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.
As demand for artificial intelligence technology boosts
construction and proposed construction of data centers around
the world, those computers require not just electricity and
land, but also a significant amount of water. … A 2024
report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimated
that in 2023, U.S. data centers consumed 17 billion gallons (64
billion liters) of water directly through cooling, and projects
that by 2028, those figures could double – or even
quadruple. The same report estimated that in 2023, U.S.
data centers consumed an additional 211 billion gallons (800
billion liters) of water indirectly through the electricity
that powers them.
The world’s largest data center campus may be coming to Utah,
with a pair of companies planning to construct artificial
intelligence-ready hubs in Millard County. The first domino
fell when Orem-based Fibernet MercuryDelta LLC in May filed a
request to rezone nearly 1,200 acres of property — located
southeast of Delta — from agricultural land to heavy industrial
land for its potential 20-million-square-foot data center
campus called Delta Gigasite. … ”Many operators have
designed closed-loop cooling systems that use various fluids
instead of water. When powered with natural gas, this system is
net water-positive — it can actually generate
about 100 acre feet of new water per 100 megawatts annually”
… reads a release from Creekstone.
… This March, Colorado’s Energy and Carbon Management
Commission (ECMC), which regulates the oil and gas industry,
passed new rules requiring drillers to recycle more of their
wastewater—a caustic, brackish and chemically
laden byproduct of the drilling and fracking process known as
“produced water.” The new rules were set in motion by
HB23-1242, passed in 2023, which requires oil and gas
extraction companies to use more recycled water, but do not
address another key provision of the law: the increased
recycling of produced water cannot cause more oil and gas
emissions, which can contain CO2, methane, benzene, a known
carcinogen, and other volatile organic
compounds. Regulators across the state are trying to
figure out whether meeting one requirement of the new law
requires violating the other.
The push by companies like OpenAI and Google to win the
artificial intelligence race has led to a proliferation of data
centers — giant warehouses for computer systems — in
communities across all 50 states. The rise of these server
farms has sparked fierce battles from the Virginia suburbs to
Tucson, Arizona, and beyond, as city and county governments
grapple with how to balance job creation and new revenue
streams against the strain data centers put on
water and energy resources. That debate
is inching up the ballot as state lawmakers race to regulate a
nascent industry, governors rush to embrace a new economic boon
and Big Tech makes major investments in AI growth.
Tucson residents have been up in arms about a proposed data
center dubbed Project Blue. The project, which is tied to tech
giant Amazon, would have been built on 290 acres of
unincorporated land the developer wanted annexed into Tucson so
it could access water supplies. But, as
residents relentlessly pointed out, that’s water that Tucson
desperately needs. On Wednesday, the Tucson City Council heard
those constituents loud and clear. Council members voted
unanimously against bringing the massive project to Tucson.
… Arizona Luminaria reporter Yana Kuchinoff was there,
and she joined The Show to talk about what she saw and what
happens next.
The Tucson city council voted unanimously Wednesday against
bringing the massive and water-devouring Project Blue data
center — tied to tech giant Amazon — into city limits.
After weeks of escalating public outrage over the lack of
transparency around Project Blue, the council voted to end
negotiations and remove the annexation and development
agreement from the upcoming council meeting agenda — a move
that effectively shuts down one of the largest development
projects ever considered by the city. … Moving ahead,
the city council will begin the process of creating
local ordinances to keep large water users
accountable and update zoning requirements to address
the impacts of possible future data centers.
Tucson’s City Council is expected to vote Wednesday on whether
to annex land for the construction of Project Blue, a proposed
data center that has sparked concern among residents and public
health advocates over its potential environmental and health
impacts. On Tuesday morning, roughly 20 demonstrators gathered
downtown to protest the project, voicing fears about the
center’s water usage in an already
drought-prone region. … “Our water supplies are
dwindling,” said Mike Humphrey, vice chair of the Pima County
Board of Health and an outspoken critic of the project. “We
only have one source of water, which is our aquifer. We don’t
have lakes, we don’t have rivers. And we need to protect that
aquifer because it’s the only water source we have.”
As billions of dollars in promised funding flood the U.S.
semiconductor industry, manufacturers are increasingly turning
their attention to a key issue: Water usage. … Prior
research has found that semiconductor production can require up
to 10 million gallons of ultrapure water per day, a grade of
H2O that’s virtually free of all impurities. … For chip
manufacturers, the challenge lies in not just securing high
volumes of ultrapure water, or UPW, but also in purifying it to
a usable degree and recycling the wastewater within the
manufacturer’s ecosystem. … [S]ources say much more is needed
— and possible — to make semiconductor manufacturing’s water
use a sustainable enterprise.
