It’s no secret the Colorado River Basin is experiencing one of its worst droughts in record history.
Now, hydrologists are minimizing water usage next year. Lake Mead and Lake Powell are at their lowest water elevation levels ever, and it’s only expected to get worse as we head into 2022, according to Wade Noble, who serves on the general council for four of Yuma’s irrigation districts.
One of the largest water districts in the San Francisco Bay Area is falling dramatically short of water conservation goals amid extreme drought conditions across California.
Santa Clara Valley Water declared a water shortage emergency in June with its reservoirs reaching historically low levels, requiring customers to reduce water use by 15% compared with 2019 levels. In July, the district fell short of the goal with residents only reducing water use levels by 6% compared to 2019 levels, according to newly available data first shared by the San Jose Mercury News.
The Fallbrook Public Utility District is now accepting applications for customers to receive free, drought-tolerant succulents. Approved applicants will receive the plants, free of charge, to transform their landscape and save water.
The Marin Municipal Water District is considering whether to charge new penalties for high water users during the drought.
The proposal discussed by the district’s board this week would set varying caps on water use during the “summer” and “winter” billing periods. Ratepayers would be charged a fee for every 748 gallons used above that cap.
To expedite the delivery of much-needed drinking water to coastal Mendocino County residents whose wells have gone dry, the California State Water Resources Control Board has amended its previous curtailment orders to allow the city of Ukiah to draw water from the Russian River for emergency supplies.
“The State Water Board has pre-approved a health and human safety exemption allowing the city of Ukiah to provide emergency supplies to (coastal Mendocino County communities),” said Erik Ekdahl, deputy director of the Division of Water Rights, explaining Wednesday that the board did not want “bureaucracy to get in the way of providing emergency drinking water to people who really need it.”
The state’s curtailment of river diversions has drawn lawsuits from eight irrigation districts in and near Stanislaus County, along with San Francisco.
The three filings claim that the State Water Resources Control Board exceeded its authority with the Aug. 20 orders. The plaintiffs also said they did not get enough chance beforehand to make their cases for continued diversions.
One suit was filed Sept. 2 by the Modesto, Turlock, Oakdale and South San Joaquin irrigation districts and San Francisco. It involves the Tuolumne and Stanislaus rivers.
The Bureau of Reclamation began releasing water from the Klamath River to Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge on Sept. 3. Advocates hope it will improve wetland habitat on the refuge for migrating birds this fall. Last week, California Waterfowl Association officially purchased approximately 3,750 acre-feet of water from Agency Ranch in the Wood River Valley, above Upper Klamath Lake, having announced the purchase and fundraising effort this spring. Lower Klamath has been plagued by insufficient wetland habitat due to a lack of deliveries from the Klamath Project for the past 20 years.
Residents and businesses in Poway soon could be paying more on their water bills.
Poway City Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to set a public hearing on a proposed four-year rate increase for water, recycled water and wastewater rates. It comes as the city grapples with how to deal with the future of water for its residents, challenged by rising costs to import water and the need to pay into capital improvement projects.
As I walked along the ocean at Imperial Beach enjoying the sun casting shadows on the waves, several families were wading into the water seemingly not noticing the patrolling lifeguard warning them that the water was too polluted for swimming. I wondered if some swimmers heard the warning so many times – often over 200 days a year – that they became immune to the notice. After all, there was no smell and the ocean looked normal.
