Header link June 22, 2020

LinkedIn

  • Read more
Header link September 15, 2014

Cart

  • Read more
Header link November 3, 2015

Donate Now

  • Read more
Header link May 15, 2014

Twitter

  • Read more
Header link May 15, 2014

Facebook

  • Read more
Instagram
Header link May 15, 2014

Instagram

  • Read more
Header link May 15, 2014

Contact Us

  • Read more
More options
Water Education Foundation
Home
Water Education Foundation
Everything about California water that matters
  • Water Academy
    • Agriculture
      • Agricultural Conservation
      • Agricultural Drainage
    • Background Information
      • Legislation — California and Federal
      • Regulations — California and Federal
      • Water History
      • Water Rights
    • Bay-Delta
      • Bay Delta
      • Bay Delta Conservation Plan
      • Delta Issues
      • Delta Smelt
      • Sacramento San Joaquin Delta
      • San Francisco Bay
      • Suisun Marsh
    • Dams, Reservoirs and Water Projects
      • California Aqueduct
      • Central Valley Project
      • Folsom Dam
      • Friant Dam
      • Hetch Hetchy
      • Hoover Dam
      • Infrastructure
      • Lake Mead
      • Lake Powell
      • Oroville Dam
      • San Luis Dam
      • Shasta Dam
      • State Water Project
    • Environmental Issues
      • Anadromous Fish Restoration
      • Ecosystem
      • Endangered Species Act
      • Invasive species
      • Lake Tahoe
      • Mono Lake
      • Public Trust Doctrine
      • Salmon
      • San Joaquin River Restoration
      • Watershed
      • Wetlands
    • Leaders and Experts
    • Regions
      • Central Coast
      • Central Valley
      • Mexico
      • Nevada
      • Pyramid Lake
      • Sacramento Valley
      • Salton Sea
      • San Joaquin Valley
      • Sierra Nevada
      • Southern California
      • Tulare Lake Basin
    • Rivers
      • Carson River
      • Colorado River
      • Klamath River
      • New River
      • North Coast Rivers
      • Russian River
      • Sacramento River
      • Truckee River
      • San Joaquin River
    • Water Issues
      • Climate Change
      • Coronavirus
      • Drought
      • Earthquakes
      • Energy and Water
      • Flood Management
      • Fracking
      • Growth
      • Hydropower
      • Levees
      • Tribal Water Issues
      • Water Conservation
      • Water Equity
    • Water Quality
      • Drinking Water
      • Nitrate contamination
      • Pollution
      • Stormwater
      • Wastewater
      • Water Quality
    • Water Supply and Management
      • Acre Foot
      • Aquifers
      • California Water Plan
      • Conjunctive Use
      • Desalination
      • Gray water
      • Groundwater
      • Integrated Regional Water Management
      • Recreation
      • Surface Water
      • Water Marketing and Banking
      • Water Rates
      • Water Recycling
      • Water Supply
      • Water Transfers
  • Tours & Events
    • Water Tours
      • 2020 Tour Sponsors
    • Conferences
    • Event Calendar
    • Past Tours & Events
      • Anne J. Schneider Fund Lecture Series
  • Specialized Programs
    • Water Leaders
      • Class Rosters
      • Yearly Class Reports
      • Your Alumni Network
      • Alumni Profiles
    • Project WET
      • Workshops
      • Special Workshops & Events
      • Supplementary Materials
      • California Content Standard Correlations
      • Facilitator's Trainings
      • Foundation School Programs
        • Elementary Programs
        • Secondary Programs
      • Water Kids
      • California Project WET Gazette
      • Gazette Archives
    • Colorado River Project
    • GRA Scholastic Fund Program
  • Maps & Guides
    • Maps & Posters
    • Layperson's Guides
    • Map & Guide Bundles
    • Books
    • Colorado River Materials
    • California Runoff Rundown
    • Other Publications
    • Water Awareness Materials
    • Downloadable Publications
    • Videos and DVDs
      • Video Clips
    • School Age Publications
    • Cards and Stickers
    • Free Programs and Publications
  • Newsroom
    • Western Water News
    • Aquafornia
      • About Aquafornia
    • Information Desk
    • Western Water Magazine Archive
      • Full Print Edition
      • Print Edition Excerpts
    • River Report Archive
  • Aquapedia
    • Alphabetical List of Subjects
      • A
      • B
      • C
      • D
      • E
      • F
      • G
      • H
      • I
      • J
      • K
      • L
      • M
      • N
      • O
      • P
      • Q
      • R
      • S
      • T
      • U
      • V
      • W
      • X
      • Y
      • Z
    • Historical Water People
    • Where Does My Water Come From?
      • Northern California
      • Sacramento
      • North Bay
      • South Bay
      • Central Valley
      • Los Angeles
      • Inland Empire
      • San Diego
      • All California Water Sources
    • Timelines
    • Videos
    • Image Gallery
    • Water Directory
      • Federal Agencies
      • State Agencies in California
      • Environmental Organizations
      • Other California Organizations
      • State and Federal Legislative Committees
      • Water Associations and Groups
      • Western States Water Agencies and Districts
    • Online Resources
    • Useful Acronyms
    • About Aquapedia
  • About
    • About Us
      • Board of Directors
      • Staff Biographies
      • Job Openings
    • Announcements
    • Support Our Mission
      • Become a Member
      • Donate in Honor/Memory
      • Donate to Aquapedia or Aquafornia
      • Shop Amazon
      • Planned Giving
    • Contact Us

Topic: Mexico

Overview April 24, 2014

Mexico

The Mexican Water Treaty of 1944 committed the U.S. to deliver 1.5 million acre-feet of water to Mexico on an annual basis, plus an additional 200,000 acre-feet under surplus conditions. The treaty is overseen by the International Boundary and Water Commission.

Colorado River water is delivered to Mexico at Morelos Dam, located 1.1 miles downstream from where the California-Baja California land boundary intersects the river. The river’s natural terminus is the Gulf of California in Mexico, but because of the dams and diversion facilities throughout the Colorado River Basin, natural flow rarely reaches the Gulf. Water diverted at Morelos Dam is primarily used to irrigate Mexicali Valley farmland, and also supplies the cities of Mexicali, Tecate and Tijuana.

  • Read more
Aquafornia news April 15, 2021 Havasu News

Southern California leans on more Colorado River water to combat record dry season

Southern California, like most of the West, is in the middle of a record dry season. To combat it and keep the metropolitan area well-watered, they’re relying more heavily on the Colorado River, with water pumped directly from the south end of Lake Havasu. Last Wednesday, the Metropolitan Water District began pumping from Lake Havasu at full capacity for the first time in years, drawing water from the Whitsett Intake Pumping Plant located just north of the Parker Dam. The eight-pump flow is equivalent to about 3,000 acre feet of water being pumped per day, according to MWD Manager of Colorado River Resources Bill Hasencamp.

Related articles:

  • CalMatters: 5 things you need to know about federal drought aid in California
  • North Bay Business Journal: Santa Rosa cuts back recycled water allocations to agriculture by two-thirds
  • Fox13: Lake Powell could hit near-record lows from drought
  • Kiowa County Press: Drought continues to plague Colorado raising concerns about ag water supplies
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 15, 2021 U.S. Department of the Interior

News release: White House announces several nominations to Interior leadership, including Tanya Trujillo as Assistant Secretary for Water and Science

The White House announced the intent to nominate several officials to serve at the Department of the Interior, including Tanya Trujillo as Assistant Secretary for Water and Science. Trujillo is a water lawyer with more than 20 years of experience working on complex natural resources management issues and interstate and transboundary water agreements. She most recently worked as a project director with the Colorado River Sustainability Campaign. Before then, she served as the Executive Director of the Colorado River Board of California.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 14, 2021 Voice of San Diego

Controversial project is becoming a pipeline in the sand for local water agencies

The San Diego County Water Authority is no stranger to conflict – virtually all of its dealings over the past decade have been shaped by its feud with the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Now that feud is fueling fights within the agency itself.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 14, 2021 Arizona Public Media

Podcast: Updating the status for water from the Colorado River

The Colorado River is one of the most highly developed surface water systems in the world, but demand for the river’s water continues to exceed supply. University of Arizona geosciences professor Connie Woodhouse discusses the impact of a warming climate on the Colorado River. She is the featured speaker for the annual College of Science lecture series April 15. Connie Woodhouse spoke with Leslie Tolbert, Regent’s professor emerita in Neuroscience at the University of Arizona.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 13, 2021 KOLD News 13

Extreme conditions now sparking drought contingency plan for first time

Extreme drought conditions throughout the West are lowering levels in the crucial water reservoir, Lake Mead. Scars of long years of low precipitation are hard to go unnoticed at Lake Mead, and the hot, dry summers have been felt for the last several years in Arizona. 2020 was especially dry, with little monsoon. Now, the West is in uncharted territory. Lake Mead is projected to drop by several feet this year, from elevation 1,083 to about 1,068, according to officials with the Central Arizona Project. The lake is hovering around 39 percent of its full capacity.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 13, 2021 New Mexico In Depth

A century of federal indifference left generations of Navajo homes without running water

[T]he 800 to 900 people in Tohatchi, and another 600 to 800 in Mexican Springs, eight miles to the west, all depend on a single well and single pump. If the pump running it fails, or if the water level in it drops — both issues that have troubled nearby Gallup this year — water will cut out for the homes, the head-start center, the schools, the clinic, the senior center, five churches, and the convenience store and gas station. … [T]he Navajo Nation has waited more than a century for pipes and water treatment plants that would bring drinking water to all of its people while watching nearby off-reservation cities and farms grow, swallowing up water from the Colorado River Basin that the tribe has a claim to.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 13, 2021 Brookings

Opinion: Pot, water theft, and environmental harms in the US and Mexico

The government of Mexico is on the verge of legalizing cannabis for industrial, medical, and recreational purposes, legislation that would make Mexico only the third country to legalize all aspects of cannabis production and all types of the plant’s use. … Water theft in California is alleged to be frequently associated with legal and illegal cultivation of cannabis. It equally pervades legal and illegal cannabis cultivation in Oregon and Colorado. 
-Written by Vanda Felbob-Brown.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 8, 2021 BBC News

The water fight over the shrinking Colorado River

Scientists have been predicting for years that the Colorado River would continue to deplete due to global warming and increased water demands, but according to new studies it’s looking worse than they thought. That worries rancher Marsha Daughenbaugh, 68, of Steamboat Springs, who relies on the water from the Colorado River to grow feed for her cattle. … Recent reports show that the river’s water flows were down 20% in 2000 and by 2050 that number is estimated to more than double.

Related article:

  • Las Vegas Sun: Editorial – Any serious water conservation solution deserves to be considered in Las Vegas 
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 8, 2021 KPBS

Sewage flows continue to foul south San Diego County beaches

South Bay officials are beginning to run out of patience over the continued cross-border flow of sewage-tainted water. The pollution warning signs have been up most of 2021 on the sand in Imperial Beach. Last Friday, the pollution flowed north to Coronado, forcing beach closures there. Imperial Beach’s top officials are fed up.

Related article: 

  • Fox News: Mexico’s raw sewage still pouring into California coastal cities: report​
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 8, 2021 Associated Press

Study: Climate change has made rainstorms more erratic, droughts much longer in U.S. West

Rainstorms grew more erratic and droughts much longer across most of the U.S. West over the past half-century as climate change warmed the planet, according to a sweeping government study released Tuesday that concludes the situation is worsening. The most dramatic changes were recorded in the desert Southwest, where the average dry period between rainstorms grew from about 30 days in the 1970s to 45 days between storms now, said Joel Biederman, a research hydrologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Southwest Watershed Research Center in Tucson, Arizona.

