The river that supplies water to about 40 million people is getting worryingly dry. Since the federal government officially declared a water shortage this summer, the Colorado River has been thrust into national headlines, and so have the scientists and decision makers who track and shape its future.
Four projects are being added to a waitlist as well. According to the EPA, as funds become available, $6.7 billion in WIFIA loans will help finance over $15 billion in water infrastructure projects to protect public health and water quality across 24 states.
“Far too many communities still face significant water challenges, making these transformative investments in water infrastructure so crucial,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan in the EPA news release. “The WIFIA invited projects will deliver major benefits like the creation of good-paying jobs and the safeguarding of public health, especially in underserved and under-resourced communities. This program is a shining example of the public health and economic opportunities that will be achieved under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”
Extreme drought in California is forcing drastic measures on the 200,000 residents in Marin County. They have been told to cut their water usage to just 55 gallons a day.
A 10-minute shower uses about 25 gallons. A load of laundry uses 40 gallons of water. A single sprinkler head can spray out 15 gallons per minute.
The new restrictions mean no refilling swimming pools or fountains. Residents can’t wash their car in their driveways, and outdoor irrigation is prohibited.
This is another example that in America — alone in the developed world — when anyone is displeased with decisions made by elected officials they instantly go to court. The result is inevitable whether or not the disgruntled claimants ultimately lose their case. Taxpayers and water users will pay more to fund the litigation and endure cost increases resulting when projects are interminably delayed.
The Kern River cascades from the Sierra Nevada in a steep-sided canyon, coursing through granite boulders, and flows to the northeast side of Bakersfield. There, beside cottonwoods and willows, the last of the river collects in a pool where dragonflies hover and reeds sway in the breeze.
Then the river dies, disappearing into the sand.
Decades ago, the Kern flowed all the way through Bakersfield. But so much water has been appropriated and diverted in canals to farmland that the river has vanished in the city, leaving miles of dry riverbed.
Now, a group of residents is campaigning to bring back a flowing river in Bakersfield.
Californians stepped up their water conservation in October, a move made easier by a massive storm that dumped record rain in some parts of the state but still wasn’t enough to combat the drought.
Collectively, people reduced their water use by 13.2% compared to last October, a major jump from prior months when water conservation lagged. Still, total water usage is down just 6% since July compared to the same period last year, far short of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 15% goal.
As California descends deeper into drought, officials are growing increasingly troubled by dwindling water supplies and the public’s lackluster response to calls for conservation, with residents in recent months falling short of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request for a voluntary 15% reduction in usage.
Now, as the West tips toward crisis, state water regulators are considering adopting emergency regulations that will prohibit certain actions in an attempt to curtail water waste and help conserve supplies.
If approved, the proposal could usher in a wave of water regulations that hearken back to previous droughts while underscoring the seriousness of the current one.
As drought continues to strangle the American West, some small water providers are exploring new technologies to boost their supplies.
The technologies range in size and scope. One involves towing buoys off the coast of California that desalinate water and pipe it ashore. Another can recycle nearly all the water within an apartment building on site.
A federal judge is reviewing a proposed order requesting approval of an interim operations plan for 2022 that would affect Central Valley Project and State Water Project agricultural water users.
U.S. District Court Judge Dale Drozd in Fresno is reviewing legal filings submitted last month by the Biden administration in consultation with the Newsom administration.
We all know we’re in the midst of a terrible drought in California.
And we all know we’ve got an 1,100-mile coastline.
Is desalination the answer to our problems?
No. It comes after water conservation and recycling, and is just one tool among many that might prevent the state from going dry.
