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Drought Has Already Cost Close to $2 Billion and 14,000 Jobs, and It’s Likely Not Over Yet

/in , , /by /KVPRby Kerry Klein

A new report estimates that in 2021, drought conditions cost agriculture $1.2 billion and another half a billion dollars in other sectors. The report, written by researchers at both UC Merced and the Public Policy Institute of California,  blames these economic impacts on one of the driest water years on record, which resulted in huge water losses even after tapping into millions of acre feet of groundwater.

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Opinion: Dangerous Game of Chicken on the Colorado River

/in , , /by /The Salt Lake Tribuneby Kyle Roerink

Seven Western states and their leaders — all depending on water from the Colorado River — remain divided.

Split into basins by an imaginary border at Lees Ferry, Arizona, each state can share blame for the rapid depletion of reservoirs that once held over four years’ flow of the Colorado River. But now, Lake Powell and Lake Mead edge closer to empty. With water savings gone, the Lower Basin has been trying to cope, though the Upper Basin carries on business as usual. Meanwhile, 40 millions Americans depend on flows from this over-diverted river.

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Governor Increases Funding for Drought Emergency

/in , , /by /Paso Robles Daily News

After California recorded its driest January and February in more than 100 years of records in the Sierra Nevada, Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration announced this week that it is spending an additional $22.5 million to respond to the immediate drought emergency.

The additional $22.5 million allocation includes more funding for the Department of Water Resources, State Water Resources Control Board, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

More than a third of the money – $8.25 million – will be used to increase outreach efforts to educate Californians on water conservation measures and practices.

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Opinion: For California, Drought is the New Normal

/in , , , /by /The Press Democrat

Rain came early last fall, but whatever hope blossomed for a better than normal — or even average — year is gone. There is no March miracle in the forecast, and summers are dry in California, so mandatory water conservation isn’t going away any time soon.

“We had a great start to the beginning of the wet season … and we have basically flatlined since then,” Jeanine Jones of the California Department of Water Resources said during a virtual town hall meeting on Thursday that Sonoma Water billed as “a huge reality check.”

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Cash for Grass: Colorado Bill Would Pay to Abandon Lawns

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Conrad Swanson

Facing a historic megadrought all across the American West with no end in sight, Colorado lawmakers, looking for easy and effective ways to conserve water, set their sights on Kentucky Blue Grass.

Not just Kentucky Blue Grass but all kinds of non-native grasses planted in front lawns, back lawns, green strips fronting businesses and apartment complexes. Those lawns take up about half the water used in Colorado’s cities.

“There’s not any more water out there and what water is out there is becoming really expensive,” John Berggren, a water policy analyst with Western Resource Advocates, said. “So let’s look at how we’re using it now.”

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Opinion: Farms, Fish and the Future: State Water Board Must Balance the Needs of All Californians

/in , , /by /The Fresno Beeby Mike Wade

On Wednesday, March 16 the State Water Resources Control Board will meet to discuss Sacramento River temperature management and its impact on salmon for 2022 and beyond.

Salmon, salmon fishermen, and all Californians, are struggling with drought impacts. And as we work toward long-term solutions, that doesn’t make this year easier for anyone.

However, it is important to maintain balance between all water users and observe the California Water Code, which requires “reasonable” decisions among competing water uses. And while some may want to define “reasonable” solely on the basis of an amount of water allocated to each user, it’s clearly not that simple.

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Between a Rock and a Dry Place: Effects of Drought on Stream Drying Patterns in California’s Intermittent Streams

/in , , /by /California WaterBlogby Hana Moidu, Mariska Obedzinski, Stephanie Carlson, and Ted Grantham

You may have heard the saying from the Ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, “No man steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man.” If you walk along a coastal stream in California at the end of the summer, you will understand the dynamic nature of these systems. In a wet year, such as 2017, you might find a stream that is fully connected with flowing water. But in a dry year, like 2021, you might walk miles of dry stream channel before discovering an isolated pool. Many of California’s streams naturally become intermittent at some point in the dry season. However, when and where stream channels go dry is highly variable year-to-year and difficult to predict (van Meerveld et al., 2020).

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Opinion: With Another Drought, Water Conservation and Reclamation Projects Are Vital

/in , , /by /Santa Cruz Sentinel

On the day we spring forward, actual springtime is only a week or so off. And with it, the chances of winter-like storms drift away like spring blossoms on flowering trees.

Except we haven’t had any winter storms since December, thereby missing out on any appreciable rainfall for more almost three months, which historically are three of the four wettest months.

And that’s a problem for Santa Cruz County and for California.

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Opinion: Amid growing water shortages, Colorado’s agricultural scene must change

/in , /by /The Colorado Sunby Trish Zornio

Two weeks ago, experts predicted that Lake Powell — the second-largest man-made reservoir in the nation — will soon drop below critical water levels. With over three million people in danger of losing hydropower, it’s yet another bleak reminder that the Colorado River is drying up.

The Colorado River, which flows into Lake Powell on the Arizona and Utah border, originates at 10,184 feet above sea level on La Poudre Pass in the southern Rocky Mountains. In total, 40 million people gain water access from the river, and countless farms are irrigated along the way.

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Size of Drought in US Increased by the Area of California in the Past Month

/in , , /by /CBS Sacramento 13

The West is far from the only region experiencing remarkably dry weather so far this year. According to Thursday’s report from the US Drought Monitor, more than 61% of the contiguous US is in some classification of drought. It is the largest portion of the country in a state of drought since 2012, the year when the continental US saw an all-time record of 65% during September.

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