Related article:

  • Phys.org: Colorado River basin due for more frequent, intense hydroclimate events
  • USDA: Droughts Longer, Rainfall More Erratic Over the Last Five Decades in Most of the West​
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 8, 2021 Water Education Foundation

Announcement: Explore California’s water basics & the lifeblood of the Southwest during upcoming virtual events

Our two-day Water 101 Workshop begins on Earth Day, when you can gain a deeper understanding of California’s most precious natural resource. One of our most popular events, the once-a-year workshop will be held as an engaging online event on the afternoons of Thursday, April 22 and Friday, April 23. California’s water basics will be covered by some of the state’s leading policy and legal experts, including the history, geography, legal and political facets of water in the state, as well a look at hot topics and current issues of concern.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 6, 2021 Arizona Republic

As Colorado River drought deepens, Arizona prepares for water cutbacks

Unrelenting drought and years of rising temperatures due to climate change are pushing the long-overallocated Colorado River into new territory, setting the stage for the largest mandatory water cutbacks to date. Lake Mead, the biggest reservoir on the river, has declined dramatically over the past two decades and now stands at just 40% of its full capacity. This summer, it’s projected to fall to the lowest levels since it was filled in the 1930s following the construction of Hoover Dam. The reservoir near Las Vegas is approaching a threshold that is expected to trigger a first-ever shortage declaration by the federal government for next year, leading to substantial cuts in water deliveries to Arizona, Nevada and Mexico.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 6, 2021 The Daily Beast

The next time you’re out West, you might see clouds on steroids

The idea of cloud seeding and weather modification has been around since 1940. There were federally funded programs in the 1960s—one named Project Skywater that ultimately had mixed results. In the 1970s and 1980s, the US government began experimenting on how weather modification could be used as a war tool. But outside of ski resorts like Vail, where the technology is used to help increase snow during snowstorms, interest in cloud seeding largely dropped off. … According to the North American Weather Modification Council, there are currently several projects being run in California, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, Utah, among other states with a project here or there.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 5, 2021 The Weather Network

Another California drought in 2021 is possible, along with more wildfires

It was in 2016 that the state of California declared a four-year drought had finally come to an end. Now, in 2021, it could be entering another very dry season. It is in the winter season that folks on the West Coast welcome dreary days packed with cloud and rain. California usually sees the most rain and snow in the month of February. This year, however, was different: It was quite dry all of the winter season, and we can blame La Niña for this pattern. … Thirty per cent of California’s water supply comes from the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountain ranges and only 57 per cent of normal precipitation has fallen this season. This, coupled with lower than average snowpack for 2020 as well, could spell trouble down the road when it comes to water supply.

Related articles:

  • Santa Rosa Press Democrat: North Bay braces for water cuts with reservoirs at record lows after second dry winter
  • Times of San Diego: Latest snowpack measurements indicate ‘critically dry year’ ahead for California
  • 23ABC News: Annual survey shows 2021 water levels are near historic lows
  • Los Angeles Times: Opinion: California Senate leader’s plan to avoid drought crisis
  • Capital Press: Drought emergency declared in Klamath County
  • SF Gate: Before-and-after photos of California reservoirs show looming drought 
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 5, 2021 Colorado Public Radio

Colorado’s snowpack was almost normal this winter, but it may not be enough water for the year

The blizzard that dumped snow along the Front Range in March helped Colorado nearly reach its average snowpack for the winter, federal data shows. But last year’s historically dry weather means that streams are likely to run lower than normal, potentially restricting the amount of water some consumers can use, experts said… Areas east of the Continental Divide had above average snowpack, but the Colorado River Basin on the west was below average….

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 5, 2021 Colorado Politics

Judge tosses challenge from environmental groups to halt Denver Water reservoir expansion

A federal judge has thrown out a legal action from multiple environmental organizations seeking to halt the expansion of a key Denver Water storage facility, citing no legal authority to address the challenge. … The expansion of Gross Reservoir in Boulder County is intended to provide additional water storage and safeguard against future shortfalls during droughts. The utility currently serves customers in Denver, Jefferson, Arapahoe, Douglas and Adams counties. In July 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave its approval for the design and construction of the reservoir’s expansion. The project would add 77,000 acre-feet of water storage and 131 feet to the dam’s height for the utility’s “North System” of water delivery.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 5, 2021 The Associated Press

Agencies: Arizona farmers should expect less water in 2022

State officials are putting farmers in south-central Arizona on notice that the continuing drought means a “substantial cut” in deliveries of Colorado River water is expected next year. A joint statement issued Friday by the state Department of Water Resources and the Central Arizona Project said an expected shortage declaration “will result in a substantial cut to Arizona’s share of the river, with reductions falling largely to central Arizona agricultural users.” The Central Arizona Project is an aqueduct system that delivers Colorado River water to users in central Arizona and southern Arizona, including farmers, cities and tribes.

Related article:

  • The Guardian: Meet Arizona’s water one-percenters 
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 1, 2021 KAWC

When water is scarce, some researchers go underground to find out why

When it comes to water in the West, a lot of it is visible. Snow stacks up high in the mountains then eventually melts and flows down into valleys. It’s easy to see how heavy rains and rushing rivers translate into an abundance of available water. But another important factor of water availability is much harder to see. Beneath the surface, the amount of moisture held in the ground can play a big role in how much water makes it down to rivers and reservoirs – and eventually into the pipes that feed homes and businesses. Elise Osenga is a community science manager for the Aspen Global Change Institute – a nonprofit focused on expanding scientific understanding of climate change. 

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 1, 2021 Western Slope Now

2020 Drought: One of the worst in Colorado history

Local water providers say the current drought is one of the worst in Colorado history. Mesa County ranges from extreme drought to exceptional drought in areas and it doesn’t appear to be improving anytime soon. Below average spring runoff is anticipated by local water providers as watersheds are working to be replenished after last year’s drought. … The wildfires in the Colorado River basin last summer have scarred significant portions of the Colorado River which may result in debris, ash, and dense mud flowing into the Colorado River watershed, which will impact water quality for many water entities in Mesa County.

Related articles: 

  • Fox31 2 News: Winter’s snowpack runoff does not look promising
  • The Daily Sentinel: Water conservation urged amid continuing drought
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 30, 2021 KUNC

Colorado River tribes aim to establish ‘one unified voice’ in policy talks

The Fort Yuma-Quechan Indian Tribe is situated at a nexus in the Colorado River Basin. That’s true in a geographic sense. The tribe’s reservation overlays the Arizona-California border near Yuma, Arizona. The two states are heavily reliant on water from the Colorado River. The reservation also abuts the U.S.-Mexico border where the river flows into Mexico for use in cities and on farms. One of the river’s largest irrigation projects, the All-American Canal, was dug through the tribe’s land, and flows from the reservation’s northeastern boundary to its far southwestern corner, on its way to irrigate crops in California’s Imperial Valley. The confluence of the Colorado River and one of its historically important tributaries, the Gila River, is nearby.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 30, 2021 GoBankingRates

Blog: 6 alarming facts about America’s water industry

About 40 million Americans in the West and Southwest rely on the Colorado River for drinking water, as do the region’s massive agriculture and recreation industries. Water has been the most valuable commodity in the West since the time of the pioneers. It became a source of modern political power when the water of the Colorado River was divvied up among seven Western States in the 1920s — the Jack Nicholson movie “Chinatown” dramatized California’s legendary water battles. Today, a rapidly shrinking Colorado River is forced to support relentless development in California and across the West — very thirsty development.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 29, 2021 Water Education Colorado

Despite blizzard, Colorado’s critical mountain snowpack shrinks

Despite the recent history-making blizzard on Colorado’s Front Range, statewide snowpack sits at 92 percent of average as of March 19, down from 105 percent of average at the end of February, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Just two river basins, the Arkansas and the Rio Grande, are registering above average at 101 percent and 106 percent respectively. Among the driest are the Gunnison Basin, at 86 percent of average, and the San Juan/Dolores, at 83 percent, both in the southwestern part of the state.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 26, 2021 Science News

Simple structures can help streams survive wildfires and drought

Many of the wetlands in the western United States have disappeared since the 1700s. California has lost an astonishing 90 percent of its wetlands, which includes streamsides, wet meadows and ponds. In Nevada, Idaho and Colorado, more than 50 percent of wetlands have vanished. Precious wet habitats now make up just 2 percent of the arid West — and those remaining wet places are struggling. Nearly half of U.S. streams are in poor condition, unable to fully sustain wildlife and people, says Jeremy Maestas, a sagebrush ecosystem specialist with the NRCS who organized that workshop on Wilde’s ranch in 2016. As communities in the American West face increasing water shortages, more frequent and larger wildfires and unpredictable floods, restoring ailing waterways is becoming a necessity.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 26, 2021 Cornell Chronicle

New research: Study exposes global ripple effects of regional water scarcity

Water scarcity is often understood as a problem for regions experiencing drought, but a new study from Cornell and Tufts universities finds that not only can localized water shortages impact the global economy, but changes in global demand send positive and negative ripple effects to water basins across the globe. … [I]n the lower Colorado River basin, the worst economic outcomes arise from limited groundwater availability and high population growth, but that high population growth can also prove beneficial under some climatic scenarios. 

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 25, 2021 Arizona PBS

Tribal leaders ask for more funding, less meddling for water projects

Arizona tribal officials told a Senate committee Wednesday that the federal government can help address a crisis with water infrastructure on their lands through more funding, and less meddling. Navajo Department of Water Resources Director Jason John and Colorado River Indian Tribes Chairwoman Amelia Flores made the comments during a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing on water infrastructure for Native communities. Leaders of Oregon and Alaska tribes also testified at the hearing. 

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 25, 2021 The Daily Sentinel

Water outlook a concern for endangered fish

Meager anticipated snowmelt runoff is expected to mean another challenging year for maintaining even below-optimal levels of flows in the Colorado River downstream of the Palisade area for the benefit of endangered fish. … What’s referred to as the 15-Mile Reach of the river between the Palisade area and the Gunnison River confluence is of particular concern for the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program, which focuses on four endangered fish. The stretch is primarily used by two of the fish — the razorback sucker and Colorado pikeminnow. But it’s also used by a third, the bonytail. And a fourth, the humpback chub, which favors downstream stretches such as Westwater Canyon, indirectly benefits from efforts to bolster flows in the 15-Mile Reach.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 24, 2021 Fox 13 Salt Lake City

Romney and the looming Colorado River clash

One of the most critical negotiations for Utah’s future is coming at a time when Utah’s delegations in Washington D.C. may be less influential than every other party at the table. The Colorado River Compact, hammered out in 1922 with few amendments over the years, expires in 2026. Every other state in the compact other than Utah has a majority Democratic or split delegation in Washington. Those states? Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California. 

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 23, 2021 KUER

A Colorado River showdown is looming. Let the posturing begin

A showdown is looming on the Colorado River. The river’s existing management guidelines are set to expire in 2026. The states that draw water from it are about to undertake a new round of negotiations over the river’s future, while it’s facing worsening dry conditions due in part to rising temperatures. That means everyone with an interest in the river’s future — tribes, environmentalists, developers, business groups, recreation advocates — is hoping a new round of talks will bring certainty to existing water supplies and demands.

Related article:

  • Associated Press: Tucson official says city can fight water cuts despite data​
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 22, 2021 Bloomberg Green

Monday Top of the Scroll: Drought is the U.S. West’s next big climate disaster

Much of the U.S. West is facing the driest spring in seven years, setting up a climate disaster that could strangle agriculture, fuel deadly wildfires and even hurt power production. Across 11 western states, drought has captured about 75% of the land, and covers more than 44% of the contiguous U.S., the U.S. Drought Monitor said.  While drought isn’t new to the West, where millions of people live, grow crops and raise livestock in desert conditions that require massive amounts of water, global warming is exacerbating the problem — shrinking snowpack in the Rocky Mountains and extending the fire season on the West Coast.

Related articles: 

  • CBS Bay Area: Spring Arrives With Meteorologists’ Grim Forecast for California Water Supply
  • Tucson.com: Climate change could reduce Tucson groundwater supplies, new study finds
  • Tucson.com: Tucson’s water supply can survive ‘worst case’ CAP cuts, city official says​
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 18, 2021 Bureau of Reclamation

News release: Projects throughout the Western United States receive $42.4 million in grants from Reclamation to conserve and use water more efficiently

The Bureau of Reclamation is awarding $42.4 million in grants to 55 projects throughout 13 states. These projects will improve the water reliability for these communities by using water more efficiently and power efficiency improvements that water supply reliability and generate more hydropower…. In California, near the Arizona border, the Bard Water District will receive $1.1 million to complete a canal lining and piping project. The project is expected to result in annual water savings of 701 acre-feet, which will remain in the Colorado River system for other uses.  