… I understand and support the intent behind SGMA; conserving
groundwater is essential to the long-term survival of
agriculture in this state. But the reality is stark: as SGMA is
implemented, vast swaths of productive farmland—nearly a
million acres statewide—are being fallowed, with no clear
economic alternative for the land or the people who rely on it.
… AB 1156 would allow landowners to lease fallowed land
for clean energy development through updated solar use
easements. It provides a stable, dependable source of income to
support families, workers, and communities—while still honoring
the land. –Written by Cameron Moors, manager of Renton and Terry
Farms LLC and co-founder and business development officer of
SunHarvest Partners.
As the number of data centers continues to rise across Arizona,
concerns are growing about how the state will meet the
increasing demand for power and water and who will ultimately
pay for it. A new report from Western Resource
Advocates warns that electricity demand in the Southwest
could grow significantly over the next decade. … In
addition to electricity, data centers use large volumes of
water to cool their servers. That’s drawing concern in a state
where most areas are currently experiencing moderate to
exceptional drought. The report projects that water usage by
data centers in Arizona could grow from 4.5 billion gallons in
2030 to 7 billion gallons annually by 2035 which is enough
water to support nearly 200,000 people per year.
Last week, the Trump administration announced a set of
sweeping AI policy recommendations to “usher in a new golden
age of human flourishing.” Among the suggested environmental
rollbacks laid out in both an executive order and a
corresponding AI Action Plan is a set of specific
recommendations to essentially loosen Clean Water Act
permitting processes for data centers. … The part
of the Clean Water Act specifically named in these comments and
in the recommendations from the White House deals with how
projects like data centers could impact federally protected
waters during construction or use, and what materials are
discharged into those waters or dredged from them.
Other data center water and environmental impact news:
Fresno County’s west rural communities of Cantua Creek, El
Povernir, and Five Points are at the epicenter of California’s
clean energy transition and the world’s largest solar project.
The California Energy Commission (CEC) last month approved the
Darden Clean Energy Project (DCEP). … Environmental
justice groups had raised concerns whether the transition from
agriculture to energy production would be
equitable for the communities’ residents. Environmental
advocates said the residents in the communities neighboring the
project already face challenges such as undrinkable and
unaffordable water, extreme heat, and historical
disinvestment. … The solar power plant will be built on 9,500
acres of land in unincorporated western Fresno County that is
no longer able to support agricultural production. The land was
owned by the Westlands Water District.
The Tucson City Council is tentatively scheduled to decide
whether to move forward with a Southeast Side data center
before the city’s November election, but Council candidates are
weighing on whether they would support Project Blue if they
were in office. … Supporters of the proposal say the proposal
would create an estimated 180 permanent jobs in addition to
temporary construction jobs as well as a projected $250 million
in tax revenues over the next decade. Private funding would pay
for extended infrastructure in the area, making future
development possible. The facility’s developers also say they
would use reclaimed water as well as solar energy to reduce its
environmental impact. But critics say it will still use too
much water and energy and there are not enough guarantees that
the jobs and other economic benefits will come to fruition.
The Trump administration this week released a plan to
fast-track the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) in the
US, delighting tech groups while alarming environmental
advocates who point to the industry’s toxic emissions, high
water usage and heavy reliance on fossil
fuels. The “AI action plan,” released July 23 by the White
House, calls for the development of new AI data centers – huge
facilities that house AI computing infrastructure – to be
waived from typical assessment requirements under
the National Environmental Policy Act, which determine a
project’s environmental impact. The plan also proposes
expediting environmental permitting for such data centers by
streamlining or reducing regulations under the Clean Air Act,
the Clean Water Act and other environmental
laws.
Tucson city officials and the developers of Project Blue — a
planned complex of data centers for Amazon — faced a fractious
crowd hundreds strong Wednesday night as they attempted to make
their case the project will be “water positive” and will not
drive up electric rates, while trying to defend non-disclosure
agreements that still keep information from the
public. … During the first two years, the project
will use drinking water for cooling, but will switch to
reclaimed water. … At one point, a speaker asked [Tucson
City Manager Tim] Thomure how they would enforce the two-year
promise to halt using drinking water, noting that the draft
agreement includes caps but breaking those caps won’t mean the
city cuts off the water supply; instead, the city will
just add extra charges.
