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This Summer was California’s Driest on Record in More Than 100 years, Here’s What That Means

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Danielle Escheverria and Yoohjun Jung
In another alarming measure of California’s historic drought, the summer months this year were the state’s driest on record since 1895, when data-gathering for the government’s standard drought index began.
The monthly average dryness for July, August and September 2021 was -6.8 on the Palmer Drought Severity Index, which indicates extreme drought. Anything below -4.0 on the Palmer scale is considered “extreme drought.” A year with normal precipitation would fall between -0.49 and 0.49 on the scale, and an “extremely wet” year would land above 4.0.

 

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Research Seeks Resilience for Aquifers

/in , , /by /AgAlertby Bob Johnson

One day in early October, a group of University of California, Merced, students went to the campus Smart Farm, augurs in hand, to explore the soil for the best spots to locate moisture sensors. They were not looking in the root zone to monitor how much water is available but instead for areas lower in the soil to study how irrigation and stormwater can travel far enough beneath the plants to recharge the groundwater below.

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Biden Pursues Reversal of Rules for Water Projects

/in , , /by /AgAlertby Christine Souza

The struggle over management of water supplied through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta continues as the Biden administration seeks a reversal of rules put in place by agencies under the Trump administration.

Last week, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation sent a letter to federal fisheries agencies and announced it is reinitiating consultation of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service 2019 biological opinions related to the coordinated, long-term operation of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project.

The two water projects are California’s primary water-delivery systems that guide pumping of water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, sending water south to tens of millions of people and to millions of acres of farmland.

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Atmospheric Rivers Are Stable For Now — But Change Is On The Way

/in , , /by /Yale Newsby Jim Shelton

Yale researchers are charting the course of mighty “rivers” in the sky that are holding steady in the face of climate change — for now.

In future decades, however, climate-induced changes to these atmospheric rivers could drastically increase extreme precipitation events in some parts of the world, they report in a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Atmospheric rivers — long, winding filaments of intense water vapor — account for as much as 90% of the moisture sent toward the North and South poles.

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White House Launches Climate Initiatives to Arm Communities Against Floods, Extreme Weather

/in , , /by /The Washington Postby Kasha Patel

The White House announced Tuesday that it would work to revise building standards for flood-prone communities across the country in the face of climate change, while launching tools to make climate information more accessible to the public.

The move is part of the Biden administration’s broader effort to push the United States to reckon with the costs of global warming by factoring in the long-term consequences of decisions being made today.
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Lake Tahoe Water Level Hits Four-Year Low as Drought Pummels Tourist Spot

/in , /by /The Guardianby Dani Anguiano

Lake Tahoe’s water level dropped to a four-year low on Tuesday as gusty winds and the impacts of California’s devastating drought hit the popular tourist destination.

After days of high winds increased evaporation rates, water levels fell to the basin’s natural rim for the first time since 2017, the end of the state’s last drought. The lake normally sits above the rim, which allows for water to flow into the Truckee River. Levels will probably continue to drop, receding below the rim this week, sooner than expected.

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How to Beat the Drought? Inland Empire Water Agency Wants to Make it Rain

/in , , /by /The Press-Enterpriseby Steve Scauzillo

Programs from the drought-busting handbook practiced by Southern California water agencies include recycling water, building storm-water capture basins and offering cash rebates for replacing thirsty lawns with xeriscape landscaping.

With the grip from a second year of drought tightening, a regional water-planning agency in the Inland Empire is moving ahead for the first time in its history with a more controversial program: cloud seeding.

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Are Two More Dry Years Ahead For California?

/in , , /by /The Manteca Bullitenby Dennis Wyatt

Water use in Manteca increased 3 percent overall or 13.6 million gallons last month compared to the depth of the last drought in September of 2017. That’s good news given the city has added more than 8,000 residents since Jan. 1, 2017 for a 10 percent population gain. The bad news it might not be enough. Despite a light dusting of snow Thursday along the high Sierra crest at the upper reaches of the Stanislaus River watershed critical to urban and agricultural users in South San Joaquin County, hydrologists are indicating a number of weather models don’t look promising.

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How Much Is Water Worth? Why A Billionaire-Owned Stake In A California Water Bank Could Be Worth More Than $1 Billion

/in , , /by /Forbesby Michela Tindera and Chloe Sorvino

How much is access to water worth? In this episode, we aim to answer that question by looking at the Kern Water Bank, one of California’s largest underground water storage facilities. From above, it looks a lot like a giant puddle. But underneath it has the capacity to hold the equivalent of roughly 500 of New York City’s Central Park Reservoirs. And, as one expert says, it’s the “absolute jewel” of California water banking.

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‘Extreme Year’: Past 12 Months Among the Driest Ever in California History

/in , , /by /The Union Democratby Guy McCarthy

The current ongoing two-year dry period in California, punctuated by the third-driest water year on record for the Central Sierra, is part of California’s overall arid fate so far in the 21st century, according to the state Department of Water Resources.

The Golden State’s hydrology now increasingly resembles conditions in the Colorado River Basin this century, where multiple, consecutive, drier-than-average years are mixed with an occasional wet year. California’s last wet water year was 2016-2017, the second-wettest on record.

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