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Lakes Growing Globally as Ice Melts and Reservoirs Expand

/in , /by /Yale Environment 360

Over the last four decades, the area covered by lakes globally has grown by close to 18,000 square miles, an expanse nearly twice the size of Lake Erie. Scientists used satellite imagery and artificial intelligence to map 3.4 million lakes around the world between 1984 and 2019, finding that lake area grew as reservoirs expanded and rising temperatures melted glaciers and permafrost, particularly in Greenland, the Rocky Mountains, and the Tibetan Plateau.

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Nearly 20% of California Water Agencies Could See Shortages if Drought Persists, State Report Shows

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

Most of California’s urban water agencies believe they have enough supplies to last through another seven months of drought, but nearly 20% of them — including many in Southern California — say they could be facing significant shortages, according to a new state report. The California Department of Water Resource’s first annual water supply and demand assessment surveyed the state’s urban water agencies to see how they are managing tight supplies through conservation efforts and improved drought planning.

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Atmospheric River to Bring Precipitation to the U.S. West Coast

/in , , /by /Center for Western Water and Weather Extremes by Scripps Institution of Oceanography

A strong low-pressure system associated with an upper-level shortwave trough will impact much of the US West Coast today through Thursday, with the development of an atmospheric river over Northern California. After the initial AR, a second low-pressure system will develop offshore and travel down the coast, bringing another round of precipitation to the region Friday into Sunday.

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Storm to Bring Widespread Rain to Bay Area Early Thursday, Up to 3 Feet of Snow in Sierra Nevada

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

Boosting what has been a mediocre start so far to the winter season, a storm from the Pacific Northwest is expected to bring widespread rain to the Bay Area early Thursday and blanket the Sierra Nevada with up to 3 feet of new snow. “This is a pretty good event. It’s going to be beneficial across the board,” said Brayden Murdock, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey. “We are excited for this one.”

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Tucson Offers to Leave More CAP Water in the Colorado River

/in , , /by /Arizona Daily Starby Tony Davis

Tucson Water is offering to leave “significant volumes” of its annual Central Arizona Project water supply in the Colorado River for the next three years in return for financial compensation from the federal government. But its letter to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation making that offer didn’t propose a cut to the city’s annual CAP allocation.

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Most California Water Agencies Have Enough Supply to Meet Demand Through June

/in , /by /Spectrum Newsby Susan Carpenter

The majority of California’s urban water suppliers will be able to meet consumer demand through next June, according to a new report from the state’s Department of Water Resources. Released Monday, the agency’s first-ever report on annual water demand and supply found that 338 of 414 urban water suppliers, including those that serve the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, anticipate no annual shortage with continued conservation.

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PPIC Video: Surplus and Shortage — California’s Water Balancing Act

/in , , /by /PPICby Sarah Bardeen Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Sandy Kerl of the San Diego County Water Authority said that investing in reservoir capacity was key after the county suffered a crippling drought in the late ‘80s. “We now have enough storage capacity…to sustain the population at a 75% service level for six months,” she said.

Kerl made the comment during the PPIC Water Policy Center’s annual fall conference in Sacramento on November 18.

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Drying California Lake to Get $250M in US Drought Funding

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Kathleen Ronayne

The federal government said Monday it will spend $250 million over four years on environmental cleanup and restoration work around a drying Southern California lake that’s fed by the depleted Colorado River. The future of the Salton Sea, and who is financially responsible for it, has been a key issue in discussions over how to prevent a crisis in the Colorado River.

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U.S. Warns California Cities to Prepare for Possible Water Cuts and Fourth Year of Drought

/in , , /by /CNBCby Emma Newburger

Federal water managers on Monday warned California cities and industrial users receiving water from the Central Valley Project to prepare for a fourth year of drought and possibly “extremely limited water supply” during 2023.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, an agency of the Interior Department that oversees water resource management, said drought conditions in California have persisted despite early storms this month, and warned of looming water conservation actions.

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Drought-Stricken CA Increasingly Turning to Desalination of Ocean Water

/in , , /by /KCRWby Nihar Patel

The California Coastal Commission recently approved the construction of two more desalination plants, one near Monterrey, and one by Dana Point. This adds to the four already providing drinking water in the state. But in 2020, this same commission advised not to build the Monterey plant. What changed?

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