US regulators approved a major milestone Thursday in a plan to demolish four dams on a California river and open up hundreds of miles of salmon habitat that would be the largest dam removal and river restoration project in the world when it goes forward. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission vote on the lower Klamath River dams is the last major regulatory hurdle and the biggest milestone for a $500 million demolition proposal championed by Native American tribes and environmentalists for years.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-11-17 10:13:042022-11-17 10:16:25Regulators Clear Path for Largest Dam Demolition in History
Staff and board members from the Glenwood Springs-based Colorado River Water Conservation District, along with other water managers from across western Colorado, this month visited the lower basin states — Nevada, Arizona and California — on what they called a fact-finding trip. The tour took participants by bus from Las Vegas though the green alfalfa fields of the Fort Mohave Indian Reservation, past the big diversions serving the Central Arizona Project and Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and to the hot, below-sea-level agricultural expanse of the biggest water user on the river: the Imperial Irrigation District.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-11-17 10:12:052022-11-17 10:16:35Four Things to Know About the Lower Colorado River Basin
With the federal government calling for major cuts in water use to address the historic shortage on the Colorado River, the leaders of 30 agencies that supply cities from the Rocky Mountains to Southern California have signed an agreement committing to boost conservation, in part by pledging to target the removal of one especially thirsty mainstay of suburban landscapes: decorative grass.
This third year of extreme drought is taking a devastating toll on agriculture in California. We see pictures of orchards being removed, dry canals and fields that should be a verdant green now a sunburned brown. The impacts on the farm are easy to see. The effects on our communities and on the wildlife that depend on agricultural lands in production are no less real, even if they are harder to observe.
The Santa Margarita Water District is getting started on its first drinking water treatment plant, which will be in Rancho Mission Viejo. SMWD representatives and local officials celebrated the coming new plant with a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 16. The Ranch Water Filtration Plant will be located near the intersection of Ortega Highway and Antonio Parkway, and near the Chiquita Water Reclamation Plant.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-11-17 09:53:142022-11-17 09:59:21Santa Margarita Water District Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony for Ranch Water Filtration Plant
The San Diego City Council unanimously approved Tuesday a new funding source to pay for upgrades to the San Diego River, which officials say could become a regional attraction with recreational amenities and riverfront dining. The council voted to create an enhanced infrastructure financing district, which would generate money any time a parcel within half a mile of the river sees its property tax go up in the next 45 years.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-11-17 09:50:482022-11-17 09:59:33San Diego Approves New Financing Method That’s Expected to Generate Millions for River Park Upgrades
Low-income residents, senior citizens and other eligible customers of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will no longer face shutoffs if they are unable to pay their utility bills, the agency announced Wednesday. Under a motion adopted unanimously by the Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners, the DWP must halt the practice of water and power shutoffs as a debt collection tool for residents enrolled in its EZ-SAVE program, which offers discounts for income-qualified residents, as well as those enrolled in the Senior Citizen Lifeline Discount Program.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-11-17 09:49:242022-11-17 09:59:41Los Angeles DWP to End Water and Power Shutoffs for Low-income Customers Who Can’t Pay
Encinitas, Calif.— At its November 16 board meeting, Olivenhain Municipal Water District recognized seven individuals and businesses with “Pure Excellence” awards for making a positive impact in the local community in 2022.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Olivenhain-Logo-Square.jpg200200Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-11-17 09:44:222022-11-17 09:44:222022 “Pure Excellence” Award Winners Honored by Olivenhain Municipal Water District
Recognizing that a reliable water supply is critical to all economies and communities relying on the drought-stricken Colorado River Basin, more than 30 water agencies and providers have committed to take additional actions to reducing water demands and helping protect the Colorado River system.
Through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was delivered to the Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton, municipal and public water providers in the Upper and Lower Colorado River Basin affirmed their commitments to implement comprehensive and innovative water conservation programs, initiatives, policies, and actions within their communities, including:
Expanding water efficiency programs for indoor and outdoor water use.
Implementing programs and policies reducing and replacing non-functional, decorative grass by 30 percent while protecting urban landscapes and trees canopies.
Increasing water reuse and recycling programs where feasible.
