Water and energy are interconnected. A frequent term to describe
this relationship is the “water-energy nexus.”
Energy for Water: Energy is needed to store water, get it where
it is needed and also treat it to be used:
* Extracting water from rivers and streams or pumping it
from aquifers, and then conveying it over hills and into storage
facilities is a highly energy intensive process. The State Water
Project (SWP) pumps water 700 miles, including up nearly 2,000
feet over the Tehachapi Mountains. The SWP is the largest single
user of energy in California. It consumes an average of 5 billion
kWh per year. That’s about 2 to 3 percent of all electricity
consumed in California
* Water treatment facilities use energy to pump and process
water for use in homes, businesses and industry
* Consumers use energy to treat water with softeners or
filters, to circulate and pressurize water and to heat and cool
water
* Wastewater plants use energy to pump wastewater to
treatment plants, and also to aerate and filter it at the plant.
Different end uses require more electricity for delivery than
others. Water for residential, commercial and industrial end-use
needs the most energy (11 percent), followed by agricultural
end-use (3 percent), residential, commercial and industrial
supply and treatment (3 percent), agricultural water supply and
treatment (1 percent) and wastewater treatment (1 percent),
according to the California Energy Commission.
Water for Energy: Water is used to generate electricity
* Water is needed either to process raw materials used in a
facility or maintaining a plant,or to just generate electricity
itself.
Overall, the electricity industry is second only to agriculture
as the largest user of water in the United States. Electricity
production from fossil fuels and nuclear energy requires 190,000
million gallons of water per day, accounting for 39 percent of
all freshwater withdrawals in the nation. Coal, the most abundant
fossil fuel, currently accounts for 52 percent of U.S.
electricity generation, and each kWh generated from coal requires
withdrawal of 25 gallons of water.
In other areas of the country, electricity grids are organized
under operators that coordinate and control the market across
state lines. But in the Western Interconnection, which serves
most of the western U.S. and parts of Canada, there are 38
different authorities responsible for balancing their own
grids. … That could be especially valuable as the West deals
with a decades-long drought that threatens hydropower, and as
states and utilities close large coal plants. A regional
market, experts say, would allow ample wind generation in more
central states to flow west, while solar production from states
like California and Arizona could be sent elsewhere.
Sacramento County officials on Friday said that two fuel tanks
at a Sacramento gas station have leaked gasoline into soil and
groundwater, though the risk to the general public is “very
low.” The county said the leak happened with two
underground fuel tanks at Bonfare Market and Gas Station, which
is located at 2600 Rio Linda Boulevard. A third underground
tank was not found to be faulty. The tanks have since been
emptied and are offline, the county said. The issues stem
from an initial report of a leak in February 2022, county
spokesperson Samantha Mott said. One tank was immediately
emptied and put out of service and an initial assessment did
not reveal groundwater contamination. Later, an
investigation as part of a clean-up plan found that gasoline
contamination had migrated, exposing groundwater to
contamination.
The California Coastal Commission [Thursday night] approved
another desalination plant, despite citing its high costs,
risks to Monterey Bay’s environment and “the most significant
environmental justice issues” the commission has faced in
recent years. The commission’s divided, 8-to-2 vote came
after 13 hours of debate at a Salinas public hearing packed
with several hundred people, plus more crammed into overflow
space. Many of the 375 who signed up to speak opposed the
project — some in tears. Much of the debate focused on the
fairness of locating a for-profit company’s facility in the
Monterey County city of Marina — which does not need the water
and is home to designated disadvantaged neighborhoods. The
expensive supply will flow to other communities, including the
whiter, wealthy enclaves of Carmel-by-the-Sea, Pacific Grove
and Pebble Beach.
