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Feds Propose Protections for California’s Longfin Smelt

/in , , /by /E&E Newsby Michael Doyle

The Fish and Wildlife Service proposed Endangered Species Act protections Thursday for a crucial population of the longfin smelt, an unassuming California fish that has pit farmers against environmentalists and could end up redirecting the future course of the state’s water.

Reversing earlier calls made during both the Obama and Trump administrations, FWS said the San Francisco Bay-Delta distinct population segment of longfin smelt should be added to the list of endangered species.

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Can California Help Drought-Stricken Farmworkers Following Gavin Newsom’s Recent Veto?

/in , /by /The Fresno Beeby Melissa Montalvo

A Central Valley lawmaker says she’s committed to supporting farmworkers who risk losing income during the drought – but state and labor groups are at odds on the best approach.

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More Water Restrictions Likely as California Pledges to Cut Use of Colorado River Supply

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

With the Colorado River in crisis and reservoir levels continuing to decline, California water agencies that depend on the river are planning to significantly reduce their use of water from the river starting next year. As a result, officials with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California said they plan to endorse mandatory conservation measures next year to begin rationing water for cities and local agencies that supply 19 million people across six counties.

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California Offers to Reduce Imports of Colorado River Water

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

Facing demands from the federal government, California water agencies offered today to cut back the amount of water they import from the Colorado River starting in 2023.

After months of negotiations, water agencies wrote to federal agencies today offering to reduce California’s water use by 400,000 acre-feet every year through 2026. That amounts to 9% of the river’s water that California is entitled to under its senior rights.

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Snow Loss is Fueling the West’s Megadrought

/in , , /by /Gristby Jesse Nichols

Lake Mead is America’s largest reservoir, supplying water for 25 million people across the southwest. It’s also drying up — a kind of poster child for the ongoing drought in the West. But upstream, a much larger but lesser known source of stored water is also disappearing: mountain snow.

This is how climate change is throwing one of the United States’ most critical sources of water out of whack.

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Upper Basin Officials See California Proposal to Conserve Colorado River Water as a Positive Sign — Even if It’s Not Enough

/in , , /by /The Colorado Sunby Chris Outcalt

California water agencies that use Colorado River water indicated Wednesday they’d be willing to cut 400,000 acre-feet of water use annually starting next year and running through 2025 — a move a top Upper Basin water official cast as a promising development in the negotiations over the future of the river.

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Climate Change Made Summer Drought 20 Times More Likely

/in , /by /AP Newsby Drew Costley

Drought that stretched across three continents this summer — drying out large parts of Europe, the United States and China — was made 20 times more likely by climate change, according to a new study.

Drought dried up major rivers, destroyed crops, sparked wildfire, threatened aquatic species and led to water restrictions in Europe. It struck places already plagued by drying in the U.S., like the West, but also places where drought is more rare, like the Northeast. China also just had its driest summer in 60 years, leaving its famous Yangtze river half its normal width.

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Opinion: Legislature Must Remake Water Laws for a Drier California

/in , /by /CalMattersby Walter “Redgie” Collins and Amanda Cooper

California’s water laws are stuck in the past. The Legislature can—indeed, it must—make the changes to state law necessary to address the 21st century’s complex water challenges.

A recent decision by California’s Sixth District Court of Appeal highlights everything that’s wrong with California water law. The ruling blocks the State Water Resources Control Board’s authority to reduce water deliveries to a group of water districts amid California’s ongoing drought.

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Amid Punishing Drought, California Is Set to Adopt Rules to Reduce Water Leaks. The Process has Lagged

/in , /by /Inside Climate Newsby Emma Foehringer Merchant

Underneath pavement, parks and lawns, a web of pipes carry the water that fuels urban life from the companies that distribute it to the people who consume it. Many Americans never think twice about how much water might be leaking from that system.  And water providers haven’t always been required to contain the leaks.

California Agencies Float Colorado River Water Cuts Proposal

/in , /by /AP Newsby Kathleen Ronayne

California water agencies that rely on the parched Colorado River said Wednesday they can reduce their use by one-tenth starting in 2023 in response to calls for cuts from the federal government.

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