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Tribal Water Rights a Component to Unraveling Drought on the Colorado

/in /by /inewsnetwork (Denver, Colo.)by Jim Trotter

Native American tribes in the Colorado River basin already have legally quantified rights to roughly one-fifth of the river’s flow, according to a new report from the non-partisan Colorado River Research Group. CCRG said that tribal water rights are a misunderstood and underpublicized facet in dealing with water shortages in the Southwestern United States. Of the seven Colorado River basin states, signatories to the Compact of 1922, the so-called Law of the River, only California and Colorado have larger paper rights to water than the tribes.

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Researcher: Environmental Analysis Crucial as Pot Laws Liberalize

/in /by /Capital Press (Salem, Ore.)

As marijuana laws liberalize across the country, much attention will need to be given to the impact that large-scale production could have on the environment, a pair of university scientists assert.

Existing cannabis grow sites pose a high risk of ecological consequences because they potentially use large amounts of water and are near the habitat for threatened species, researchers Van Butsic and Jacob Brenner observe.

 

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Resource Advocates Envision a Greener Future for the County

/in /by /Calaveras Enterpriseby Dana M. Nichols

A half century from now, the residents of Calaveras County may remember our time as one of drought, fire and dying forests. But if even a few of the visions discussed at a historic meeting on Thursday are realized, they will also remember that 2016 was a time of hope.

The meeting in the Chesborough Room at the Calaveras County Public Library was an informal gathering of ranchers, conservationists, a water district official and others with interests in the soon-to-form Calaveras County Resource Conservation District that voters approved in the election on June 7.

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Sacramento Region to California: We’ve Got Plenty of Water

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby Phillip Reese and Ryan Sabalow Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The Sacramento region’s largest water districts have given a resounding answer to the question of whether they could handle three more years of drought: We have plenty of water.

The State Water Resources Control Board last month asked California’s urban water districts to evaluate how much water they would need in the next three years if drought persisted – and whether their supplies would meet that demand. Districts that certify their supplies are adequate will not face mandatory water-use cuts. Those with inadequate supplies must set conservation goals proportional to their anticipated shortfall.

 

 

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OPINION: Groundwater Could Be a Godsend, If We Protect It

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby Rob Jackson

Despite winter rains and the lifting of urban conservation rules this month, California is still desperate for water. Reservoirs in Southern California are low, and we’re sucking groundwater from the Central Valley.

But what if there’s a vast pool of unidentified water? How much would we use immediately, how much would we save and how would we protect it? Our new study published this week in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences concludes that the Central Valley has almost three times more fresh water underground than the state estimates.

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Drought Threatens ‘Genius’ Regs That Stopped L.A. Water Grab

/in /by /Environment & Energy Publishing (Washington, D.C.)by Jeremy P. Jacobs

In 1941, Los Angeles came for the scenic lake here. After diverting the inflows to Owens Lake — setting it on course for ruin — the city extended its aqueduct 100 miles north in the eastern Sierra Nevada and captured virtually all of Mono Lake’s tributaries.

Like Owens Lake, Mono Lake’s water level began to drop precipitously as Los Angeles pumped millions of gallons of water that would have previously run into the lake.

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OPINION: California’s Water Districts are Loath to Save Resources

/in /by /San Francisco Chronicle

California’s big urban water districts should be ashamed of themselves. After asking for a good-faith policy change in the state’s water restrictions, they’ve decided that they’re not going to save any water at all.

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BLOG: Perfect Storm Brewing for California Fire Season

/in /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Tara Lohan

California’s climate has always been hospitable to fire – it comes with the territory. But add five years of drought, a bark beetle blight killing trees by the millions and rising temperatures, and it’s a recipe for disaster.

“We are seeing the compounded effects of climate change that includes five consecutive years of drought and rising mean temperatures across the West – last year was the hottest year on record,” said Janet Upton, deputy director of communication at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). “All that is trending to a more flammable California.”

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California Drought Remains Serious; Tens of Millions of Trees Dead

/in /by /Total Landscape Care (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)by Jill Odom

California is in its fifth year of drought, yet residents are receiving mixed signals as to whether water conservation should still be a priority.

A study published in Geophysical Research Letters has estimated that it will take about 4.4 years for the Sierra Nevada snowpack to recover. Out of the 65 years studied, the current drought has resulted in the highest cumulative deficit of water from the snowpack. The snowpack provides a third of the state’s water supply. In April 2015, with the snowpack at only 5 percent of its average, Gov. Jerry Brown ordered a 25 percent reduction in water usage.

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Controlled Colorado River Flooding Released Stored Greenhouse Gases

/in /by /Phys.org (United Kingdom)

The 2014 experimental controlled pulse of water to the Colorado River Delta has revealed an interesting twist on how large dry watercourses may respond to short-term flooding events: the release of stored greenhouse gases. This work is reported at the Goldschmidt conference in Yokohama, Japan.

As presenter Dr Thomas Bianchi said: “We saw a rapid release of greenhouse gases (CH4 and CO2) from the riverbed sediments to the floodwaters. These gases were largely derived from carbon which had been stored in the dry riverbed, perhaps for decades”.

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