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 18, 2021 Boating Industry

California offers grants for quagga and zebra mussel prevention

The Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) will be accepting grant applications for quagga and zebra mussel infestation prevention programs from March 22 through April 30, 2021. All applications must be received by 5 p.m. on Friday, April 30, 2021. … California water body authorities have recognized the westward spread of mussel infestation via the Colorado River System and the potential harm to state waterways should lakes and reservoirs become invaded. To help prevent California waterways from infestation, DBW provides grants to entities that own or manage any aspect of water in a reservoir that is open for public recreation and is mussel-free.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 18, 2021 The Salt Lake Tribune

Utah governor declares a state of emergency because of drought

After a record dry summer and fall — and with winter snowpack currently at 70% of normal levels — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed an emergency order Wednesday declaring a state of emergency due to drought conditions. The move comes after a recommendation from the state’s Drought Review and Reporting Committee and opens the door for drought-affected communities and agricultural producers to potentially access state or federal emergency funds and resources, according to a news release. Cox said Wednesday that state leaders have been “monitoring drought conditions carefully and had hoped to see significant improvement from winter storms.”

Related articles:

  • KSL.com: Gov. Cox issues emergency declaration over Utah’s persistent drought conditions
  • Fox 13: Utah declares state of emergency due to drought
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 17, 2021 E&E News

Geoengineering: 8 states are tweaking the weather (and it might not work)

Western water managers are contending with the growing threat of shortages. Flow has dwindled on major water systems like the Rio Grande and the Colorado River, which each supply water to millions of people. With temperatures steadily rising, cloud seeding poses one attractive solution.

Related article: 

  • E&E News: Why cloud seeding won’t reverse climate droughts
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 17, 2021 EurekAlert!

New research: Geomorphologists map fine sediment in Colorado River to improve sandbar management

Grain by grain, sandbars are ecologically important to the Colorado River system for humans and wildlife, say scientists. How sand, silt and clay move along and become deposited within the river corridor in the Grand Canyon National Park, downstream from Glen Canyon Dam, has become an important question to a number of government agencies as well as to Native American tribes. The answer impacts the entire Colorado River ecosystem and will help scientists better understand how the Colorado River system works.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 16, 2021 Colorado Public Radio

All that snow should help with Colorado’s drought, but it’s still not enough for some parts of the state

As Colorado digs out from the recent blizzard, each heavy shovel full of snow proves the storm brought plenty of moisture. But is it enough to free the state from its drought conditions? Russ Schumacher, the Colorado state climatologist, said the answer largely depends on location. … Colorado’s drought conditions had improved ahead of the storm. After record dry weather over the summer and fall, snowpack levels had inched toward normal throughout the winter, but western Colorado continued to miss out on the snowfall. 

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 16, 2021 Charlotte Observer

Water flow change at Grand Canyon to reveal riverbed

The water flow in the Grand Canyon is temporarily changing and it could reveal some surprises, geologists said. The U.S. Geological Survey said Sunday that an 11-day “spring disturbance” flow will start Monday and will drop water levels in parts of the Grand Canyon. … While dam maintenance may not seem exciting, the drop in water could reveal parts of the Colorado riverbed that hasn’t been seen in decades, USGS said. It could also impact in the Colorado River ecosystem. The change in water levels will also mimic what the Colorado River was like before the dam was built, USGS said.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 16, 2021 Voice of San Diego

Blog: We’re about to drink recycled water but don’t know what’s in it

I’ve been writing a lot about the broken sewage system in Tijuana causing spills into San Diego. Part of the concern, San Diego officials told me, is that Mexico lacks a system to monitor whether businesses are dumping toxic waste into the sewer system. That’s part of the reason why it’s risky to reuse any of that river water because, if we don’t know what’s in the water, we can’t be sure how to best treat it. San Diego is about to run into this issue in a big way with its Pure Water project, a multibillion-dollar system that’s going to recycle the city’s sewage and treat it so, well, you can drink it. 

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 15, 2021 Arizona Daily Sun

Reduced water flow prepped at Lake Powell

Scientists and boatmen with the United States Geological Survey are preparing for a busy week on the Colorado River as engineers at Glen Canyon Dam prepare to reduce the water flowing out of Lake Powell substantially. In order to conduct maintenance on the concrete apron downstream of the dam, engineers will be limiting the water that runs through the dam’s turbines starting Monday and continuing through the rest of the week.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 15, 2021 Colorado Sun

Blog: Colorado’s latest proposal to divert water from the Western Slope is a complex, disputed set of pipes

Sometime in the middle of next year, if Northern Water gets its way, the bulldozers will start piling earth and rock 25 stories high to plug this dry basin southwest of Loveland forever.  Four miles to the south, they’ll build another dam to keep their newly-made bathtub from leaking out the back toward Lyons. Drill crews will bore a massive pipeline through the hogback making up the east edge of the bathtub, in order to feed Carter Lake a few hundred yards to the east. They’ll move a power line. Help build a surrounding open space park. Upgrade a sewage plant in Fraser. Four years later, they’ll close dam gates reinforced to hold back 29 billion gallons of life-giving water.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 12, 2021 Water Education Foundation

Announcement: Save the date for our virtual lower Colorado River tour on May 20

Mark your calendars now for our virtual Lower Colorado River Tour on May 20 to learn about the important role the river’s water plays in the three Lower Basin states of Nevada, Arizona and California, and how it helps to sustain their cities, wildlife areas and farms. Registration is coming soon! This virtual journey will cover a stretch of the Colorado River from Hoover Dam and its reservoir Lake Mead, the nation’s tallest concrete dam and largest reservoir respectively, down to the U.S./Mexico border and up to the Salton Sea.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 12, 2021 Arizona Capitol Times

Opinion: Congress has opportunity to protect Grand Canyon region

The Grand Canyon Protection Act was recently introduced by U.S. Rep. Raύl Grijalva and passed in the House and has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. The bills will permanently protect about 1 million acres of public lands surrounding Grand Canyon from the harmful and lasting damage of new uranium mining. … This legislation is critical to stopping the threats that mining poses to water quality and quantity, unique habitats and wildlife pathways, and to sacred places. 
-Written by Sandy Bahr, director for Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter, and Amber Wilson Reimondo, Energy Program director with Grand Canyon Trust.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 11, 2021 Associated Press

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Western states chart diverging paths as water shortages loom

As persistent drought and climate change threaten the Colorado River, several states that rely on the water acknowledge they likely won’t get what they were promised a century ago. But not Utah. Republican lawmakers approved an entity that could push for more of Utah’s share of water as seven Western states prepare to negotiate how to sustain a river serving 40 million people. Critics say the legislation, which the governor still must sign, could strengthen Utah’s effort to complete a billion-dollar pipeline from a dwindling reservoir that’s a key indicator of the river’s health.

Related article: 

  • Digital Journal: Western states debate water supply in the Colorado River
  • Arizona Republic:Bills focusing on rivers, groundwater slowed by Arizona lawmakers
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 10, 2021 KNAU Arizona Public Radio

Report calls for “radical changes” to Colorado River management

A recent report from Colorado River experts says it’s time for radical new management strategies to safeguard the Southwest’s water supplies. It’s meant to inform discussions on how to renegotiate certain parts of the Law of the River that will expire in 2026. KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny spoke about the report with Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 10, 2021 Border Report

House, Senate bills designate EPA to head all water cleanup along southern border

A bipartisan group of California lawmakers is confronting pollution problems along the U.S.-Mexico border, especially in the Tijuana River Valley between San Diego and Tijuana. Several House members who represent Southern California introduced a bill called the Border Water Quality Restoration Act. Similar legislation was presented last week in the U.S. Senate. If approved, it will give the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to coordinate all federal, state, and local agencies when planning construction and infrastructure projects to mitigate pollution in waterways throughout the southern border.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 9, 2021 The Wall Street Journal

Record drought strains the Southwest

For the first time ever, rancher Jimmie Hughes saw all 15 of the ponds he keeps for his cattle dry up at the same time this year. Now, he and his co-workers are forced to haul tanks of water two hours over dusty, mountain roads to water their 300 cows. … The Southwest is locked in drought again, prompting cutbacks to farms and ranches and putting renewed pressure on urban supplies. Extreme to exceptional drought is afflicting between 57% and 90% of the land in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Arizona and is shriveling a snowpack that supplies water to 40 million people from Denver to Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Related articles: 

  • NM Political Report: New Mexico’s coming megadrought highlights farmers’ control of water
  • CBS Denver: Colorado is known for heavy March snow, one storm ended record drought in 2003 
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 9, 2021 NBC 7 San Diego

Bill introduced to address water pollution at U.S.-Mexico border

A coalition of San Diego County elected representatives introduced a bill on Monday to address water pollution along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Border Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act would designate the Environmental Protection Agency as the lead agency coordinating federal, state and local agencies’ efforts to build and maintain infrastructure projects aimed at reducing pollution along the border. 

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 8, 2021 Arizona Republic

Opinion: Colorado River study predicts big cuts. That’s not why it’s intriguing

A new Colorado River study predicts we may need to make even deeper cuts to keep our reservoirs from tanking over the long haul. But the dire conclusions within the study aren’t what make it so intriguing. It’s how the group arrived at them. The Future of the Colorado River project, an effort based out of Utah State University, has produced six white papers to evaluate new approaches to water management along the river. And, most notably, it is using the Colorado River Simulation System (CRSS), the same modeling tool the Bureau of Reclamation uses to develop its long-term water availability forecasts for the basin.
- Written by Joanna Allhands, a columnist for the Arizona Republic.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 5, 2021 Post Independent

Opinion: Colorado River Compact adjustments are needed

When [the Colorado River Compact was] signed in 1922, the Colorado River drainage was divided into two divisions; Upper: Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah; Lower: Arizona, California, Nevada. At that time, it was felt the total average annual flow was 16.4 million acre feet. As a result, each basin was assigned 50%, or 7.5 million acre feet, with the 1.4 million acre feet surplus allocated to Mexico. … As a result, the Upper Basin is obligated to provide 7.5M acre feet to the Lower Basin, regardless of the actual flow of water in any given year. Obviously, snowpack and the consequent flow is not a constant and years of drought and low flows create a problem for the Upper Basin.
-Written by Bryan Whiting, a columnist for the Glenwood Springs (Colo.) Post Independent. 

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 5, 2021 Colorado Springs Gazette

Colorado in Drought — Scientists preparing for ‘chaotic weather’ future

The hot dry conditions that melted strong snowpack early in 2020 and led to severe drought, low river flows and record setting wildfires across the state could be a harbinger of what is to come in Colorado. Climate change is likely to drive “chaotic weather” and greater extremes with hotter droughts and bigger snowstorms that will be harder to predict, said Kenneth Williams, environmental remediation and water resources program lead at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, headquartered in California.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 5, 2021 USA Today

Friday Top of the Scroll: Megadrought worsens in the Western U.S., California

Much of the western U.S. continues to endure a long-term drought, one that threatens the region’s water supplies and agriculture and could worsen wildfires this year. In fact, some scientists are calling the dryness in the West a “megadrought,”  defined as an intense drought that lasts for decades or longer.  Overall, about 90% of the West is now either abnormally dry or in a drought, which is among the highest percentages in the past 20 years, according to this week’s U.S. Drought Monitor.

Related articles: 

  • Gold Country Media: Dismal snowpack shows need for a March miracle
  • Spectrum News 1: How Bad is the Drought in California? Depends on Who You Ask
  • Eyewitness News ABC7: Cold blast hits Northeast, new storm to slam West, from California to Washington 
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 4, 2021 ABC10 News San Diego

Bill introduced to reduce water pollution at U.S.-Mexico border

A bill aimed at addressing pollution along the U.S.- Mexico border and improving water quality in the Tijuana and New rivers was introduced Wednesday. The Border Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act would designate the Environmental Protection Agency as the lead agency coordinating federal, state and local agencies to build and maintain infrastructure projects aimed at reducing pollution along the border. It would also require the EPA and other agencies to identify a list of priority projects and would authorize the EPA to accept and distribute federal, state, and local funds to build, operate and maintain those projects.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 3, 2021 Arizona Public Media

In rapidly warming Colorado River Basin, the negotiating table is being set

Anyone who has hosted a good dinner party knows that the guest list, table setting and topic of conversation play a big role in determining whether the night is a hit or the guests leave angry and unsatisfied. That concept is about to get a true test on the Colorado River, where chairs are being pulled up to a negotiating table to start a new round of talks that could define how the river system adapts to a changing climate for the next generation. 

