Colorado River Runoff Forecast Keeps Dropping
Drought continues to put the squeeze on the Southwest’s water supplies, with Colorado River runoff forecasts declining for the second straight month.
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Drought-Stricken California Looks to Australia for Tips on Recycling Water
As hopes that a much-hyped “Godzilla” El Niño event will banish California’s record drought fade, the state is starting to look for clues from overseas on how to conserve each increasingly precious drop that does fall on its parched land.
The water capture efforts of Australia, itself plagued by a lengthy recent drought, are in the sights of Californian politicians mindful of how the pulses of rain that did arrive in January resulted in much of the water washing out into the sea.
DROUGHT: State Water Board’s New Goals Ease Conservation Numbers
The state water board released new water-cutback goals Thursday afternoon, April 7, easing conservation numbers for many Inland suppliers.
The announcement comes in the wake of this week’s Eastern Municipal Water District vote to ease drought restrictions, which may have been among the region’s first to make such changes. Now the State Water Resources Control Board’s new goals show reduced drought restrictions for suppliers across the Inland area.
Central California Reservoirs Filling Up Due to Recent Storms
Fisherman, boaters, and campers are eager to return to popular lakes for recreation as Central California reservoirs are filling up thanks to the recent storms and incoming snow melt.
Pardee Lake in Amador County is 97 percent full and Camanche Reservoir in Calaveras County has refilled to almost 70 percent of capacity. Lake Don Pedro in Tuolumne County, which covers 15 square miles, has risen to 60 percent of capacity. Don Pedro Recreation Director Chris Collett says the month of March brought a miracle increase, a 30 foot rise in the lake level.
California Water-Saving Rules to Ease, but Nobody’s Off the Hook
In May, California’s water authority is set to soften water conservation requirements for certain areas of the state, including the North Coast.
While this announcement was met with a favorable response by local water officials, the State Water Resources Control Board’s Chairwoman Felicia Marcus said earlier this week that nobody will be off the hook entirely.
Arizona Wants Legal Assurances California Won’t Take its Stored Water
Arizona and California are arguing over Colorado River water again — this time over whether it should be inscribed in law that California can’t take Arizona’s share of river water that’s left in Lake Mead to prop up lake levels.
The dispute is over whether it would benefit the troubled river system to guarantee in writing that one state can’t take another state’s water that’s left behind in the lake — or whether such an effort could disrupt already delicate negotiations over the river’s future.
Unusual Pact Will Tear Down California Hydroelectric Dams Blocking Fish Migration
Endangered salmon blocked for nearly a century from hundreds of miles of the Klamath River in Oregon and California are expected to return en masse under unusual agreements signed Wednesday to tear down four hydroelectric dams.
U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, who signed agreements with the governors of both states, said the plan would bring about one of the largest river restoration projects in the history of the U.S.
Water decision another nail in agriculture’s coffin
The April 1 federal allocation of irrigation water to California farmers is no joking matter for those south of the Delta who were slapped across the face with the announced 5 percent allotment.
How much better 5 percent is than zero is a matter of degree akin to choosing your death slowly and painfully, or quickly and efficiently.
The announcement illustrates gross negligence on the part of federal and state regulators who hide behind court edicts and biological opinions that are proving to have no positive effect on fish populations in the Delta region and the two main river systems in California that feed it.
Pact reached to remove four Klamath River dams that block salmon migration
California, Oregon and a private utility Wednesday signed an agreement that could finally take down four hydroelectric dams that block salmon migrations on the Klamath River.
The pact, signed by the governors of both states and federal officials at the mouth of the Klamath in Northern California, spells out a road map for pursuing the dams’ demolition without congressional approval.
More Water Means No Water Transfers, Despite Shortage in Southern California
The rains this winter were more or less than expected, depending on where you live and what you expected.
In September of last year, many weather forecasters expected heavier than normal rains in Southern California, and mixed expectations for rains in Northern California. However, Northern California ended up receiving normal rainfall and Southern California did not.
