They’re back! Arising out of their dusty/muddy/sandy graves, the zombie lakes of California are reclaiming their own. For geologic ages, they have lain there, undead — well, often drought-dry, and not their original saturated selves. But now the monumental rains of this winter and spring filled them and then some, reminding us of California’s paleo-hydrology, our ancient lakes and waterways.
As stakeholders across the U.S. West prepare to rewrite the rules on Colorado River conservation, experts are urging them to consider Mexico’s needs up front.
The 1,450-mile waterway, which stretches from the Rocky Mountains to the Sonoran Desert, is considered the lifeblood for about 40 million people in both countries.
After months of pounding rains and a cooler than usual June, California reservoirs are bursting with water leaving only 6% of the state currently in drought. A year ago, more than 99% of California was in drought, according to the U.S. drought monitor. Torrential rains transformed an arid landscape into a water rich environment with rushing waterways, brimming lakes and swollen underground basins.
Amid a historic heatwave and months of drought, Mexico’s government has launched the latest phase of a cloud seeding project it hopes will increase rainfall. The project, which began in July, involves planes flying into clouds to release silver iodide particles which then, in theory, will attract additional water droplets and increase rain or snowfall.
While temperatures push well above 100 degrees, it’s easy to forget that Arizona’s deserts lie on top of groundwater basins that formed during the Ice Age. The state’s rural communities rely on that water, which experts say is a finite resource. But in most cases, it’s not regulated in any meaningful way. That lack of regulation has begun to show, as wells dry up and local residents call for action.
The ongoing and historic drought has many Valley cities declaring water shortages. In Mesa, the city is in stage one of its water shortage management plan. While they’re reducing water usage citywide, Mesa is also spending millions to boost its water infrastructure. Construction started on a 10.5-mile pipeline on Monday. The plan is to build out the Central Mesa Reuse Pipeline and it begins at Greenfield and Southern.
State officials Wednesday presented an $80 million check to advance Pure Water Southern California, a large-scale, regional water recycling program intended to create a new source of water to benefit 19 million people amid changing climate and weather whiplash.
Assemblywoman Lisa Calderon, D-Whittier, Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, and Carson Mayor Pro Tem Jawane Hilton joined water district officials during Wednesday’s event at the Pure Water demonstration facility.
“The climate crisis has strained our region’s water supply,” Calderon said in a statement. “It’s imperative we continue investing in our projects focused on addressing our water needs.”
Pure Water will take cleaned wastewater that is currently sent to the ocean and purify it to produce high-quality drinking water, officials said.
Project partners Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and Los Angeles County Sanitation District received funding from the state’s 2022-23 budget to accelerate the project’s design and construction, with the potential to begin construction as early as 2025 and have water deliveries start in 2032.
The state’s money problems are taking a $200 million bite out of funding for drinking and wastewater projects.
The state Water Resources Control Board voted Tuesday to approve the cuts as part of a statewide belt tightening effort.
From $800 to $1,000, and even $5,000, some Valley cities are dangling money incentives to residents, in the hope they will cut their water use amid the state’s ongoing crisis.
The programs are a direct result of cities grappling with a future of less water from the Colorado River.
An unrelenting heat wave that has blanketed the the Southwestern U.S. continued to break records Wednesday, inflicting misery in major cities and offering what experts described as a disturbing glimpse into the future as human-caused climate change increases the frequency and duration of extreme heat events.
