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Federal Funds Would Boost Water Agency Fire Readiness

/in , , /by /Tahoe Daily Tribuneby The Mountain Democrat

Last week the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would allocate $7.25 million to help protect water agency infrastructure in California’s 3rd Congressional District against fire.

If the legislation is also supported by a Senate majority, the Georgetown Divide Public Utility District would get $1.25 million to construct a 2-million-gallon fire resilient water storage tank to aid in fire suppression efforts, according to a news release from the office of Congressman Kevin Kiley.

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The Historic Claims That Put a Few California Farming Families First in Line for Colorado River Water

/in , , /by /ProPublica by Janet Wilson, Nat Lash

Craig Elmore’s family history is the stuff of Westerns. His grandfather, John Elmore, a poor son of a Missouri preacher, arrived in California’s Imperial Valley in 1908 and dug ditches to deliver water to homesteaders.

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Bureau of Reclamation Invests in Reuse, Desal Projects

/in , , /by /Water Finance and Management by WFM Staff

The Bureau of Reclamation recently announced the selection of 31 planning projects to receive more than $28 million in appropriated funding to support potential new water reuse and desalination projects.

The 31 projects are in California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. The projects also bring a cost-share contribution of $64.7 million, bringing the total investment of $93.7 million.

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California is Drought-Free for First Time in Years. What It Means.

/in , , /by /The Washington Post by Diana Leonard

California is drought-free for the first time in more than three years because of a remarkably wet, snowy winter and a rare tropical storm over the summer. The last remaining traces of drought disappeared in October, as autumn rainstorms grazed the northwestern corner of the state.

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Nearly Double the Acreage for California Rice Farmers This Year

/in , , /by /AgNet West by Brian German

California rice farmers are celebrating a robust harvest, thanks largely to water availability, according to Tim Johnson, President and CEO of the California Rice Commission. Johnson expressed his satisfaction, stating, “We had a year where we had adequate water and could plant really a full crop of rice almost twice what we planted last year. So, the industry is really happy. Farmers are having a good year.”

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How a Patchwork of Rules to Protect America’s Water Is Falling Short

/in , , /by /The New York Times by Soumya Karlamangla

Groundwater is one of America’s most precious resources. The water that fills wells, stored naturally in underground aquifers, allowed vast cities to emerge and turned the nation into an agricultural powerhouse.

But the country’s stewardship of groundwater relies on a patchwork of state and local rules so lax and outdated that in many places, oversight is all but nonexistent, a New York Times investigation has found.

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California’s Extreme Weather Whiplash: So Long, Drought. Hello, El Niño

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Times by Terry Castelman

Less than a year after facing historic water shortages, California this week was declared drought-free thanks to a year of epic rains, with an El Niño forecast that could keep wet conditions going into 2024.

California-El Niño-weather-waves-ocean

For California, especially Southern California, El Niño can typically mean larger storms in the winter which can mean more rainfall and larger waves along the coast. Graphic: NOAA

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Reservoir Levels Remain Above Historical Average Across California

/in , , /by /ABC 10 Sacramento by Brody Adams

California’s lakes and reservoirs remain in very good shape as an El Niño winter closes in.

Following the record wet winter, lakes and reservoirs were nearly full to the brim as the melting snowpack made its way into them.

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Feds Bet on Paying for Water Conservation to Protect the Colorado River

/in , , /by /Inside Climate News by Wyatt Myskow

Arizona’s future was at a critical juncture at the beginning of 2023.

Massive cuts to the state’s Colorado River water supply were being imposed. Deadlines loomed from the federal government for the seven states that rely on Colorado River water to come up with a solution for how to cut use even further as the nation’s two largest reservoirs recorded among their lowest levels ever after decades of drought caused by overconsumption and climate change.

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California Governor Taps New Law to Streamline Reservoir Project

/in , , /by /Courthouse News Service by Alan Riquelmy

California Governor Gavin Newsom fast-tracked a massive reservoir project Monday using a law he signed this past summer to accelerate construction.

The Sites Reservoir Project near the town of Maxwell, about 81 miles northwest of Sacramento, is slated to hold up to 1.5 million acre-feet of water — enough for 3 million households for a year. Once complete, it’ll increase Northern California’s water capacity by up to 15%.

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