In just a few months this year, abnormally low water levels in
rivers led China to shut down factories and to floods in
one-third of Pakistan, killing around 1,500 people and grinding
the country to a halt. A dried-up Rhine River threatened to tip
Germany’s economy into recession, because cargo ships could not
carry standard loads. And the Las Vegas strip turned into a
river and flooded casinos, chasing customers away. … With
mounting climate-fuelled weather disasters, social inequality,
species extinctions and resource scarcity, some corporations
have adopted sustainability programmes. One term in this realm
is ‘circular economy’, in which practitioners aim to increase
the efficiency and reuse of resources, including water —
ideally making more goods (and more money) in the process.
Microplastic particles are widespread in Monterey Bay anchovies
and the diving seabirds that eat them as a main food source -
which could possibly impact the birds’ reproductive systems,
according to a new study. Scientists at UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis
and the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance studied microplastic
pollution in Monterey Bay by testing microplastic particles in
the water and in anchovies and common murres, a bird species
found in abundance in the region. … The study also comes two
months after California became the first state in the
United States to begin requiring water agencies to test for
microplastics, which can be found everywhere from clothing,
food packaging, drinking water and the ocean.
With Governor Newsom’s recent pledge to invest $8 billion in
water infrastructure, carbon-friendly concrete is increasingly
in the mix in Department of Water Resources’ (DWR)
infrastructure projects. This includes efforts to modernize
California’s largest water delivery system, the State Water
Project (SWP). … The cement industry produces about 7%
of carbon emissions globally (about double the emissions from
global air travel.) Over half of these emissions are from the
chemical alteration of materials during production. The
remaining emissions are from the burning of fossil fuels to
generate the high temperatures needed to make concrete.
The Mississippi River — the immense, quiet highway that courses
down the middle of America, moving critical food, wood, coal
and steel supplies to global markets — is shrinking from
drought, forcing traffic to a crawl at the worst possible time.
With water levels at record lows, barges have run aground,
causing traffic jams as boats wait for the US Army Corps of
Engineers to dredge a path through the shallows. … This
year has seen rivers across the US, Europe and China shrinking
amid scarce rains and high heat. The vaunted Colorado River,
caught in the Southwest’s worst drought in 1,200 years, has
dwindled to the point where its major hydroelectric dams are in
danger of shutting down, threatening the booming desert cities
that rely on it.
Hundreds of thousands of acres of San Joaquin Valley farmland
may come out of irrigated production in the coming decades to
help balance overdrafted groundwater basins under the
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. At the same time,
California needs to ramp up clean energy development to meet
the goals of SB 100—and the valley has high solar potential. At
a virtual event last week, PPIC Water Policy Center research
fellow Andrew Ayres moderated a panel of experts and local
stakeholders; they explored how solar development could help
California meet multiple objectives while overcoming some
challenges and delivering lasting benefits to the region.
Successfully coping with severe droughts in California and the
Southwest requires tough choices, all of them expensive and
none of them perfect. But taking millions of acres out of
cultivation and replacing them with solar farms is not the
answer. California produces over one-third of America’s
vegetables and three quarters of the country’s fruits and nuts
– more than half of which is grown in the San Joaquin Valley.
According to the California Farmland Trust, the San Joaquin
Basin contains the world’s largest patch of Class 1 soil, which
is the best there is. -Written by Edward Ring, co-founder of the California
Policy Center and author of the book “The Abundance
Choice – Our Fight for More Water in
California.”
Five years ago, when ExxonMobil came calling, city officials
eagerly signed over a large portion of their water supply so
the oil giant could build a $10 billion plant to make plastics
out of methane gas. A year later, they did the same for
Steel Dynamics to build a rolled-steel factory. Never
mind that Corpus Christi, a mid-sized city on the semi-arid
South Texas coast, had just raced through its 50-year water
plan 13 years ahead of schedule. Planners believed they had a
solution: large-scale seawater desalination. According to the
plan in 2019, the state’s first plant needed to be running by
early 2023 to safely meet industrial water demands that were
scheduled to come online. But Corpus Christi never got it done.
