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Wet Weather to Provide Drought Relief Across West

/in , , /by /AccuWeatherby Jessica Storm

AccuWeather forecasters say the stormy parade of the northwestern United States is starting up again this week as storms are expected to sweep through the region one by one. This can provide drought relief for the Northwest as rain and snow will fall.

“The Gulf of Alaska will become the jumping-off point for numerous Pacific storms that will impact the northwestern United States with rounds of rain, wind and mountain snow throughout this week and right through next weekend and into early May,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Michael LeSeney.

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Reused Grey Water Cuts Water Usage, Saves You Some Green

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Beth Decarbo

Every time you take a shower, brush your teeth or do a load of laundry, you’re letting water — one of Earth’s most precious resources — just swirl down the drain. Instead, what if you reclaimed that water and reused it to flush toilets and water the flowers?

Some municipalities, homebuilders and water-recycling manufacturers are increasingly making that a viable option. In the United States, where the average household uses more than 300 gallons of water a day, one of the greatest untapped resources is grey water.

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Former Central California Water Manager Stole $25 Million in Water Over 23 Years, Prosecutors Say

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Gregory Yee

The former general manager of a Central Valley water district has been charged with stealing more than $25 million worth of water over 23 years, the latest development in a years-long saga of corruption and theft, federal authorities said Thursday.

A federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment against 75-year-old Aptos resident Dennis Falaschi, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of California.

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Drought Jeopardizing California’s $50b Agricultural Sector

/in , , /by /The Hillby Sharon Udasin

California’s farms are the largest food producers in the nation, but ongoing drought conditions are wreaking havoc on this $50 billion sector.

Crop revenue losses, combined with groundwater over-pumping and upstream supply-chain impacts, may have slashed the state’s agricultural revenue as much as $1.7 billion in 2021, according to a new brief published by the Public Policy Institute of California.

Drought conditions last year also contributed to the loss of 14,600 related jobs, amounting to about 3 percent of a sector that employs more than 420,000 people, the authors stated.

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As Drought Hammers Mono Lake, Thirsty Los Angeles Must Look Elsewhere for Water

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Louis Sahagún and Ian James

With a third year of drought shrinking the creeks that cascade down the eastern Sierra Nevada, the level of Mono Lake has fallen so low it has triggered a 72% reduction in the amount of water Los Angeles can divert from area streams this year.

On April 1, Mono Lake’s level measured just under 6,380 feet above sea level — about 1 inch below a threshold set in the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s licenses for diverting alpine runoff from streams that feed the lake east of Yosemite National Park.

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In Drought-Stricken West, Officials Weigh Emergency Actions

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Felicia Fonseca

Federal officials say it may be necessary to reduce water deliveries to users on the Colorado River to prevent the shutdown of a huge dam that supplies hydropower to some 5 million customers across the U.S. West.

Officials had hoped snowmelt would buoy Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah border to ensure its dam could continue to supply power. But snow is already melting, and hotter-than-normal temperatures and prolonged drought are further shrinking the lake.

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Study Maps Financial Risks for Calif.’s Water Resilience Planning

/in , , /by /WaterWorld

A new study warns that the benefits of California’s Water Resilience Portfolio Initiative might not be evenly distributed without proper structure to the agreements.

Partnerships between water utilities, irrigation districts and other stakeholders in California will play a critical role in funding new infrastructure under the Water Resilience Portfolio Initiative announced in 2020 by the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom.

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Does All Snow in the Rockies Turn Into Water for Lake Mead?

/in , , /by /12 Newsby Michael Doudna

Lake Mead mostly relies on snowfall in the Rocky Mountains to refill its water levels.

However, after years of drought and increasing temperatures, is the cycle of snow, runoff, and refill still working?

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‘More Significant Land Fallowing’ Expected This Year with Ongoing Drought

/in , , /by /AgNet Mediaby Brian German

With drought conditions rivaling those experienced in 2015, there are expectations for further agricultural land fallowing this year. As of April 13, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) shows the statewide snowpack at just 23 percent of average. DWR Director Karla Nemeth noted that California’s current water situation has created some difficult circumstances for both rural and urban areas. Water allocations have been drastically curtailed with more action expected in the coming months to affect urban water users as well.

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Western Half of U.S. To See Higher Fire Risk This Spring From Drought

/in , , , /by /The Washington Postby Diana Leonard

Large swaths of the western and central United States are expected to see heightened wildfire risk this spring and summer because of ongoing severe drought and warmer- and drier-than-normal weather in the coming months. Fire danger is already high in some regions as active weather patterns funnel dry winds over drought-stricken landscapes.

That risk is on display this week in the Plains states, where fierce winds are targeting parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado and Nebraska.

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