquafornia news September 1, 2023 Newsweek

Study: Sudden shifts from drought to floods are getting more common in the U.S.

Sudden shifts from drought conditions to heavy floods are becoming more common in the U.S. as the climate changes, a study has found. The findings were presented in a study published in Communications Earth & Environment. … Over time, from 1980 to 2020, researchers found that such whiplash trends in the weather increased approximately a quarter of a percent to 1 percent per year. These extreme shifts in weather patterns have manifested in parts of the U.S. recently, and in California in particular.

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  • Cal Ag Today: California’s water reserves are full, are we still in a drought? Yes and no.
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Aquafornia news September 1, 2023 Mercury News

Friday Top of the Scroll: New permanent water conservation rules are coming to California — see how your city will be affected

Dozens of California cities could be required to impose permanent water conservation measures starting in about a year — and keep them in place even when the state is not in a drought — under proposed new rules from state water regulators. The landmark rules are required by two laws that former Gov. Jerry Brown signed in 2018 after a severe five-year drought. Environmentalists and some water districts support them, saying they are critical as the state grapples with climate change and more severe droughts. But some water agencies have been strongly opposed, saying Sacramento is beginning a new era of micro-managing how local communities use water. Under the new rules, roughly 400 of the California’s largest cities and water districts are required to come up with a water-use budget every year beginning Jan. 1, 2025.

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  • Napa Valley Register: ‘Cash for Grass’ program has transformed 2,000 lawns in Napa
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Aquafornia news August 31, 2023 Maven's Notebook

How a new satellite-based platform could transform water management in California

In 2015, when California was deep into a severe drought, state Senate Bill 88 tightened requirements for reporting water use. This posed a challenge for growers in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta’s 415,000 acres of farmland, where many irrigation systems are fed by siphons instead of pumps and so lack electricity to run water meters. Alternative power sources proved troublesome. … So when former Delta Watermaster Michael George suggested that [farmer] Brett Baker look into OpenET, a new online platform that uses satellites to track how much water plants consume, Baker was primed to make it work. That was in 2020. This year marked the launch of an OpenET-based website for reporting water use in the Delta, and 70 percent of growers there have already adopted it. 

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Aquafornia news August 31, 2023 Aspen Journalism

Colorado River commission reviews lessons learned from water conservation program

Cassie Cerise lives on her family’s ranch on Missouri Heights, a mesa above Carbondale named for the home state of some of the area’s earliest settlers. Like her parents and grandparents, she runs cattle and irrigates hay and alfalfa fields — some by sprinklers, others by flood — with water from Cattle Creek. But this season, Cerise and her husband, Tim Fenton, decided to let about 73 acres go dry and get paid for the water they aren’t using as part of the federally funded System Conservation Program, which is aimed at addressing the crisis on the Colorado River. According to Cerise’s contract with the Upper Colorado River Commission, which oversees the program, not watering her fields this season will save about 83 acre-feet of water.

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Aquafornia news August 31, 2023 The New York Times

A cluster of wildfires is burning in California’s northwest corner

The largest wildfire currently burning in the United States is raging in California’s densely forested northwest corner. The Smith River Complex — actually a cluster of connected blazes — covered a total of 79,000 acres and was only 7 percent contained as of Wednesday evening. The fire began on Aug. 15 with a storm that scattered lightning strikes across the Six Rivers National Forest in Del Norte County, just south of the Oregon border. Since then, the fire has crossed into Oregon, closed roads, forced power outages that lasted days, and delayed the start of the school year for roughly 4,000 students in Del Norte County’s public schools. On Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for the county, where the air quality has been abysmal for days and hundreds of people are still under evacuation orders.

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  • Fresno Bee: California must improve forest management for public safety
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Aquafornia news August 31, 2023 The Sacramento Bee

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Will Northern California see another stormy winter this year? Here’s what experts predict

… After facing a La Niña winter for three years straight and getting doused with a wet and snowy winter last year, El Niño is expected to take California on a different winter ride. … The winter season, which officially begins Dec. 21, in Northern California is forecast to have an equal chance of being below or above normal precipitation, according to the December-January-February [NOAA] outlook. It was published Aug. 17. “It’s a little uncertain,” [Tom Krabacher, professor of geography at Sacramento State] said about El Niño’s effect on rain in Northern California. “It can bring more rain or can have a relatively normal rain.” He said this is because the weather event shifts the storm tracks, pushing the rain farther south.

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Aquafornia news August 31, 2023 Public Policy Institute of California

Blog: Mapping farms by size in the San Joaquin Valley

As implementation of the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) proceeds, it’s no secret that the San Joaquin Valley will have to adapt to a future with less water for irrigation. Our research shows that overall irrigation supplies may decline by as much as 20% by 2040. Land uses will have to change, and some have raised concerns that SGMA’s implementation could put smaller farms at a disadvantage, given their more limited resources and capacity. To gain insight on these issues, we conducted a detailed geographical analysis of cropping patterns and water conditions by farm size on the San Joaquin Valley floor, using county real estate records on ownership of agricultural parcels (individual properties of varying sizes) to identify farms.

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Aquafornia news August 30, 2023 Wired

This brutal summer in 10 alarming maps and graphs

As global temperatures rapidly climb, humanity is seeing more and more of the disastrous effects scientists warned us about: fiercer heat waves, more intense wildfires, and heavier rain. The extremes of the past few months are but a preview of the ever-worsening pain we’ll endure if we don’t dramatically reduce carbon emissions. … What’s made this summer so bad? For one thing, the base layer of global warming makes extreme summer heat both more common and more severe than it normally would be. Plus, this summer the Pacific Ocean transitioned from the cooler waters of La Niña into the warmer waters of El Niño, which goes on to influence Earth’s climate globally. 

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Aquafornia news August 30, 2023 The Drinks Business

A simple vineyard strategy cuts water usage by one-third

The increasingly unpredictable climate is making growing grapes an increasingly risky and costly business. France recently lost an estimated $2 billion in wine sales after extreme weather decimated the harvest. In 2022, California farmers lost an estimated $1.7 billion to the drought alone, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of California. And despite California’s abnormally wet winter in 2023, which helped replenish reservoirs and groundwater aquifers, experts warn that the wet weather won’t make up for decades of diminished rain and extended periods of drought. How much water a vineyard needs to produce great wine varies considerably, and while there is an increasing effort to dry farm, the vast majority of California vineyards are irrigated. 

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Aquafornia news August 30, 2023 Ridgecrest Independent

It’s time to pay for water: IWVGA begins making the difficult decisions

A difference of $38 million dollars in taxes to those in the Indian Wells Valley hung in the balance as the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority discussed funding options for the imported water pipeline project at the IWVGA’s board meeting on Aug. 23. The mood of the room reflected the gravity of the decision. Conversation slowed, political rivalries cooled, and board members asked the same clarifying questions from subject matter experts for a third or fourth time. Ultimately, too many questions remained on such an important decision, and so the IWVGA board tabled it until their next meeting on Sept. 13. No further delays will be possible; the IWVGA will need to make a decision at their September meeting.

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Aquafornia news August 30, 2023 CalMatters

Opinion: Why Sites Reservoir is not the water solution California needs

California is at yet another critical point in its struggle toward a sustainable water future, and yet we’re still talking about the wrong solutions. On Wednesday, the water rights protest period for Sites Reservoir will come to a close. Sites Reservoir is the latest in a long line of proposed dams promising to end our cycle of water insecurity. However, Sites won’t add much to California’s water portfolio, and its harm to the Sacramento River, Delta ecosystem and communities that rely on them could be irreversible and ongoing.
-Written by Keiko Mertz, the Policy Director for Friends of the River.

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Aquafornia news August 29, 2023 KJZZ - Tempe

Facing Colorado River cutbacks, extreme heat and prolonged drought, Arizona farmers are getting help from University of Arizona’s Agricultural Cooperative Extension

With three-quarters of Arizona’s fresh water supply going to farmlands, the recent reductions imposed on Colorado River supply are having a huge impact on agriculture in the state. “It’s all about stretching that water dollar or that gallon of water a little bit further.” Paul “Paco” Ollerton is a third-generation farmer in Casa Grande, who says he’d already been squeezing every last drop for his fields. “Our yields have improved dramatically. Irrigation efficiencies have helped quite a bit.” But it’s still not enough to keep his family business afloat. The longtime cotton farmer has had to make adjustments as well, turning to more drought-resistant crops used for animal feed.

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Aquafornia news August 29, 2023 Ducks Unlimited

News release: Ducks Unlimited’s scientific studies will help conserve Pacific Flyway waterfowl, habitats

Ducks Unlimited and its scientific partners have several studies planned or underway to study waterfowl and their habitats in the Pacific Flyway. … The lack of floodplain habitat for salmon and other migratory fish in the Sacramento Valley in California has contributed to their decline. As a result, there are proposals to manage floodplain habitats to benefit fish. This study, led by a team in Ducks Unlimited’s Western Region, will determine the effects of floodplain reactivation for fish on waterfowl and Sacramento Valley waterfowl hunting.

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  • New York Times: For migrating birds, it’s the flight of their lives
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Aquafornia news August 29, 2023 Counter Punch

Is wastewater an answer for adapting to climate change?

Population growth and climate change are stretching America’s water supplies to the limit, and tapping new sources is becoming more difficult each year—in some cases, even impossible. New Mexico, California, Arizona, and Colorado are facing the nation’s most significant strains on water supplies. But across the entire American Southwest, water stress has become the norm. … Farmers use the vast majority of water withdrawn from the Colorado River to irrigate crops—and 70 percent of that is for crops like alfalfa and hay used to feed cattle. The river also supplies drinking water to 40 million people in the Southwest, and in 2022, Lake Mead—which the Colorado feeds—shrank to its lowest levels since it was filled in the 1930s.

