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Feds Suspend Measures That Were Meant to Boost Water Levels at Drought-Stricken Lake Powell

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Starting Tuesday, the US Bureau of Reclamation will suspend extra water releases from Utah’s Flaming Gorge reservoir — emergency measures that had served to help stabilize the plummeting water levels downstream at Lake Powell, the nation’s second largest reservoir.

Federal officials began releasing extra water from Flaming Gorge in 2021 to boost Lake Powell’s level and buy its surrounding communities more time to plan for the likelihood the reservoir will eventually drop too low for the Glen Canyon Dam to generate hydropower.

Phoenix Residents Are Rejecting Traditional Lawns to Save Water, and the Results Are More Attractive and Cheaper Than Grass

/in , /by /Business Insiderby Adrianna Nine

Few homes in Phoenix and its surrounding communities have the thick grass and carefully manicured shrubs and trees of lawns found in other parts of the US.

Desert residents are uniquely poised to recognize the environmental harms associated with conventional lawns and lean into more climate-friendly landscaping. Within the past decade, Phoenicians have become a catalyst for the growing anti-lawn movement.

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Two Storms Could Bring More Rain to San Diego County, With the First Arriving Friday Night

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

A 1,000-mile-wide atmospheric river that’s forming in the subtropics will brush San Diego County with light rain Friday and Saturday and bring heavy precipitation to the rest of Southern and Central California, further aiding reservoirs and muting the risk of wildfires, the National Weather Service said on Monday.

The storm is part of a major pattern change that also is expected to produce a second warm, moist atmospheric river that will flow through roughly the same areas on March 14, possibly bringing heavier rain to San Diego, which is experiencing its first wet year in three years.

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Odds of El Niño Returning to California Are Increasing. Would It Bring Even More Rain?

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

The stubborn La Niña climate pattern that gripped the tropical Pacific for a rare three years in a row is waning, and the odds of an El Niño system forming later this year are getting stronger, according to recent meteorological reports.

The El Niño-La Niña Southern Oscillation, sometimes referred to as ENSO, has a major influence on temperature and rainfall patterns in different parts of the world, with La Niña often associated with drier-than-normal conditions in California, especially the southern part of the state.

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Atmospheric River Storm This Week Will Bring Heavy Rain, Raise Flood Concerns With Huge Sierra Nevada Snowpack

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

The winter of 2023 isn’t finished yet. Not by a long shot.

An atmospheric river storm is likely to hit Northern California late Thursday into Friday, meteorologists and climate scientists said Monday, bringing high chances of heavy rain in the Bay Area, 1 to 3 feet of new snow at higher elevations in the Sierra, and an increased risk of flooding as the warm rain hits the state’s massive snowpack.

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Water Districts Aim to Go Greener by Cutting Out Ornamental Grass

/in , , /by /SFGATEby Olivia Wynkoop

Though recent snow and rainfall have certainly improved drought conditions, California water officials still want to make every drop of water count.

That means cutting out the watering of decorative grass — also known as non-functional turf — frequently landscaped at traffic medians or office parking lots.

Decorative grass is becoming a bigger problem for Western water agencies to address as policymakers look to cut back its water usage in statewide bans, proposed legislation and local ordinances.

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State, Federal Officials Laud Pure Water Monterey Expansion

/in , , /by /Monterey Heraldby Dennis L. Taylor

Standing on a concrete pad that will support a major new water supply for the Monterey Peninsula, state and federal officials on Monday struck celebratory tones in describing government partnerships that will help usher in an expansion of the Pure Water Monterey project.

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California’s Record Winter Storms Could Spawn Disastrous Floods

/in , /by /CalMattersby Dan Walters

The winter of 2022-23 will go into the meteorological record books for one of the heaviest – if not, the heaviest – precipitation ever experienced in California.

California has been buffeted for more than two months by a seemingly nonstop series of storms rolling in from the Pacific, soaking virtually every corner of the state. Their most unusual aspect has been the huge snowfall in Southern California mountains, where hundreds of people remain trapped in resort communities.

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Rockies’ Snowy Winter May Not Mean Enough Runoff to Replenish the Colorado

/in , /by /Cronkite Newsby Alex Hager

Recent data show a snowy start to 2023 for the Colorado River basin, with heavy winter precipitation in the Rocky Mountains projected to boost spring spring runoff into Lake Powell to 117% of an average year’s flows.

But scientists say that while this winter’s snow may provide a temporary boost to major reservoirs, it will not provide enough water to fix the Southwest’s long-term supply-demand imbalance, as the beleaguered river continues to grapple with climate change and steady demand.

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California’s Snowpack Shows Huge Gains from Recent Storms

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

The snow water equivalent of California’s snowpack is 190% of average for March 3, 2023. After three years of drought, the bountiful winter is good news, but a drier future demands more conservation and innovative solutions for water supply in the Southwestern U.S.

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