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IID Files Opening Brief in Petition to Suspend DCP

/in , , /by /Imperial Valley Press (El Centro, Calif.)by Tom Bodus

Imperial Irrigation District made the first notable follow-up to its petition to hit the brakes on the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan for the Colorado River with an opening brief filed Wednesday.

IID originally filed the petition in Superior Court of Los Angeles County on April 18, 2019. The petition calls on the court to suspend approvals and actions related to the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan until such time an appropriate analysis of Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s commitment to the plan has been completed in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act.

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IID Makes Annual Contribution to Colorado River Board

/in , , /by /Beyond Borders Gazette Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors approved their annual funding contribution to the Colorado River Board at their July 7 meeting.

The board met in their regular session to approve a $661,250 contribution to the Colorado River Board of California’s 2020-2021 budget to help achieve the mission to protect the Colorado River.

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Money to Repair Central Valley Canal in House Bill. A large Funding Gap Remains

/in , /by /The Modesto Beeby Danielle Bergstrom

South San Joaquin Valley farmers have a reason to celebrate this week: Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives appropriated $200 million to fix the Friant-Kern Canal.

The bill also includes funding to repair the Delta-Mendota Canal and for two Northern California reservoirs.

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California’s Pollution Regulators Go Toe-To-Toe With Trump. Watchdog Says They Come Up Short

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Mackenzie Hawkins

A California environmental advocacy group urged the state’s air pollution regulator and agriculture department to do more for minority communities in an annual report card it published last week.

That report card, compiled by the California Environmental Justice Alliance, issued environmental justice grades to eight agencies, with a statewide C average.

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In Parched Southwest, Warm Spring Renews Threat of ‘Megadrought’

/in , , /by /The New York Timesby Henry Fountain

Here at 12,000 feet on the Continental Divide, only vestiges of the winter snowpack remain, scattered white patches that have yet to melt and feed the upper Colorado River, 50 miles away.

That’s normal for mid-June in the Rockies. What’s unusual this year is the speed at which the snow went. And with it went hopes for a drought-free year in the Southwest.

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Colorado River Stakeholders To Face Tribal Rights, Environmental Protection and Climate Change

/in , , /by /Inside Climate Newsby Judy Fahys

Charismatic is hardly the best word to describe the humpback chub, a fish with a frowny eel face jammed onto a sportfish body in a way that suggests evolution has a sense of humor. Nor did tastiness build a fan base for this “trash fish” across its natural habitat throughout the Colorado River Basin. But, in 1973, the humpback chub became famous by winning federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.

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Opinion: NEPA Suspension, Infrastructure Bill Put Wetlands at Risk

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Jeremy Schewe

Rollbacks of the Clean Water Act and the executive order to suspend the National Environmental Policy Act are meant to save costs and cut red tape. However, Jeremy Schewe, professional wetland scientist, explains these efforts will ultimately lead to far greater expense to business, society, and the planet, especially when combined with the House proposed infrastructure stimulus package.

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What Happens When a Drinking Water System Fails? Ask This Small California Town

/in , , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Monica Vaughan

Residents in Earlimart, California, lost water service when a 50-year-old well on Mary Ann Avenue failed in late May.

When it came back on, the main source of drinking water for more than 8,000 residents became a well contaminated with a chemical from banned pesticides. And most residents didn’t know.

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U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris Introduces Legislation to Ensure Nation’s Water Sustainability – Says Our Nation is Facing a Water Safety and Affordability Crisis

/in , , /by /Sierra Sun Times

U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) on Tuesday announced the introduction of the Water for Tomorrow Act, legislation that ensures the nation’s water supply is safe and sustainable. The threat of climate change, which has a disproportionate impact on low-income communities and communities of color, will continue to intensify water scarcity and extreme weather conditions, particularly in California and the West. The Water for Tomorrow Act combines the water sustainability measures from Sen. Harris’ Water Justice Act with key measures from the FUTURE Drought Resiliency Act, led in the House of Representatives by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA).

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Sacramento Region Plans to Store Water Underground as a Climate Change Adaptation Strategy

/in , , /by /CapRadioby Ezra David Romero

The Sacramento region is preparing for the long term impacts of the climate crisis when it comes to water supply. Central to the plan is a groundwater storage program with two to three times the space of Folsom Lake.

As the climate warms it’ll likely become harder to fill up reservoirs, because the snowpack could be small for multiple years. Think of the nearly empty reservoirs across California during the most recent drought.

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