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Aquafornia news August 29, 2023 New York Times

Tuesday Top of the Scroll: America is draining its groundwater like there’s no tomorrow

Global warming has focused concern on land and sky as soaring temperatures intensify hurricanes, droughts and wildfires. But another climate crisis is unfolding, underfoot and out of view. Many of the aquifers that supply 90 percent of the nation’s water systems, and which have transformed vast stretches of America into some of the world’s most bountiful farmland, are being severely depleted. These declines are threatening irreversible harm to the American economy and society as a whole. The New York Times conducted a months-long examination … In California, an agricultural giant and, like Arkansas, a major groundwater user, the aquifers in at least 76 basins last year were being pumped out faster than they could be replenished by precipitation, a condition known as “overdraft,” according to state numbers.

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  • New York Times: Five takeaways from our investigation into America’s groundwater crisis
  • New York Times: Uncharted waters 
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Aquafornia news August 29, 2023 WaterWorld

New study: Harvesting water from Death Valley atmosphere using ambient sunlight

A joint team of researchers have demonstrated successful atmospheric water harvesting using ambient sunlight in the Death Valley desert, according to a press release from the Pohang University of Science & Technology (POSTECH). The study, published in the journal Nature Water, was led by Woochul Song from the Division of Environmental Science & Engineering POSTECH and Omar M. Yaghi, Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. Harvesting atmospheric water presents challenges, particularly in regions with humidity less than 70%, as it necessitates a substantial amount of energy to condense the vapor, rendering it an ineffective solution.

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Aquafornia news August 29, 2023 Los Angeles Times

California is now practically drought-free, but we keep wasting so much rainwater

Almost all of California is finally drought-free, after Tropical Storm Hilary’s rare summer drenching added to this winter’s record-setting rainfall totals. But despite all that drought-busting precipitation, California continues to capture only a percentage of that water. Much of the abundance in rain from Hilary ended up running off into the ocean — not captured or stored for future use, when California will inevitably face its next drought. … Following the torrent of winter storms from a parade of atmospheric rivers, much of California pulled out of drought conditions after three of the state’s driest years on record. And Hilary continued to build on that trend — pulling one of the state’s driest regions out of such dire conditions.

Related article: 

  • Spectrum News: One week later, what Tropical Storm Hilary left behind
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Aquafornia news August 28, 2023 KSUT Public Radio - Four Corners Public Radio

From wildfires to workloads, Western farmers face more stress and mental health issues

On a cloudy day on a crop farm north of Reno, Nev., Zach Cannady tilts his head toward the sky and smiles. That’s because it’s starting to rain, which wasn’t in the forecast. … Cannady owns Prema Farms, a stone’s throw into California, tucked in the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains. It grows a colorful mix of crops – carrots, kale, peppers, onions, melons and more. And harvests have been strong recently thanks to wet winters and more frequent rain. But Cannady, who has a wife and two kids, knows that can change fast in farming.

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  • KJZZ: Amid cutbacks, heat and drought, Arizona farmers get help from University of Arizona
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Aquafornia news August 28, 2023 Desert Sun

Opinion: Palm Springs history – Stormy weather in the dry desert over the years

Weather in the desert seems mostly a dry subject.  The usual history of Palm Springs mostly starts in a dry spell at the end of the 19th century when the little sprouting village planted by John McCallum at the base of Mt. San Jacinto desiccated and nearly perished despite all his efforts to bring water from Tahquitz Canyon and Whitewater via extensive flumes.  The drought lasted some 11 years when the aptly named Weather Bureau noted in 1901 a dying tropical cyclone brought “two inches of rain to the mountains and deserts of Southern California” ending the dry spell that nearly ended Palm Springs itself. In the desert, when it finally rains, many times, it pours.  But perhaps the most famous and influential deluge in the history of the Coachella Valley didn’t occur here at all.  In 1905, heavy rainfall in the Colorado River basin caused the river to swell and eventually breach a foolishly naïve Imperial Valley irrigation dike.
-Written by Tracy Conrad, special to the Desert Sun.  

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Aquafornia news August 25, 2023 ABC30 - Fresno

Tule River Tribe declares a water shortage emergency

The Tule River Tribe has declared a water shortage emergency. The tribe has been facing a clean water shortage for almost a week. Tule River leaders say a lighting strike knocked the power out and impacted this water plant last week leaving hundreds of locals without clean water. In an already stressed system. The murky river water is making it impossible for locals to use 60% of their water supply. A little higher at about 1,400 feet in elevation, the water at Painted Rock dam is also dirty.

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Aquafornia news August 25, 2023 WBUR - Boston

Listen: Would flooding Death Valley offset sea level rise?

The seas are rising. Humans have already pumped enough greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere to raise ocean levels up to 2 feet by the end of the century, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. If we do not curb our use of fossil fuels, we are looking at up to 7 feet. That rise could drive 2 billion people from their homes and cost $14 trillion a year. And once the seas go up, they will not fall — not on any human timescale. But what if they could? On the subreddit AskScience, one user proposed a potential solution: What if we took our excess seawater and dumped it into Death Valley? The national park, located in the Mojave Desert, reaches 282 feet below sea level and used to be the site of a massive lake.

Related article: 

  • Desert Sun: Yet another peculiar layer to the Salton Sea’s formation — and future
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Aquafornia news August 25, 2023 Supermarket Perimeter

California walnut production benefits from heavy rains last winter

Ahead of an annual US Department of Agriculture estimate for California walnut production, the outlook is far more positive in 2023, according to the California Walnut Board. In an update published Aug. 9, the CWB credited heavy rains over a long period last winter for restoring subsoil moisture and providing “for healthy root zones, enabling trees to better tolerate late season high temperatures,” the CWB said. Extensive snowpack also helped sustain the trees during the growing season. Rainfall, caused by atmospheric rivers in California, was intense from the first of the year through late March, affecting large areas of Southern California, the Central Coast of California and northern parts of the state.

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Aquafornia news August 25, 2023 SJV Water

Poso: Kern County’s recurring problem creek in search of a solution

It’s no mystery why the tiny community of Pond was flooded out this last spring. All you had to do was drive four miles south to see the massive pile of debris at the Highway 43 bridge to know all that water churning through the normally dry Poso Creek was going bust out and go somewhere. It did. And it headed straight for Pond. For generations, the Poso has been an intermittent problem child – bone dry most years, then swelling beyond its banks about every six to 10 years, flooding towns, vital roadways and thousands of acres of farmland northwest of Wasco.

Related article: 

  • SJV Water: Kern River to get a new Watermaster, but one with a familiar name
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Aquafornia news August 25, 2023 SJV Water

New administrator assigned to help with Teviston’s water woes

The state has assigned an engineering company to take control of, and improve, the water system in the small Tulare County town of Teviston. Teviston, a rural community of about 460 people, has been hard hit by water problems for years. The town well broke down in the drought of 2021, leaving families without water and many without any way to cool themselves in soaring summer temperatures. Its water is also contaminated by 1,2,3, TCP, a dangerous carcinogen.  The state Water Resources Control Board gained the authority to appoint administrators to water systems in 2018. Appointed administrators take over struggling systems that can’t deal with issues ranging from water quality to technical and managerial challenges.

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Aquafornia news August 25, 2023 San Francisco Chronicle

Heat is driving deadly wildfires in California’s far north. When will Bay Area feel impacts?

Wildfires raging in rugged pockets of California’s far north have killed a Siskiyou County man and added particulate plumes to smoke drifting toward the Bay Area from big Oregon blazes.  California fire map: Active fires in Northern California including Smith River Complex California’s fire season is here, and with temperatures rising, lightning weather in the forecast and autumnal winds always a threat, it’s likely to intensify over the next few months and threaten more populated areas.  Roughly 173,000 acres have burned so far this season — up 24% from 139,000 this time last year, a surprisingly mild season, but down nearly 80% from an average of about 812,000 acres over the past five years, which included three years of historic drought.

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  • Bloomberg: Maui wildfires show that ‘risk is ubiquitous now’
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Aquafornia news August 24, 2023 Modesto Bee

Modesto will raise water rates nearly 25% by 2027

The Modesto City Council voted Tuesday evening to boost water rates nearly 25% by 2027. The average residential bill will go from $67.13 a month now to $83.66 in 2027, a staff report said. Actual charges are much higher in the dry months and lower in other times. Under state law, the proposal would have died if a majority of the 75,584 customers filed protests. Only 144 did.

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  • Channel 8 – San Diego: San Diego water woes | City auditor urged water department to notify customers about withheld bills back in 2018
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Aquafornia news August 24, 2023 Mercury News

Thursday Top of the Scroll: California lawmakers consider permanent ban on watering grass at businesses, even in non-drought years

… During California’s three-year drought, state water regulators banned watering “ornamental turf” at corporate, industrial or government properties with potable water as a way to preserve supplies. That emergency regulation is set to expire next June. A new bill would make the ban permanent. Under the measure, AB 1572, it would be illegal for businesses like office parks, car dealerships, supermarkets, strip malls, or corporate campuses to water decorative grass with drinkable water — whether or not California is in a drought. Scofflaws would face fines of up to $500 a day.

Related article: 

  • NBC Bay Area: Proposed bill would limit how California businesses water decorative lawns
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Aquafornia news August 24, 2023 Courthouse News Service

Multiyear El Niño and La Niña events likely to increase, researchers say

Climate scientists are bracing for potentially lengthy El Niño and La Niña events, according to a new study revealing how the underlying mechanism for climate variability is responding to increased greenhouse gas emissions in unpredicted ways and inducing El Niño-like conditions after volcanic eruptions. The research published in Nature Wednesday details recently discovered trends of the “Pacific Walker Circulation,” (PWC) an atmospheric phenomenon relating to east-west circulation along the equatorial Pacific. The pattern plays an atmospheric role in the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, the dominant mode of global interannual climate variability that comprises two phases: El Niño and La Niña. 

