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OPINION: Our View: Saving For A (Non) Rainy Day

/in , /by /Recordnet.com (Stockton, Calif.)

March didn’t exactly come in like a lion, with apologies to Richard Rodgers, but the season’s herky-jerky approach to spring does lead many to wonder if the rains will ever stop and the temperatures will ever rise again. Of course, the answer to both is yes. The past few weeks have been marked by several days of rain followed by a dry day or two followed by rain followed by a dry day or two and on and seemingly on. Planning outdoor activities always is a bit dicey in late winter, or what passes for winter. California residents are blessed with perhaps the country’s best overall weather.

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The Challenges & Solutions Of Water Scarcity

/in , /by /CleanTechnica

30 years from now, about 7 in 10 people will live in cities across the globe. One of the main challenges for the governments will be to provide infrastructure and services such as housing and safe drinking water for all. With global warming and climate change increasing the risk of floods and droughts around the world, access to clean water will be at the heart of every discussion. REVOLVE interviewed Diane D’Arras, President of the International Water Association, to talk about these challenges and the importance of raising awareness on the topic in order to create a momentum and encouraging governments and organizations to start acting now.

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Breaking Impasse, Feds Will Include Salton Sea In Seven-State Drought Plan, IID Says

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Janet Wilson and Ian James

There may be hope for finalizing a sweeping Colorado River drought contingency plan after all. Imperial Irrigation District officials announced at a special board meeting late Friday that the federal Bureau of Reclamation has agreed to their condition that the drought package include restoration of the Salton Sea. They said federal officials will write a strong letter of support backing IID’s requests for $200 million in Farm Bill funding for wetlands projects around the shrinking sea, which is California’s largest inland water body. The projects are aimed at keeping down dust along the shorelines and salvaging deteriorating habitat for fish and birds.

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OPINION: We Can Plan For A ‘Leaner’ Colorado River As We Save The Salton Sea

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Ted Kowalski

Over the past five years, the seven Colorado River Basin states have been working to develop a series of drought contingency plans (DCPs) to safeguard water levels at Lake Mead. Responding to a 19-year drought, leaders throughout the basin are at last close to finalizing the agreements necessary to bolster conservation and safeguard water levels on the river. The DCPs will ensure that the Colorado River basin can balance water supplies and demands in a way that supports a healthy river and environment. The future of the Colorado River depends on the conservation and flexibility within the DCP agreements.

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Major Improvements For Colorado’s Drought Picture As Strong Snowpack Continues

/in , /by /Kiowa County Press (Eads, Colo.)by Chris Sorensen

Thanks to a series of recent snow storms, drought conditions in Colorado have shown substantial improvements over the past month, including the past week, with extreme drought nearly disappearing from the state. A remaining sliver of exceptional drought – the worst category – in southwest Archuleta County disappeared in the latest report from the National Drought Mitigation Center.

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Voluntary Agreements Shared With State Water Board. Will They Replace Disputed Flow Plan?

/in , /by /The Modesto Beeby Ken Carlson

The top state agencies that manage water and wildlife resources in California submitted a package of voluntary agreements with water districts to the State Water Resources Control Board on Friday, as an alternative to controversial flow requirements approved in December for the Tuolumne, Stanislaus and Merced rivers. The agreements, hammered out in the waning hours of Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration and favored by Gov. Gavin Newsom, combine increased river flows with a larger set of tools for restoring salmon in rivers that feed into the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta.

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California’s Largest Reservoir Shot Up 39 Feet In Elevation In February

/in , /by /SF Gateby Amy Graff

The storms hitting California in February have left their mark on California’s largest and most important water reserve. Shasta Lake jumped 39 feet in elevation since February 1 and as of Tuesday it was at 85 percent of capacity and only 25 feet from its crest. Amid a wet winter, dramatic lake level rises have been common this year. Folsom Lake east of Sacramento rose 30 feet in January, while Lake Oroville shot up 75 feet in February.

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‘Rivers In The Sky’ Are Why California Is Flooding

/in , /by /National Geographicby Alejandra Borunda

Powerful rainstorms have battered Northern California this week. The culprit? Atmospheric rivers. The rains were born far away, deep in the tropical Pacific, where water evaporated from the warm ocean surface and fizzed into the atmosphere. The drenched air parcel flow then moved sinuously along, an “atmospheric river” winding its way toward land. When that wet air hit a coast—in this case the West Coast of the U.S.—it dumped that water out as the rain and snow that has overwhelmed Northern California this week.

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The Drought Plan And Water Conservation

/in , /by /Arizona Public Media (Tucson)by Ariana Brocious

Monday is the new deadline for all parties to sign the drought contingency plan — the deal between seven states to share less water on the Colorado River. Arizona state lawmakers approved the deal ahead of a late January deadline but the federal government said it didn’t meet the mark. Meanwhile, some say the plan doesn’t go far enough to ensure Arizona has enough water for the future.

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‘An Excellent Water Year’: Snow Depth Doubles In State’s Latest Sierra Survey

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Michael Mcgough

It’s no surprise, but feet upon feet of Sierra snow across multiple storms in February translated to healthy snow water content for California. How healthy? Department of Water Resources officials observed more than double what they measured last month at Phillips Station near Echo Summit, recording 113 inches of snow depth with a snow water equivalent of 43.5 inches Thursday, according to a news release. A month ago at the February survey (Jan. 31), snow-water equivalent had reached 100 percent of the statewide average (17.3 inches) at the February survey.

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