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Biden Administration Declares California Drought Disaster. What Is Newsom Waiting For?

/in , /by /GV Wireby Bill McEwen

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack designated 50 California counties as natural disaster areas last month because of the drought. And, over the weekend, Fresno Congressman Jim Costa said on KSEE-24’s Sunday Morning Matters program that Gov. Newsom should declare a statewide emergency because of the dangerously dry conditions. Vilsack is a Democrat and former Iowa governor who served eight years as President Obama’s top farming official. Costa is a Democrat.

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Opinion: Drought Hits California — and Newsom

/in , /by /CALmattersby Dan Walters

By any standard, California is experiencing one of its periodic droughts after two successive years of below-normal precipitation.

“We are now facing the reality that it will be a second dry year for California and that is having a significant impact on our water supply,” state water resources director Karla Nemeth said in late March as the state reduced projected deliveries of water to 5% of requested demand.

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Extreme Conditions Now Sparking Drought Contingency Plan for First Time

/in , /by /KOLD News 13 (Tucson, Ariz.)by Megan McNeil

Extreme drought conditions throughout the West are lowering levels in the crucial water reservoir, Lake Mead. Scars of long years of low precipitation are hard to go unnoticed at Lake Mead, and the hot, dry summers have been felt for the last several years in Arizona. 2020 was especially dry, with little monsoon. Now, the West is in uncharted territory. Lake Mead is projected to drop by several feet this year, from elevation 1,083 to about 1,068, according to officials with the Central Arizona Project. The lake is hovering around 39 percent of its full capacity.

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Officials Confident in Water Supply Management Without Drought Declaration

/in , , /by /AG Net Westby Brian German

Despite a dry water year, state officials do not feel that a drought declaration is necessary. During a recent meeting of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, Director of the California Department of Water Resources, Karla Nemeth provided a water update.

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Western U.S. May Be Entering its Most Severe Drought in Modern History

/in , , /by /CBS Newsby Jeff Berardelli

Extreme drought across the Western U.S. has become as reliable as a summer afternoon thunderstorm in Florida. And news headlines about drought in the West can seem a bit like a broken record, with some scientists saying the region is on the precipice of permanent drought.

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Tensions Rise in Water Battle Along Oregon-California Line

/in , /by /AP Newsby GIllian Flaccus

One of the worst droughts in memory in a massive agricultural region straddling the California-Oregon border could mean steep cuts to irrigation water for hundreds of farmers this summer to sustain endangered fish species critical to local tribes. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees water allocations in the federally owned Klamath Project, is expected to announce this week how the season’s water will be divvied up after delaying the decision a month.

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White House Issues Infrastructure Report Cards for All 50 States

/in , /by /The Hillby Brett Samuels

The White House on Monday issued report cards for all 50 states in a bid to highlight why officials say a massive infrastructure bill is necessary. The Biden administration released fact sheets that break down how each state stacks up in 12 key areas of infrastructure that would be addressed under the American Jobs Plan, President Biden‘s $2.3 trillion proposal to invest in traditional infrastructure like roads and railways, as well as more progressive areas like the care economy and climate-friendly industries.

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April Has Never Been This Dry, Say Researchers, as Cal Fire Begins to Staff Up

/in , /by /GV Wireby Jim Jakobs

Moisture content in vegetation is typically not something Cal Fire has to pay attention to until May or June. This is not a typical year. The United States Forest Service already checked fuels in the Sierra Nevada Foothills in eastern Fresno County on April 1 because of abnormally dry conditions confronting the state. Also atypical — Cal Fire is bringing in additional personnel this week to have more fire engines staffed by week’s end.

 

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Salton Sea Dust, Air Quality to Get Closer Look in California

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Emily C. Dooley

California’s shrinking Salton Sea is getting a closer look scientifically with the state, local air districts, and community groups examining air, water, and even dust from the parched shoreline where water was once plentiful.

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Las Vegas Pushes to Become First to Ban Ornamental Grass

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Sam Metz and Ken Ritter

A desert city built on a reputation for excess and indulgence wants to become a model for restraint and conservation with a first-in-the-nation policy banning grass that nobody walks on.

Las Vegas-area water officials have spent two decades trying to get people to replace thirsty greenery with desert plants, and now they’re asking the Nevada Legislature to outlaw roughly 40% of the turf that’s left.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority estimates there are almost 8 square miles (21 square kilometers) of “nonfunctional turf” in the metro area — grass that no one ever walks on or otherwise uses in street medians, housing developments and office parks.

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