A proposal to place solar panels over the 370-mile Los Angeles
Aqueduct in an attempt to reduce evaporation and add capacity
for renewable energy for residents was approved by a council
committee this week. Around one-tenth of the water in the
aqueduct is lost from evaporation each year due to the length
of travel for water to make it through the aqueduct, according
to the office of Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, who introduced the
motion. O’Farrell is the chair of the council’s Energy, Climate
Change, Environmental Justice, and River committee.
At the tail end of another marathon Lithium Valley Commission
meeting last Monday, Jared Naimark, an organizer for
an environmental nonprofit called Earthworks, asked a
question: “When will commissioners discuss the public comments
that were received on the draft report?” But the nearly
four-hour meeting was adjourned with both that question
and earlier comments Naimark made left unanswered. … As
the ”blue ribbon” commission pushes toward a
self-imposed Dec. 1 deadline to submit its mandated report
to the California Legislature with recommendations on the
nascent but potential multi-billion dollar industry at the
south end of the Salton Sea, it has received hundreds of
comments, spanning a wide range of perspectives.
Through Nov. 21, people recreating near or in the lower
McCloud River — the stretch between McCloud Dam and Lake
Shasta — should watch for
fast-flowing water and higher than normal water
levels. Flows are about a foot higher on the lower McCloud
River in northern Shasta County while Pacific Gas and Electric
Company maintenance crews work on the James B. Black
Powerhouse, the utility company said. That’s
because PG&E won’t divert water from the McCloud
Reservoir to Iron Canyon Reservoir and to the powerhouse while
crews work in the area. As a result, the McCloud
Reservoir filled and excess water is coming over the
spillway into the lower McCloud River.
The holidays can be hard for the eco-conscious. All that shiny
wrapping paper and ribbon, for instance, wadded into
non-recyclable mounds. Visitors who don’t know (or care to
learn) the routine about composting or separating trash and
spend hours running water in the shower. Soften the blow by
including these water- and power-saving gifts as stocking
stuffers and/or main-event presents for your environmentally
friendly friends and family.
Laura Díaz Muñoz, winemaker and general manager at Ehlers
Estate in Napa Valley, is passionate about worms. They factor
deeply into the notable focus on sustainability at Ehlers, a
130-year-old, certified-organic, family-owned property. It all
begins with water. … Spread across five acres at the
sprawling Parlier, California, facility of O’Neill
Vineyards, what appear to be 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools
are in fact sunken beds filled with worms. BioFiltro’s largest
winery system to date, unveiled in September 2020, it’s capable
of processing more than a million gallons of wastewater a day,
and up to 80 million gallons a year.
California’s San Joaquin Valley will become increasingly
difficult to farm as climate change intensifies. But with the
right regulations and policies, the state’s multi-billion
dollar agricultural belt could become something else — a clean
energy powerhouse that the state desperately needs. At a panel
event on Tuesday, energy professionals and community leaders
gave a glimpse of the valley’s potential future — one where
alfalfa fields give way to solar farms and carbon is
sequestered beneath fallowed orchards. They also acknowledged
how daunting an economic transition it would be.
After about a decade of grinding its way through the federal
permitting process, Ormat, a geothermal company, was building a
new power plant in Dixie Valley to produce renewable energy.
… But soon came another legal snag. The company
halted construction in August while federal agencies meet to
discuss whether the project should move forward. The
rugged, remote corner of Nevada’s Great Basin region found
itself at the epicenter of a confrontation between some of
President Biden’s, and the nation’s, most pressing priorities:
renewable energy, wildlife conservation and Indigenous
rights…. environmentalists and tribes are pressing the
Biden administration to begin land and water protections at
Dixie Valley and elsewhere. The administration’s decision could
affect not just Ormat’s plans and this patch of Nevada but also
projects and landscapes across the country.
New research from Stanford’s Remote Sensing Ecohydrology group
published earlier this week in Nature improved the accuracy of
earth systems models that examine the impact of droughts on
ecosystems through considering plants’ breathing patterns.
