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Opinion: Colorado River Deal Must Empower Conservationists on the Ground

/in , , /by /Reno Gazette Journalby Sarah Jensen

If we hope to solve our country’s most pressing natural resource challenges, we must go straight to the source: Americans on the ground who know firsthand what is needed to solve them.

The historic Colorado River agreement reached last month temporarily secures access to clean water in the West. All Americans deserve clean air and clean water, but unfortunately, the challenges confronting the Colorado River puts access to this vital resource in jeopardy.

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Opinion: TVA is Right to Supercharge Renewable Energy Options With Expanded Pumped Storage

/in , , /by /Chattanooga Times Free Pressby Clint Cooper

Because of the decrease in fossil fuel plants, an old idea suddenly looks new again in the consideration of power generation for TVA.

The utility has begun to study whether a pumped storage power plant similar to the Raccoon Mountain facility just west of Chattanooga might be feasible for either of two mountain ridges along the Tennessee River in Northeast Alabama.

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Vallejo Wastewater District to Hold Final Public Hearing on Proposed Sewer Rate Increases

/in , /by /Vallejo Sunby Ryan Geller

The Vallejo Flood and Wastewater district will have its final public hearing tonight on a proposal to increase residential sewer rates.

Under the plan, sewer rates for Vallejo homeowners will increase by an average of $108 per year for 5 years. Each year monthly rates will rise by an average of $9 bringing the current rate of $64.12 per month  or $768.44 per year to $109.18 per month or $1,310.16 per year by July 2027. A comparable increase in commercial and industrial rate schedules is also part of the proposal.

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A Lot is Still Unknown Heading Into High-Stakes Negotiations on the Future of the Colorado River

/in , , /by /CPR Newsby Rachel Estabrook

Representatives from more than a dozen Indigenous tribes spoke at a CU Boulder law conference last week about their interests in the Colorado River from each of their perspectives.

Many of the prominent state and federal officials who manage the water attended the conference. But as they and other water authorities prepare to negotiate the river’s future, it’s unclear how tribes will participate, to what degree tribes will be treated as equal sovereigns, and how their desire to use all the water they legally have rights to will be considered.

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Could Mother Nature Cut Off California’s Water Guarantee?

/in , , /by /E&E Newsby Jennifer Yachnin

In the contentious, yearlong negotiations over how to share the pain of Colorado River shortages, California officials leaned on their state’s status as the basin’s most senior water rights holder — or the last in line to take cuts when supplies run low — to fend off arguments it should bear the brunt of reductions.

The gambit worked, ultimately sparking a compromise in which California will share cuts with Arizona and Nevada over the next three years. The deal means the state will give less than 10 percent of its annual allocation, in line with its original offer.

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Ocean Temperatures Are Off the Charts, and El Niño is Only Partly to Blame

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

In a world of worsening climate extremes, a single red line has caught many people’s attention.

The line, which charts sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean, went viral over the weekend for its startling display of unprecedented warming — nearly 2 degrees (1.09 Celsius) above the mean dating back to 1982, the earliest year with comparable data.

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Opinion: Water is Precious in the American West. California Barely Even Tries to Manage it

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Dave Owen, Nell Green Nylen, Michael Kiparsky

For eight days last summer, a group of about 80 California ranchers and farmers took more than half the Shasta River’s flow during severe drought conditions, violating state requirements designed to protect salmon. The state’s water regulator couldn’t stop the illegal diversion but fined the group the maximum penalty it could — $4,000. The fine translated to about $50 per person.

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Newsom and Democratic Lawmakers Remain Divided on Infrastructure Plan

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Taryn Luna

Democrats leading California’s Senate and Assembly on Monday announced a legislative state budget deal, but they remain at odds with Gov. Gavin Newsom over his sweeping plan to streamline major infrastructure projects and reduce environmental litigation delays. Newsom introduced a series of budget bills related to infrastructure last month after lawmakers had already wrapped up committee hearings on spending proposals.

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The U.S. Rivers in Dangerous Decline

/in , /by /Newsweekby Robyn White

The biggest rivers in the U.S. are the lifeblood of the regions they flow through. They provide drinking water, irrigation for agricultural lands and a habitat where important ecosystems can thrive.

But as climate change worsens, some of the nation’s most important rivers are in serious trouble because of the drought gripping several regions.

Californians Were Asked to Cut Water Use 15% During the Drought. How Close Did They Get?

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Haley Smith and Sean Greene

The results are in: As California endured its three driest years on record, urban water users made a significant effort to conserve water, but fell far short of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request to reduce their use by 15%.

Between July 2021, when Newsom first called on water users to voluntarily cut back, and March of this year, when he rescinded that request amid a very wet winter, statewide savings were 7%, or about half of what was requested. That amounts to about 9 fewer gallons per person per day, a Los Angeles Times analysis has found.

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