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 1, 2021 The Washington Post

With or without a wall, the border isn’t where you think it is

In 1854, the Gadsden Purchase modified a short, 30-mile stretch of the western border to be the midline of the Colorado River. The Mexican and U.S. governments soon realized that when these rivers shifted across their floodplains, questions about national jurisdiction arose. For example, an exasperated U.S. agent reported that “the lower Colorado … alters its channel from time to time, cutting off a large stretch of land on one bank and depositing the soil on the other or leaving its old bed and tearing through a large piece of silty bottom land to form a channel some distance away.” The agent went on to complain that these movements made it difficult to determine which land fell on which side of the line…

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 1, 2021 Lake Powell Chronicle

Blog: Is Lake Powell doomed?

On Feb. 22, 2021, Lake Powell was 127.24 feet below ‘Full Pool’ or, by content, about 38% full. Based on water level elevations, these measurements do not account for years of sediment (clay, silt, and sand) accumulation—the millions of metric tons on the bottom. Geologist James L. Powell said, “The Colorado delivers enough sediment to Lake Powell to fill 1,400 ship cargo containers each day.” In other words, Lake Powell is shrinking toward the middle from top and bottom. The lake is down over 30 feet from one year ago, and estimates suggest it could drop another 50 feet by 2026. The Bureau of Reclamation estimated the lifespan of Glen Canyon Dam at 500–700 years. Other estimates aren’t as optimistic, including some as low as 50 years. 

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 26, 2021 KUER

Colorado River Authority bill moves to full Senate, some still concerned about transparency

A Senate committee unanimously approved a bill Thursday to create Utah’s Colorado River Authority, which would be tasked with helping the state renegotiate its share of the river. Originally the bill allowed broad reasons to close meetings and protect records. It’s since been changed twice to come more into compliance with the state’s open meeting and record laws. Critics of the bill said it’s still not enough. Mike O’Brien, an attorney with the Utah Media Coalition, said having a narrower scope for open meetings and records exemptions makes the bill better than when it was first introduced. But he wishes it would follow laws already there.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 26, 2021 Voice of San Diego

Mexico says it fixed the Tijuana River sewage problem. It’s partly true

Like a giant garbage disposal, three huge new green pipes sit on Mexico’s side of the border, shredding trash in the Tijuana River that would otherwise jam this critical piece of th­­e city’s wastewater system that caused spills on the United States side.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 25, 2021 Public News Service

Groups call Lake Powell hydropower project unsustainable

Federal regulators have issued a preliminary permit for a pumped-hydropower project using water from Lake Powell, but conservation groups say climate change could make the plan unsustainable. The project would pump water from the lake, drain it downhill to a generator, and send the power to massive batteries for storage. The 2,200-megawatt project would supply cities in Arizona, California and Nevada, over lines previously used by the retired Navajo Generating Station. Gary Wockner, executive director for Save the Colorado, which opposes the plan, said falling water levels will make the Colorado River Basin an unreliable source of water.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 25, 2021 The New Republic

How does a state use 40 percent less water?

Arizona, California, and Nevada will need to cut their use of Colorado River water by nearly 40 percent by 2050. A study by researchers at Utah State University, which the Arizona Daily Star reported this past Sunday, noted that Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming—the Upper Basin states—will have to reduce their usage, as well, though not by as much as those pulling water from the Lower Basin.

Related article:

  • Aspen Times: Estimates of future Upper Colorado River Basin water use confound previous planning 
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 24, 2021 High Country News

Will the climate crisis tap out the Colorado River?

From California’s perspective, the view upriver is not encouraging. More than half of the upper part of the river basin is in “exceptional drought,” according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, while the Lower Basin is even worse off: More than 60% of it is in the highest drought level. In January, water levels in Lake Powell, the river’s second-largest reservoir, dropped to unprecedented depths, triggering a drought contingency plan for the first time for the Upper Basin states of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico. Since 2000, the Colorado River Basin has seen a sustained period of less water and hotter days. This is, as climate scientists like to say, the “new normal.”

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 23, 2021 Pagosa Daily Post

Editorial: Dragons, unicorns, and Colorado’s water crisis, part six

“Basic climate science reveals that Lake Powell is not a reliable water source for this ill-conceived project.” The reference to ‘basic climate science’ refers to recent computer models that show a drier climate throughout the American Southwest over the next few decades, allegedly due to the continued use of fossil fuels all around the globe. But even without access to clever computer models, we have all seen Lake Powell and Lake Mead — America’s two largest water reservoirs — struggle to remain even half full, as we watch water users extract more water than nature can replace.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 23, 2021 Salt Lake Tribune

Opinion: Utah’s designs on Colorado River water would ignore the facts and evade the law

Utah House Bill 297 is a dangerous spending bill that provides its benefactors with exemptions to conflict-of-interest laws that raises serious moral questions about what is happening at the Utah Legislature. The bill creates another heavily-funded and secretive government agency — the Colorado River Authority — that would receive an initial $9 million, plus $600,000 per year thereafter, in addition to collecting unknown sums of money from other agencies.
-Written by Claire Geddes, a consumer advocate and former director of Utah Legislative Watch.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 22, 2021 Arizona Daily Star

Colorado River study means it’s time to cut water use now, outside experts say

Less water for the Central Arizona Project — but not zero water. Even more competition between farms and cities for dwindling Colorado River supplies than there is now. More urgency to cut water use rather than wait for seven river basin states to approve new guidelines in 2025 for operating the river’s reservoirs. That’s where Arizona and the Southwest are heading with water, say experts and environmental advocates following publication of a dire new academic study on the Colorado River’s future. The study warned that the river’s Upper and Lower basin states must sustain severe cuts in river water use to keep its reservoir system from collapsing due to lack of water. That’s due to continued warming weather and other symptoms of human-caused climate change, the study said.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 19, 2021 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Opinion: Mexico’s effort will be key in reducing sewage spills; U.S. can’t do it alone

Big projects aimed at stemming the toxic sewage flowing from Tijuana into Imperial Beach and the surrounding region are on the horizon and that’s a welcome development. But any such improvements come with a nagging question based on historical experience: How long will this fix last? Cross-border pollution has been a problem for the better part of a century and has defied past efforts to solve it. It’s not that previous actions didn’t help. Some did, and they greatly diminished the health and environmental threat — and reduced beach closures. 
-Written by Michael Smolens, a columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 17, 2021 Deseret News

Why Utah lawmakers are worried about having enough water in the future

Utah lawmakers say drought and the dwindling Colorado River make it more important than ever for the state to act now to safeguard its interest in the river. 

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 11, 2021 Water Education Colorado

Blog: Colorado Water Plan turns five: Is it working?

In the five years since Colorado’s Water Plan took effect, the state has awarded nearly $500 million in loans and grants for water projects, cities have enacted strict drought plans, communities have written nearly two dozen locally based stream restoration plans, and crews have been hard at work improving irrigation systems and upgrading wastewater treatment plants. But big challenges lie ahead — drought, population growth, accelerating climate change, budget cuts, wildfires and competing demands for water, among others.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 9, 2021 The New Republic

The Colorado River crisis is a national crisis

The Colorado River supports over 40 million people spread across seven southwestern states, 29 tribal nations, and Mexico. It’s responsible for the irrigation of roughly 5.5 million acres of land marked for agricultural use. Local and regional headlines show the river is in crisis. The nation mostly isn’t listening.

Related article:

  • Pagosa Daily Post: OPINION: Colorado Water Priorities for the 2021 Legislative Session​
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 8, 2021 Las Vegas Review-Journal

Nevada could get some of California’s share of Lake Mead. Here’s how:

A proposed water recycling project in Southern California could result in Nevada getting some of the Golden State’s share of water from the Colorado River. The Southern Nevada Water Authority could invest up to $750 million into the water treatment project. In return for the investment, it could get a share of California’s water in Lake Mead. If built, the project would give the region another tool to protect itself against the ongoing strain of drought conditions on the Colorado River.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 8, 2021 The Salt Lake Tribune

Why hedge funds are eyeing Utah’s shrinking water supply

[T]he president of New York-based hedge fund Water Asset Management … has called water in the United States “a trillion-dollar market opportunity.” The hedge fund invested $300 million in farmland in Colorado, California, Arizona and Nevada as of 2020, including $16.6 million on 2,220 acres of farmland with senior water rights in Colorado’s Grand Valley just upstream from where the Colorado River crosses into Utah.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 8, 2021 Tucson.com

Colorado River outlook darkens dramatically in new study

In the gloomiest long-term forecast yet for the drought-stricken Colorado River, a new study warns that lower river basin states including Arizona may have to slash their take from the river up to 40% by the 2050s to keep reservoirs from falling too low. Such a cut would amount to about twice as much as the three Lower Basin states — Arizona, California and Nevada — agreed to absorb under the drought contingency plan they approved in early 2019. Overall, the study warned that managing the river sustainably will require substantially larger cuts in use by Lower Basin states than currently envisioned, along with curbs on future diversions by Upper Basin states.

Related article: 

  • The Salt Lake Tribune: Climate change ravaged the West last year and 2021 could be worse
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 8, 2021 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Reporter notebook: San Diego’s water war with L.A. is almost a century old

I’ve written in the past about the San Diego County Water Authority’s efforts to divest from its parent agency the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. That includes the bad blood between the two agencies stemming from MWD’s water cutbacks to San Diego in 1991, and how local leaders felt they were mistreated. What I didn’t realize was just how far back the tension goes between San Diego leaders and MWD. All the way back to the Great Depression…

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 5, 2021 Mountain Town News

A deep rethink of the Colorado River

Much has been said about a “new normal” in the Colorado River Basin. The phrase describes reduced flows in the 21st century as compared to those during much of the 20th century. Authors of a new study contemplate something beyond, what they call a “new abnormal.” The future, they say, might be far dryer than water managers have been planning for. … In the 133-page report, they identified a wide variety of alternative management ideas, not simple tweaks but “significant modifications or entirely new approaches.” 

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 5, 2021 Salt Lake Tribune

Proposed river authority would assert Utah’s claims to the Colorado’s dwindling water

Utah legislative leaders on Thursday unveiled plans for a new $9 million state agency to advance Utah’s claims to the Colorado River in hopes of wrangling more of the river’s diminishing flows, potentially at the expense of six neighboring states that also tap the river. Without any prior public involvement or notice, lawmakers assembled legislation to create a six-member entity called the Colorado River Authority of Utah, charged with implementing “a management plan to ensure that Utah can protect and develop the Colorado River system.”

Related article: 

  • St. George News: ‘We are outgunned and outmatched’: Bill creating ‘Colorado River Authority’ passes committee​
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 5, 2021 San Diego Union-Tribune

A $5 billion water project could drill through Anza-Borrego park. Is it a pipe dream?

It would be arguably the most ambitious public works project in San Diego history. The envisioned pipeline would carry Colorado River water more than 130 miles from the Imperial Valley — through the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, tunneling under the Cuyamaca Mountains, and passing through the Cleveland National Forest — to eventually connect with a water-treatment plant in San Marcos. An alternative route would run through the desert to the south, boring under Mt. Laguna before emptying into the San Vicente Reservoir in Lakeside. Estimated cost: roughly $5 billion. New water delivered: None.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 2, 2021 Smithsonian Magazine

California’s Central Valley and the Colorado River Delta are epicenters for North America’s migratory birds

Migratory birds have followed the same flight patterns for millennia, searching for abundant food resources. The journey is often risky, and birds undergo harsh weather patterns—from storms that can throw them off course to dry arid landscapes that provide little to no food resources. A new study published this week in Ornithological Applications found tens of millions of birds depend on the river and wetland habitats weaved within the Colorado River Delta and California’s Central Valley while they make their journey across the dry western landscapes, reports Corryn Wetzel for Audubon.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 2, 2021 AZ Central

Opinion: If Queen Creek gets more Colorado River now, brace for WW III

Comedian Ron White once joked that we should have two levels of national security warnings: Find a helmet and put on a helmet. If such a system were in place for controversies, Arizona’s water community would now be in the “put on a helmet” stage. Tensions were already high over a proposal to transfer Colorado River water from a farm in La Paz County to Queen Creek. And now that the recommendation has quietly changed, some folks in on-river communities view it as nothing less than the start of World War III. Heaven help us if it is. 
-Written by Joanna Allhands, a columnist for the Arizona Republic

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 2, 2021 Utah Public Radio

The Colorado River basin’s worsening dryness in five numbers

Dry conditions are the worst they’ve been in almost 20 years across the Colorado River watershed, which acts as the drinking and irrigation water supply for 40 million people in the American Southwest. As the latest round of federal forecasts for the river’s flow shows, it’s plausible, maybe even likely, that the situation could get much worse this year. Understanding and explaining the depth of the dryness is up to climate scientists throughout the basin. We called several of them and asked for discrete numbers that capture the current state of the Colorado River basin. 

