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Western States Ponder Regional Grid as Renewables Grow

/in , /by /Energywireby Jason Plautz

As temperatures on the West Coast soared into the triple digits in early September, power demand threatened to reach record levels — and utilities braced for grid problems. The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) warned of potential blackouts. Idaho Power Co., already hobbled by a pair of generator outages, prepared to cut power to some customers in Boise. Utilities in the desert Southwest expected surging demand to strain their grids.

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Snowpack Off to a Good Start Across Colorado River Basin

/in , , /by /KNAU Arizona Public Radioby Alex Hager

About 60% percent of the Colorado River starts as snow in Colorado. That’s a water lifeline for more than 40 million people from Wyoming to Mexico. This year’s snowpack is off to a good start, but the basin would need years of back-to-back wet conditions to help erase drought.

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As the Colorado River is Stretched Thin by Drought, Can the 100-Year-Old Rules That Divide It Still Work?

/in , , /by /The Arizona Republicby Brandon Loomis

Cowboy Michael Klaren heaved hay bales onto his wagon, climbed aboard and urged his two workhorses to drag it across a meadow, the ground spongy with the meltwater from a snowstorm. Wet boots had raised his spirits on this March morning, as had two wet cow dogs he called Woodrow and Gus. The meadow was off to a more promising head start on spring than he had come to expect after years of drought.

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The World’s Largest Dam Removal Will Touch Many Lives in the Klamath River Basin

/in , , /by /Jefferson Public Radioby Cassandra Profita

The four-dam teardown brings hope and uncertainty to residents in an area of Southern Oregon and Northern California where drought has made water a source of fierce controversy. Looking down at a pool filled with Klamath River salmon swimming back to their spawning grounds, Karuk Tribal Councilor Aaron “Troy” Hockaday says he can’t wait to see what the future holds for them.

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San Joaquin Valley Residents, Growers Vying for Water in Fourth Year of Drought

/in , , /by /Courthouse News Serviceby Natalie Hanson

Noemi Barrera has spent four months without running water for herself and her four children and is among many people in California living without it as wells across the state run dry. Like most in the 184-person agricultural community of Tooleville, nestled by the Tulare County foothills, Barrera can hear the county’s water truck arriving down the street to bring five-gallon jug rations every other week.

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Coastal Commission Approves Cal Am’s Desal Plant in Marina, but Many Hurdles Remain.

/in , /by /Monterey County Weeklyby David Schmalz

After more than a decade in the trying, a major desalination plant to serve the Monterey Peninsula has cleared a significant hurdle—in theory, at least. In a 13-hour meeting that adjourned just after 10pm on Thursday, Nov. 17, the California Coastal Commission approved a conditional coastal development permit for California American Water, the private water utility that serves the greater Monterey Peninsula, to build a desalination project in neighboring Marina, a city whose residents are vehemently opposed to it, and who would not be served by it.

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Utahns Are Often Knocked as the Most Wasteful Water Users in the U.S. Are the Numbers Misleading?

/in , /by /The Salt Lake Tribuneby Leia Larsen

Utah is often ribbed and, at times, outright rebuked for the amount of water its residents use. But some of the state’s resources managers claim the data used to make comparisons across states is flawed and unfair, making Utahns’ water habits look much worse than they really are.

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Another California Desalination Plant Approved — the Most Contentious One Yet

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

The California Coastal Commission tonight approved another desalination plant, despite citing its high costs, risks to Monterey Bay’s environment and “the most significant environmental justice issues” the commission has faced in recent years. The commission’s divided, 8-to-2 vote came after 13 hours of debate at a Salinas public hearing packed with several hundred people, plus more crammed into overflow space. Many of the 375 who signed up to speak opposed the project — some in tears.

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California Winter Looking Like Repeat of 2021 — Dry and Drought-Plagued

/in , , /by /Courthouse News Serviceby Natalie Hanson

As California enters a fourth year of drought, experts warn a likely drier-than-average winter means little relief for much of California and Nevada. Nearly 41% of California and 43% of Nevada is in extreme drought, according to the latest California-Nevada Adaptation Program report prepared by program manager Julie Kalansky.

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Western US Cities to Remove Decorative Grass Amid Drought

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Sam Metz and Kathleen Ronayne

A group of 30 agencies that supply water to homes and businesses throughout the western United States has pledged to rip up lots of decorative grass to help keep water in the over-tapped Colorado River. The agreement signed Tuesday by water agencies in Southern California, Phoenix and Salt Lake City and elsewhere illustrates an accelerating shift in the American West away from well-manicured grass that has long been a totem of suburban life, having taken root alongside streets, around fountains and between office park walkways.

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