Droughts are increasing around the world: More than 29 million
acres of land are lost to drought and desertification annually,
according to a 2022 UN report. Better understanding of how
plants contribute to droughts is critical to planning
adaptation response.
With longer and more frequent droughts happening around the
globe, technologies are advancing to help ease the effects of
drought and bring fresh water to dry climates. Fog
catching, desalination and atmospheric water harvesting are
three techniques used to help mitigate water shortages around
the globe.
Just a few years ago, climate projections for this century
looked quite apocalyptic…. Now, with the world already 1.2
degrees hotter, scientists believe that warming this century
will most likely fall between two or three degrees….A little
lower is possible, with much more concerted action; a little
higher, too, with slower action and bad climate luck. Those
numbers may sound abstract, but what they suggest is this:
Thanks to astonishing declines in the price of renewables, a
truly global political mobilization, a clearer picture of the
energy future and serious policy focus from world leaders, we
have cut expected warming almost in half in just five years.
The Water, Energy, and Technology (WET) Center at Fresno State
has announced 10 new companies for its Valley Ventures
accelerator program. … Mojave Seafood Inc. is a startup
producing seafood in the Mojave Desert that will serve Southern
California and the Bay Area using the Aqua-μ Technology Suite,
a propriety, interactive group of technologies. … It
takes 1.1 kilograms of dry food to make shrimp grow by 1
kilogram of fresh weight as opposed to a cow, which takes 6.8
kilograms of feed to gain one kilogram of body mass.
… Schrader said that with the growing interest in what
aquaculture can offer — paired with water scarcity and
environmental restrictions — it is very possible the Central
Valley will be home to seafood farms soon.
Drought, drought, everywhere and not a drop to drink, to
misquote the Ancient Mariner. It has become increasingly clear
that the world is running short of fresh water. Yet, while
there are many companies addressing carbon — the main culprit
in climate change — few focus on water, and more specifically
how corporations should be monitoring and controlling their use
of it. … Waterplan’s software platform integrates public
watershed data and customer water use data to help companies in
water-intensive industries make sure that their current or
future operations are not affected by drought. … In the
United States, a swath of land from California to Texas was
facing its worst drought in 1,200 years.
Journalist Matt Simon’s urgent new book “A Poison Like No
Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies”
is classified as environmental science but could comfortably be
labeled as horror. … Microplastics are so ubiquitous
that they are in the very air we breathe. One study “calculated
that each year the equivalent of 300 million water bottles fall
on just 6 percent of [the U.S.] landmass.” … To what do
those little bits add up? California alone expels 9 million
pounds of microplastics a year, or the weight of 80 million
rubber duckies. By 2050, plastic in the ocean will outweigh all
the fish that reside there.
Recycling is often an overlooked but critical piece of a clean
energy future. To address climate change, we’ll need to replace
the fuels that run our homes, buildings, and vehicles with
electricity powered by clean energy. Nowhere is this more
important than in transportation, the US’s most polluting
sector. The challenge is that each vehicle needs its own
battery, complete with copper, cobalt, nickel, manganese,
graphite, and lithium. … Two of those potential sites
are in places like Nevada’s Thacker Pass, an open pit
mine, and California’s Salton Sea basin, where there are
large underwater deposits.
On August 1, the Supreme Court of California upheld a decision
by the Court of Appeal, which found that the Federal Power Act
(FPA) preempts application of the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA) when the state is acting on its own behalf
as licensee of a hydroelectric project. The case stems from the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission)
relicensing proceeding for the Oroville Hydroelectric Project
(Project) in Butte County, CA in which the California
Department of Water Resources (DWR) is the FERC licensee.