Related articles: 

  • KTNV Las Vegas: Further drop in Lake Mead water level could trigger water shortage declaration
  • Science Daily: As climate warms, summer monsoons to produce less streamflow
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 1, 2021 Arizona Republic

Tensions spark after plan to sell Colorado River water in Arizona

Mayors and county supervisors in towns along the Colorado River were already upset five months ago when the state water agency endorsed an investment company’s plan to take water from farmland near the river and sell it to a growing Phoenix suburb. Now, they’re incensed that the agency, which initially suggested holding back a large portion of the water, changed its stance and will let the company sell most of the water to the town of Queen Creek. Elected leaders in communities along the river say they intend to continue trying to stop the proposed deal, which would need to be approved by the federal Bureau of Reclamation. 

Related articles:

  • Colorado Sun-Opinion - On this one thing, 9 Colorado water managers agree
  • The Daily Sentinel: Trust issues - Water attorney’s role with firm buying ag land adds to river district unease
  • CT Examiner-Opinion: Trading of Water Futures — a Cause for Concern
  • Lake County News: California State Board of Food and Agriculture to discuss water trading and futures Feb. 2
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 1, 2021 Bloomberg Law

Colorado River getting saltier sparks calls for federal help

Water suppliers along the drought-stricken Colorado River hope to tackle another tricky issue after the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation installs a new leader: salty water. The river provides water for 40 million people from Colorado to California, and helps irrigate 5.5 million acres of farm and ranchland in the U.S. But all that water also comes with 9 million tons of salt that flow through the system as it heads to Mexico, both due to natural occurrence and runoff, mostly from agriculture. Salt can hurt crop production, corrode drinking water pipes, and cause other damage.

Related articles:

  • Inkstain: Striking new study suggests how deeply we’ll need to reduce our use of Colorado River water 
  • KUNC: The Colorado River Basin’s Worsening Dryness In Five Numbers 
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 29, 2021 Mountain Town News

Are there rivers beyond the Colorado?

Jeff Lukas calls the Colorado the “charismatic megafauna of Western rivers.” This riverine equivalent of grizzly bears, bald eagles, and humpback whales gets lots of attention, including national attention. Some of that attention is deserved. It has the nation’s two largest reservoirs, among the nation’s tallest dams, and many of the most jaw-dropping canyons and eye-riveting national parks in the country. It also has 40 million to 50 million people in Colorado and six other southwestern states, plus Mexico, who depend upon its water, and a history of tensions that have at times verged on the political equivalent of fist-fights.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 28, 2021 California Department of Water Resources

Blog: Water Year 2021 – How are we doing?

We are now past the halfway mark in California’s normally wettest winter months, and the wet season to date has been anything but. Most of the state has received less than half of its average annual precipitation to date. Coming after a very dry Water Year 2020 these conditions are concerning. More precipitation will certainly occur in February and March, but will it be enough to erase the state’s large deficit?  

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 28, 2021 Desert Sun

Salton Sea: Ruiz, Vargas reintroduce bill to address New River pollution

U.S. Reps. Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert, and Juan Vargas, D-San Diego reintroduced a bill this week that is aimed at cleaning up the New River, a highly polluted waterway originating near Mexicali, Mexico that flows north, emptying into the Salton Sea. The bill, HR491, would direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to create an organization to be called the California New River Restoration Program, which would coordinate funding and cleanup projects. 

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 15, 2021 Public News Service

Satellite data, teamwork help chart future of Colorado River basin

The Colorado River is the lifeblood of the American West, but the viability of the massive river basin is being threatened by climate change. To plan future water use in the region — which includes Arizona — the Central Arizona Project is teaming up with NASA and Arizona State University, to evaluate how climate and land-use changes will affect patterns of hydrology. Using state-of-the-art satellite imaging, scientists will measure and evaluate how water flows throughout the basin. 

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 14, 2021 UC California Naturalist

Blog: Have you heard the story of Lake Cahuilla?

The building of dams on the Colorado River has forever changed the ebb and flow, flooding, drying and renewal cycle of what was once Lake Cahuilla, changing its character and changing its name to the Salton Sea. Entrepreneurs once thought that the Salton Sea would become a sportsman’s mecca, providing fishing, boating, and waterskiing experiences like no other. There were a few decades where that dream seemed to be true. Then it wasn’t.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 11, 2021 Voice of San Diego

Who owns the Tijuana River water?

The quality of the water crossing into San Diego from Tijuana during storms is, well, not the greatest. If it could be successfully recycled one day, that same polluted source would be valuable to a region like ours that’s prone to drought.But who owns the Tijuana River and who needs its water the most are complex questions, because the area is ruled by international treaties. 

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news November 23, 2020 Western Water

Monday Top of the Scroll: Milestone Colorado River management plan mostly worked amid epic drought, review finds

Twenty years ago, the Colorado River’s hydrology began tumbling into a historically bad stretch. … So key players across seven states, including California, came together in 2005 to attack the problem. The result was a set of Interim Guidelines adopted in 2007… Stressing flexibility instead of rigidity, the guidelines stabilized water deliveries in a drought-stressed system and prevented a dreaded shortage declaration by the federal government that would have forced water supply cuts.

Related article:

  • Inkstain.net: Blog: Reclamation is signaling potential for a big drop in Lake Mead over the next several years
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news November 19, 2020 Arizona Public Radio

USGS report: Climate change will reduce groundwater in Lower Colorado River Basin

The lower Colorado River Basin, which is primarily in Arizona, is projected to have as much as sixteen percent less groundwater infiltration by midcentury compared to the historical record. That’s because warming temperatures will increase evaporation while rain- and snowfall are expected to remain the same or decrease slightly.

Related article:

  • Casino.org: Will Vegas run out of water?
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news November 17, 2020 Deseret News

Why understanding snowpack could help the overworked Colorado River

The U.S. Geological Survey is in the beginning stages of learning more about this river via an expanded and more sophisticated monitoring system that aims to study details about the snowpack that feeds the river basin, droughts and flooding, and how streamflow supports groundwater, or vice versa.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news November 4, 2020 Circle of Blue

U.S., Mexico sign Rio Grande water agreement

Mexico is obligated under a 1944 treaty to deliver to the United States a set amount of water from the Rio Grande and its tributaries over a five-year period. … The last-minute agreement signed Oct. 21 settles the conflict. Mexico will transfer ownership of water stored in two border reservoirs to the United States to make up the deficit.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news November 3, 2020 Voice of San Diego

New snapshot of what’s in the Tijuana River is as gross as you’d expect

What’s in the Tijuana River? Ammonia, a byproduct of raw sewage. Phosphorous, an ingredient in soaps and cleaners that’s banned in the U.S. Metals used in the industrial plating industry. Parasitic worms. And DEHP, a chemical added to plastics. And of course, there’s poo.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news October 28, 2020 Brookings

Not dried up: US-Mexico water cooperation

For weeks, a water dispute between the Mexican government and Mexican farmers and between the United States and Mexico was brewing and escalating. October 24 was the deadline by which Mexico was supposed to have provided the United States with all of the water from the Rio Grande it owes the United States every five years. But this year’s expected water delivery set off months-long protests…

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news October 9, 2020 Holtville Tribune

Imperial County wants to help draft New River bill

Imperial County Supervisor Ryan Kelley wants the board to work with Congressman Juan Vargas, D-Chula Vista, and the county’s lobbyists in Washington, D.C., to draft a legislation to fully fund a wastewater treatment project to clean the New River.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news October 9, 2020 Phys.org

Colorado River water supply is predictable owing to long-term ocean memory

A team of scientists at Utah State University has developed a new tool to forecast drought and water flow in the Colorado River several years in advance. Although the river’s headwaters are in landlocked Wyoming and Colorado, water levels are linked to sea surface temperatures in parts of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and the water’s long-term ocean memory.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news October 8, 2020 Inkstain.net

Blog: Happy New Water Year, where’d all that Colorado River water go?

Despite that reduction in flow, total storage behind Glen Canyon and Hoover dams has dropped only 2.6 million acre feet. That is far less than you’d expect from 12 years of 1.2 maf per year flow reductions alone. That kind of a flow reduction should have been enough to nearly empty the reservoirs. Why hasn’t that happened? Because we also have been using less water.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news October 7, 2020 Voice of San Diego

New state law requires an action plan for the Tijuana River

The bill, which was written by state Sen. Ben Hueso, also aims to address some of the binational challenges in managing the watershed. The plan that the California EPA is putting together will create a framework for how California can work with the Mexican and U.S. governments.

Related article:

  • Border Report: Report shows high levels of chemicals, metals and oils in Tijuana River Valley
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news September 30, 2020 Circle of Blue

Conflict over U.S.-Mexico water treaty escalates as farmers take La Boquilla Dam

Tensions between Mexico and the United States over water intensified this month as hundreds of Mexican farmers seized control of La Boquilla dam in protest over mandatory water releases. The protesters came from parched Chihuahua state, nearly 100 square miles of land pressed against the U.S. border, where farmers are opposing the delivery of over 100 billion gallons of water to the United States by October 24.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news September 28, 2020 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Mexican governor, California mayor launch war of words over cross-border sewage spills

The mayor of Imperial Beach and governor of Baja California are in a public spat over cross-border sewage spills. Gov. Jaime Bonilla has held three separate press conferences this month demanding Mayor Serge Dedina apologize for his public criticisms of Mexico’s inability to stop sewage from flowing into the United States.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news September 25, 2020 The Guardian

Mexican farmers revolt over sending water to US during drought

Mexican farmers in the drought-stricken state of Chihuahua are pitted against riot squads from the national guard in an increasingly violent standoff over their government’s decision to ship scarce water supplies to the United States…Under the treaty, Mexico sends water from rivers in the Rio Grande basin to the United States, which in turn sends Mexico water in the Colorado River further to the west.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news September 24, 2020 Maven's Notebook

Collaboration on the Colorado River between Mexico and the US brings benefits for both countries

At the September meeting of Metropolitan’s Water Planning and Stewardship Committee, Laura Lamdin, an associate engineer in water resource management, gave a presentation on how the United States and Mexico built a collaborative relationship, the many accomplishments that have come as a result, and a look at the work currently in progress.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news September 24, 2020 Somach Simmons & Dunn

Blog: Colorado River Basin states request a better forum to resolve concerns with Lake Powell pipeline

In Utah, there is a significant effort underway to build a water delivery pipeline from Lake Powell to transport part of Utah’s Colorado River entitlement to Utah’s St. George area. As the federal environmental review for the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline in Utah continues, Utah’s six fellow Colorado River Basin states weighed in as a group, cautioning that unresolved issues remain.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news September 21, 2020 Voice of America

Drought-hit Mexicans demand that water sharing with US ends

Protesters gathered on Sunday in drought-hit northern Mexico in an attempt to retain control of a dam key to government efforts to diffuse tensions over a water-sharing pact with the United States. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has been working to maintain a good relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, said on Friday that Mexico must comply with its obligations.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news September 16, 2020 The Washington Post

Mexican farmers seize La Boquilla dam to protest water debt payments to U.S.

For 75 years, through tensions and disputes over immigration, narcotrafficking and trade, Mexico and the United States have sent each other billions of gallons of water annually to irrigate farms along the border under a treaty signed during World War II. But today, the 1944 agreement is facing increasingly violent opposition in drought-parched Chihuahua state, where protesters have seized control of a major dam to dramatize the plight of farmers…

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news September 14, 2020 Western Water

The Colorado River is awash in data vital to its management, but making sense of it all is a challenge

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.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news September 14, 2020 Los Angeles Times

Mexican water wars: Dam seized, troops deployed, at least one killed in protests about sharing with U.S.

