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

Diverters Reminded to Measure Water Use Under Law

/in , /by /AgAlertby Christine Souza

Data is key to better understanding and managing California’s water supply. However, the state reports a lack of compliance by affected water-rights holders, who are required to report the water they divert.

“Even though we initially opposed the regulation, it is the law, so it is very important that people are in compliance,” said Danny Merkley, California Farm Bureau director of water resources. “It protects our existing water-rights system, which was designed for times of scarcity, like we have now, and it works if we get the data.”

Full Story

What’s ‘Average’? Snowpack Determines Health of Colorado River, and Our Understanding of It Is Changing

/in , /by /Cronkite Newsby Alex Hager

High in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Wyoming, under thin air and bluebird skies, the Colorado River Basin is slowly replenishing its savings account. Craggy peaks become smooth walls of white, and snow piles up against conifer trunks, covering even the deepest, darkest corners of the forest in a glimmering blanket.

Snow that accumulates on the western slope of the Rockies eventually becomes water in the Colorado River. Some of it will flow as far south as Mexico, running through kitchen faucets in cities and suburbs along the way, or watering crops that keep America fed.

Full Story

Opinion: California Must Move Forward With Water Projects

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Bill Diedrich

Prior to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s State of the State speech, there is one item to examine that serves as a building block for all the issues the governor will address – water.

Despite unexpected storms in late 2021, California is braced for another year of drought.

The water we do have must move throughout the state by way of a complicated system of reservoirs, dams, canals, pipes and treatment plants. That movement is managed by an equally complicated network of federal, state and local officials.

Full Story

Lake Mead’s Source: How’s the Snowpack in the Rockies?

/in , , /by /3 News Las Vegasby Jeff Gillan

Most of Lake Mead’s water has been on quite the journey. Much of it was born on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains.

How much snow hits the Rockies tells us how much water will come to Lake Mead.

“After a pretty good start to the season, we were looking pretty close to normal, or even slightly above normal, in a lot of areas at the beginning of January,” says Paul Miller with the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, which watches the snow and the river.

Full Story

Water Board Digs Into Data for Climate Planning

/in , , /by /Agri Pulseby Brad Hooker

The State Water Resources Control Board has come a long way since consolidating offices for pollution control and water rights 50 years ago, according to board chair Joaquin Esquivel. Reinvesting in that water rights system through a data-based approach will be key in the era of climate change, he explained during a presentation for the Northern California Water Association’s annual meeting on Friday.

“Frankly, it feels like we’re in a bit of climate catchup,” added board member Sean Maguire. “We do have a lot of work to do. And it’s really going to take everyone rolling up their sleeves to get this done.”

Full Story

Opinion: Wildfires, Climate Change Put California Forests at Tipping Point

/in , /by /The Mercury Timesby Matt Dias and Julee Malinowski-Ball

The last two years have been California’s most destructive fire seasons. Thirty-six people lost their lives, and more than 14,000 structures were destroyed or damaged. In addition, more than 7.3 million acres burned in California, which is larger than all of Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties combined. To put it simply, California’s forest lands are in crisis.

Full Story

Solar Panel Water Systems Could Be Headed to Central California

/in , , /by /ABC 30by Kassandra Gutierrez

Since 2014, SOURCE Global has been aiming to provide clean drinking water to thousands of people across the world.

 

The company has reached 53 countries. Now, they are looking to help the Central Valley.

 

“I think it is very important to avoid ingesting contaminants like uranium, arsenic and nitrates that are very common in the Central Valley,” says Clara McBane, Senior VP or SOURCE Global.

Full Story

Opinion: Liz Writes Life: California’s Drought Is an Alarming Problem

/in , , /by /The Siskiyou Daily Newsby Liz Bowen

No rain or snow in January and February certainly added to the drought in California. L.A. Times reporter Ian James reported on Feb. 24 that many farmers in the federal Central Valley Project will not receive water from the federal system this year. In mid-February, the federal Bureau of Reclamation announced a zero-water allocation for many irrigation districts that supply farmers throughout the Central Valley. Makes one wonder: Where our food will be grown?

Full Story

Record Growth, Record Heat, Record Drought: How Will Las Vegas Weather the Climate Crisis?

/in , , /by /The Guardianby Gabrielle Canon

Away from the lights and fountains of the Las Vegas Strip, bulldozers are working overtime as the suburbs of Sin City are bursting out of their seams.

Las Vegas is growing at a staggering rate. Clark county, where the city is located, is home to roughly 2.3 million people, but forecasts predict the population could go beyond 4 million by 2055.

Attracted by the lure of cheaper costs of living, lower taxes, and newly built homes, more than half a million people are expected to flock to southern Nevada in just the next 15 years.

Full Story

Pinal County Farmers Are the First to Feel the Pain of Colorado River Cuts

/in , , /by /Fronterasby Anthony J. Wallace

Farming is in 30-year-old Jace Miller’s blood.

“I love my job, it’s the greatest way of life,” Miller said. “It’s the best profession in the world, in my opinion.”

His great great grandfather came to Arizona in 1917 and started a farm in Gilbert. Four generations later, Jace is still doing it. But that 100-year run is at risk of ending — Triple M Farms, named for the three Miller generations that work there today — is losing access to its most important resource: water.

Full Story