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Aquafornia news August 24, 2023 Spectrum News

Climate change may force more farmers to consider irrigation

Some places in the U.S. are already struggling with groundwater depletion, such as California, Arizona, Nebraska and other parts of the central Plains. … [Jonathan Winter, an associate professor of geography at Dartmouth College and an author on a new study on future U.S. irrigation costs and benefits] used a computer model to look at how heat and drought might affect crop production by the middle and end of this century, given multiple scenarios for the emissions of warming greenhouse gases. In places like California and Texas where “everyone is dropping their straw into the glass” of groundwater, as Winter put it, current levels of irrigation won’t be viable in the long term because there isn’t enough water. But use of irrigation may grow where groundwater supply isn’t presently an issue.

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Aquafornia news August 24, 2023 Colorado Politics

Colorado lawmakers: AZ, CA must do their part before state agrees to water cuts

A panel of state lawmakers who lead in the water and agriculture space said any water conservation program Colorado conceives of shouldn’t go into place until after California and Arizona first take action. The bipartisan panel spoke Wednesday at Colorado Water Congress about the water policies passed in the last legislative session, and where they see Colorado water policy headed in the next year.

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  • KUNM: Water conservation model built on the Rio Grande may be a template for rest of US
  • Newsweek: How Lake Mead, Lake Powell water levels changed this summer so far
  • Center for Biological Diversity: Court petition seeks reversal of water diversion threatening Utah’s Green River
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Aquafornia news August 24, 2023 Spectrum News

California seeks to put purified sewage in drinking supplies

Earlier this summer, state water officials introduced draft regulations that, if passed, would allow purified wastewater to be directly introduced to drinking supplies. Currently, purified wastewater has to be introduced to environmental buffers like groundwater aquifers before being added to drinking supplies, but the new regulations would allow treated water to bypass this step after undergoing additional purification processes.

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  • Palo Alto Online: Palo Alto eager to expand footprint of wastewater plant 
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Aquafornia news August 24, 2023 New Times San Luis Obispo

Opinion: The grand jury is in, and the Paso basin is still in trouble

The plan to save the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin is failing. In 2014, the California Legislature passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), requiring local communities to form groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) to be administered by groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs). If you’ve been following the saga of the critically overdrafted Paso Robles Groundwater Basin for the last 10 years, the following news may depress you, but it probably won’t surprise you. Some things have changed over that time—the basin now has a groundwater sustainability agency and a groundwater sustainability plan—but some other things have not, including the mindset that still believes the problem can be solved by voluntary conservation, supplemental water projects, and digging deeper wells.

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Aquafornia news August 24, 2023 Los Angeles Times

California is working on solutions to worsening climate change. Will they be enough?

Sci-fi writers have long conceived worlds in which extreme weather events upend the lives of its inhabitants, but with every passing, warming year, their scenarios feel more prophetic. Last September, record-shattering temperatures nearly broke the state’s power grid, and according to a Times investigation, extreme heat waves are killing more Californians than official records show. In the winter, after the driest three-year period on record that dried up wells and forced farmers to fallow fields, atmospheric river storms pummeled the state. Farms flooded. Levees failed. For decades, scientists have warned us that human-caused climate change will produce a growing number of weather catastrophes. But as the impact of global warming unfolds across the world, events once expected to happen decades from now are already here.

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  • Jefferson Public Radio: California has set up a permanent task force of National Guard members to do what used to be occasional work fighting and preventing wildfires.
  • The Hill: California caught in crosshairs of weather extremes in a warming world
  • NASA Jet Propulsion Lab: NASA Maps Key Heat Wave Differences in Southern California
  • UC Berkeley: News release - Five UC Berkeley-led projects awarded California Climate Action Grants
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Aquafornia news August 23, 2023 New York Times

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: What the rain from Hilary means for California’s fire risk

As most Californians know all too well, the rain that drenched the state this week was extreme and often record-breaking. As Tropical Storm Hilary passed through California, more rain fell in San Diego and Los Angeles on Sunday than on any other August day on record. The same was true in the desert city of Palm Springs, which received about 70 percent of its annual average precipitation in a 24-hour period, according to Mark Moede, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s San Diego office. “You look at those numbers, and you have to look at it twice to say, ‘Is this really real?’” Moede told me. Hilary arrived during what is usually California’s driest time of year, and the peak of the state’s fire season. Seven of the 20 largest wildfires in California history started in August.

Related articles: 

  • Vox: Why even Hurricane Hilary couldn’t solve California’s long-term drought crisis
  • Newsweek: How California reservoir water levels changed after Hilary
  • Voice of San Diego: Why Hilary didn’t blow San Diego away
  • Desert Sun: Rep. Ruiz, other inland representatives call for federal aid after Tropical Storm Hilary
  • Desert Sun: Hilary causes train derailments, delays in Coachella Valley
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Aquafornia news August 23, 2023 Colorado Sun

Western states stake out positions on future of lakes Mead, Powell

Colorado River Basin states don’t agree on very much when it comes to the future operations of the basin’s largest water savings banks. One thing they do agree on: The current rules aren’t working. The seven states with land in the Colorado River Basin and other stakeholders submitted comment letters Aug. 15 to the federal government for consideration as part of ongoing discussions over future operations at Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which together comprise 92% of the basin’s entire storage capacity. The federal long-term planning process launched in June, a year after a storage crisis left water users reeling. From 2000 to 2022, Mead and Powell dropped from nearly full to less than 32% capacity, as of March 20. Water experts attribute the crisis to prolonged drought, an increasingly warm climate and overuse.

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  • Colorado Sun: Colorado’s top water agency hires Lauren Ris as its new director, ready today to face formidable challenges
  • Arizona Family: Colorado River water restrictions lessen as Lake Powell and Lake Mead see increase in water
  • USA Today: Hurricane Hilary increases water level at Lake Mead
  • Water Online: Colorado’s vanishing snow is becoming a crucial water management issue
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Aquafornia news August 23, 2023 CBS San Francisco

Cancelation of California salmon season forces fishermen to find new way forward

Salmon fishers across the state are pivoting to stay afloat after the salmon fishing season was canceled earlier this year.  At dock 47 in San Francisco, the pier looks different this time of year. More boats are tied up, an unusual sight for what would be peak salmon season.  “It hurts all the way around,” Matt Juanes told CBS News Bay Area. … But this year, the salmon fisher of 8 years is exploring uncharted territory for him. He’s now looking to catch shrimp and halibut after salmon season was canceled for repopulation efforts. … The impact goes beyond the fishermen and their families. California is projected to lose $460 million from the closure with more than 20,000 jobs impacted. Officials say the closure was necessary to sustain the population after years of drought made the state’s water supply unsustainable for salmon eggs that require cooler water to survive. But experts say we could see future closures unless water is reserved for the fish.

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Aquafornia news August 23, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Southern California’s ‘water doctor’ pushes for transformation to adapt to climate change

When Adel Hagekhalil speaks about the future of water in Southern California, he often starts by mentioning the three conduits the region depends on to bring water from hundreds of miles away: the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the Colorado River Aqueduct and the California Aqueduct. As general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Hagekhalil is responsible for ensuring water for 19 million people, leading the nation’s largest wholesale supplier of drinking water. He says that with climate change upending the water cycle, the three existing aqueducts will no longer be sufficient. … For Southern California to adapt, Hagekhalil said, it will need to recycle more wastewater, capture stormwater, clean up contaminated groundwater, and design new infrastructure …

Related article: 

  • Union of Concerned Scientists: We Reviewed More Than 150 Paper on Water Management. Here’s What We Learned.
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Aquafornia news August 23, 2023 KQED - San Francisco

Is water recycling the answer to the Bay Area’s drought woes, algae blooms?

When recycled for drinking, the millions of gallons of water that Bay Area residents flush down toilets and showers every day could be cleaner than the pristine Hetch Hetchy water that flows from many taps in the region, according to a top California water official. … Recycled water for human consumption … will be so clean that workers will have to add minerals to it, because the purification process strips the water of necessary minerals that make it drinkable. But recycling the region’s used water for drinking, a process called “direct potable reuse,” is not happening anywhere in the Bay Area — at least not yet. 

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Aquafornia news August 23, 2023 The New York Times

Extreme weather hits around the world as global temperatures rise

July was the hottest month in modern times. Now, August is shaping up to be a month of extremes. In the United States alone, a tropical storm swept across the Southwest, another struck Texas, Maui burned, and a blistering heat dome sat atop the middle of the country. In India, torrential rains triggered deadly landslides, Morocco and Japan hit new heat records, and southern Europe braced for another scorching heat wave. Those extremes have also brought high-stakes tests for public officials: Where public alerts and education worked, death and destruction were minimized. Where they didn’t, the results were catastrophic. Maui has so far recorded more than 100 deaths from the blaze that started Aug. 8, and that number is projected to rise.

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  • The White House: Statement from President Joe Biden on Extreme Weather
  • San Francisco Chronicle: Stressed out about Maui and Hurricane Hilary? There’s a name for it
  • KTVU – Los Angeles: Worried by summer’s disasters and extreme weather? Climate scientists have advice 
  • Grist: A tropical storm in California? Warmer waters and El Niño made it possible
  • Bloomberg: Wildfires and extreme weather are driving climate denialism online
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Aquafornia news August 22, 2023 Eos

A holistic approach to hydropower data

In 2021, hydropower contributed 16% to total global electricity production, whereas in the United States it accounted for only about 6% of the total (although it was responsible for 31.5% of electricity generated domestically from renewable sources), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That small share of U.S. production could be higher: The 2016 Hydropower Vision Report, published by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), stated that “U.S. hydropower could grow from 101 gigawatts (GW) of capacity to nearly 150 GW by 2050.”

