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State’s Curtailment Orders Draw Lawsuits From Modesto-Area Water Users and San Francisco

/in , /by /The Modesto Beeby John Holland

The state’s curtailment of river diversions has drawn lawsuits from eight irrigation districts in and near Stanislaus County, along with San Francisco.

The three filings claim that the State Water Resources Control Board exceeded its authority with the Aug. 20 orders. The plaintiffs also said they did not get enough chance beforehand to make their cases for continued diversions.

One suit was filed Sept. 2 by the Modesto, Turlock, Oakdale and South San Joaquin irrigation districts and San Francisco. It involves the Tuolumne and Stanislaus rivers.

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Water Arrives at Desperately Dry Lower Klamath Wildlife Refuge

/in , /by /The Oregonianby Alex Schwartz

The Bureau of Reclamation began releasing water from the Klamath River to Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge on Sept. 3. Advocates hope it will improve wetland habitat on the refuge for migrating birds this fall. Last week, California Waterfowl Association officially purchased approximately 3,750 acre-feet of water from Agency Ranch in the Wood River Valley, above Upper Klamath Lake, having announced the purchase and fundraising effort this spring. Lower Klamath has been plagued by insufficient wetland habitat due to a lack of deliveries from the Klamath Project for the past 20 years.

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Opinion: Tainted Water and the Tijuana River — A Border Tragedy

/in , /by /Water Education Foundation by Rita Schmidt Sudman

As I walked along the ocean at Imperial Beach enjoying the sun casting shadows on the waves, several families were wading into the water seemingly not noticing the patrolling lifeguard warning them that the water was too polluted for swimming. I wondered if some swimmers heard the warning so many times – often over 200 days a year – that they became immune to the notice. After all, there was no smell and the ocean looked normal.

 

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Desalination Offers Great Promise, Requires Further Research, Panelists Say

/in , , /by /American Society of Civil Engineersby Jay Lund

With much of California and other western U.S. states experiencing significant drought, the need to pursue further advancements in desalination has never been greater. This was a central theme of an Aug. 11 webinar, titled “Discussion on Desalination — Treatments, Research, and the Future,” conducted by the WateReuse Association.

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California Reservoir Levels Continue to Drop. Here’s Why Relief May Be Coming Even Later in the Year.

/in , , /by /ABC10by Monica Woods

Dangerously low water levels at Shasta Lake were captured on drone video by ABC10 reporter John Bartell and photojournalist Tyler Horst on Tuesday.

Shasta Lake is California’s largest reservoir, capable of holding 4,552,000 acre feet of water. Right now, it has 1,186,057 acre feet of water stored. Breaking that down into percentages, the reservoir is at 26% capacity and 42% of average for this date.

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New Projects On Colorado River Keep Coming Despite Water Shortage

/in , , /by /KJZZby Ron Dungan

The Bureau of Reclamation recently declared a water shortage on the Colorado River, but that hasn’t stopped states from proposing new water projects.

Just about every drop on the Colorado River is accounted for. But climate change has reduced the amount of water in the system.

Gary Wockner is with Save the Colorado, a conservation group that is tracking new projects.

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California Drought: Santa Clara County Residents Failing to Meet Water Conservation Goals

/in , , /by /Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

On June 9, as California’s historic drought deepened, the largest water agency in Santa Clara County declared a drought emergency and asked the county’s 2 million residents to cut water use by 15% from 2019 levels to preserve dwindling supplies.

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‘Deadbeat Dams’ and Their Impact on Cold-Water Ecosystems

/in , , /by /High Country Newsby Theo Whitcomb

As drought-stricken California considers constructing new dams, a new study finds that many of the state’s existing structures— despite efforts to prioritize healthy water temperatures— are failing the cold-water ecosystems that depend on them.

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San Francisco, Agriculture Suppliers Want Their Water, Sue State Over Drought Restrictions

/in , , /by /The San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

San Francisco, along with a handful of Central Valley irrigation districts, is suing the state for enacting drought restrictions that are keeping thousands of landowners and suppliers from drawing water from rivers and creeks.

San Francisco, along with a handful of Central Valley irrigation districts, is suing the state for enacting drought restrictions that are keeping thousands of landowners and suppliers from drawing water from rivers and creeks.

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A Test for California’s Groundwater Regulations in the Megadrought

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Stephanie Osler Hastings

Record dry conditions once again in the West have led the federal and state governments to declare water supply shortages. California’s governor has declared that 50 counties, in which approximately 41% of the state’s population exists, are now under a drought state of emergency. This prompted the adoption of emergency regulations ordering water rights holders to curtail their water diversions on numerous northern California rivers.

The state and federal water projects, which together deliver water to approximately 30 million Californians and more than one-third of the state’s agricultural farmland, have reduced deliveries to 5% or less. As a result, agricultural, urban, and environmental water users are being forced to cut back with “devastating impacts on our communities, businesses and ecosystems.”

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