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Study: Next US President Must Act Fast on Colorado River

The next U.S. president will have to act quickly to chart a course so the Colorado River can continue supplying water to millions of city-dwellers, farmers, Indian tribes and recreational users in the Southwest, according to a university research study made public Monday.

A survey of policy- and decision-makers by the University of Colorado concluded that the president who takes office in 2017 could almost immediately face the prospect of Colorado River water supply cuts to Arizona and Nevada in January 2018.

Colorado River’s Dead Clams Tell Tales of Carbon Emission

Scientists have begun to account for the topsy-turvy carbon cycle of the Colorado River delta — once a massive green estuary of grassland, marshes and cottonwood, now desiccated dead land. “We’ve done a lot in the United States to alter water systems, to dam them. The river irrigates our crops and makes energy. What we really don’t understand is how our poor water management is affecting other natural systems — in this case, carbon cycling,” said Cornell’s Jansen Smith, a doctoral candidate in earth and atmospheric sciences.

State, White House Launch California Water Data Challenge

The California Water Data Challenge, announced on Friday, invites interested individuals and teams to develop apps, websites, data visualizations or other tools “that leverage publicly available data sets in novel ways to support creative solutions to California’s water challenges, as outlined in the Brown administration’s California Water Action Plan,” according to a joint release by several state agencies supporting the competition. Sponsors of the challenge include the State Water Board, the California Department of Water Resources, California Fish and Wildlife, California Government Operations Agency, and the California Department of Technology.

Redding Soaks Up Wettest October Since 1962

On the day it became official that this was the wettest October in Redding in more than 50 years, the state released water conservation numbers for September. Redding conserved 7 percent based on its 2013 baseline usage. That was down from the more than 20 percent the city saved in September 2015. Still, Redding earlier this year chose not to reduce residents’ water usage from 2013 based on its 100 percent allotment. So the 7 percent reduction was an improvement over zero conservation.

 

Water Conservation Improved In September But Is Still Worse Than In 2015

Californians halted a three-month slide in water conservation in September, saving enough to hearten state regulators who previously had expressed alarm about possible drought fatigue. Residents and businesses cut their water consumption by 18.3% in September compared with the same month in 2013. The savings represented a slight uptick from the 17.5% reduction urban Californians managed in August.

 

California’s Drought Produces The Nation’s Worst Smog

Seven of the 10 worst cities in America for air pollution are in California, per the American Lung Association. The two worst—Bakersfield and the Visalia-Porterville-Hanford metro area—are trending down. The two bear much of the attack that California’s drought is waging on the state’s air quality. Their location at the southern tip of the Central Valley, where the sun beats down unobstructed, creates an “inversion layer” of warm air, trapping industrial chemicals beneath it.

California Keeps On Farming, With or Without Water

California agriculture, which had been plowing ahead in the face of a major drought, finally had an off year in 2015, according to data released recently by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The state’s farms brought in cash receipts of an estimated $47.1 billion (this will be revised in the months and years to come), down from a record $56.6 billion in 2014. Here’s how that looks in historical context, with the numbers adjusted for inflation.

After Californians Saved Less Water Amid Drought, Are New Cuts Coming?

Californians saved about 30 percent less water in September than they did a year earlier, and state water officials said Tuesday they might revive mandated cuts. Overall, communities statewide conserved 18.3 percent this September compared with the same time three years ago, according to data released Tuesday. But compared with the same time last year — when Californians saved 26.2 percent in water consumption — water use increased by nearly 8 percent. The state changed its water conservation program in May, switching from mandatory cuts to voluntary cuts. Officials said they would consider another change if drought conditions persist and water consumption continues to grow.

OPINION: Australia’s Lesson For A Thirsty California

On his first visit to Melbourne in 2009, Stanley Grant, a drought expert and professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Irvine, had a question for his taxi driver. “How’s the drought?” he asked. “It’s about 28 percent,” came the reply. Grant was puzzled. But shortly afterward, they drove past an electronic road sign announcing that the city’s reservoirs were indeed at just 28 percent of capacity. The taxi driver knew the state of the reservoirs exactly.

Water Conservation Improved In September But Is Still Worse Than In 2015

Californians halted a three-month slide in water conservation in September, saving enough to hearten state regulators who previously had expressed alarm about possible drought fatigue. Residents and businesses cut their water consumption by 18.3% in September compared with the same month in 2013. The savings represented a slight uptick from the 17.5% reduction urban Californians managed in August. “I am glad to see the slide stop, and even reverse a bit overall, especially as we move into traditionally lower water-use months when we would expect [savings] percentages to drop significantly,” State Water Resources Control Board Chairwoman Felicia Marcus said in a statement.