Cloud giant Amazon Web Services (AWS) has been named as the end
customer for a planned data center campus in Tucson, Arizona.
Project Blue is a 290-acre site set to host a
data center campus. At least three data centers are reportedly
set to be built, but the final number of buildings could be
higher; some reports suggest up to 10 buildings totaling 2
million sq ft (185,805 sqm) and 600MW are planned. … A
new opposition group, No Desert Data Center, is attempting to
mobilize residents against the project over its water use and
potential impact on the area. The site is reportedly set to use
drinking water for its cooling systems for at least the first
two years of operation until it can switch to using treated
wastewater once a new water line is completed.
… State lawmakers are under pressure from Big Ag to kill or
rewrite legislation that would make it easier to convert
farmland to solar production. The Legislature rejected a
similar bill last year, despite looming regulations that will
require Central Valley farmers to pump less groundwater. In
southeastern California, meanwhile, the powerful Imperial
Irrigation District — which controls more Colorado River water
than the entire state of Arizona — voted this month to oppose
further solar development on Imperial Valley farmland, even as
a climate-fueled megadrought drains the river’s major
reservoirs. … AB 1156 would let growers in
water-stressed areas suspend their contracts to enable solar
development, without anyone paying the fee. The solar company
would pay full property taxes. Local officials would need to
sign off. And again: If less water inevitably means lost
farmland, why not incentivize solar? –Written by Sammy Roth, climate columnist for the Los
Angeles Times.
… In a dramatic but inaccurate statement in [Epoch Times'
California Insider] podcast, [Comite Civico del Valle Executive
Director Luis] Olmedo calculated that the annual use of IID’s
precious water allocation by a new geothermal plant that will
use a closed system would equate to 3 pools for each resident
of Imperial County. … IID’s annual water allowance from
the Colorado River is 3.1 million-acre feet, with 500,000-acre
feet transferred through various federally mandated programs to
other water authorities, leaving IID with 2.6 million-acre
feet. … Here are the real facts. IID has reserved
25,000-acre feet of the 2.6-million-acre feet, or 0.0096% for
“industrial use” defined by IID as renewable energy with 11 BHE
geothermal plants, 2 for ORMAT, and 1 for Energy Source, plus
other contractual industrial users. … A new geothermal
plant may require as much as 5,000 acre feet for initial use,
which is a one-time use. After that, the “top off” volume is
less than 600-acre feet per year. –Written by Kay Day Pricola, retired executive director of
the Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association.
Project Blue, a large data center proposed for near the Pima
County fairgrounds, promised to build a pipeline for reclaimed
water big enough to serve other users besides itself. But a
draft of the contract with the city raised questions about
whether the city would pay a share of pipeline costs after all.
… The City of Tucson is still bound by a non-disclosure
agreement that forbids revealing who will actually operate the
data center. One thing not under wraps was a promise from Beale
Infrastructure, the company building the project. That was to
build a pipeline 18 miles long to bring reclaimed water to cool
the center, and to oversize it so the city could have extra
capacity for other projects. … So is Project Blue
paying to build the City of Tucson an oversized water line or
not?
… Flexential’s North Las Vegas facility is one of more than
30 data centers spread across the Las Vegas Valley. Other
facilities belong to companies such
as Switch and Google, which has a site in Henderson.
… In Nevada, the country’s driest state, the recent growth of
generative artificial intelligence has put increased
attention on data centers’ power demands and
the water needed to cool servers. … Out
of a list of 23 data centers provided by the Las Vegas Valley
Water District, the city of North Las Vegas and the city of
Henderson, Google’s site had the highest estimated water use in
2024 at roughly 352 million gallons. The Flexential facility
used around 20 million gallons. The sum of every facility’s
estimated usage in 2024 was more than 716 million
gallons.
The Imperial Irrigation District has taken a stance on where
solar energy projects should go. The board passed a resolution
saying too much farmland in the Imperial Valley is being
replaced with solar panels. Most of the power from these
projects goes to big cities like San Diego, not the local
community. IID officials say they support solar development,
but not at the expense of agriculture. “One in every six jobs
in the Imperial Valley is directly related to agriculture, so
solar is great, as long as it’s not on ag land,” said Robert
Schettler with IID. The district also says farmland plays a
role in helping the Salton Sea. “When growers
grow, whatever the size of their farmland is, one third of the
water that goes onto the field drains off and goes to the
Salton Sea, so if you take ag out of production you’re not only
affecting the local economy, you’re affecting the Salton Sea,”
said Schettler. … IID is encouraging future solar
projects to be built on desert or unused land instead.
