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The West is the Driest it’s Been in 1,200 Years – Raising Questions About a Livable Future

/in , , /by /KSBW8by Ben Kesslen

Trees are dying. Riverbeds are empty. Lake Mead’s water level dropped to its lowest point in history, and Utah’s governor asked residents to pray for rain. Water is increasingly scarce in the Western U.S. — where 72 percent of the region is in “severe” drought, 26 percent is in exceptional drought, and populations are booming. Insufficient monsoon rains last summer and low snowpacks over the winter left states like Arizona, Utah and Nevada without the typical amount of water they need, and forecasts for the rainy summer season don’t show promise.

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Curtailment Orders Coming Soon For Wine Country

/in , , /by /Agri-Pulseby Brad Hooker

The State Water Board on Tuesday will consider emergency regulations to address severe shortages in the Russian River watershed. The actions are designed to protect drinking water through 2022 for junior rights holders in the Northern California region.

If the Lake Mendocino storage level falls below 29,000 acre-feet by July 1, the first curtailment orders under the regulations would go into effect. More orders would follow every two weeks if the level continues to decline. The lake level is currently at 34,000 acre-feet, with triple-digit temperatures this week likely to evaporate some of that water. The regulations also include curtailment orders for Sonoma County along the lower watershed.

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Clock is Ticking On Dreams of Saving Salton Sea With Water From Mexico’s Sea of Cortez

/in , , /by /Desert Sunby Mark Olalde

Coachella Valley-based architect Nikola Lakic knows how to fix the withering Salton Sea. Or, at least he says he does.

Lakic believes it’s possible to import water from Mexico’s Sea of Cortez — or, perhaps, from the Pacific Ocean off the California coast — through a multi-billion-dollar system of pipes. He would construct mangrove habitat for natural water filtration, send desalinated water to geothermal plants and, amid all this, restore California’s largest lake.

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U.S. Water and Power Are Shockingly Vulnerable to Cyberhacks

/in , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Kartikay Mehrotra

When the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was hacked in 2018, it took a mere six hours. Early this year, an intruder lurked in hundreds of computers related to water systems across the U.S. In Portland, Oregon, burglars installed malicious computers onto a grid providing power to a chunk of the Northwest. Two of those cases — L.A. and Portland — were tests. The water threat was real, discovered by cybersecurity firm Dragos

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Rainbow Approves Lease Agreement for Bonsall Reservoir Site

/in , /by /Village Newsby Joe Naiman

The Rainbow Municipal Water District’s inactive Bonsall Reservoir is currently being leased for nursery use. Rainbow staff has been evaluating whether the site would be suitable for a photovoltaic energy generation facility but, until a decision is made, Rainbow has been providing agricultural leases.

On May 25, Rainbow’s board voted 5-0 to approve a new two-year lease with nursery operator Don Dabbs. Dabbs will pay $1,683 per month retroactive to Jan. 1, and the lease will run until Dec. 31, 2022. The agreement also has provisions of a potential 12-month renewal term or continuation of the lease on a month-to-month basis should Rainbow proceed on a solar generation facility or choose to sell the property.

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Drought: Mandatory Water Restrictions Approved for 2 Million Residents of Santa Clara County

/in , , /by /Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

Santa Clara County on Wednesday became the most populous county in California to impose mandatory water restrictions, saying that the worsening drought poses a significant threat to the local groundwater supplies that provide nearly half the drinking water for 2 million residents.

On a 7-0 vote, the Santa Clara Valley Water District board declared a water shortage emergency and set a target of reducing water use 33% countywide from 2013 levels, a year the state uses as baseline. The district, a government agency based in San Jose which serves as the county’s wholesale water provider, also urged cities and private water companies who buy its water to put in place water wasting rules and other mandates, including limiting lawn watering to no more than three days a week. As in the last drought, the rules are likely to include monthly water allocations for each home beyond which financial penalties would apply.

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Key Reservoir On Colorado River Expected To Match Record Low

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Felicia Fonseca

A key reservoir on the Colorado River is expected to dip to its record low Thursday in the latest showing of the drought’s grip on the region.

The surface elevation of Lake Mead along the Nevada-Arizona border is projected to be at 1071.61 feet (326.63 meters) — a measure that was hit in 2016. It’s the lowest level since Lake Mead was filled in the 1930s.

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Intensifying California Drought Promises ‘Very Concerning’ Fire Season

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

California is entering its summer fire season with a high level of flammability. The hottest and most fire-prone months of the year are ahead. Conditions in the state are a striking example of escalating fire potential in the drought-stricken West.

How the season unfolds will depend on a number of factors, including where ignitions occur and the duration of summer heat waves.

But the outlook is poor at this time, given deepening drought, abundant dry fuels and hot early-season temperatures.

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Opinion: Water Board Choice is Key to Providing Clean Water For All

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Belinda Faustinos and Barbara Barrigan

California’s drought highlights the importance of an appointment sitting on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk – filling the final seat on the State Water Resources Control Board.   This is a critical agency appointment at a critical time.

The drought highlights many inequities in California water policy.

Disadvantaged communities in Stockton face the prospect of a drought summer plagued by harmful algae blooms in Delta rivers.  Those algae outbreaks, which can harm children and kill pets, are caused by excessive nutrients and inadequate freshwater flow.  Think what it means for a parent to be afraid for their child’s health if they swim in a river on a hot summer day.

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NorCal Conservationists Float Emergency Water Plan To Save Salmon

/in , /by /JPRby Sydney Dauphinais

After years of drought, salmon in Northern California are facing extinction. Conservation groups in the region have drafted a water management plan that, if adopted, would send less water to Central Valley farmers and keep more cold water for fish.

Last week, fishery advocates in Northern California submitted their temperature management plan to the State Water Resources Control Board. They want to change water operations in the Shasta, Trinity, Sacramento and Lower Klamath Rivers so the region’s salmon runs have enough cold water to survive.

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