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River District Head: California Water Cut Far From What is Needed From That State

/in , , /by /The Daily Sentinel by Dennis Webb

The general manager of the West Slope’s Colorado River District says proposed cuts by California entities in river water use are much less than is needed from that state, and their implication that other states need to step up with similar reductions fails to account for uncompensated, naturally occurring cuts that already impact users in the river’s Upper Basin.

Andy Mueller made his comments in a memo to his district’s board of directors and during the board’s meeting this week.

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Colorado to Reuse Water for Drinking, Creating New Supply

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Brittany Peterson

When Eric Seufert brewed a test batch of beer in 2017 with water from recycled sewage, he wasn’t too concerned about the outcome. The engineering firm that approached him about the test explained the process, and together they sipped samples of recycled water. Seufert quickly understood it wasn’t too different from how water is normally handled.

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Higher Prices for Ketchup and Tomatoes? California’s Drought is Hurting Tomato Farmers

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Chase DiFeliciantonio

No matter if you’re whipping up a cacciatore, amatriciana or a homemade pizza, you’re going to need one thing: tomatoes.

But while most of the tomatoes consumed in the U.S. — fresh, canned, and otherwise — come from California, factors like the ongoing drought, rising fuel prices, and a changing climate are making the fruit harder and more expensive to grow. And that’s prompting some California farmers to consider raising other, hardier crops that require less irrigation.

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Joint Effort to Build Desal Facility Could Help Fight Drought

/in , , /by /The Sentinelby John Lindt

Facing a dry future, Westlands and westside towns like Avenal need each other.

Small western Fresno and Kings County towns like Coalinga, Huron and Avenal are in the same boat as Westlands Water District. They have no potable local water supply but depend on imports from Northern California.

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State Puts $100M Toward Water Conservation

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Review-Journal

More money is coming down the pipeline for Nevada’s efforts to conserve water amid a historic megadrought that has put the pinch on supplies in the Southwest.

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Drought, Fire Risk to Stay High During Third La Niña Winter

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Patrick Whittle

Drought and wildfire risks will remain elevated in the western states while warmer than average temperatures will greet the Southwest, Gulf Coast and East Coast this winter, federal weather officials said Thursday.

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Rio Grande Managers Eye Federal Cash for Western Drought

/in , /by /AP Newsby Suman Naishadham

With several billion dollars in federal money secured for drought-stricken western states, managers and officials on the Rio Grande are hopeful some will reach their communities and bring attention to the challenges facing one of North America’s longest rivers.

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Farmers Brace for Water Cuts to Help River

/in , , /by /AgAlert (California Farm Bureau Federation)by Peter Hecht

As the Colorado River water crisis deepens amid withering drought in the West, Imperial Valley growers with historic rights to water from the river are making calculations on whether to farm or fallow.

This month, the Imperial Irrigation District, which supplies Colorado River water to farmers in America’s largest growing region for winter vegetables, joined other California water agencies in offering to take a dramatic cut in the amount of water they pull from the river.

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Bodies of Water All Over North America are Drying Up Due to Drought, Climate Change: Experts

/in , , /by /ABC Newsby Julia Jacobo

Bodies of water all over North America are drying up as a result of drought and a decrease in precipitation, experts told ABC News.

Earlier this year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that the 22-year megadrought affecting the West would not only intensify but also move eastward.

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Water Managers Bracing for the Worst

/in , , /by /Escalon Timesby Dennis Wyatt

New Melones Reservoir — critical to Escalon farmland, as well as Manteca, Lathrop, and Tracy water supplies — was at 616,704 acre feet on Oct. 6.

That’s less than half the average 1,326,146 acre feet of water storage for the date of Oct. 5.

To put that in perspective, it is 47 percent of the average in storage for the start of a new California water year that officially started on Oct. 1.

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