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Lake Oroville at Lowest Levels Since 1977

/in , , /by /Chico Enterprise-Recordby Riley Blake

Lake Oroville reached the lowest levels since September 1977, measuring 643.5 feet above sea level at 10 a.m. Tuesday. For comparison, when Lake Oroville is full, the surface water level is 900 feet above sea level.

Increasing issues are arising from the low levels being seen at Lake Oroville. Water operations manager for the Department of Water Resources State Water Project Molly White said last week in an email that due to the falling lake levels, the Edward Hyatt Power Plant may be forced to close down for the first time in its history due to low lake elevation.

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States Are Considering Paying People to Keep Their Water in the Colorado River. Some Don’t Think They Can Afford It

/in , , /by /Colorado Public Radioby Michael Elizabeth Sakas

More than 40 million people rely on the Colorado River in the West, and every drop of it is used. But with climate change, there’s now less water to go around. To try and avoid a multi-state legal battle over this precious resource, Colorado and other states are considering paying people to keep more water in the river.

In southwest Gunnison County, farmers and ranchers rely on water that would otherwise end up in the Colorado River. Drought has plagued the area for more than 20 years, so the resource is now more valuable than ever.

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Roseville Announces 20% Mandatory Water Cut Amid Worsening Drought. What You Need to Know

/in , , /by /Sacramento Beeby Molly Sullivan

Roseville residents will be required to reduce water use by 20% beginning Monday, Roseville officials announced Tuesday.

The reduction, which began as a voluntary measure months ago, is now mandatory for all residents and builds on the 10% cut that was announced in May. The new measure to conserve water “recognizes that the water supply outlook worsens at Folsom Lake and throughout California,” city officials said in a news release.

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California Water: 10 Charts and Maps That Explain the State’s Historic Drought

/in , , /by /Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

A historic drought is spreading across California and much of the American West. How bad is it? Which places are most affected? What does it mean for our water supply and wildfire risk?

These 10 maps and charts tell the story.

Over the past two years, rain and snow totals in Northern California, Nevada, Utah and other parts of the West have been less than 50% of average. As this map from the Western Regional Climate Center in Reno shows, the drought is severe and widespread.

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Facing ‘Dire Water Shortages,’ California Bans Delta Pumping

/in , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

In an aggressive move to address “immediate and dire water shortages,” California’s water board today unanimously approved emergency regulations to temporarily stop thousands of farmers, landowners and others from diverting water from from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed.

The new regulations — the first to take such widespread action for the massive Delta watershed stretching from Fresno to the border with Oregon — could lead to formal curtailment orders for about 5,700 water rights holders as soon as Aug. 16. The decision comes on the heels of curtailment orders issued to nearly 900 water users along the drought-stricken Russian River, with 222 more expected next week.

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Researchers Study Impact of California Drought, Wildfires

/in , /by /The Daily Californianby Zachary Khouri

As California grapples with the effects of an ongoing drought, UC Berkeley researchers are studying changes in the magnitude of streamflows and drought-induced tree mortality in order to advise climate change policy.

Laurel Larsen, campus associate professor in the department of geography, is the lead scientist of the Delta Stewardship Council and provides data that informs the council’s decisions on water management in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

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Funds for Pumped Storage Hydro Expected to Help Propel California’s Clean Energy Future

/in , , /by /NHA Powerhouseby Cameron Schilling Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Employees working at the San Diego County Water Authority and the City of San Diego likely won’t be taking much of an August vacation. Instead, many of them will be gearing up for preliminary studies, environmental reviews, and licensing activities for the proposed San Vicente Energy Storage Facility.

That’s because the facility – being proposed in partnership by the city and the Water Authority – received a shot in the arm in July 2021, when California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the state budget into law. Specifically, the budget includes $18 million in funding – enough to advance the project through initial design, environmental reviews, and the federal licensing process.

The proposed 500-MW project would be located outside of San Diego. It is designed to be closed loop or “off-river,” which means the facility will have few environmental impacts to the local area.

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State Water Officials Preparing to Make Emergency Cutbacks to Growers and Ranchers

/in , , /by /CBS Sacramentoby James Taylor

As California’s drought worsens, state water officials are preparing to take emergency action to conserve.

The state water board is voting later this morning on new water restrictions that could impact thousands of farmers. If passed, the emergency regulations would restrict anyone from diverting water out of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and their tributaries.

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State Cuts Off Hundreds of Russian River Growers, Ranchers and Others in Drastic Bid to Save Water

/in , , /by /The Press Democratby Mary Callahan

A day long dreaded by hundreds of ranchers, grape growers, farmers, water providers and towns arrived Monday as the state ordered them to stop diverting water from the Russian River watershed or be fined $1,000 a day.

State regulators issued orders effective Tuesday prohibiting about 1,500 water rights holders in the upper river — including the cities of Cloverdale and Healdsburg — from diverting water in an effort to preserve rapidly diminishing supplies in Lake Mendocino.

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A Drought Like No Other, NOAA Scientist Says

/in , , /by /Capital Pressby Don Jenkins

The West has been so dry and so hot for so long that its current drought has no modern precedent, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorologist.

For the first time in 122 years of record-keeping, drought covers almost the entire Western U.S. as measured by the Palmer Drought Severity Index, said Richard Heim, a drought historian and an author of the U.S. Drought Monitor.

“It’s a very simple ‘yes,’ in terms of this drought being unprecedented,” Heim said.

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