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Aquafornia news August 22, 2023 Pagosa Daily Posy

Opinion: Governors, farmers, cities put Glen Canyon Dam in crosshairs of Colorado River EIS

Strange times create strange bedfellows, as long-term water supply for farms and cities in the Lower Basin aligns with the best environmental alternative. The best solution for California, Arizona, and Nevada to achieve water supply security is to have the Colorado River bypass Glen Canyon Dam, drain Lake Powell’s water into Lake Mead, and let the Colorado River flow freely through Grand Canyon. As the comments are made public in the Post-2026 Colorado River Scoping EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) process, one thing is for certain: an alternative examining bypassing water around or through Glen Canyon Dam must be developed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The usual suspects — mostly environmental groups — are calling for either completely decommissioning Glen Canyon Dam or bypassing the Dam to support the “Fill Mead First” alternative.
-Written by Gary Wockner, a scientist and conservationist based in Colorado. 

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Aquafornia news August 21, 2023 Marin Independent Journal

Marin water utility set to begin studies of new supply options

The Marin Municipal Water District is preparing to launch more in-depth studies of new water supply projects, beginning with assembling consulting teams. The district board is set to vote on contracts with new consulting teams next month to begin preliminary technical, environmental and engineering studies of larger, more complex projects. The projects include expanding local reservoir storage, constructing a brackish Petaluma River desalination plant and installing new pipelines to transfer Russian River water directly into local reservoirs. Unlike the broader study completed earlier this year that identified which of the supply options the district could pursue, the more in-depth analyses are needed to provide details on how and whether they can be built, as well as the costs and environmental impacts.

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Aquafornia news August 21, 2023 E&E News

How climate change shaped California’s first tropical storm in decades

Tropical Storm Hilary made history Thursday, becoming the first storm of its kind to enter California since 1997. The state rarely sees landfalling tropical cyclones or hurricanes, thanks to a confluence of cold water and unfavorable atmospheric conditions off the coast. Experts say the occurrence will likely remain relatively rare even as the climate changes. But rising ocean temperatures mean the hurricanes that do happen to make it up the coast may be stronger and more damaging. On Sunday evening, Hilary brought extreme rainfall to neighborhoods from San Diego to Los Angeles, trapping cars in floodwaters and overwhelming drainage systems.

Related articles: 

  • Los Angeles Times: What climate factors made Hurricane Hilary possible?
  • The New York Times: Tropical Storm Hilary is latest in a year of weather extremes for California
  • Fast Company: It’s not your imagination. The weather is bonkers right now
  • The New York Times: California is free of drought conditions for the first time in three years
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Aquafornia news August 21, 2023 The Daily Independent

Phoenix maintains drought status despite federal change

Phoenix officials said this week the city will remain in a stage 1 water alert even though the United States Bureau of Reclamation announced a return to a tier 1 shortage on the Colorado River in 2024 as a result of a wet winter that elevated levels at lakes Powell and Mead. “While this favorable winter provides temporary relief to the Colorado River system, Phoenix, which receives 40% of its water from the river, is asking residents to continue conserving water due to the unpredictability of the river, prolonged drought and climate change,” city officials said in a release. Under the city’s drought management plan, a stage 1 water alert is declared when an insufficient supply of water appears likely due to water system or supply limitations, triggering an intensive public education and information program.

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Aquafornia news August 21, 2023 The Washington Post

Taliban’s massive canal to bring water to Afghanistan’s parched plains

The morning sun was still rising over the shriveled wheat fields, and the villagers were already worrying about another day without water. Rainwater stored in the village well would run out in 30 days, one farmer said nervously. The groundwater pumps gave nothing, complained another. The canals, brimming decades ago with melted snow from the Hindu Kush, now dry up by spring, said a third. … Two years after its takeover of Afghanistan, the Taliban is overseeing its first major infrastructure project, the 115-mile Qosh Tepa canal, designed to divert 20 percent of the water from the Amu Darya river across the parched plains of northern Afghanistan. The canal promises to be a game changer for villages like Ishfaq’s in Jowzjan province. 

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Aquafornia news August 18, 2023 Las Virgenes Municipal Water District

News release: OceanWell and Las Virgenes water district announce partnership to pilot California’s first ‘Blue Water’ farm

OceanWell and Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (LVMWD) announced today their partnership to pilot California’s first-ever Blue Water farm. LVMWD Board of Directors unanimously approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that paves the way for the public/private partnership to research an environment-first approach that addresses the increasing concern of water scarcity and reliability. Blue Water is fresh water harvested from the deep ocean or other raw water sources. This, first-of-its-kind project, will test OceanWell’s proprietary water purification technology to produce safe, clean drinking water without the environmental impacts of traditional coastal desalination methods. 

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Aquafornia news August 18, 2023 Center for Biological Diversity

News release: Bass population doubles below Glen Canyon Dam, worsening extinction risk for rare Grand Canyon fish

Federal researchers reported Wednesday that despite last fall’s eradication efforts the number of invasive smallmouth bass more than doubled in the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam since last year, imperiling the already threatened native humpback chub.

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  • CBS Colorado: New 3-month outlook is not good for Colorado drought
  • Durango Herald: Why is Lake Powell so important to the Colorado River? Here’s what you need to know.​
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Aquafornia news August 18, 2023 Manteca Bulletin

Watering 3 days a week doesn’t start until Oct. 19

Technically — and legally — Manteca households can’t revert to watering landscaping until Oct. 19. That’s because the municipal ordinance approved unanimously by the City Council Tuesday to make that happen under state law requires a second vote and then a 30-day period before it goes into effect. In the meanwhile, City Manager Toni Lundgren Thursday said municipal staff will not cite anyone that waters a third day. … An unless three of the council members flip their vote on the second reading of the ordinance likely to take place Sept. 19, it will be legal to water three days a week starting Oct. 19.

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Aquafornia news August 17, 2023 Water Finance & Management

Blog: Brown and Caldwell adds to water reuse team

Brown and Caldwell recently announced the addition of water reuse technical leadership as Sandy Scott-Roberts joined the firm as program management director to help California communities tap into drought-proof drinking water sources. Having spent most of her career at an internationally recognized water district, Scott-Roberts has 20 years of managing capital improvement projects, encompassing the planning, design, and construction of water treatment facilities, including pipelines, pump stations, recharge basins, and injection wells. A career highlight includes managing the final expansion of the 130 million gallons per day Groundwater Replenishment System, the world’s largest water purification system for indirect potable reuse.

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Aquafornia news August 17, 2023 Politico

Central Valley farmers are having a climate reckoning

Climate change — and changing political winds — are prompting shifts in strategy at California’s largest agricultural water district. Westlands Water District, which occupies some 1,100 square miles of the arid San Joaquin Valley, is in the midst of an internal power struggle that will determine how water fights unfold across the state. After years of aggressively fighting for more water, Westlands is making plans to live with less. In 2016, Donald Trump campaigned in the valley, promising to “open up the water” for farmers in the then-drought stricken state. Its leaders are now sounding a more Biden-esque note: They are planning to cover a sixth of the district with solar panels to start “farming the sun” instead of thirsty crops like almonds and pistachios.

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Aquafornia news August 17, 2023 The Washington Post

Lightning sparks Head Fire in Northern California amid high fire risk

Numerous lightning-induced fires are erupting in Northern California as thunderstorms pepper the region amid a scorching heat wave. Both red-flag warnings for high fire danger and excessive-heat warnings are in effect from far Northern California into Oregon, and the Weather Service is warning that any fires that develop “have a high probability of spreading rapidly.” More ignitions are possible through Thursday, with a chance of storms lingering into the weekend. … Given the hot, unstable conditions, thunderstorm updrafts can intensify any blazes already burning. Outflow winds between 40 and 60 mph — essentially the exhaust from thunderstorms — are possible Wednesday afternoon and evening, potentially causing dangerous fire spread.

Related articles: 

  • Public Policy Institute of California: Blog – Californians are worried about wildfires
  • US Forest Service: Blog - Protecting water from fire​
  • New York Times: Following the science, above the ground and below 
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Aquafornia news August 17, 2023 CNN

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Hilary strengthens to a hurricane, could bring heavy rain to Southern California, Southwest this weekend

Hilary strengthened into a hurricane in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Mexico on Thursday and is on track to pass along Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. It threatens possible impacts in parts of the West as a weaker system. Hilary is forecast to rapidly intensify through the end of the week into a Category 4 hurricane with winds of at least 130 mph, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center warned. … Hilary is expected to weaken significantly before it reaches Southern California and parts of the Southwest, but could potentially bring significant impacts to these areas in the form of heavy rain and flooding. Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California at Los Angeles, said on Wednesday “multiple years’ worth of precipitation” could potentially fall in some of California’s driest areas.

Related articles: 

  • New York Times: Hilary becomes a hurricane and is rapidly strengthening
  • CBS News: Hurricane Hilary on path toward Southern California
  • San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area thunderstorms and rain showers in weather forecast
  • Yale Climate Connections: Tropical activity heats up in Atlantic and Eastern Pacific
  • Nature: Opinion – I’m a climate scientist. Here’s how I’m handling climate grief
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Aquafornia news August 17, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Colorado River Basin ranks among the world’s most water-stressed regions, analysis finds

A research effort tracking water scarcity around the world shows California, Arizona and other Western states are experiencing water stress at high levels similar to arid countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The analysis by researchers with the World Resources Institute found that all seven states that rely on the Colorado River face high or extremely high water stress. Arizona ranked first for the most severe water stress in the country, followed by New Mexico and Colorado, while California ranked fifth.

