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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Droughts are here to stay. That’s the warning from Santa Clara Valley Water as we continue to face a severe water shortage and uncertainty with regard to the upcoming winter months.
Rain or not, the message is to expect droughts to be a much more regular part of life, meaning conservation and preparation need to become lifelong habits as well.
California has warned a group of farmers and ranchers near the Oregon state line to stop diverting water from an area already wracked by extreme drought and a wildfire that killed tens of thousands of fish.
The State Water Resources Control Board issued a draft cease-and-desist order Friday to the Shasta Water Assn., warning it to stop taking water from the Shasta River watershed.
Parts of northern Texas, mired in a drought labeled as extreme and exceptional, are flooding under torrential rain. In a drought.
Sound familiar? It should. The Dallas region is just the latest drought-suffering-but-flooded locale during a summer of extreme weather whiplash, likely goosed by human-caused climate change, scientists say. Parts of the world are lurching from drought to deluge.