A California desalination project to bolster the region’s water
supply has won state regulators’ approval, but a separate site
faces what is expected to be a more contentious vote next
month. The California Coastal Commission’s 11-0 vote to
green-light the $140 million Doheny Ocean Desalination Project
in Orange County’s Dana Point was a win for desalination
advocates and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) plan to boost
the state’s water supply that draws in part on the
technology. “We believe that the project before you today,
although not perfect, provides a solid example that we can use
in planning for future desalination,” …
Today, the world produces approximately 400 million tons of
plastic waste per year. … Plastic contains lots of
chemicals and additives making the material durable and
flexible; however, plastic’s durability lasts far beyond the
length of time humans use it … meaning essentially all
plastic ever produced still exists somewhere on Earth,
according to National Geographic. That is a
staggering 9.2 billion tons of plastic. Much of this
ends up in oceans and on coastlines endangering sea life. …
While the media often shows images of fish strangled by
six-pack rings or turtles accidentally eating plastic
straws, a deeper problem is emerging: microplastics.
Deep in the parched landscapes of Nevada, there is a stirring
boom. The mining of lithium holds the promise of a treasured
resource that can help slow disastrous global heating. …
Across Nevada, there are more than 17,000 prospecting claims
for lithium, a soft metal dubbed “white gold” by investors due
to its scarcity and increasing value as clean energy
components, with several new major projects now planned.
… But the prospect of this new era of mining has
unnerved some environmentalists and native American groups.
Three-quarters of all known deposits of lithium in
America are found near tribal land, igniting fears that a
decline in destructive fossil-fuel mining could simply be
replaced by a new form of harmful extraction.
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
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.
The majestic beauty of the Sierra
Nevada forest is awe-inspiring, but beneath the dazzling blue
sky, there is a problem: A century of fire suppression and
logging practices have left trees too close together. Millions of
trees have died, stricken by drought and beetle infestation.
Combined with a forest floor cluttered with dry brush and debris,
it’s a wildfire waiting to happen.
Fires devastate the Sierra watersheds upon which millions of
Californians depend — scorching the ground, unleashing a
battering ram of debris and turning hillsides into gelatinous,
stream-choking mudflows.
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
We 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.
Hampton Inn Tropicana
4975 Dean Martin Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89118
This three-day, two-night 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.
Best Western McCarran Inn
4970 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, NV 89119
This 30-minute documentary-style DVD on the history and current
state of the San Joaquin River Restoration Program includes an
overview of the geography and history of the river, historical
and current water delivery and uses, the genesis and timeline of
the 1988 lawsuit, how the settlement was reached and what was
agreed to.
This 25-minute documentary-style DVD, developed in partnership
with the California Department of Water Resources, provides an
excellent overview of climate change and how it is already
affecting California. The DVD also explains what scientists
anticipate in the future related to sea level rise and
precipitation/runoff changes and explores the efforts that are
underway to plan and adapt to climate.
20-minute DVD that explains the problem with polluted stormwater,
and steps that can be taken to help prevent such pollution and
turn what is often viewed as a “nuisance” into a water resource
through various activities.
Many Californians don’t realize that when they turn on the
faucet, the water that flows out could come from a source close
to home or one hundreds of miles away. Most people take their
water for granted; not thinking about the elaborate systems and
testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to
households throughout the state. Where drinking water comes from,
how it’s treated, and what people can do to protect its quality
are highlighted in this 2007 PBS documentary narrated by actress
Wendie Malick.
A 30-minute version of the 2007 PBS documentary Drinking Water:
Quenching the Public Thirst. This DVD is ideal for showing at
community forums and speaking engagements to help the public
understand the complex issues surrounding the elaborate systems
and testing that go into delivering clean, plentiful water to
households throughout the state.
Water truly has shaped California into the great state it is
today. And if it is water that made California great, it’s the
fight over – and with – water that also makes it so critically
important. In efforts to remap California’s circulatory system,
there have been some critical events that had a profound impact
on California’s water history. These turning points not only
forced a re-evaluation of water, but continue to impact the lives
of every Californian. This 2005 PBS documentary offers a
historical and current look at the major water issues that shaped
the state we know today. Includes a 12-page viewer’s guide with
background information, historic timeline and a teacher’s lesson.
