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In a world of record droughts and surging demand for reliable water resources, decision-makers need speed, scale, and smarts. Here’s how one unique collaboration is delivering all three.

With HydroForecast, Upstream Tech provides accurate inflow predictions for virtually any point on Earth without the need for local calibration, manual tuning, or historical datasets. Built on machine learning and remote sensing, the model updates continuously and performs with proven accuracy even in ungauged or data-scarce regions.

A new report from Colorado River researchers found water levels at the nation’s two largest reservoirs are dropping fast and on track for dire consequences. The authors are calling on policymakers to move with urgency and protect Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Negotiators are locked in talks about the future of those reservoirs after 2026, when the current rules for managing water there expire.

But the authors of this report say a dry year could bring levels so low, the reservoirs stop working before any new rules go into effect.

Adding new snowpack monitoring stations at strategic locations would be better at predicting water supply in the western U.S. than basin-wide mapping — and it would be less expensive — according to a new study.

“Measuring snow in the right places can benefit forecasts more than measuring it everywhere,” said lead author Mark Raleigh, an Oregon State University snow hydrologist.

 

 

California’s water system is considered to be one of the most complex in the world. Thousands of miles of canals snake through Central California’s agricultural fields, transporting water from the state’s intricate network of dams and reservoirs to feed the thirsty almonds, strawberries and grapes (among other crops) that cover sprawling fields. Most Californians only glance at this system from a passing highway, remarking at its many miles of efficient uniformity. But soon, these waterways may start to look a little different.

Near Hickman, California, just outside Modesto, a 110-foot-wide grid of solar panels now tops a section of canal, arching over the gently flowing water. Solar projects have long been a crucial piece of the state’s movement to clean energy, and these panels are part of a new project that’s hoping to do far more than just generate electricity. Dubbed Project Nexus, the $20 million state-funded initiative hopes to better understand whether these installations can be an even more efficient approach to solar energy.