Mexico’s water wars have turned deadly. A long-simmering dispute about shared water rights between Mexico and the United States has erupted into open clashes pitting Mexican National Guard troops against farmers, ranchers and others who seized a dam in northern Chihuahua state.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news September 14, 2020 ASU Now

Blog: Arizona State University water policy expert addresses new concerns about state’s precious resource

The cuts are a plan to keep Lake Mead, a reservoir at the Arizona-Nevada boundary, functional. Water levels have precipitously dropped as a result of historic overallocation and a drought that started in 2000. … ASU Now checked in with Sarah Porter of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at the Morrison Institute on how these new developments will impact the Copper State and its residents.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news September 10, 2020 Voice of America

2 die in gunfight with Mexican police in US water transfer dispute

The Mexican National Guard said Wednesday that two people had died in a gunfight with military police near a protest at a dam that diverts water away from an area hit by drought to the United States. … The protest comes amid plans to divert more to the United States due to a “water debt” Mexico has accrued under a 1944 water-sharing treaty between the countries.

Related articles:

  • Al Jazeera News: Mexico: Two killed in clash with military police near dam protest
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news September 4, 2020 Bloomberg Law

EPA to pay for cleaning Mexican sewage mucking up U.S. beaches

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said Wednesday the agency would pay for more water treatment south of the border, and work with San Diego to control trash coming into the United States from Mexico by way of the Tijuana River. Wheeler made the announcement during a visit to Southern California, a region long plagued by sewage, water, trash, and other contaminants flowing from Mexico.

Related articles:

  • Associated Press: Work starts to stop sewage flows into California from Mexico
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news September 3, 2020 Courthouse News Service

Thursday Top of the Scroll: EPA announces short-term projects to plug border sewage flow

The two projects — which will cost $25 million and are funded by the EPA’s Border Water Infrastructure Program — will control sewage and wastewater, sediment and trash that flows from the Tijuana River across the U.S.-Mexico border into San Diego, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said during a press conference Wednesday at the U.S. Coast Guard station in San Diego.

Related articles:

  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: News release: EPA announces two near-term, clean water projects in the Tijuana River
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news August 28, 2020 KVEO-TV

CBP plans to build border wall across Tijuana River, where no barrier exists

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced plans to extend the border wall and have it cut across the Tijuana River where the river enters the U.S. in San Diego. … Usually, the river has more debris and old tires in it than it has water. But there is no barrier between the two countries here.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news August 26, 2020 Audubon

Blog: Lake Mead and Lower Colorado River to remain in tier Zero shortage for 2021

Above-average temperatures in spring resulted in a paltry 57% runoff, nowhere near enough water to refill the reservoirs that remain half-empty. Based on these conditions, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation recently determined that 2021 will be a “tier zero” year under the Lower Colorado River Basin Drought Contingency Plan, with reduced water deliveries for Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news August 25, 2020 Inkstain.net

Blog: Lower Basin use of main stem Colorado River water dropping to levels not seen since 1980s

A friend last week pointed out something remarkable. Arizona, California, and Nevada are forecast this year to use just 6.8 million acre feet of their 7.5 million acre foot allocation of water from the main stem of the Colorado River. And that’s not just a one-off.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news August 19, 2020 Arizona Daily Star

Forecast: Plenty of CAP water for Tucson and AZ for now despite overheated drought

The latest forecast from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, released last week, predicts that by the end of 2020, Lake Mead, which furnishes Central Arizona Project water, will be at 1,085 feet elevation. While that’s 5 feet lower than the lake stood at the end of 2019, it’s still 10 feet higher than the water level that would trigger the first major shortage, slicing more than 520,000 acre feet of water, roughly one-third of the state’s total supply.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news August 18, 2020 Associated Press

Nevada, West face reckoning over water but avoid cuts for now

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released projections Friday that suggest Lake Powell and Lake Mead will dip 16 feet and 5 feet, respectively, in January from levels recorded a year earlier. Despite the dip, Lake Mead would stay above the threshold that triggers severe water cuts to cities and farms, giving officials throughout the Southwest more time to prepare for the future when the flow will slow.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news August 17, 2020 Arizona Republic

Monday Top of the Scroll: As Lake Mead remains low, Arizona and Nevada face more water cutbacks

Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will again receive less water from the Colorado River next year under a set of agreements intended to help boost the level of Lake Mead… The federal Bureau of Reclamation released projections Friday showing that Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, will be at levels next year that continue to trigger moderate cutbacks in the two U.S. states and Mexico.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news August 14, 2020 Associated Press

Friday Top of the Scroll: US West faces reckoning over water but avoids cuts for now

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is expected to release projections Friday that suggest Lake Powell and Lake Mead will dip slightly in 2021. … Despite the dip, Lake Mead’s levels are expected to stay above the threshold that triggers mandatory water cuts to Arizona and Nevada, giving officials throughout the Southwest more time to prepare for a future when the flow will slow.

Related article:

  • NASA Earth Observatory: Blog: A third of the U.S. faces drought
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news August 13, 2020 Phys.org

Researchers propose climate-smart desert food production model for land and human health

Water-efficient succulents and nitrogen-fixing tree legumes may take five to 12 years to produce their first nutritional harvests. Nevertheless, they can produce more edible biomass over a decade with far less water than that used by conventional annual crops, while sequestering carbon into the soil to mitigate climate change…

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news August 10, 2020 Los Angeles Times

Drought continues to expand as the monsoon in the Southwest has been largely a no-show

Hot and dry conditions pushed portions of Arizona, southern Nevada and Southern California either into drought or further into drought, data from the U.S. Drought monitor show. … The North American Monsoon, which provides about half of the annual rainfall in parts of the Southwest, has been a “nonsoon” this year … The portion of California deemed abnormally dry grew by almost 7%, mainly in eastern San Bernardino County.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news August 10, 2020 St. George Spectrum

Opinion: Facts show holes in Utah’s Lake Powell pipeline plan

We deserve complete, dependable information and accurate cost data including well-reasoned analysis that demonstrates the need and economic viability of the pipeline. Instead, studies by the Utah Division of Water Resources and the Washington County Water Conservancy District are biased, incomplete and do not fairly consider feasible, much less costly alternatives.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news August 3, 2020 National Geographic

Can the Colorado River keep on running?

The average annual flow of the Colorado River has decreased 19 percent compared to its 20th century average. Models predict that by 2100, the river flow could fall as much as 55 percent. The Colorado River, and the people it sustains, are in serious trouble.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news August 3, 2020 Arizona Republic

Opinion: Fixing the Colorado River is tough. Good thing Arizona started early

The newly passed Drought Contingency Plan spurred additional conservation and left more water in the lake. An unusually wet year also helped, because it allowed states to fall back on other supplies. But the fundamental problem remains: The river still isn’t producing the amount of water we use in a typical year. We’re still draining the mighty Colorado.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news July 31, 2020 Sen. Dianne Feinstein

News release: Feinstein bill would reduce border pollution, improve water quality

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today introduced the Border Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act, a bill to reduce pollution along the U.S.-Mexico border and improve the water quality of the Tijuana and New rivers.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news July 30, 2020 Associated Press

Vehicles burned in Mexico to protest US water payment

Demonstrators in northern Mexico have burned several government vehicles, blocked railway tracks and set afire a government office and highway tollbooths to protest water payments to the United States.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news July 21, 2020 The Nevada Independent

Opinion: Nevada should challenge Utah’s move for a Lake Powell pipeline

Legal scholars believe that the Lake Powell pipeline would likely violate the 1922 Colorado River Compact as a transfer of upper basin water (WY, UT, CO, NM) for lower basin use (CA, NV, AZ). The lower basin has priority, and the compact arguably prohibits transfers from the upper to lower basin absent explicit congressional authorization

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news July 21, 2020 KUSI News

Mayor pro tem: Tijuana corruption audit result in Imperial Beach sewage crisis

Imperial Beach Mayor Pro Tem Paloma Aguirre joined Good Morning San Diego to discuss a new report claiming that an audit done by Baja California governor accuses big US companies of water theft and contributed to raw sewage and hazardous pollutants ending up in the Tijuana River.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news July 20, 2020 The San Diego Union-Tribune

More clashes in Mexico over repaying U.S. water debt

Farmers once again clashed with Mexican military forces Sunday to protest releases of water from a dam to repay a water debt owed to the United States. … Under a 1944 treaty, Mexico owes the United States about 415,000 acre-feet yearly that must be paid by Oct. 24. Mexico has fallen badly behind in payments from previous years and now has to quickly catch up on water transfers.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news July 20, 2020 The Desert Sun

Monday Top of the Scroll: Imperial Irrigation District retains control over Colorado River water in legal tussle with farmer Michael Abatti

The Imperial Irrigation District and farmer Michael Abatti have been locked in a years-long legal battle with as many twists as the river over which it has been fought. The saga might finally come to an end, though, after a California appellate court handed down a ruling on Thursday that found IID is the rightful manager of the portion of the Colorado River guaranteed to the Imperial Valley.

Related articles:

  • The Desert Review: Appeals Court reverses, affirms, and remands in monumental Abatti v IID case
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news July 15, 2020 The Desert Sun

IID seeks Salton Sea consideration in Colorado River water lawsuit

The Imperial Irrigation District has filed its opening brief in a case against the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California that it launched last year in an attempt to halt the implementation of the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan for the Colorado River. IID wants to see it paused until the Salton Sea is also considered.

Related article:

  • KESQ News: The state budget includes $47 million for the Salton Sea. Here’s how it will be spent
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news July 15, 2020 KPBS

Mexico says help is on the way for communities suffering from cross-border pollution flows

The Consul General of Mexico in San Diego said there are things happening in Tijuana that will help. In a written statement responding to questions by KPBS, Carlos González Gutiérrez said there are several projects underway.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news July 13, 2020 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Governor says Baja used water as a piggy bank. Critics worry about his bigger plan

Baja California’s new governor, Jaime Bonilla, says he is battling to clean up widespread corruption that for years ate away at the state’s water agency. Even Bonilla’s critics acknowledge the corruption and the failing water system, which results in frequent sewage spills that foul Tijuana and San Diego beaches.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news July 13, 2020 St. George Spectrum

Lake Powell Pipeline: Officials peppered with questions at first meeting

The public last week had its first opportunity to pepper officials with questions about the Lake Powell Pipeline’s recently-released draft environmental impact statement, a 313-page document from the Bureau of Reclamation examining how the controversial project could impact a myriad of resources in several scenarios.

Related article:

  • St. George News: ‘The need is there’: Officials take questions on proposed Lake Powell Pipeline
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news July 10, 2020 Voice of San Diego

Local groups pause Tijuana sewage lawsuits, but solutions are still far off

The city of Imperial Beach, environmental advocacy group Surfrider Foundation and the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board agreed to put down their proverbial legal swords for a period of 12 months while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency puts a stack of cash to work on the decades-long sewage issue plaguing the Tijuana River watershed.

Related article:

  • KPBS: Audit alleges US corporations stealing water, contributing to Tijuana sewage problem
  • WDVM News: California city drops ‘sewage’ lawsuit against federal government
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news July 10, 2020 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Baja California governor accuses big US companies of water theft

An independent audit of Baja California’s water agency alleges that former employees of the utility colluded with international corporations to defraud the state out of at least $49.4 million… Local and international corporations — including such well-known U.S. names as Coca-Cola, FedEx and Walmart — for years took water for their Mexican factories, retail stores and distribution centers without fully paying for it…

Related article:

  • KPBS: Audit alleges US corporations stealing water, contributing to Tijuana sewage problem
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news July 10, 2020 Inside Climate News

Humpback chub ‘alien abductions’ help frame the future of the Colorado River

Researchers in the Grand Canyon now spend weeks at a time, several times a year, monitoring humpback chub, which has become central to an ecosystem science program with implications for millions of westerners who rely on Colorado River water.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news July 6, 2020 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Baja California governor accuses big US companies of water theft

An independent audit of Baja California’s water agency alleges that former employees of the utility colluded with international corporations to defraud the state out of at least $49.4 million, according to an auditor and the governor of the state.Local and international corporations — including such well-known U.S. names as Coca-Cola, FedEx and Walmart — for years took water for use in their Mexican factories, retail stores and distribution centers without fully paying for it, Baja California officials have alleged.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news June 29, 2020 Bloomberg Law

Cross-border sewage lawsuits halted in California for EPA action

The state of California, city of Imperial Beach, and the Surfrider Foundation have agreed to a 12-month stay in litigation over cross-border sewage flowing in from Mexico while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency focuses work on the Tijuana River Valley.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news June 25, 2020 Associated Press

Arizona starts talks on addressing dwindling Colorado River

Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, California, Utah, Wyoming and Nevada have been operating under a set of guidelines approved in 2007. Those guidelines and an overlapping drought contingency plan will expire in 2026. Arizona water officials are gathering Thursday to start talking about what comes next, while other states have had more informal discussions.