This beautiful 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, displays
the rivers, lakes and reservoirs, irrigated farmland, urban areas
and Indian reservations within the Klamath River Watershed. The
map text explains the many issues facing this vast,
15,000-square-mile watershed, including fish restoration;
agricultural water use; and wetlands. Also included are
descriptions of the separate, but linked, Klamath Basin
Restoration Agreement and the Klamath Hydroelectric Agreement,
and the next steps associated with those agreements. Development
of the map was funded by a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
A companion to the Truckee River Basin Map poster, this 24×36
inch poster, suitable for framing, explores the Carson River, and
its link to the Truckee River. The map includes Lahontan Dam and
Reservoir, the Carson Sink, and the farming areas in the basin.
Map text discusses the region’s hydrology and geography, the
Newlands Project, land and water use within the basin and
wetlands. Development of the map was funded by a grant from the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region, Lahontan Basin
Area Office.
Redesigned in 2017, this beautiful map depicts the seven
Western states that share the Colorado River with Mexico. The
Colorado River supplies water to nearly 40 million people in
Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming
and the country of Mexico. Text on this beautiful, 24×36-inch
map, which is suitable for framing, explains the river’s
apportionment, history and the need to adapt its management for
urban growth and expected climate change impacts.
The Colorado River provides water to 40 million people and 4
million acres of farmland in a region encompassing some 246,000
square miles in the southwestern United States. The 32-page
Layperson’s Guide to the Colorado River covers the history of the
river’s development; negotiations over division of its water; the
items that comprise the Law of the River; and a chronology of
significant Colorado River events.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to California Water provides an
excellent overview of the history of water development and use in
California. It includes sections on flood management; the state,
federal and Colorado River delivery systems; Delta issues; water
rights; environmental issues; water quality; and options for
stretching the water supply such as water marketing and
conjunctive use. New in this 10th edition of the guide is a
section on the human need for water.
The construction of Glen Canyon Dam in 1964 created Lake Powell.
Both are located in north-central Arizona near the Utah border.
Lake Powell acts as a holding tank for outflow from the Colorado
River Upper Basin States: Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
The water stored in Lake Powell is used for recreation, power
generation and delivering water to the Lower Basin states of
California, Arizona, and Nevada.
This printed issue of Western Water looks at hydraulic
fracturing, or “fracking,” in California. Much of the information
in the article was presented at a conference hosted by the
Groundwater Resources Association of California.
The connection between water and energy is more relevant than
ever. After existing in separate realms for years, the maxim that
it takes water to produce energy and energy to produce water has
prompted a re-thinking of management strategies, including an
emphasis on renewable energy use by water agencies.
This printed issue of Western Water looks at the energy
requirements associated with water use and the means by which
state and local agencies are working to increase their knowledge
and improve the management of both resources.
This printed issue of Western Water examines
desalination – an issue that is marked by great optimism and
controversy – and the expected role it might play as an
alternative water supply strategy.
This printed copy of Western Water examines climate change –
what’s known about it, the remaining uncertainty and what steps
water agencies are talking to prepare for its impact. Much of the
information comes from the October 2007 California Climate Change
and Water Adaptation Summit sponsored by the Water Education
Foundation and DWR and the November 2007 California Water Policy
Conference sponsored by Public Officials for Water and
Environmental Reform.
Hydropower generation is prevalent in the West, where rapidly
flowing river systems have been tapped for generations to produce
electricity. Hydropower is a clean, steady and reliable energy
source, but the damming of rivers has exacted a toll on the
environment, affecting, among other things, the migration of fish
to vestigial spawning grounds. Many of those projects are due to
be relicensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The California power crisis has made international headlines. But
what is the link between water and power in California? How is
the state’s dry spell affecting its hydropower generation? How
has the electric crisis affected water users in the state? These
questions and others are addressed in this issue of Western
Water.
