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Water Futures to Start Trading Amid Growing Fears of Scarcity

/in , /by /BNN Bloomberg by Kim Chipman

Water is joining gold, oil and other commodities traded on Wall Street, highlighting worries that the life-sustaining natural resource may become scarce across more of the world.

Farmers, hedge funds and municipalities alike will be able to hedge against — or bet on — potential water scarcity starting this week, when CME Group Inc. launches contracts linked to the $1.1 billion California spot water market. According to Chicago-based CME, the futures will help water users manage risk and better align supply and demand.

The contracts, a first of their kind in the U.S., were announced in September as heat and wildfires ravaged the U.S. West Coast. They are meant to serve both as a hedge for California’s biggest water consumers against skyrocketing prices and a scarcity gauge for investors worldwide.

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Is California Heading for a Multi-Year Drought?

/in , /by /California WaterBlog (UC Davis)by Jay Lund

Yes, California will have another multi-year drought.  California has immense hydrologic variability, with more droughts and floods per average year than any other part of the country.  California’s water users, managers, and regulators should always be prepared for droughts (and floods).  Eventually, California will have a multi-year drought worse than any we have ever seen.

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California Farmers Work to Create a Climate Change Buffer for Migratory Water Birds

/in , /by /Inside Climate Newsby Liza Gross

On a warm, sunny afternoon in late November, Roger Cornwell stopped his pickup near the edge of a harvested rice field to avoid spooking a great blue heron standing still as a statute, alert for prey. He pointed to a dozen or so great egrets at the opposite end of the field as a chorus of killdeer sang a high lonesome tune in the distance.

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California’s Miserable Year Ending in Drought, Fire and Lockdowns

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Greenby David R Baker and Mark Chediak

Most Californians, it’s safe to say, can’t wait for 2020 to end. But the year is getting in a few parting shots on its way out the door.

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Public Workshops on California Water Conveyance Projects

/in , /by /Water News Network Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The California Water Commission is holding public workshops as part of its efforts to assess a potential state role in financing conveyance projects that could help meet needs in a changing climate. A workshop in Southern California is scheduled for December 10 on Zoom.

The Commission’s goal with the workshops is to hear from diverse voices across the state. Participants from the region are encouraged to share their perspective on conveyance projects, conveyance infrastructure needs and priorities.

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Water Managers Urge Patience After Initial, 10% Allocation from State Water Project

/in , /by /Bakersfield.comby John Cox

The rainy season is still young, but that’s about the only consolation to be found in California’s initial estimate this week that farmers who get water from the State Water Project will only get 10 percent of their requested allocations next year. This marks the third consecutive year the initial estimate has been that low.

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The Rancher Trying to Solve the West’s Water Crisis

/in , /by /Politicoby Annie Snider

Paul Bruchez’s family has ranched cattle in Colorado for five generations. And twice in his lifetime, his generation has nearly become the last. The first time, it was the city of Denver that squeezed them out. By the 1990s, when Bruchez was still in high school, the city’s fast-growing suburbs had swept north and totally surrounded their roughly 2,000 acres in Westminster.

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SoCal is Likely to See a Dry La Niña Winter, New Data Show

/in , /by /ABC7by Rob Hayes

Amid California’s worst fire season in history, climate experts are predicting hot and dry conditions this winter. “On average there will be less moisture than we would normally receive here in California,” says Dr. Lowell Stott, a professor of earth sciences at the University of Southern California.

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New Research Explains Why Salmon are Dying in the Pacific Northwest. The Danger Lurks in California, Too

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

In research published Thursday, a team of university and government scientists identify a toxic material derived from tire treads that is washing into rivers and creeks as the killer of as many as 90% of the coho salmon in parts of the Puget Sound.

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Water Commission: Conveyance Projects Panel Discusses Imperial Valley to San Diego Pipeline

/in , /by /Maven's Notebook Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The Water Resilience Portfolio directs the Water Commission to assess the state’s role in financing conveyance projects that could help meet the needs in changing climate, a task that the Commission has taken on wholeheartedly in recent months.

At their November meeting, the Commission heard from two panels: the first panel was from project proponents who discussed conveyance projects being proposed by their organizations.

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