Related articles: 

  • The Hill: Colorado River region contains the top most water-stressed US states: report
  • Channel 13 – Las Vegas: Nevada to be allocated more water as past wet winter helps improve water shortage
  • Newsweek: Charts show Lake Mead, Powell water levels change amid low storage warning
  • Politico: States - Current Colorado River management ‘insufficient’
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Aquafornia news August 17, 2023 Capital Press

Reversal of Klamath irrigators’ stay affirmed

Oregon water regulators rightly overturned an “automatic stay” that shielded irrigators from the enforcement of the Klamath Tribes’ water rights, according to a federal judge. Earlier this year, the Klamath Tribes asked the state’s Department of Water Resources to “regulate off” junior irrigators who draw water from Upper Klamath Lake and its tributaries. The agency ordered the 45 farms to stop irrigating, finding the lake’s water level was low enough to adversely affect the tribes’ oldest “time immemorial” water rights. However, four farmers filed a lawsuit arguing OWRD should have ignored the “futile” request because federal officials were releasing water from the lake to improve habitat for protected fish.

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Western Water June 1, 2023 Nick Cahill California Groundwater Map Layperson's Guide to Groundwater WESTERN WATER-High-Tech Mapping of Central Valley's Underground Blazes Path to Drought Resilience By Nick Cahill

High-Tech Mapping of Central Valley’s Underground Blazes Path to Drought Resilience
Aerial Surveillance Reveals Best Spots to Store Floodwater for Dry Times but Delivering the Surplus Remains Thorny

Helicopter towing an AEM loopA new underground mapping technology that reveals the best spots for storing surplus water in California’s Central Valley is providing a big boost to the state’s most groundwater-dependent communities.

The maps provided by the California Department of Water Resources for the first time pinpoint paleo valleys and similar prime underground storage zones traditionally found with some guesswork by drilling exploratory wells and other more time-consuming manual methods. The new maps are drawn from data on the composition of underlying rock and soil gathered by low-flying helicopters towing giant magnets.

The unique peeks below ground are saving water agencies’ resources and allowing them to accurately devise ways to capture water from extreme storms and soak or inject the surplus underground for use during the next drought.

“Understanding where you’re putting and taking water from really helps, versus trying to make multimillion-dollar decisions based on a thumb and which way the wind is blowing,” said Aaron Fukuda, general manager of the Tulare Irrigation District, an early adopter of the airborne electromagnetic or AEM technology in California.

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Western Water April 21, 2023 Nick Cahill Colorado River Bundle WESTERN WATER-Upper Colorado River States Add Muscle as Decisions Loom on the Shrinking River’s Future By Nick Cahill

Upper Colorado River States Add Muscle as Decisions Loom on the Shrinking River’s Future
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Upper Basin States Seek Added Leverage to Protect Their River Shares Amid Difficult Talks with California and the Lower Basin

The White River winds and meanders through a valley.The states of the Lower Colorado River Basin have traditionally played an oversized role in tapping the lifeline that supplies 40 million people in the West. California, Nevada and Arizona were quicker to build major canals and dams and negotiated a landmark deal that requires the Upper Basin to send predictable flows through the Grand Canyon, even during dry years.

But with the federal government threatening unprecedented water cuts amid decades of drought and declining reservoirs, the Upper Basin states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico are muscling up to protect their shares of an overallocated river whose average flows in the Upper Basin have already dropped 20 percent over the last century.

They have formed new agencies to better monitor their interests, moved influential Colorado River veterans into top negotiating posts and improved their relationships with Native American tribes that also hold substantial claims to the river.

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Western Water February 16, 2023 Nick Cahill California Groundwater Map WESTERN WATER-California Water Agencies Hoped A Deluge Would Recharge Their Aquifers. But When It Came, Some Couldn't Use It By Nick Cahill

California Water Agencies Hoped A Deluge Would Recharge Their Aquifers. But When It Came, Some Couldn’t Use It
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: January storms jump-started recharge projects in badly overdrafted San Joaquin Valley, but hurdles with state permits and infrastructure hindered some efforts

An intentionally flooded almond orchard in Tulare CountyIt was exactly the sort of deluge California groundwater agencies have been counting on to replenish their overworked aquifers.

The start of 2023 brought a parade of torrential Pacific storms to bone dry California. Snow piled up across the Sierra Nevada at a near-record pace while runoff from the foothills gushed into the Central Valley, swelling rivers over their banks and filling seasonal creeks for the first time in half a decade.    

Suddenly, water managers and farmers toiling in one of the state’s most groundwater-depleted regions had an opportunity to capture stormwater and bank it underground. Enterprising agencies diverted water from rushing rivers and creeks into manmade recharge basins or intentionally flooded orchards and farmland. Others snagged temporary permits from the state to pull from streams they ordinarily couldn’t touch.

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Tour September 12, 2023 - 7:00pm - September 15, 2023 - 5:30pm Nick Gray

Eastern Sierra Tour 2023
Field Trip - September 12-15

This special Foundation water tour journeyed along the Eastern Sierra from the Truckee River to Mono Lake, through the Owens Valley and into the Mojave Desert to explore a major source of water for Southern California, this year’s snowpack and challenges for towns, farms and the environment.

Grand Sierra Resort
2500 E 2nd St
Reno, NV 89595
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Western Water January 13, 2023 Nick Cahill Layperson's Guide to Water Conservation WESTERN WATER-In One of the Snowiest Places in the West, A Scientist Hunts for Clues to the Sierra Snowpack’s Future By Nick Cahill

In One of the Snowiest Places in the West, A Scientist Hunts for Clues to the Sierra Snowpack’s Future
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Central Sierra Snow Lab Manager Andrew Schwartz Aims to Help Water Managers Improve Tracking of Snowpack Crucial to California's Drought-Stressed Water Supply

Photo of Andrew Schwartz, manager and lead scientist at the Central Sierra Snow Laboratory.Growing up in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, Andrew Schwartz never missed an opportunity to play in – or study – a Colorado snowstorm. During major blizzards, he would traipse out into the icy wind and heavy drifts of snow pretending to be a scientist researching in Antarctica.  

Decades later, still armed with an obsession for extreme weather, Schwartz has landed in one of the snowiest places in the West, leading a research lab whose mission is to give California water managers instant information on the depth and quality of snow draping the slopes of the Sierra Nevada.

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Western Water December 9, 2022 Nick Cahill Colorado River Basin Map WESTERN WATER-As Colorado River Flows Drop and Tensions Rise, Water Interests Struggle to Find Solutions That All Can Accept By Nick Cahill

As Colorado River Flows Drop and Tensions Rise, Water Interests Struggle to Find Solutions That All Can Accept
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: Chorus of experts warn climate change has rendered old assumptions outdated about what the Colorado River can provide, leaving painful water cuts as the only way forward

Photo shows Hoover Dam’s intake towers protruding from the surface of Lake Mead near Las Vegas, where water levels have dropped to record lows amid a 22-year drought. When the Colorado River Compact was signed 100 years ago, the negotiators for seven Western states bet that the river they were dividing would have ample water to meet everyone’s needs – even those not seated around the table.

A century later, it’s clear the water they bet on is not there. More than two decades of drought, lake evaporation and overuse of water have nearly drained the river’s two anchor reservoirs, Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah border and Lake Mead near Las Vegas. Climate change is rendering the basin drier, shrinking spring runoff that’s vital for river flows, farms, tribes and cities across the basin – and essential for refilling reservoirs.

The states that endorsed the Colorado River Compact in 1922 – and the tribes and nation of Mexico that were excluded from the table – are now straining to find, and perhaps more importantly accept, solutions on a river that may offer just half of the water that the Compact assumed would be available. And not only are solutions not coming easily, the relationships essential for compromise are getting more frayed.

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Foundation Event December 8, 2022 - 8:30am - 2:30pm Nick Gray

Winter Outlook Workshop
Dec. 8th Workshop in Irvine Focused on Ability to Predict Winter Precipitation

The three-year span, 2019 to 2022, was officially the driest ever statewide going back to 1895 when modern records began in California. But that most recent period of overall drought also saw big swings from very wet to very dry stretches such as the 2021-2022 water year that went from a relatively wet Oct.-Dec. beginning to the driest Jan.-March period in the state’s history.

With La Niña conditions predicted to persist into the winter, what can reliably be said about the prospects for Water Year 2023? Does La Niña really mean anything for California or is it all washed up as a predictor in this new reality of climate whiplash, and has any of this affected our reliance on historical patterns to forecast California’s water supply?

Participants found out what efforts are being made to improve sub-seasonal to seasonal (S2S) precipitation forecasting for California and the Colorado River Basin at our one-day Winter Outlook Workshop December 8 in Irvine, CA.

Beckman Center
Huntington Room
100 Academy Way
Irvine, California 92617
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  • Draft Agenda - Winter Outlook Workshop
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Western Water September 16, 2022 Nick Cahill Colorado River Bundle WESTERN WATER-A Colorado River Veteran Moves Upstream and Plunges into the Drought-Stressed River's Mounting Woes By Nick Cahill

A Colorado River Veteran Moves Upstream and Plunges into The Drought-Stressed River’s Mounting Woes
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Chuck Cullom, a longtime Arizona water manager, brings a dual-basin perspective as top staffer at the Upper Colorado River Commission

Chuck Cullom, executive director of the Upper Colorado River Commission. 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.”

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Western Water Magazine November 1, 2009

The Colorado River: Building a Sustainable Future
November/December 2009

This printed issue of Western Water explores some of the major challenges facing Colorado River stakeholders: preparing for climate change, forging U.S.-Mexico water supply solutions and dealing with continued growth in the basins states. Much of the content for this issue of Western Water came from the in-depth panel discussions at the September 2009 Colorado River Symposium.