Related article:

  • Casa Grande Dispatch: State leaders discuss Arizona’s major water challenges
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news June 23, 2020 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Tijuana Airport gets water back after paying outstanding bill to Baja California

Passengers and employees at the Tijuana international airport no longer have to use outside portable restrooms because the company that operates the facility on Monday paid about $1.5 million in outstanding water bills, according to the governor. A Baja California state water agency shut off services at the airport last week over the years-long billing dispute.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news June 18, 2020 Los Angeles Times

Colorado River water battle comes to a boil in California

There’s a reckoning coming, unless cities and farm districts across the West band together to limit consumption. The coming dealmaking will almost certainly need to involve the river’s largest water user, the Imperial Irrigation District. But at the moment, it’s unclear to what extent the district actually controls the Imperial Valley’s Colorado River water. That was the issue debated in a San Diego courtroom last week

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news June 15, 2020 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Tijuana sewage runoff prompts county to extend beach closure to Imperial Beach

Water pollution from Tijuana sewage runoff has once again shuttered the Imperial Beach shoreline. The County of San Diego Department of Environmental Health on Saturday extended north the existing beach water-contact closure area at the Tijuana Slough shoreline to now also include the Imperial Beach shoreline.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news June 12, 2020 City News Service

Friday Top of the Scroll: San Diego and Tijuana announce plans to improve Tijuana River water treatment

Both United States and Mexican officials announced separate plans Tuesday to upgrade Tijuana River wastewater facilities. The international river has been a longtime problem for residents of Imperial Beach and Tijuana, as sewage and trash from the river have spilled into the Pacific Ocean for decades, often closing beaches near the border and damaging natural habitats along the river.

Related articles:

  • YourCentralValley.com: Money for sewage treatment along California-Mexico border on its way
  • International Boundary and Water Commission: News release: Upgrades planned for Tijuana River infrastructure in Mexico
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news June 10, 2020 Coronado Times

County identifies projects to dramatically reduce Tijuana River Valley sewage

The County of San Diego has released a report that identifies 27 projects that could potentially reduce the flow of sewage from Mexico into the U.S. and Tijuana River Valley each year by as much as 91%, from 138 days to 12. The report, the Tijuana River Valley Needs and Opportunities Assessment, identifies strategies to manage impacts from sewage, trash, and sediment on the U.S. side of the border.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news June 9, 2020 Arizona Department of Water Resources

News release: Roberto Salmón, Mexican commissioner, steps down from position with International Boundary Waters Commission

In his time with the commission, which has the responsibility for applying the boundary and water treaties between the United States and Mexico, the two nations have taken huge steps forward in assuring that commitments to the primary binational water agreement in the Southwest – the 1944 Mexico-U.S. Water Treaty – were faithfully upheld.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news June 8, 2020 Pagosa Springs Sun

Opinion: Secretary Babbitt’s river plan doesn’t go far enough

When former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt suggested in a recent opinion piece that a portion of agricultural water rights on the Colorado River should be transferred to urban areas, it no doubt conjured up some strong emotions… But Babbitt’s proposal makes sense and he is right about the need to recognize the mismatch in population between the urbanized West and rural areas where most of the basin’s water is allocated.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news June 4, 2020 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

News release: U.S. EPA officials, federal and local partners charted path forward on transboundary sewage challenge

EPA will convene an Interagency Consultation Group comprised of senior-level members from key U.S. federal, state, and local agencies, as listed in the USMCA legislation. EPA will also manage a binational technical expert consultation process to ensure infrastructure options are informed by the best available technical and scientific information.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news June 3, 2020 Pagosa Daily Post

Opinion: Concerning the Colorado River

While Imperial Irrigation District has the largest right within California, it was not the Imperial Valley that was responsible for California’s overuse. That was the Metropolitan Water District. We are among the very oldest users on the Colorado River and have built a community, ecology, and way of life here in the desert dependent upon the waters of the Colorado that have sustained us since 1901.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news June 3, 2020 BNamericas

Mexico poised to breach 75-year water treaty with US

Under the 1944 treaty, the US is committed to sending 1.5mn acre-feet of water from the Colorado River basin to Mexico in 12-month periods, which represents 10% of the river’s average flow, according to the US Congressional Research Service. Meanwhile, Mexico must send 1.75mn acre-feet in five-year cycles from the Rio Grande’s six major tributaries that cross its territory.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news June 1, 2020 Las Vegas Sun

Opinion: Saving the Colorado River doesn’t have to mean hurting farmers

The imbalance on the Colorado River needs to be addressed, and agriculture, as the biggest water user in the basin, needs to be part of a fair solution. But drying up vital food-producing land is a blunt tool. It would damage our local food-supply chains and bring decline to rural communities that have developed around irrigated agriculture.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news June 1, 2020 60 Minutes

Raw sewage flowing into the Tijuana River brings toxic sludge to California

The term “crisis on the border” typically refers to immigration issues or drugs being smuggled into the country. But it has one more meaning, as we discovered, when we went to the border in early February: tens of millions of gallons of raw sewage that spill every year into the Tijuana River on the Mexican side and flow across the border right into Southern California, polluting the land, air, and sea.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news May 27, 2020 Inkstain.net

Blog: 2020 is a dry year on the Colorado River. What happens next year will be more important

This winter’s decent snowfall has turned into an abysmal runoff on the Colorado River, thanks to the dry soils heading into the winter, along with a warm spring. … Our bigger concern is what happens next year. Are we headed for a multi-year drought?

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news May 20, 2020 Cornell Chronicle

Complex dynamics of water shortages highlighted in study

Cornell engineers have used advanced modeling to simulate more than 1 million potential futures – a technique known as scenario discovery – to assess how stakeholders who rely on the Colorado River might be uniquely affected by changes in climate and demand as a result of management practices and other factors.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news May 18, 2020 Western Water

Monday Top of the Scroll: Questions simmer about Lake Powell’s future as drought, climate change point to a drier Colorado River Basin

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.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news May 14, 2020 Sustainable Waters

Blog: Let’s refill lakes Mead & Powell now

As of Monday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s forecast for this year’s expected water supplies in the Colorado River is at 59% of average. That’s not good news. If that prediction proves true, this will be one of the driest water years since Lake Powell was constructed nearly 60 years ago.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news May 13, 2020 City News Service

EPA wants to spend $300 million for border sewage problem

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed spending $300 million to address the problem of toxic sewage flowing across the border into San Diego County, legislators announced Tuesday. The money would be part of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act, and will be used for the engineering, planning, design and construction of wastewater infrastructure at the border, officials said.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news May 12, 2020 Arizona Republic

Opinion – Bruce Babbitt: Here’s how less than 10% of farmland could solve the Colorado River’s water deficit

There is a better, more equitable pathway for reducing the deficit without forcing arbitrary cuts. It involves 3 million acres of irrigated agriculture, mostly alfalfa and forage crops, which consume more than 80% of total water use in the basin. By retiring less than 10% of this irrigated acreage from production, we could eliminate the existing million acre-foot overdraft on the Colorado River..

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 29, 2020 KUSI News

60 million gallons of waste per day continues to flow from Mexico into San Diego’s ocean

While most of the Earth has been singularly obsessed with an invisible virus from a foreign land, in this California beach town, it’s a “crisis on top of crisis’. Not only dealing with the creepy disease we can’t see, but a river of toxic waste from a foreign land that we can see, but chose to ignore.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 20, 2020 Arizona Public Radio

USBR forecasts “Tier Zero” shortage on Colorado River

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released projections for the Colorado River’s water supply for the next two years. … Lake Mead is projected to fall into “Tier Zero” conditions for 2021 and 2022. That’s a new designation under the Drought Contingency Plan which requires Arizona, Nevada and Mexico take cuts in their water supply.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 20, 2020 Arizona Republic

How Mexico’s dry Colorado River Delta is being restored piece by piece

In the past decade, environmental groups have had success bringing back patches of life in parts of the river delta. In these green islands surrounded by the desert, water delivered by canals and pumps is helping to nourish wetlands and forests. Cottonwoods and willows have been growing rapidly. Birds have been coming back and are singing in the trees.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 9, 2020 Los Angeles Times

Race to save rare California frog beats coronavirus shutdown

If they survive to adulthood, these transplanted red-legged frogs could help California’s state amphibian and largest native frog west of the Mississippi River repopulate some of the waterways where it thrived for hundreds of thousands of years.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 8, 2020 Pacific Institute

Blog: Corporate water stewardship in the Colorado River Basin

This report, “Scaling Corporate Water Stewardship to Address Water Challenges in the Colorado River Basin,” examines a set of key corporate water stewardship actions and activities, with associated drivers and barriers, to identify how the private sector could help tackle Colorado River water challenges.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 11, 2020 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Tijuana River sewage pollution shutters beaches as far north as Coronado

Beaches were closed on Tuesday from the Mexico border to Coronado as rain flushed sewage-contaminated runoff from Tijuana into the San Diego region. “Things have gotten worse than ever,” said Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina.

Related article:

  • KUSI News: Implementing solutions for Tijuana River to meet Clean Water Act requirements
  • Paso Robles Daily News: Sewage spills in San Luis Obispo County prompt beach closures 
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 11, 2020 Las Vegas Sun

Opinion: There’s no plan to save the Colorado River

The latest research about the Colorado River is alarming but also predictable: In a warming world, snowmelt has been decreasing while evaporation of reservoirs is increasing. Yet no politician has a plan to save the diminishing Colorado River.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 6, 2020 The Salt Lake Tribune

Opinion: The dam truth about the Colorado River

If you followed the news about the Colorado River for the last year, you’d think that a political avalanche had swept down from Colorado’s snow-capped peaks and covered the Southwest with a blanket of “collaboration” and “river protection.” I won’t call it fake news, but I will point out errors of omission.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 4, 2020 KPBS

California wants feds to address cross-border sewage

The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board issued an investigative order in February that requires more monitoring of sewage-tainted cross-border flows. The order requires the International Boundary and Water Commission to monitor more than a dozen locations over an 18-month period.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 4, 2020 Inkstain.net

Blog: Robert Moses, the Colorado River, and the tragedy of the anticommons

I have long argued that a robust governance network, both formal and informal, around the management of the Colorado River provides the necessary conditions for managing the problems of the river’s overallocation and the increasingly apparent impacts of climate change. … But as we approach the negotiation of the next set of Colorado River management rules – a process already bubbling in the background – it is not hard to see how my thesis could break down.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news March 2, 2020 KPBS

Protesters gather at Mexican consulate, demand end of cross border sewage spills

A handful of protesters marched outside the Mexican Consulate in Little Italy, protesting cross border sewage flows. They want Mexico to do more to fix the problem. Polluted water has routinely flowed from Mexico into the United States since December. “We feel like we’re not getting heard,” said Mitch McKay, president of Citizens for Coastal Conservancy.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 24, 2020 The Weather Channel

Climate change threatens Colorado River and the water supply for 40 million people

Climate change has dramatically decreased natural flow in the Colorado River, jeopardizing the water supply for some 40 million people and millions of acres of farmland, according to new research from the USGS. The decline is expected to continue unless changes are made to alleviate global warming and the impacts of drier, hotter temperatures.

