You are now in California and the U.S. Home Headline Media Coverage category.

Lake Powell Water Crisis Is About to Be an Energy Crisis

/in , , /by /Gristby Jake Bittle

Stretching for 186 miles along the border of Utah and Arizona, Lake Powell serves as one of two major reservoirs that anchor the Colorado River. Last week, the lake reached a disturbing new milestone: water levels fell to their lowest threshold ever, since the lake was created by the damming of the Colorado in 1963.

The precipitous drop is the result of the decades-long drought in the American West that has ravaged the Colorado River for years, forcing unprecedented water cuts in states like Arizona.

Full Story

Fifty Percent of U.S. Waterways Impaired by Pollution: Report

/in , /by /The Hillby Sharon Udasin

A half century after the passage of the federal Clean Water Act, 50 percent of U.S. river and stream miles are so polluted that they are classified as “impaired,” a new report has found.

Not only are 50 percent of these waterways impaired, but so too are 55 percent of lakes, ponds and reservoirs and 25 percent of bays, estuaries and harbors — meaning that none of these resources are suitable for public uses, according to the report.

Full Story

Opinion: California’s Drought Response Isn’t Working. It’s Time to Order Cuts in Water Use.

/in , /by /Los Angeles Times

California is in year three of a worsening drought and the situation is growing dire. After a wet and snowy December, California experienced its driest January and February on record. More than 93% of the state is now suffering “severe” or “extreme” drought, compared with 66% last month, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Sierra Nevada snowpack has dropped to 55% of normal for this time of year and reservoirs are depleted.

Gov. Gavin Newsom in July called for Californians to voluntarily reduce water use by 15% compared with 2020 levels, but the state has cut back by only about 6.5%. In January, urban water use increased by 2.6%, compared with the same month in 2020, heading in the wrong direction even as the drought deepens.

Full Story

Only 8 of 20 Critical GSA Plans Approved

/in , , /by /Western FarmPressby Tim Hearden

Only eight of the 20 California watersheds most critically affected by subsidence have had their groundwater sustainability plans approved by state water officials, according to recent testimony before a state board.

The other 12 – most of which are in the San Joaquin Valley – had their plans marked “incomplete” by state water regulators and face a July deadline to fix their deficiencies, said Paul Gosselin, who oversees the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act office for the state Department of Water Resources.

Full Story

State Water Project Declines Highlight Drought’s Severity

/in , , /by /Water News Network Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

“Today’s announcement about reduced allocations from the State Water Project brings into focus the increasing challenges created by the megadrought. This is an emergency felt throughout the state and we strongly support continued conservation.”

Full Story

CAISO Approves Nearly $3B of Transmission Projects to Prepare for California’s Clean Energy Goals

/in , , /by /Utility Diveby Kavya Balaraman

The California Independent System Operator approved a transmission plan Thursday that includes 23 projects, estimated to cost nearly $3 billion, to cope with the dramatic increase in renewable generation and forecasted load growth in its footprint.

Full Story

Farmers Key to Renewable Energy Future

/in , /by /Imperial Valley Pressby Christine Souza / California Farm Bureau Federation

California is progressing toward its goal of achieving 100% renewable and carbon-neutral electricity by 2045, and agriculture may be an integral part of the solution.

Farmers statewide have invested in renewable-energy technologies near vineyards, row-crop farms and atop walnut dryers. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 8% of California farms have an on-site renewable-energy system.

Aaron Barcellos, who farms row crops and trees in Merced and Fresno counties, took advantage of federal tax incentives and invested in constructing two solar systems that total 1.4 megawatts to offset the farm’s energy usage.

Full Story

Calif. to Zero Out Water Supplies Again Amid Dry Winter

/in , , /by /The Sunby Reid Stone

For the second time in a single water season, California water officials are preparing to zero out water deliveries to Valley farmers reliant on the State Water Project.

During a Tuesday meeting of California’s State Water Resources Control Board, Department of Water Resources director Karla Nemeth announced her agency would be enacting the cuts on water contractors and preserving resources for health and safety needs only.

Brad Hooker of Agri-Pulse first reported the news.

Full Story

Spring Outlook: Drought to Expand Amid Warmer Conditions

/in , , /by /NOAA-NWS Climate Prediction Center / California DWR

NOAA issued its U.S. Spring Outlook today and for the second year in a row, forecasters predict prolonged, persistent drought in the West where below-average precipitation is most likely. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center — part of the National Weather Service — is also forecasting above-average temperatures for most of the U.S. from the Desert Southwest to the East Coast and north through the Midwest to the Canadian border from April to June.

Full Story

Opinion: This Megadrought’s Dry Years to Come

/in , , /by /The Sun

Reading the tree rings from Montana to northern Mexico, from Pacific beaches to the Colorado Rockies, a team of scientists led by a UCLA researcher has shown that the current long-term drought in the West is the most severe in 1,200 years.

It’s not just a dry spell — it’s a megadrought.

The rigorous study, aided by NASA, shows all that talk you have heard most of your life, about how the lack of rain in these parts is normal, and about how “we live in a desert anyway” — we don’t; we live in a rare Mediterranean climate — is nonsense.

Full Story