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Western Water July 7, 2022 Nick Cahill Colorado River Basin Map WESTERN WATER-A Colorado River Tribal Leader Seeks A Voice In the River's Future--And Freedom to Profit From Its Surplus Water By Nick Cahill

A Colorado River Tribal Leader Seeks A Voice In the River’s Future–And Freedom to Profit From Its Water
WESTERN WATER Q&A: CRIT Chair Amelia Flores Says Allowing Tribe to Lease Or Store Water Off Reservation Could Aid Broader Colorado River Drought Response and Fund Irrigation Repairs

Amelia Flores, chairwoman of the Colorado River Indian Tribes.As water interests in the Colorado River Basin prepare to negotiate a new set of operating guidelines for the drought-stressed river, Amelia Flores wants her Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) to be involved in the discussion. And she wants CRIT seated at the negotiating table with something invaluable to offer on a river facing steep cuts in use: its surplus water.

CRIT, whose reservation lands in California and Arizona are bisected by the Colorado River, has some of the most senior water rights on the river. But a federal law enacted in the late 1700s, decades before any southwestern state was established, prevents most tribes from sending any of its water off its reservation. The restrictions mean CRIT, which holds the rights to nearly a quarter of the entire state of Arizona’s yearly allotment of river water, is missing out on financial gain and the chance to help its river partners.

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Western Water June 3, 2022 Nick Cahill California Groundwater Map WESTERN WATER-As New Deadline Looms, Groundwater Managers Rework ‘Incomplete’ Plans to Meet California's Sustainability Goals By Nick Cahill

As New Deadline Looms, Groundwater Managers Rework ‘Incomplete’ Plans to Meet California’s Sustainability Goals
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: More than half of the most critically overdrawn basins, mainly in the San Joaquin Valley, are racing against a July deadline to retool their plans and avoid state intervention

A field in Kern County is irrigated by sprinkler.Managers of California’s most overdrawn aquifers were given a monumental task under the state’s landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: Craft viable, detailed plans on a 20-year timeline to bring their beleaguered basins into balance. It was a task that required more than 250 newly formed local groundwater agencies – many of them in the drought-stressed San Joaquin Valley – to set up shop, gather data, hear from the public and collaborate with neighbors on multiple complex plans, often covering just portions of a groundwater basin.

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Western Water April 29, 2022 Nick Cahill Colorado River Basin Map Layperson's Guide to Water Recycling WESTERN WATER-As Drought Shrinks the Colorado River, A SoCal Giant Seeks Help from River Partners to Fortify its Local Supply By Nick Cahill

As Drought Shrinks the Colorado River, A SoCal Giant Seeks Help from River Partners to Fortify its Local Supply
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Metropolitan Water District's wastewater recycling project draws support from Arizona and Nevada, which hope to gain a share of Metropolitan's river supply

Metropolitan Water District's advanced water treatment demonstration plant in Carson. Momentum is building for a unique interstate deal that aims to transform wastewater from Southern California homes and business into relief for the stressed Colorado River. The collaborative effort to add resiliency to a river suffering from overuse, drought and climate change is being shaped across state lines by some of the West’s largest water agencies.  

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Tour March 8, 2023 - 7:30am - March 10, 2023 - 6:30pm Nick Gray

Lower Colorado River Tour 2023
Field Trip - March 8-10

This tour explored the lower Colorado River firsthand where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.

The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to some 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.

Hyatt Place Las Vegas At Silverton Village
8380 Dean Martin Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89139
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Tour April 20, 2022 - 7:30am - April 22, 2022 - 6:30pm Explore Epicenter of Drought and Groundwater Sustainability on the Central Valley Tour Nick Gray

Central Valley Tour 2022
Field Trip - April 20-22

Central Valley Tour participants at a dam.This tour ventured through California’s Central Valley, known as the nation’s breadbasket thanks to an imported supply of surface water and local groundwater. Covering about 20,000 square miles through the heart of the state, the valley provides 25 percent of the nation’s food, including 40 percent of all fruits, nuts and vegetables consumed throughout the country.

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Western Water January 14, 2022 Colorado River Basin Map By Douglas E. Beeman

As the Colorado River Shrinks, Can the Basin Find an Equitable Solution in Sharing the River’s Waters?
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: Drought and climate change are raising concerns that a century-old Compact that divided the river’s waters could force unwelcome cuts in use for the upper watershed

Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell, a key Colorado River reservoir that has seen its water level plummet after two decades of drought. Climate scientist Brad Udall calls himself the skunk in the room when it comes to the Colorado River. Armed with a deck of PowerPoint slides and charts that highlight the Colorado River’s worsening math, the Colorado State University scientist offers a grim assessment of the river’s future: Runoff from the river’s headwaters is declining, less water is flowing into Lake Powell – the key reservoir near the Arizona-Utah border – and at the same time, more water is being released from the reservoir than it can sustainably provide.

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Tour March 16, 2022 - 7:30am - March 18, 2022 - 6:30pm Nick Gray

Lower Colorado River Tour 2022
Field Trip - March 16-18

The lower Colorado River has virtually every drop allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.

The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.

Hyatt Place Las Vegas At Silverton Village
8380 Dean Martin Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89139
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Western Water December 10, 2021 Colorado River Basin Map WESTERN WATER-A Colorado River Veteran Takes on Top Water & Science Post at Interior Department By Douglas E. Beeman

A Colorado River Veteran Takes on the Top Water & Science Post at Interior Department
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Tanya Trujillo brings two decades of experience on Colorado River issues as she takes on the challenges of a river basin stressed by climate change

Tanya Trujillo, Assistant Interior Secretary for Water and Science For more than 20 years, Tanya Trujillo has been immersed in the many challenges of the Colorado River, the drought-stressed lifeline for 40 million people from Denver to Los Angeles and the source of irrigation water for more than 5 million acres of winter lettuce, supermarket melons and other crops.

Trujillo has experience working in both the Upper and Lower Basins of the Colorado River, basins that split the river’s water evenly but are sometimes at odds with each other. She was a lawyer for the state of New Mexico, one of four states in the Upper Colorado River Basin, when key operating guidelines for sharing shortages on the river were negotiated in 2007. She later worked as executive director for the Colorado River Board of California, exposing her to the different perspectives and challenges facing California and the other states in the river’s Lower Basin.

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014

Water Cycle Poster

Water as a renewable resource is depicted in this 18×24 inch poster. Water is renewed again and again by the natural hydrologic cycle where water evaporates, transpires from plants, rises to form clouds, and returns to the earth as precipitation. Excellent for elementary school classroom use.

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Post May 28, 2021 Drought FAQs Water Conservation Tips Drought

All Things Drought
Resources, tips and the latest information on the drought gripping the West

Aerial view of Lake Oroville showing the effects of drought in May 2022.

This page is a resource for all things drought – where you can find real-time reservoir levels, drought severity maps, special reports, a newsfeed of current developments on the drought that began in 2020 and general background on droughts in California and the West, as well as answers to common drought questions and tips for how you can save water at home.

What is Drought?

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 began reappearing in late 2020, prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom in May of 2021 to declare drought emergencies in watersheds across 41 counties in California. Restrictions were later extended to all 58 counties. Gov. Newsom relaxed those restrictions finally in March 2023, after an exceptionally wet winter filled reservoirs and packed the Sierra Nevada with record snowfall.  

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Western Water June 25, 2021 Colorado River Basin Map As Climate Change Turns Up The Heat in Las Vegas, Water Managers Try to Wring New Savings to Stretch Supply By Gary Pitzer

As Climate Change Turns Up The Heat in Las Vegas, Water Managers Try to Wring New Savings to Stretch Supply
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: Rising temperatures are expected to drive up water demand as historic drought in the Colorado River Basin imperils Southern Nevada’s key water source

Las Vegas has reduced its water consumption even as its population has increased. Las Vegas, known for its searing summertime heat and glitzy casino fountains, is projected to get even hotter in the coming years as climate change intensifies. As temperatures rise, possibly as much as 10 degrees by end of the century, according to some models, water demand for the desert community is expected to spike. That is not good news in a fast-growing region that depends largely on a limited supply of water from an already drought-stressed Colorado River.

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Western Water May 21, 2021 Colorado River Bundle Layperson's Guide to the State Water Project MWD's Jeff Kightlinger Reflects On Building Big Things, Essential Partnerships and His Hopes For the Delta By Gary Pitzer

MWD’s Jeff Kightlinger Reflects On Building Big Things, Essential Partnerships and His Hopes For the Delta
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Veteran Water Boss, Retiring After 25 Years With SoCal Water Giant, Discusses ‘Permanent’ Drought, Conservation Gains & the Struggling Colorado River

Jeff Kightlinger, longtime general manager of Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.When you oversee the largest supplier of treated water in the United States, you tend to think big.

Jeff Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California for the last 15 years, has focused on diversifying his agency’s water supply and building security through investment. That means looking beyond MWD’s borders to ensure the reliable delivery of water to two-thirds of California’s population.

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Western Water March 26, 2021 Layperson's Guide to Water Rights Law By Gary Pitzer

California Weighs Changes for New Water Rights Permits in Response to a Warmer and Drier Climate
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: State Water Board report recommends aligning new water rights to an upended hydrology

The American River in Sacramento in 2014 shows the effects of the 2012-2016 drought. Climate change is expected to result in more frequent and intense droughts and floods. As California’s seasons become warmer and drier, state officials are pondering whether the water rights permitting system needs revising to better reflect the reality of climate change’s effect on the timing and volume of the state’s water supply.

A report by the State Water Resources Control Board recommends that new water rights permits be tailored to California’s increasingly volatile hydrology and be adaptable enough to ensure water exists to meet an applicant’s demand. And it warns that the increasingly whiplash nature of California’s changing climate could require existing rights holders to curtail diversions more often and in more watersheds — or open opportunities to grab more water in climate-induced floods.

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Aquafornia news February 24, 2021 The Sacramento Bee

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: Red alert sounding on California drought, as farmers get less water

A government agency that controls much of California’s water supply released its initial allocation for 2021, and the numbers reinforced fears that the state is falling into another drought. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said Tuesday that most of the water agencies that rely on the Central Valley Project will get just 5% of their contract supply, a dismally low number. Although the figure could grow if California gets more rain and snow, the allocation comes amid fresh weather forecasts suggesting the dry winter is continuing. The National Weather Service says the Sacramento Valley will be warm and windy the next few days, with no rain in the forecast.