Related articles:

  • Arizona Daily Star: ‘Eye-popping’ study: Colorado River down 2 billion tons of water due to climate change
  • CNN: Climate change is drying up the Colorado River, putting millions at risk of ’severe water shortages’
  • Scientific American: Colorado River is in danger of a parched future
  • Arizona Republic: Rising temperatures are taking a worsening toll on the Colorado River, study finds
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 21, 2020 The Washington Post

Declining snowpack due to climate change has cut the Colorado River’s annual flow by 10 percent, study finds

The Colorado River’s average annual flow has declined by nearly 20 percent compared to the last century, and researchers have identified one of the main culprits: climate change is causing mountain snowpack to disappear, leading to increased evaporation.

Related article:

  • InsideClimate News: New study projects severe water shortages in the Colorado River Basin
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 10, 2020 Fox 5 San Diego

State officials ask EPA for action on cross-border pollution

The State Lands Commission and State Controller pleaded with the Environmental Protection Agency in a letter Friday asking for immediate action to stop the flow of 50 million gallons per day of polluted water into the Tijuana River Valley. That polluted water flow has created significant and ongoing beach closures in Imperial Beach and Coronado.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 10, 2020 Associated Press

Mexican farmers take over dams to stop water payments to US

Under a 1944 treaty, Mexico and the United States are supposed to allow cross-border flows of water to each other, but Mexico has fallen badly behind and now has to quickly catch up on payments. … Mexico’s federal government dispatched National Guard officers to protect the La Boquilla dam Tuesday, but hundreds of farmers pushed and shoved them back hundreds of yards in a failed bid to take over the dam’s control room.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 10, 2020 Los Angeles Times

Unlikely allies push the White House to back cleaning pollution from the Tijuana River

With the backing of an unusual mix of local Democrats, Republicans, Border Patrol agents and environmental groups, House Democrats leveraged their support for the trade bill — one of Trump’s highest priorities — to secure the administration’s rare backing for an environmental project. Each group played a part.

Related article:

  • Fox 5 San Diego: State officials ask EPA for action on cross-border pollution
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news February 3, 2020 The San Diego Union-Tribune

San Diego leaders say $300M in new federal cash will help build U.S. facility to capture Tijuana River pollution

The San Diego region has secured $300 million in federal funding for a new U.S. facility to capture Tijuana sewage spills before they foul South Bay shorelines, elected leaders said Friday.

Related article:

  • Fox 5 San Diego: Officials to use $300M from feds to stem Tijuana pollution flows
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 29, 2020 Voice of San Diego

Border report: Climate change knows no borders

The U.S.-Mexico border delineates the separation of two countries, but that doesn’t mean the two sides are completely isolated from each other. … It’s also why the United States and Mexico coordinate on public health, and why experts say the two nations should do more on climate change.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 13, 2020 Arizona Daily Star

The Colorado River had a stellar 2019, but this year’s forecasts are below average

Right now, the April-July runoff is supposed to be 82% of average. That compares to 145 % of average in 2019, the second-best runoff season in the past 20 years, says the federal Colorado Basin River Forecast Center. Despite last year’s excellent river flows, most experts also say the Colorado still faces long-term supply issues…

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 10, 2020 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Opinion: A harsh dose of reality amid movement toward border pollution solution

The increasing spills that have polluted the Tijuana River Valley and ocean off Imperial Beach have resulted in frustration and anger in recent years, but also triggered broad political collaboration at the local, state and federal level that has put the region on the brink of real action.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 9, 2020 Cronkite News-Arizona PBS

Teamwork will be key to balancing the overcommitted Colorado River

Along with long-term drought and climate change, the overcommitment of the Colorado River is a big reason why Lake Mead has dropped to historic levels in recent years. Fixing it could be a big problem for Arizona.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 9, 2020 The Desert Sun

NAFTA replacement deal won’t curb pollution, environment groups say

When lawmakers in the House of Representatives approved the Trump administration’s new trade deal with Mexico and Canada last month, they authorized $300 million to help fix failing sewer systems that send raw sewage and toxic pollution flowing into rivers along the U.S.-Mexico border. … But environmental groups are condemning the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, saying it fails to establish binding standards to curb pollution in Mexico’s industrial zones.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 7, 2020 Cronkite News-Arizona PBS

Colorado River overcommitted on water availability

In the early years of the 20th century, leaders across the West had big dreams for growth, all of which were tied to taking water from the Colorado River and moving it across mountains and deserts. In dividing up the river, they assigned more water to users than the system actually produces.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 6, 2020 Arizona Daily Star

Time to move faster on cutting Colorado River use, conservationist warns

The Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada need to cut total water use by 18% from their 2000-2018 average to bring Lakes Mead and Powell into a long-term state of balance, says Brian Richter. Richter is president of the nonprofit group Sustainable Waters and a former director and chief scientist for the Nature Conservancy’s Global Water program.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 6, 2020 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Trash creates massive stormwater clog in Tijuana, and fixing it could mean a mess for San Diego

It started with last month’s heavy rains that brought an unprecedented volume of debris tumbling down Tijuana’s Matadero Canyon: old mattresses, used furniture, discarded construction material. That led to a clogged storm drain by the border fence, authorities said, and the flooding of a nearby sewage pump station. The resulting pool of trash and sewage-contaminated water has now been raising fears in San Diego.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news December 18, 2019 KUNC

With drought plans finished, water managers pause Colorado River negotiations

In theory, a demand management program would pay users to conserve in the midst of a crisis in order to boost the river’s big reservoirs. How it would work, who would participate and how it would be funded are still unanswered questions. Another concern is how to make the program equitable — so it doesn’t burden one user over another.

Related article:

  • Nevada Public Radio: Water managers consider the future of the Colorado River
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news December 17, 2019 Bloomberg Environment

‘New NAFTA’ offers money for border sewage fixes

Passing the new North American free trade agreement would mean millions of dollars to help upgrade sewage infrastructure on the border, say the agreement’s backers. But an environmental group and a local organization on the U.S.-Mexico border say it’s not enough.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news December 16, 2019 Quartz

Drought is crippling small farmers in Mexico—with consequences for everyone else

This isn’t just a problem for Mexico. These growers are the custodians of rare varieties of maize that may hold the secret to more sustainable agriculture. If they lay down their tools, their crops could begin to vanish.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news December 16, 2019 Arizona Republic

Federal government will review Colorado River rules in 2020

Federal water managers are about to start reexamining a 12-year-old agreement among Western states that laid down rules for dealing with potential water shortages along the Colorado River. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said he asked the Bureau of Reclamation to start the review at the beginning of 2020, rather than by the end of 2020, which is the deadline under the existing agreement.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news December 16, 2019 Arizona Republic

Federal government will review Colorado River rules in 2020

Federal water managers are about to start reexamining a 12-year-old agreement among Western states that laid down rules for dealing with potential water shortages along the Colorado River. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said he asked the Bureau of Reclamation to start the review at the beginning of 2020, rather than by the end of 2020, which is the deadline under the existing agreement.

Related article:

  • Nevada Independent: Equity, climate on the table at Colorado River conference as new negotiations loom for Southwest water managers
  • Associated Press: US officials to review deal on sharing Colorado River water
  • Colorado Springs Gazette: Study: Colorado River water crisis could dry out Front Range
  • Las Vegas Sun: Nevada river commission intervenes in lawsuit over Glen Canyon Dam
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news December 13, 2019 U.S. News & World Report

Friday Top of the Scroll: U.S. water chief praises Colorado River deal, sees challenges

States in the U.S. West that have agreed to begin taking less water next month from the drought-stricken Colorado River got praise and a push for more action Thursday from the nation’s top water official. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman told federal, state and local water managers that abiding by the promises they made will be crucial to ensuring that more painful cuts aren’t required.

Related article:

  • KUNC: As winter approaches, all eyes turn toward Rocky Mountain snowpack
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news December 12, 2019 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Trade agreement includes $300 million for border pollution cleanup, including Tijuana River Valley

The new United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement reached Tuesday commits the federal government to provide $300 million for the Border Water Infrastructure Program to address pollution on the U.S.-Mexico border, including the Tijuana River Valley region, where millions of gallons of raw sewage, heavy metals and other contaminants regularly flow from Tijuana to San Diego.

Related article:

  • City News Service: USMCA trade deal includes $300M for cross-border pollution
  • San Diego Union-Tribune: How Trump’s new trade pact may lead to a sewage cleanup of the Tijuana River Valley
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news December 11, 2019 Arizona Republic

Arizona will soon start getting less water from the Colorado River

Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will start taking less water from the Colorado River in January as a hard-fought set of agreements kicks in to reduce the risk of reservoirs falling to critically low levels. The two U.S. states agreed to leave a portion of their water allotments in Lake Mead under a deal with California called the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan, or DCP…

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news December 9, 2019 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Baja California water supplies remain at critical levels

Tijuana and Rosarito residents may have gotten a brief reprieve from scheduled water shut-offs, but the delivery of water throughout Baja California is a vulnerable system in need of urgent repairs, state and water officials stressed this week.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news December 4, 2019 The San Diego Union-Tribune

San Diego officials to sign joint resolutions calling on Trump EPA to fund a fix to Tijuana River pollution

Elected leaders from across South Bay San Diego announced Tuesday a joint effort aimed at pressuring the federal government to support a long-term fix to the sewage pollution that routinely flows over the border from Tijuana, fouling beaches as far north as Coronado.

Related article:

  • KPBS: San Diego, IB officials calling for federal action on Tijuana River
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news December 3, 2019 Grist.org

Politicians knew the inconvenient truth about the Colorado River 100 years ago — and ignored it

As conventional wisdom has it, the states were relying on bad data when they divided up the water. But a new book challenges that narrative. Turn-of-the-century hydrologists actually had a pretty good idea of how much water the river could spare, water experts John Fleck and Eric Kuhn write in Science be Dammed: How Ignoring Inconvenient Science Drained the Colorado River. They make the case that politicians and water managers in the early 1900s ignored evidence about the limits of the river’s resources.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news November 27, 2019 San Diego State University

Blog: Five takeaways from Re:Border: The Water We Share

Through a variety of panel discussions, presentations and a showcase of student research, the Re:Border conference is exploring how San Diego State University and its regional partners can contribute to innovative solutions for water-related challenges in the transborder region.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news November 26, 2019 Associated Press

Arizona tribes oppose plan to dam Colorado River tributary

Native American tribes, environmentalists, state and federal agencies, river rafters and others say they have significant concerns about proposals to dam a Colorado River tributary in northern Arizona for hydropower.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news November 26, 2019 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Bi-national conference tackles border region’s water issues

A bi-national conference at San Diego State University was aimed at analyzing water resources in the Baja California and San Diego border region where challenges include cross-border pollution and water scarcity… Experts at the Reborder 2019 conference discussed ways to improve regional access to “a secure and reliable water supply” through wastewater treatment and desalination.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • next ›
  • last »

Water Academy

  • Agriculture
  • Background Information
  • Bay-Delta
  • Dams, Reservoirs and Water Projects
  • Environmental Issues
  • Leaders and Experts
  • Regions
    • Central Coast
    • Central Valley
    • Mexico
    • Nevada
    • Pyramid Lake
    • Sacramento Valley
    • Salton Sea
    • San Joaquin Valley
    • Sierra Nevada
    • Southern California
    • Tulare Lake Basin
  • Rivers
  • Water Issues
  • Water Quality
  • Water Supply and Management
Footer pod May 20, 2014

Water Education Foundation

Copyright © 2021 Water Education Foundation. All rights reserved.

The Water Education Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, 501(c)3 organization, federal tax ID #942419885.

Privacy Policy

Donor Privacy Policy

  • Read more
Footer pod May 20, 2014

Contact Information

1401 21st Street, Suite 200
Sacramento, California 95811

Telephone (916) 444-6240
Fax (916) 448-7699

Contact Us via our website

  • Read more

Quicklinks

Footer quicklink May 20, 2014

Contact Us

  • Read more
Footer quicklink May 20, 2014

Donate Today

  • Read more
Footer quicklink May 20, 2014

Tours

  • Read more
Footer quicklink May 20, 2014

Newsletter Signup

  • Read more
Footer quicklink May 20, 2014

Foundation News

  • Read more
Footer quicklink May 20, 2014

Calendar

  • Read more

Log in

  • Create new account
  • Request new password

Commands

  • Support portal
  • Log in