Implementing water efficiency strategies and best practices, such as water loss controls, conservation-based rate structures, industrial and commercial conservation, land use coordination and other suitable conservation strategies within each community.
Colorado River Basin and megadrought
“As we consider the long-term aridification of the Colorado River Basin, the math is simple: water uses exceed water supplies,” said John Entsminger, General Manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority. “But solving that equation will require all Colorado River water users across every sector to make hard decisions and be fully invested in water conservation if we are going to bring our shared river system into balance.
“This problem is of the highest magnitude, but collectively we have the resources to find the solution,” said Brenda Burman, Executive Strategy Advisor of Central Arizona Project. “The path forward will require all Colorado River water users to contribute, and Central Arizona Project continues to make investments and commitments to support the Basin to reach a sustainable water future.”
“The significance of nearly 30 municipal and industrial providers of Colorado River water signing on to this agreement is truly historic,” said Gene Shawcroft, General Manager of the Central Utah Water Conservancy District. “The commitments of municipal and industrial water agencies in both the Upper and Lower Colorado River Basins toward a unified approach to problem solving is critical in light of the current drought conditions and historic low reservoir elevations confronting the basin. I hope this agreement will provide an example of effective Basin-wide collaboration on the many Colorado River issues we face now and into the future.”
“Forging a sustainable future for the Colorado River will take a commitment from all of us to use less water. More than two dozen water agencies from cities across the Southwest have made this commitment on behalf of the millions of people they serve,” said Adel Hagekhalil, General Manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. “This MOU is a key step towards bringing the River into balance, and powerful proof that working together, we can build solutions.”
Metropolitan is among 30+ water agencies committing to reducing demands on the #CoRiver by implementing comprehensive and innovative water conservation programs, initiatives, policies, and actions within their communities. Read more about the MOU: https://t.co/17K3FkgPtWpic.twitter.com/2xy0HCYYUi
Under the MOU, each participating water provider will implement the conservation actions, programs and/or policies most appropriate for its individual communities and water efficiency goals. While these water agencies primarily represent urban water uses, which is only a small fraction of the Colorado River’s total water consumption, the conservation strategies outlined will help reduce demands and protect water levels in lakes Powell and Mead.
“A sustainable, long-term plan for the Colorado River Basin requires all water users to reduce water demand commensurate with what the Colorado River can realistically supply given the new normal of hotter, drier weather,” said Ron Burke, President and CEO of the Alliance for Water Efficiency. “To this end, the Alliance for Water Efficiency commends the commitments from local water providers to expand water efficiency and conservation programs.”
In a joint letter of support, seven environmental, conservation, and non-governmental organizations called the MOU “an important step in the right direction,” further stating that “achieving these commitments is a necessary first phase to preserve the longevity of the Basin.”
Today’s announcement builds upon an initial MOU executed in August 2022 between Aurora Water, Denver Water, The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Pueblo Water and Southern Nevada Water Authority, significantly expanding participation and commitments from water providers across the Basin to implement best practices to conserve and enhance water efficiency.
Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority
David Morris, , 505-264-5691
City of Santa Fe
Christine Chavez, , 505-955-4219
UTAH
Central Utah Water Conservancy District
Lisa Anderson, , 801-226-7100
Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District
Matt Olsen, , 801-565-4300
Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities
Chloe Morroni, , 801-702-0801
Washington County Water Conservancy District
Karry Rathje, , 435-668-5622
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Lake-Mead-cropped-primary.jpg450845Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-11-16 14:42:402022-11-16 15:05:33Water Agencies Unite and Commit to Reducing Demands on Colorado River
Chula Vista, Calif. – In order to secure additional water sources for our customers, Sweetwater Authority initiated a controlled transfer of water between its two reservoirs on November 15, 2022. Water that leaves Loveland Reservoir is transferred through the Sweetwater River channel and captured at Sweetwater Reservoir where it can be treated and distributed to Authority customers at a lower cost than importing water. Drought conditions and lack of rainfall in the region have created a need to transfer this water to Sweetwater Reservoir.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/SWAbluelake-LR.png200200Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-11-16 13:12:492022-11-16 13:12:49Controlled Transfer of Water from Sweetwater Authority’s Loveland Reservoir Begins November 15
Sweetwater Authority Logo 2019