Related articles: 

  • U.S. Bureau of Reclamation: Reclamation outlines Central Valley Project initial 2021 water allocation
  • San Joaquin Valley Sun: Feds start 2021 with light water supply for Valley farmers
  • ABC 30 action News: Valley farmers disappointed at low reservoir water allocation this year
  • Friant Water Authority: Statement from Friant Water Authority on the Bureau of Reclamation’s Initial 2021 Central Valley Project Allocation for the Friant Division
  • Westlands Water District: Westlands Water District Responds to Reclamation’s Five Percent Allocation for South-of-Delta Repayment and Water Service Contractors
  • News release: Costa Statement on the Bureau of Reclamation’s Initial 2021 Central Valley Project Water Allocation Announcement 
  • News release: California Republican Delegation urges Biden administration to ensure continued California water supply 
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Western Water January 29, 2021 In the Heart of the San Joaquin Valley, Two Groundwater Sustainability Agencies Try to Find Their Balance Groundwater Education Bundle By Gary Pitzer and Douglas E. Beeman

In the Heart of the San Joaquin Valley, Two Groundwater Sustainability Agencies Try to Find Their Balance
WESTERN WATER SPECIAL REPORT: Agencies in Fresno, Tulare counties pursue different approaches to address overdraft and meet requirements of California’s groundwater law

Flooding permanent crops seasonally, such as this vineyard at Terranova Ranch in Fresno County, is one innovative strategy to recharge aquifers.Across a sprawling corner of southern Tulare County snug against the Sierra Nevada, a bounty of navel oranges, grapes, pistachios, hay and other crops sprout from the loam and clay of the San Joaquin Valley. Groundwater helps keep these orchards, vineyards and fields vibrant and supports a multibillion-dollar agricultural economy across the valley. But that bounty has come at a price. Overpumping of groundwater has depleted aquifers, dried up household wells and degraded ecosystems.

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Western Water November 20, 2020 Colorado River Bundle By Gary Pitzer

Milestone Colorado River Management Plan Mostly Worked Amid Epic Drought, Review Finds
WESTERN WATER SPOTLIGHT: Draft assessment of 2007 Interim Guidelines expected to provide a guide as talks begin on new river operating rules for the iconic Southwestern river

At full pool, Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States by volume. but two decades of drought have dramatically dropped the water level behind Hoover Dam.Twenty years ago, the Colorado River Basin’s hydrology began tumbling into a historically bad stretch. The weather turned persistently dry. Water levels in the system’s anchor reservoirs of Lake Powell and Lake Mead plummeted. A river system relied upon by nearly 40 million people, farms and ecosystems across the West was in trouble. And there was no guide on how to respond.

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Western Water September 11, 2020 Colorado River Bundle By Gary Pitzer

The Colorado River is awash in data vital to its management, but making sense of it all is a challenge
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: Major science report that highlights scientific shortcomings and opportunities in the Basin could aid water managers as they rewrite river's operating rules

The Colorado River threading its way through a desert canyon near Lee Ferry, Arizona. Practically every drop of water that flows through the meadows, canyons and plains of the Colorado River Basin has reams of science attached to it. Snowpack, streamflow and tree ring data all influence the crucial decisions that guide water management of the iconic Western river every day.

Dizzying in its scope, detail and complexity, the scientific information on the Basin’s climate and hydrology has been largely scattered in hundreds of studies and reports. Some studies may conflict with others, or at least appear to. That’s problematic for a river that’s a lifeline for 40 million people and more than 4 million acres of irrigated farmland.

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Western Water May 15, 2020 Colorado River Basin Map Gary Pitzer

Questions Simmer About Lake Powell’s Future As Drought, Climate Change Point To A Drier Colorado River Basin
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: A key reservoir for Colorado River storage program, Powell faces demands from stakeholders in Upper and Lower Basins with different water needs as runoff is forecast to decline

Persistent drought in the Colorado River Basin combined with the coordinated operations with Lake Mead has left Lake Powell consistently about half-full. Sprawled across a desert expanse along the Utah-Arizona border, Lake Powell’s nearly 100-foot high bathtub ring etched on its sandstone walls belie the challenges of a major Colorado River reservoir at less than half-full. How those challenges play out as demand grows for the river’s water amid a changing climate is fueling simmering questions about Powell’s future.

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Tour May 20, 2021 - 2:30pm - 5:30pm Nick Gray Learn About Infrastructure and Environmental Restoration During Lower Colorado River Tour

Lower Colorado River Tour 2021
A Virtual Journey - May 20

This event explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.

The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour. 

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Western Water December 13, 2019 Colorado River Basin Map Gary Pitzer

Can a Grand Vision Solve the Colorado River’s Challenges? Or Will Incremental Change Offer Best Hope for Success?
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: With talks looming on a new operating agreement for the river, a debate has emerged over the best approach to address its challenges

Photo of Lake Mead and Hoover DamThe Colorado River is arguably one of the hardest working rivers on the planet, supplying water to 40 million people and a large agricultural economy in the West. But it’s under duress from two decades of drought and decisions made about its management will have exceptional ramifications for the future, especially as impacts from climate change are felt.

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Western Water December 13, 2019 Jenn Bowles Jennifer Bowles

Exploring Different Approaches for Solving the Colorado River’s Myriad Challenges
EDITOR’S NOTE: We examine a debate that emerged from our Colorado River Symposium over whether incrementalism or grand vision is the best path forward

Jenn Bowles, Water Education Foundation Executive DirectorEvery other year we hold an invitation-only Colorado River Symposium attended by various stakeholders from across the seven Western states and Mexico that rely on the iconic river. We host this three-day event in Santa Fe, N.M., where the 1922 Colorado River Compact was signed, as part of our mission to catalyze critical conversations to build bridges and inform collaborative decision-making.

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Western Water November 21, 2019 California Water Map Gary Pitzer

Can a New Approach to Managing California Reservoirs Save Water and Still Protect Against Floods?
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Pilot Projects Testing Viability of Using Improved Forecasting to Guide Reservoir Operations

Bullards Bar Dam spills water during 2017 atmospheric river storms.Many of California’s watersheds are notoriously flashy – swerving from below-average flows to jarring flood conditions in quick order. The state needs all the water it can get from storms, but current flood management guidelines are strict and unyielding, requiring reservoirs to dump water each winter to make space for flood flows that may not come.

However, new tools and operating methods are emerging that could lead the way to a redefined system that improves both water supply and flood protection capabilities.

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Western Water October 24, 2019 California Water Map Gary Pitzer

Understanding Streamflow Is Vital to Water Management in California, But Gaps In Data Exist
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: A new law aims to reactivate dormant stream gauges to aid in flood protection, water forecasting

Stream gauges gather important metrics such as  depth, flow (described as cubic feet per second) and temperature.  This gauge near downtown Sacramento measures water depth.California is chock full of rivers and creeks, yet the state’s network of stream gauges has significant gaps that limit real-time tracking of how much water is flowing downstream, information that is vital for flood protection, forecasting water supplies and knowing what the future might bring.

That network of stream gauges got a big boost Sept. 30 with the signing of SB 19. Authored by Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa), the law requires the state to develop a stream gauge deployment plan, focusing on reactivating existing gauges that have been offline for lack of funding and other reasons. Nearly half of California’s stream gauges are dormant.

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Western Water September 26, 2019 California Water Map Gary Pitzer

Often Short of Water, California’s Southern Central Coast Builds Toward A Drought-Proof Supply
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Water agencies in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo counties look to seawater, recycled water to protect against water shortages

The spillway at Lake Cachuma in central Santa Barbara County. Drought in 2016 plunged its storage to about 8 percent of capacity.The southern part of California’s Central Coast from San Luis Obispo County to Ventura County, home to about 1.5 million people, is blessed with a pleasing Mediterranean climate and a picturesque terrain. Yet while its unique geography abounds in beauty, the area perpetually struggles with drought.

Indeed, while the rest of California breathed a sigh of relief with the return of wet weather after the severe drought of 2012–2016, places such as Santa Barbara still grappled with dry conditions.

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Western Water September 12, 2019 Layperson's Guide to the Colorado River Colorado River Basin Map Gary Pitzer

Could “Black Swan” Events Spawned by Climate Change Wreak Havoc in the Colorado River Basin?
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Scientists say a warming planet increases odds of extreme drought and flood; officials say they’re trying to include those possibilities in their plans

Runoff from what some describe as an "epic flood" in 1983 strained the capacity of Glen Canyon Dam to convey water fast enough.  The Colorado River Basin’s 20 years of drought and the dramatic decline in water levels at the river’s key reservoirs have pressed water managers to adapt to challenging conditions. But even more extreme — albeit rare — droughts or floods that could overwhelm water managers may lie ahead in the Basin as the effects of climate change take hold, say a group of scientists. They argue that stakeholders who are preparing to rewrite the operating rules of the river should plan now for how to handle these so-called “black swan” events so they’re not blindsided.

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Western Water July 11, 2019 California Water Map

Your Don’t-Miss Roundup of Summer Reading From Western Water

Dear Western Water reader, 

Clockwise, from top: Lake Powell, on a drought-stressed Colorado River; Subsidence-affected bridge over the Friant-Kern Canal in the San Joaquin Valley;  A homeless camp along the Sacramento River near Old Town Sacramento; Water from a desalination plant in Southern California.Summer is a good time to take a break, relax and enjoy some of the great beaches, waterways and watersheds around California and the West. We hope you’re getting a chance to do plenty of that this July.

