A new study finds that the upper Colorado River basin is drying out due to climate change. This means in the future, parts of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming could more closely resemble Arizona and the desert Southwest.
Research from the Los Alamos National Laboratory predicts that mountain snow will start melting and running into streams and reservoirs much earlier.
Gary Biggs’ family hasn’t had water coming out of their private well for over a decade, after a multi-year drought and overpumping by agriculture and industry.
Now, the eight-acre farm in West Goshen, California, which Biggs passed down to his son, Ryan, in the 1970s, is parched and fallow. His son and granddaughter carry in water from sources to drink and shower. They go to town to wash their clothes, Biggs says.
As the state continues to grapple with drought conditions, water restrictions are being placed on six million residents in Southern California. The latest restrictions are another reminder that the California Coastal Commission’s recent rejection of the Orange County desalination plant, after 24 years of delay, reinforces the state’s position as a laggard in adopting technology that could provide water security. While arid coastal countries worldwide are implementing desalination, the most obvious solution to water scarcity, the Coastal Commission unanimously voted against the Huntington Beach project.
Millions of residents of southern California are now limited to one day a week of outdoor irrigation, just like a huge chunk of northern Utah.
The restrictions in play are the result of the worst drought in the western United States in 12 centuries, the severity of which was reported in a scientific journal earlier this year.
After decades of fighting farmers in court over how much water they can take out of California’s rivers and streams, some state lawmakers want to try something different: use taxpayer money to buy out farmers.
A proposal in the state Senate would spend up to $1.5 billion to buy “senior water rights” that allow farmers to take as much water as needed from the state’s rivers and streams to grow their crops.
On mornings that are chilly by Los Angeles standards, Camilo Loza sometimes takes a hot shower before heading to the gym.
After a workout on the Stairmaster, Loza bikes home to Windsor Hills and showers again. And a few nights a week, Loza takes a third shower after getting home from work.
Nestled along the Central Coast, Cambria is a picturesque town famous for its vintage clothing and antique shops, its one-of-a-kind olallieberry pies, its scarecrow festival in the fall and its Disneyesque Christmas market and light display in December. Located right off of Highway 1 and 73 miles south of Big Sur, it’s a popular stop for those driving on the Pacific Coast Highway.
Even in late May, when T-shirts take over and thermostats hit a balmy 70 degrees, patches of snow cling to the top of Mount Spokane.
Snow persists on many Pacific Northwest mountains well into summer. It acts as a natural reservoir, melting as the weather warms and watering the thirsty low country when rains are few and far between.
In some of the world’s driest places, atmospheric moisture is a major source of water for native ecosystems. Some algae, plants and insects in the Israeli and Namibian deserts get much of their water from fog, dew and humidity. The spines of some cacti species have evolved to collect fog droplets. California’s redwood forests derive a significant amount of their moisture from fog.
Tucked into the Santa Monica Mountains, the average home here goes for around $1.8 million, the gardens are bursting with pansies fit for rainy England, and hefty fines have done little to restrain many homeowners from squandering water in a time of drought.
This week came a measure of last resort. The local water agency began choking the taps of the worst offenders, limiting the water flow of those who flouted water conservation rules, paid the fines, and kept on flouting. Their showers will henceforth slow to a trickle. Sprinklers will be rendered unusable. Good luck refilling the pool. Or the koi pond.
