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A Whiplash Spring and California’s Water Supply

/in , , /by /Public Policy Institute of Californiaby Jeffrey Mount

It has been widely reported that March was a disaster for California’s snowpack. Summer seemed to arrive three months early, with record-shattering heat and dryness and a mere pittance of precipitation. Did a relatively cool, rainy, and even snowy April make up for it? The short answer is no—but it helped.

It’s important to remember that snowpack is California’s third-largest source of water storage, behind surface reservoirs and groundwater. Our statewide water supply grid is built around storing roughly 30% of statewide water supply in snowpack, a relatively reliable source of water through the 20th century.

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Understanding Water Rights in the Colorado River Basin

/in , /by /Marketplaceby Sabri Ben-Achour, Alex Schroeder and Emma Condon Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The Colorado River provides water to some 40 million people across seven U.S. states and Mexico. And, after a historically hot and dry winter, those western states are scrambling to shore up supplies.

One solution comes from California, Arizona, and Nevada. The three Lower Basin states recently announced a water-saving plan that aims to “stabilize the Colorado River through 2028.” The proposal suggests a 13% reduction in California’s use of the river water; Arizona and Nevada will also cut back.

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Ariz., Calif., Nev. Announce Plan To Save Colorado River Water

/in , /by /Tucson.comby Tony Davis
Arizona, California and Nevada say they’ve put together a proposal to stabilize the ailing Colorado River by saving at least 3.2 million acre-feet of water through 2028.
That’s the equivalent of enough water to serve Tucson for 32 years.
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California, Arizona and Nevada Propose Water-Saving Plan for Colorado River

/in , /by /The Guardianby Roque Planas

The states of California, Arizona and Nevada have proposed voluntary water-saving measures for the next three years aimed at buying time while negotiations remain deadlocked over the future of shrinking reservoirs filled by the Colorado River.

The Colorado River provides water to some 40 million people in the American west. But the two massive reservoirs filled by the river, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, both stand at historically low levels, after consistent overdrawing coupled with reduced snowpack and warming from climate change.

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Delta Tunnel Inches Forward

/in , /by /Cal Mattersby Lynn La

Proponents of a huge water project are claiming victory after the $20 billion tunnel largely cleared a key hurdle last week. But the massive construction — known as the Delta tunnel — is still mired in controversy, and many roadblocks lay ahead, writes CalMatters’ Rachel Becker.

To shore up state water supplies, the Delta tunnel aims to divert more water from Northern California — while bypassing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta — and deliver water to roughly 30 million people living mostly in Southern California, as well as farmland.

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For the First Time, California Growers Have To Say How Much Groundwater They’re Taking

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

For the first time, growers in one of California’s most acutely water-stressed areas have to reveal how much groundwater they are pumping. For generations, they’ve been free to take water from wells on their own land without reporting to it the state.

The State Water Resources Control Board ordered landowners in parts of the San Joaquin Valley around Corcoran and Pixley to submit detailed reports by Friday.

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This Summer, the American Water Crisis Becomes Real

/in , /by /Wired.com

Two high-profile water crises, juiced up by climate change and industrial overuse, are building in the US. From a city in Texas staring down a drought emergency to a decades-long political crisis coming to a head for the states that rely on the Colorado River, water issues in the West will take center stage this summer—and experts tell WIRED that other places should take notes and start planning ahead for their own future.

In February, following a winter of record-breaking heat, snowpack in various mountain ranges across the American West reached record lows. March came in even hotter, smashing records in states across the region.

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Phoenix Leaders Plan for Water Shortages As Colorado River Shrinks

/in , /by /ABC 15 Arizonaby Jamie Warren

Phoenix leaders are laying out their plan to keep water flowing as the Colorado River shrinks, relying on decades of preparation for potential shortages.

The city of Phoenix has been in stage 1 drought conditions since 2022, but they are preparing to move to stage 2 by the end of the year.

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U.S. House Democrat Demands Answers on President Trump’s Scheme To Ship California North Coast Water to Southern California Water District

/in , /by /Sierra Sun Times

On Tuesday, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) announced he has opened an investigation into the Trump administration’s latest scheme to steal water from Northern California and divert it to Southern California.

As part of his investigation, he sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum demanding records and information about their efforts to facilitate a Southern California water district’s takeover of dams and water rights on the Eel River, hundreds of miles outside its service area. He sent a similar letter to the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District.

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Delta Tunnel Moves Closer to Approval After Majority of Certification Is OK’d

/in , /by /Bay City News Stocktonby Ruth Dusseault

A plan to install a tunnel beneath a 45-mile stretch of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has moved closer to final approval after a state agency determined most of the project’s certification was consistent with a regulatory plan.

The Delta Stewardship Council voted 6-1 last week to return two issues related to the Delta Conveyance Project back to the California Department of Water Resources for further review, while rejecting most appeals filed by 10 groups challenging the project’s compliance with policies.

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