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No Mow May? Good Intentions, Bad Approach, Critics Say

/in , /by /AP Newsby Jessica Damiano

If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve heard about the #NoMowMay movement that’s been gaining steam on social media and in eco-conscious circles these past few years.

Started in 2019 by citizen scientists in the United Kingdom, the call for homeowners to abstain from mowing their lawns during the month has spread to other countries, including the U.S.

The intention is admirable: Let your grass and weeds grow and bloom to provide food and shelter for essential pollinators like bees and butterflies early in the season, when such necessities may be scarce.

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Water Authority Testifies on California’s Efforts to Support the Colorado River

/in , , /by /Water News Network Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

During state Assembly testimony on Tuesday, May 2, San Diego County Water Authority General Manager Sandra L. Kerl highlighted the steps taken by the Water Authority and partner water agencies across California to support the Colorado River in the era of climate change.

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As Water Crisis Persists, San Diego Looks at Treated Wastewater as a Drinking Water Source

/in , , /by /Fox 10 Phoenix by Steve Nielsen

As Arizona faces an ongoing mega-drought and a mounting water crisis, leaders are looking for ways to ensure Arizona’s water supply.

In 2023, Arizona will lose 20% of its water allotment from the Colorado River, and countless steps are have been taken by government officials in the state, with water conservation plans implemented by various cities.

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California Farmers at Odds With States Seeking Colorado River Conservation Plan

/in , , /by /KLAS 8 News Nowby Kyle J. Paine

The law of the River– the Colorado River, that is – says the farmers come first. That’s how they see it in California, in the Imperial Valley, where farming is big business.

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Historic Partnership Penned to Help Save Endangered Salmon

/in , , /by /CBS Bay Area by Wilson Walker

Over the past year we’ve been showing you California’s effort to save the winter run chinook salmon – a fish that has almost been lost to dammed rivers and warming waters.

It’s part of a growing partnership between state and federal wildlife agencies – and a small California tribe that’s been fighting to save those fish for years, and bring them back home.

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As Arizona Looks to Desalination as a Drought Solution, Questions Mount

/in , , /by /Fox 10 Phoenixby Steve Nielsen Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

While Arizona received more rain and snow in recent months, a wet winter will not save the state from the decades-long mega-drought that is gripping the region. Water officials have worked on finding unique solutions, including desalination.

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Snow Surveys Help Plan Snowmelt Runoff Forecasts

/in , , /by /Water News Networkby California Department of Water Resources

The California Department of Water Resources May 1 conducted the fifth snow survey of the season at Phillips Station. The manual survey recorded 59 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 30 inches, which is 241% of average for this location on May 1.

The last time there was measurable snow at the Phillips snow course on May 1 was 2020, when only 1.5 inches of snow and .5 inches of snow water equivalent was measured.

DWR’s electronic readings from 130 snow sensors placed throughout the state indicate the statewide snowpack’s snow water equivalent is 49.2 inches, or 254% of average for May 1.

The snow water equivalent measures the amount of water still contained in the snowpack and is a key component of DWR’s water supply run-off forecast.

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‘We’re Not Prepared’: Experts Call for Doubling Levee Protections as California Faces Increasing Floods

/in , , /by /KQED by Ezra David Romero

California water experts and environmental justice advocates are calling for state leaders to mandate that new levees be built with double the federal required protection to withstand the increasingly severe storms caused, in part, by human-caused climate change.

California’s levee protection regulations are not uniform; the state’s seemingly endless dikes and causeways are overseen by a patchwork of widely varying rules. Some communities like Pajaro in Monterey County, which was swamped by floodwaters this year, are protected only against smaller storms that happen every eight years, while levees protecting urban areas of the Central Valley are bolstered against much more powerful storms.

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Opinion: No Choice But For Big Cuts Along The Colorado River Basin

/in , , /by /Denver Postby Ved Nandy
The mighty Colorado River is endangered. Persistent massive drought, exacerbated by climate change, overuse, and ever-rising demand, has taken a heavy toll.
Water levels have dwindled and remain at a historic low in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the largest human-made reservoirs in the United States – so low in Lake Mead a year ago that it came close to hitting dead pool status, which occurs when water levels are too low to generate electricity.
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Hundreds Of Hazardous Sites in California Are At Risk Of Flooding As Sea Level Rises, Study Finds

/in , , /by /CNNby Rachel Ramirez

Hundreds of hazardous industrial sites that dot the California coastline – including oil and gas refineries and sewage-treatment plants – are at risk of severe flooding from rising sea levels if the climate crisis worsens, new research shows.

If planet-warming pollution continues to rise unabated, 129 industrial sites are estimated to be at risk of coastal flooding by 2050 according to the study, published Tuesday in the journal Environmental Science & Technology by researchers from University of California at Los Angeles and Berkeley, as well as Climate Central.

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