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How Climate Change Spurs Megadroughts

/in , , , /by /Yale Climate Connectionsby Shannon Osaka

On an afternoon in late June, the San Luis Reservoir – a nine-mile lake about an hour southeast of San Jose, California – shimmered in 102-degree heat. A dusty, winding trail led down into flatlands newly created by the shrinking waterline. Seven deer, including a pair of fawns, grazed on tall grasses that, in wetter times, would have been at least partially underwater. On a distant ridge, wind turbines turned languidly.

That day, the reservoir, California’s sixth-largest and a source of water for millions of people, was just 40% full. Minerals deposited by the receding waters had turned the reservoir’s lower banks white, like the rings on a bathtub. Discarded clothing, empty bottles, and a lone shoe sat scattered across the newly exposed, parched ground. An interactive graphic in the visitor’s center reported that this year’s snowpack – which provides the water that travels from the Sacramento River Delta into the reservoir itself – was zero percent of the yearly average.

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We Built a House of Cards:’ Deal or Not, Colorado River States Stare Down Major Cuts

/in , , /by /The Nevada Independentby Daniel Rothberg

Major Colorado River cuts must be made, one way or another. The only looming questions are when and on what terms, with negotiators scheduled to resume interstate meetings this week.

The Colorado River remains in an unfolding and worsening crisis. Demand far exceeds supply. Long-term drought, worsened by climate change, has meant less water refilling the river’s large reservoirs as water users have continued to overtap them. Lake Mead, outside of Las Vegas, is the grim evidence, where, at 27 percent full, old boats have washed ashore in what can feel like an apocalyptic scene. The math is unavoidable: Without cuts, the reservoir will keep dropping.

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California Lawmakers Urge Justice Department to Investigate ‘Drought Profiteering’ as Water Prices Soar to Historic Highs

/in , /by /Fortuneby Kim Chipman, Mark Chediak and Bloomberg

California lawmakers are ratcheting up calls for “urgent action” by the U.S. Justice Department to investigate potential water crimes as the state battles “dire” supply shortages and drought.

The bipartisan group told U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland that, along with ongoing concern about possible “drought profiteering” and water theft, worry is building that “fraud and market manipulation” is constraining already severely limited water availability.

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Most Californians View State’s Water Shortage as Extremely Serious, Poll Finds

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

Most Californians agree the state’s drought situation is very serious, but only a minority of voters say they and their families have been significantly affected by the current water shortage, according to a new poll.

The survey of more than 9,000 voters statewide found that 71% said the state’s water shortage is “extremely serious,” while 23% described it as somewhat serious.

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As Colorado River Dries, the U.S. Teeters on the Brink of Larger Water Crisis

/in , , /by /ProPublicaby Abrahm Lustgarten

The western United States is, famously, in the grips of its worst megadrought in a millennium. The Colorado River, which supplies water to more than 40 million Americans and supports food production for the rest of the country, is in imminent peril. The levels in the nation’s largest freshwater reservoir, Lake Mead, behind the Hoover Dam and a fulcrum of the Colorado River basin, have dropped to around 25% of capacity.

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Western States Plan Projects as Water Supply Dwindles

/in , , /by /Engineering News-Record by Corinne Grinapol, C.J. Schexnayder, and Pam McFarland

As Mexico and the seven western states that rely on water from the Colorado River Basin struggle to contend with current repercussions of a more than two-decade drought—including federally imposed cuts to water supply in the coming year—they must also plan for a drier future exacerbated by the effects of climate change.

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Water Deliveries Halted to Farmers in Oregon, California

/in , /by /AP News

The Klamath Irrigation District in southern Oregon has reversed course and now says it has complied with a U.S. government order to stop delivering water to farmers in the drought-stricken area.

The district’s directors initially defied the federal government’s order to shut off water to the Klamath Project, but the Klamath Irrigation District has since closed a canal after federal officials threatened to withhold millions in drought assistance, the Capital Press reported Wednesday.

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City Utilities in the Colorado River Basin Want to Conserve More Water. Can That Make a Difference?

/in , /by /KUNCby Alex Hager

Some utilities that draw water from the Colorado River said they will start conserving more in light of the region’s shrinking supply. A group of seven water authorities that serve cities in Colorado, Nevada, and California outlined their plans in a letter to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Wednesday.

Cities in the Colorado River basin often tout their ability to reduce per capita water use, as many have been forced to stretch a finite quantity of water across rapidly growing populations.

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Lake Mead Keeps Rising, Crews Adjust Boat Ramp for Higher Water Level

/in , /by /KTLA-TVby Greg Haas

Workers at Lake Mead on Wednesday did something not seen in many years. They actually raised a boat launch ramp. The ramp at Hemenway Harbor was briefly closed as crews adjusted the pipe mat and dock for account for rising water level.

Bureau of Reclamation officials said Monday that the lake has been rising because of “recent storm events and runoff into the tributaries that enter Lake Mead.”

Other factors include reduced releases from Hoover Dam and a “decrease in downstream demand,” according to the bureau. Officials did not provide additional information on the decreased demand.

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World Water Week 2022: Partnership Video Illustrates Value of Groundwater

/in , , /by /Water News Network

A new video illustrating the role and the value of groundwater has been released by the Vallecitos Water District.

“The Value of Water: Groundwater” was produced for World Water Week 2022 through a collaboration with the Vallecitos Water District, the California Department of Water Resources, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency WaterSense.

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