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The Drought Is Drying Up California’s Economy: Who’s Responsible For Opening The Floodgates?

/in , , /by /Forbesby David Lynch

Cropless fields, fishless rivers, burning forests, empty reservoirs and powerless dams — either you’ve seen the headlines, or you’re living it. America’s West has run out of water.

For most of us, this is a reckoning moment. Water exists in abundance. It’s cheap, free-flowing and limitless. We’re quite literally swimming in the stuff.

But suddenly, that’s no longer true. California’s surging population and farming-dependent economy, coupled with sustained drought, means that demand has completely drowned out supply.

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California Enacted a Groundwater Law 7 Years Ago. But Wells Are Still Drying Up — and the Threat Is Spreading

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

Kelly O’Brien’s drinking water well had been in its death throes for days before its pump finally gave out over Memorial Day weekend.

It wasn’t a quiet death at O’Brien’s home in Glenn County, about 100 miles north of Sacramento.

Spigots rattled. Faucets sputtered. The drinking water turned rusty with sediment. In the end, two houses, three adults, three children, two horses, four dogs and a couple of cats on her five acres of land were all left with no water for their sinks, showers, laundry, troughs and water bowls.

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‘Water Supply Alert’ Issued for Southern California in Response to Drought

/in , /by /OC Registerby Martin Wisckol

While local reservoirs have enough imported water for Southern Californians to weather the drought into next year, the severity of water shortages throughout the West on Tuesday prompted the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to declare a “water supply alert.”

The move triggers a call for a voluntary 15% reduction in water use. That reduction could help forestall further water savings moves, including restricting supplies to the 26 local water agencies served by Metropolitan and issuing fines for excessive use.

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San Diego County, Water Authority Partner on Efficiency Rebates

/in , , /by /KPBSby City News Service Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority
Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Residents and businesses in unincorporated areas of San Diego County are eligible for increased water-use efficiency rebates under a partnership announced Tuesday between the county’s Watershed Protection Program and the San Diego County Water Authority.

The program could save money for residential, commercial and agricultural customers who make landscape upgrades designed to improve the region’s climate resilience and reduce the flow of pollutants into waterways.

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Historic ‘Level 1’ Shortage Declared for Lake Mead, Though San Diego Still Has Reliable Supply

/in , , /by /Water News Networkby Chris Jennewein/Times of San Diego Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Federal officials on Monday issued the first-ever “Level 1” shortage declaration for the massive reservoir of Lake Mead on the Colorado River, triggering major water cuts for Arizona, Nevada and Mexico.

The cuts for water users downstream from Hoover Dam will begin in October, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said in a statement.

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New Partnership Promotes WaterSmart Landscapes, Healthy Watersheds in San Diego County

/in , , /by /Water News Network Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Residents and businesses in unincorporated areas of San Diego County are eligible for increased water-use efficiency rebates under a new partnership between the County’s Watershed Protection Program and the San Diego County Water Authority.

The County’s new Waterscape Rebate Program will save money for residential, commercial, and agricultural customers who make landscape upgrades that improve the region’s climate resilience and reduce the flow of pollutants into waterways.

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Colorado River Water Shortage Declared for First Time; California Could See Cuts by 2024

/in , /by /Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Janet Wilson and Ian James

The federal government on Monday declared a first shortage on the Colorado River, announcing mandatory water cutbacks next year for Arizona, Nevada and Mexico. California will not be immediately affected, but U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials warned that more cuts would likely be necessary.

The river supplies drinking water and irrigation for 40 million people. The declaration of a shortage was triggered by the spiraling decline of Lake Mead, which stores water used by California, Arizona, Nevada and Mexico.

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First-Ever Water Shortage on the Colorado River Will Bring Cuts for Arizona Farmers

/in , , /by /Arizona Republicby Ian James and Zayna Syed

The federal government on Monday declared a first-ever water shortage on the Colorado River, announcing mandatory cutbacks next year that will bring major challenges for Arizona farmers and reduce the water allotments of Nevada and Mexico.

The declaration of a shortage by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has been anticipated for months and was triggered by the spiraling decline of Lake Mead, which stores water used by Arizona, Nevada, California and Mexico.

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California Drought Takes Toll on World’s Top Almond Producer

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Terence Chea

As temperatures recently reached triple digits, farmer Joe Del Bosque inspected the almonds in his parched orchard in California’s agriculture-rich San Joaquin Valley, where a deepening drought threatens one of the state’s most profitable crops.

Del Bosque doesn’t have enough water to properly irrigate his almond orchards, so he’s practicing “deficit irrigation” — providing less water than the trees need. He left a third of his farmland unplanted to save water for the nuts. And he may pull out 100 of his 600 acres (243 hectares) of almond trees after the late summer harvest — years earlier than planned.

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City of Folsom Requiring People to Cut Water Use by 20% as Drought Worsens

/in , , /by /KCRA3

The City of Folsom announced Monday it will require residents to reduce water use by 20%. The water-use restriction will go into effect Aug. 30.

This comes as the water supply across the state continues to dwindle amid a crippling drought. Folsom itself draws water from the American River at Folsom Lake, which has lower levels than it did during the 2014-15 drought. This is the second driest year on record since 1977.

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