The Imperial Irrigation District, which provides water to
farmers in the southeastern corner of California, drew a
figurative line in the sand earlier this month, calling for a
halt to the conversion of agricultural fields into solar panel
farms. … The state Department of Conservation says that
agricultural lands declined by more than 1.6 million acres
between 1984 and 2018, averaging 47,000 acres a year. The most
productive land experienced the largest
decline. … As farmers, particularly the larger
corporate growers, take land out of production, many believe
that their economic salvation lies in solar panel arrays that
generate the emission-free electricity that the state wants, as
it phases out power fueled by hydrocarbons. However, that
doesn’t sit well with farmers who want to continue production,
as the Imperial Irrigation District’s call for a solar
moratorium implies. –Written by CalMatters columnist Dan Walters.
The Bureau of Land Management is planning two large geothermal
lease sales in the next two months that will advance the Trump
administration’s public lands agenda backing this particular
renewable energy source. The two planned lease sales — the
first in August in California and the second
in Idaho in September — will cover nearly 50,000 acres of
public lands and cumulatively could result in power plant
development capable of powering about 70,000 homes. … It was
part of the massive tax and energy bill Congress approved, and
President Donald Trump signed into law this month, that also
set the stage to end wind and solar project tax credits in the
next two years. … The Trump administration has made it
clear that geothermal power — which generally involves pumping
up naturally heated water from deep underground to produce
steam that runs electric generators — is its preferred
renewable energy sector on public lands.
A pair of data centers proposed for Tucson would use more water
than four golf courses when fully built out, and be energized
with more power than any other TEP customer, according to city
documents released Monday. … The initial project, on the
Southeast Side, will require annexation into the city to
procure the massive amounts of water required to cool the
planned operation. Another associated data center is being
planned for a different location somewhere within the city
limits, officials said. A third site is being studied for yet
another data center in the region, but outside of the city
limits, the city’s newly released documents said. The city
posted the documents and a message from Thomure on a “Project
Blue — Facts and Information” section of its website Monday
afternoon. Just the first two sites combined would require
nearly 2,000 acre-feet of water per year, making them Tucson
Water’s largest customer.
New research from Maplecroft has confirmed the common suspicion
– data centers are tied closely to global warming, with their
high energy and natural resource demand compounding effects,
while simultaneously being at risk of climate change. More than
half of the world’s top 100 data center hubs are already at
high or very high risk from rising temperature, with cooling
demands set to increase significantly, ultimately leading to
higher energy and water usage. … In the short and medium
terms, Maplecroft believes shutdowns due to overheating, such
as the ones seen across the UK and US in 2022, could become
more frequent. The report also explains how increased water
demands could spark social and political conflict in certain
communities, with more than half (52%) of data center hubs
expected to be in high and very high water stress areas by
2030.
This special, first-ever Foundation water tour will only be offered once! Join us as we examine water issues along the 263-mile Klamath River, from its spring-fed headwaters in south-central Oregon to its redwood-lined estuary on the Pacific Ocean in California.
Running Y Resort
5500 Running Y Rd
Klamath Falls, OR 97601
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.
Hilton Garden Inn Las Vegas Strip South
7830 S Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89123
Learn the history and challenges facing the West’s most dramatic
and developed river.
The Layperson’s Guide to the Colorado River Basin introduces the
1,450-mile river that sustains 40 million people and millions of
acres of farmland spanning seven states and parts of northern
Mexico.
The 28-page primer explains how the river’s water is shared and
managed as the Southwest transitions to a hotter and drier
climate.
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.
Hilton Garden Inn Las Vegas Strip South
7830 S Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89123
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.
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
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 the
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 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 Water Education Foundation’s second edition of
the Layperson’s Guide to The Klamath River Basin is
hot off the press and available for purchase.
Updated and redesigned, the easy-to-read overview covers the
history of the region’s tribal, agricultural and environmental
relationships with one of the West’s largest rivers — and a
vast watershed that hosts one of the nation’s oldest and
largest reclamation projects.
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.
Every five years the California Department of Water Resources
updates its strategic plan for managing the state’s water
resources, as required by state law.
The California Water Plan, or Bulletin 160, projects the
status and trends of the state’s water supplies and demands
under a range of future scenarios.
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.
