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Colorado River Water Managers “Wait With Bated Breath” for Federal Management Plan Due This Week

/in , /by /Colorado Sunby Shannon Mullane

Max Wilson, like water managers around the Colorado River Basin, spent Monday waiting for a new federal report outlining the river’s future — and future water cuts.

He watched the federal website where the report would be published, which appeared to be temporarily down. He sat in the city’s ninth-floor water office, talking about how Phoenix has prepared for this moment, while looking out on the Arizona Capitol and the sprawling metropolis below.

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This Small Sierra Meadow Helps Supply California’s Drinking Water. Crews Are Bringing It Back to Life.

/in , /by /Active NorCal

Mountain meadows cover a sliver of the Sierra Nevada, but they do outsized work for the rest of California. Crews are proving that this summer at Pickel Meadow, just north of Yosemite, where a restoration project is reshaping 3 miles of the West Walker River and its floodplains.

The trouble traces back 20 years, when Caltrans built a berm after a nearby landslide. The structure squeezed the river into a narrow channel that carved deep banks, cut water off from the floodplain and left much of the meadow dry. Removing it is the centerpiece of the work.

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As Temperatures Soar, Local Wildlife Searches for Water and Shade

/in , /by /CBS 8by Shawn Styles

As the heat wave continues, people are flocking to beaches and pools to cool off. As for wildlife, it’s a different story.

“They are feeling the heat just as much as we are,” said Ben Martin, wildlife supervisor for Project Wildlife at the San Diego Humane Society. “They are looking for sources of water to drink.”

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Colorado River Shortages Threaten California Farms, Raising Food Price Concerns

/in , /by /CBS 19

Declining Colorado River supplies could force water cuts for Western farmers, potentially driving up food prices nationwide.

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U.S. Bureau of Reclamation To Decide Colorado River’s Future Amid Standoff Between States

/in , /by /12 News Phoenixby William Pitts

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is expected to make a final decision about the future of the Colorado River and how the Western States will divide the water.

Officials are expected to issue a final plan of action on Friday, after the seven Western states that use the river (Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, California and Utah) were unable to come to a new agreement amongst themselves.

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California Lawmakers Return With Major Bills on AI, Water and More

/in , /by /ABC 10 Sacramento

California lawmakers are returning to Sacramento with several major issues expected to dominate the legislative session.

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Colorado River Reservoirs Hit Record Lows As Trump Administration Threatens Major Cuts

/in , /by /CBS Newsby Jonathan Vigliotti

A deepening water crisis in the Western United States has reached an impasse as disagreement among affected states is grinding progress to a halt, and the well of potential solutions is close to running dry.

The nation’s two largest reservoirs — Lake Mead and Lake Powell on the Colorado River — have fallen to their lowest levels on record. It’s a moment of reckoning in the drought-stricken West as seven states can’t agree on how to share the rapidly shrinking water supply.

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Cities Conserve As Colorado River Reservoir Faces ‘Dead Pool’ Crisis

/in , /by /USA Todayby Swasti Singhai

Cities across the Southwest are stepping up conservation efforts amid the growing crisis facing a key Colorado River reservoir straddling the Utah-Arizona border.

While water costs could rise for Southwest residents, according to experts, it is unlikely that changes in the Colorado River will disrupt the availability of drinking water. Still, cities in Arizona, California and New Mexico aren’t taking any chances. Some are recycling wastewater and limiting when people can water their lawns, while others are desalinating ocean water.

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OPINION: California’s Data Center Backlash Is Loud—and Deeply Misplaced

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Tom Philp

More than 100 recent protests across California and the U.S. over data centers represent the same fierce opposition that horse enthusiasts once mounted against Model T cars.

The times eventually change. And so, in the end, do we.

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Data Center Developer Sues for Right To Use Colorado River Water in Thirsty California County

/in , /by /8 News Now Las Vegasby Greg Haas

The developer behind a proposed $10 billion data center has filed a lawsuit asserting his rights to Colorado River water in California’s Imperial Valley.

Sebastian Rucci is a Huntington Beach lawyer and businessman pushing the plan in a region already known as a big water user. The Imperial Valley sprouted as an agricultural center that’s the largest user of Colorado River water in the seven states that rely on the river. Farmers use about 80% of the state’s full allocation.

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