Three possible scenarios have been mapped out for Lake Powell as the summer months approach.
Lake Powell’s water levels could rise to 3,615.62 feet by the end of July, according to a 24-month report on maximum probable inflow released in April by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. This is the best-case scenario mapped out by the bureau.
The huge snowpack that has blanketed the Sierra Nevada this winter has done more than end California’s drought and extended ski season. It’s also changing how Californians keep the lights on.
On the beach in Southern California, it’s easy to look at the Pacific Ocean and wonder what would happen if we could drink it. It’s already happening in some places, and others from Arizona to the California coast want to expand desalination. If big cities there use more of the ocean and less of the Colorado River, would that leave more water for the southwest? Part 4 of a 10-part series.
Following one of the wettest winters in recent history, Arizona officials anticipate a dry 2024 as federal water usage cuts loom.
In a joint Colorado River shortage briefing held by the Arizona Department of Water Resources and the Central Arizona Project, officials analyzed current conditions in Colorado River Basin reservoirs and how they’ll change in the near future.
The 8 News Now Investigators ran a four-part series on the “California Water Hogs,” with a special focus on the water used to irrigate farmland in the Imperial Valley, water storage, water recycling, and desalinating seawater. However, officials in Los Angeles County said they are doing more there than people in Las Vegas might think.
On a February morning in 2021, a water treatment plant operator in Oldsmar, Fla., noticed something unusual: An unidentified user had remotely accessed the plant’s computer system and was moving the mouse around the screen.
The operator watched as the intruder clicked into various software programs before landing on a function that controls the amount of sodium hydroxide, or lye, in the plant’s water system.
The Imperial Valley has been a senior water rights holder on the Colorado River for more than 100 years. Since our founding, our farmers, and the local Imperial Irrigation District, have long viewed our water seniority as both a property right and a responsibility. As much as we believe in upholding the rule of law, we are equally committed to being responsible water users and doing our part to keep the river healthy enough to meet the needs of all seven states. Imperial Valley farms and regional water agencies have implemented a host of conservation measures throughout the past twenty years, allowing farmers to conserve large amounts of water while still producing the food our country depends on.
The snow melt provides most of the water that flows into the Colorado River. However, in California capturing rainfall is another option to save water to help the crisis on the Colorado River.
This year’s record snowpack has drastically reduced a drought that really began to impact Utah by the end of spring three years ago.
The U.S. Drought Monitor currently lists about 20% of the state in either a moderate or severe drought, while the rest is either “abnormally dry” or under no drought-related designation. It’s a significant turnaround from when nearly 90% of Utah was experiencing severe drought or worse in October.
But as he stood on the grounds of the Conservation Garden Park on Monday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox pointed out that an “unbelievable” winter is only “one piece of the puzzle” when it comes to thinking about long-term water solutions in the country’s second-driest state.
“In Utah … we’re either in drought or preparing for the next one,” he said. “We need to take action to ensure that we are always prepared.”
That’s why Utah is launching a new, first-of-its-kind statewide incentive program, which helps Utah residents recover some of the costs of replacing turf grass, so residents can better afford less-thirsty landscape alternatives.
Snow, torrential rains, massive floods. Extreme weather has battered the U.S. this year, and shoppers likely will feel the lingering effects at the grocery store heading into summer.