But in the weekly sprint through work, it’s easy to miss some interesting nuggets you might want to read. So while we’re taking a publishing break to work on other water articles planned for later this year, we want to help you catch up on Western Water stories from the first half of this year that you might have missed. 

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Announcement July 10, 2019

Explore a Scenic But Challenged California Landscape on Our Edge of Drought Tour
August 27-29 Tour Examines Santa Barbara Region Prone to Drought, Mudslides and Wildfire

Pyramid LakeNew to this year’s slate of water tours, our Edge of Drought Tour Aug. 27-29 will venture into the Santa Barbara area to learn about the challenges of limited local surface and groundwater supplies and the solutions being implemented to address them.

Despite Santa Barbara County’s decision to lift a drought emergency declaration after this winter’s storms replenished local reservoirs, the region’s hydrologic recovery often has lagged behind much of the rest of the state.

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Tour June 21, 2023 - 7:30am - June 22, 2023 - 6:30pm Nick Gray

Headwaters Tour 2023
Field Trip - June 21-22 (optional whitewater rafting June 20)

On average, more than 60 percent of California’s developed water supply originates in the Sierra Nevada and the southern spur of the Cascade Range. Our water supply is largely dependent on the health of our Sierra forests, which are suffering from ecosystem degradation, drought, wildfires and widespread tree mortality. 

This tour ventured into the Sierra to examine water issues that happen upstream but have dramatic impacts downstream and throughout the state.

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Western Water May 9, 2019 Layperson's Guide to the Colorado River Colorado River Basin Map Gary Pitzer

With Drought Plan in Place, Colorado River Stakeholders Face Even Tougher Talks Ahead On The River’s Future
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: Talks are about to begin on a potentially sweeping agreement that could reimagine how the Colorado River is managed

Lake Mead, behind Hoover Dam, shows the effects of nearly two decades of drought. Even as stakeholders in the Colorado River Basin celebrate the recent completion of an unprecedented drought plan intended to stave off a crashing Lake Mead, there is little time to rest. An even larger hurdle lies ahead as they prepare to hammer out the next set of rules that could vastly reshape the river’s future.

Set to expire in 2026, the current guidelines for water deliveries and shortage sharing, launched in 2007 amid a multiyear drought, were designed to prevent disputes that could provoke conflict.

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Western Water April 25, 2019 California Water Map Gary Pitzer

California’s New Natural Resources Secretary Takes on Challenge of Implementing Gov. Newsom’s Ambitious Water Agenda
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Wade Crowfoot addresses Delta tunnel shift, Salton Sea plan and managing water amid a legacy of conflict

Wade Crowfoot, California Natural Resources Secretary.One of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first actions after taking office was to appoint Wade Crowfoot as Natural Resources Agency secretary. Then, within weeks, the governor laid out an ambitious water agenda that Crowfoot, 45, is now charged with executing.

That agenda includes the governor’s desire for a “fresh approach” on water, scaling back the conveyance plan in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and calling for more water recycling, expanded floodplains in the Central Valley and more groundwater recharge.

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Tour August 27, 2019 - 1:00pm - August 29, 2019 - 6:30pm Nick Gray Don't Miss a Chance to Explore a Scenic but Water-Scarce Landscape on the Edge Of Drought Tour Aug. 27-29 Explore a Variety of Drought Resiliency Efforts That Could Help Across California on Edge of Drought Tour August 27-29 Learn About Advanced Purification and Groundwater Injection on Edge of Drought Tour August 27-29 Seeding Clouds and Atmospheric River Research Among Efforts Explored on Edge of Drought Tour that Starts in Burbank Learn About a Range of Solutions to Persistent Water Scarcity on Central Coast during Edge of Drought Tour August 27-29

Edge of Drought Tour
Field Trip - Aug. 27-29

This tour journeyed through a scenic landscape and explored an area of California dealing with persistent threats to its water supply and quality. Along the way, we learned about solutions that were being implemented.

Although Santa Barbara County had lifted its drought emergency declaration after the 2019 storms replenished local reservoirs, the region’s hydrologic recovery has often lagged behind much of the rest of the state. It is a region particularly prone to drought, wildfires and mudslides.

  • Jeanine Jones Presentation
  • Bob McDonald Presentation
  • Nick Turner Presentation
  • Joshua Haggmark Presentation
  • Derrik Williams Presentation
  • Jim Green Presentation
  • Dan Heimel Presentation
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Western Water March 28, 2019 California Groundwater Map Layperson's Guide to Groundwater Gary Pitzer

As Deadline Looms for California’s Badly Overdrafted Groundwater Basins, Kern County Seeks a Balance to Keep Farms Thriving
WESTERN WATER SPOTLIGHT: Sustainability plans required by the state’s groundwater law could cap Kern County pumping, alter what's grown and how land is used

Water sprinklers irrigate a field in the southern region of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County.Groundwater helped make Kern County the king of California agricultural production, with a $7 billion annual array of crops that help feed the nation. That success has come at a price, however. Decades of unchecked groundwater pumping in the county and elsewhere across the state have left some aquifers severely depleted. Now, the county’s water managers have less than a year left to devise a plan that manages and protects groundwater for the long term, yet ensures that Kern County’s economy can continue to thrive, even with less water.

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Western Water March 14, 2019 Colorado River Basin Map Gary Pitzer

‘Mission-Oriented’ Colorado River Veteran Takes the Helm as the US Commissioner of IBWC
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Jayne Harkins’ duties include collaboration with Mexico on Colorado River supply, water quality issues

Jayne Harkins, the U.S. Commissioner of the International Boundary and Water Commission.For the bulk of her career, Jayne Harkins has devoted her energy to issues associated with the management of the Colorado River, both with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and with the Colorado River Commission of Nevada.

Now her career is taking a different direction. Harkins, 58, was appointed by President Trump last August to take the helm of the United States section of the U.S.-Mexico agency that oversees myriad water matters between the two countries as they seek to sustainably manage the supply and water quality of the Colorado River, including its once-thriving Delta in Mexico, and other rivers the two countries share. She is the first woman to be named the U.S. Commissioner of the International Boundary and Water Commission for either the United States or Mexico in the commission’s 129-year history.

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Tour March 11, 2020 - 7:30am - March 13, 2020 - 6:30pm Nick Gray New Experience Announced for Lower Colorado River Tour: Topock Gorge Boat Trip Get a 'Hard Hat' Tour of Hoover Dam and Visit Lake Mead on Lower Colorado River Tour Take the Pulse of the ‘Lifeline of the Southwest’ on the Lower Colorado River Tour

Lower Colorado River Tour 2020
Field Trip - March 11-13

This tour explored the lower Colorado River where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.

The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs is the focus of this tour. 

Silverton Hotel
3333 Blue Diamond Road
Las Vegas, NV 89139
View map
  • Dan Bunk & Mike Bernardo Presentation
  • Seth Shanahan Presentation
  • Chuck Cullom Presentation
  • Vineetha Kartha Presentation
  • Tina Shields Presentation
  • Kevin Hempe Presentation
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Western Water February 28, 2019 California Groundwater Map Layperson's Guide to Flood Management Gary Pitzer

Southern California Water Providers Think Local in Seeking to Expand Supplies
WESTERN WATER SIDEBAR: Los Angeles and San Diego among agencies pursuing more diverse water portfolio beyond imports

The Claude “Bud” Lewis Desalination Plant in Carlsbad last December marked 40 billion gallons of drinking water delivered to San Diego County during its first three years of operation. The desalination plant provides the county with more than 50 million gallons of water each day.Although Santa Monica may be the most aggressive Southern California water provider to wean itself from imported supplies, it is hardly the only one looking to remake its water portfolio.

In Los Angeles, a city of about 4 million people, efforts are underway to dramatically slash purchases of imported water while boosting the amount from recycling, stormwater capture, groundwater cleanup and conservation. Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2014 announced a plan to reduce the city’s purchase of imported water from Metropolitan Water District by one-half by 2025 and to provide one-half of the city’s supply from local sources by 2035. (The city considers its Eastern Sierra supplies as imported water.)

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Western Water February 28, 2019 Groundwater Education Bundle Gary Pitzer

Imported Water Built Southern California; Now Santa Monica Aims To Wean Itself Off That Supply
WESTERN WATER SPOTLIGHT: Santa Monica is tapping groundwater, rainwater and tighter consumption rules to bring local supply and demand into balance

The Santa Monica Urban Runoff Recycling Facility (SMURRF) treats dry weather urban runoff to remove pollutants such as sediment, oil, grease, and pathogens for nonpotable use.Imported water from the Sierra Nevada and the Colorado River built Southern California. Yet as drought, climate change and environmental concerns render those supplies increasingly at risk, the Southland’s cities have ramped up their efforts to rely more on local sources and less on imported water.

Far and away the most ambitious goal has been set by the city of Santa Monica, which in 2014 embarked on a course to be virtually water independent through local sources by 2023. In the 1990s, Santa Monica was completely dependent on imported water. Now, it derives more than 70 percent of its water locally.

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Western Water January 4, 2019 Douglas E. Beeman

Women Leading in Water, Colorado River Drought and Promising Solutions — Western Water Year in Review

Dear Western Water readers:

Women named in the last year to water leadership roles (clockwise, from top left): Karla Nemeth, director, California Department of Water Resources; Gloria Gray,  chair, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California; Brenda Burman, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner; Jayne Harkins,  commissioner, International Boundary and Water Commission, U.S. and Mexico; Amy Haas, executive director, Upper Colorado River Commission.The growing leadership of women in water. The Colorado River’s persistent drought and efforts to sign off on a plan to avert worse shortfalls of water from the river. And in California’s Central Valley, promising solutions to vexing water resource challenges.

These were among the topics that Western Water news explored in 2018.

We’re already planning a full slate of stories for 2019. You can sign up here to be alerted when new stories are published. In the meantime, take a look at what we dove into in 2018:

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