Water News Network Top Stories of 2022
The Water News Network top stories of 2022 were drought-related and features about technology and college scholarships also engaged readers.
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How Tracking Atmospheric Rivers Could Transform California’s Reservoir Levels During Drought
Atmospheric rivers can wreak havoc on the West Coast. These “rivers in the sky” stream enormous amounts of moisture from the tropics to western North America — double the flow of the Amazon River, on average. This moisture can produce downpours that cause widespread flood damage. From 1978 to 2017, this damage amounted to $1.1 billion per year according to a 2022 study. But atmospheric rivers are also crucial for life in California.
Nevada Calls on Utah and Upper Colorado Basin States to Slash Water Use by 500,000 Acre-Feet
Nevada water managers have submitted a plan for cutting diversions by 500,000 acre-feet in a last-ditch effort to shore up flows on the Colorado River before low water levels cause critical problems at Glen Canyon and Hoover dams. But the Silver State’s plan targets cuts in Utah and the river’s other Upper Basin states, not in Nevada, whose leaders contend it already is doing what it can to reduce reliance on the depleted river system that provides water to 40 million in the West.
Opinion: No More Band-Aids: How to Make the Colorado River Sustainable for the Long Term
The Colorado River Basin is in the midst of a sustainability crisis. Climate change and severe drought, coupled with historic overallocation of the river, have caused water users to rapidly drain the system’s major reservoirs to their lowest levels since construction.
As Desalination Gains Traction in Parts of California, Santa Cruz Weighs Future of Its Water Supply
When it comes to the view of desalination as a tool to drought-proof local water systems in California, 2022 has been a roller-coaster year. In May, the California Coastal Commission, a 12-member appointed board responsible for overseeing the state’s 1,100 miles of coastline, rejected on environmental grounds a $1.4 billion desalination facility proposed for Huntington Beach.
Three Ways Imperial Beach’s New Mayor Plans to Tackle the Tijuana Sewage Crisis
Paloma Aguirre has fought to clean up the sewage-plagued waters of Imperial Beach for the better part of the last two decades — first as an activist and most recently as the city’s first elected woman of Mexican descent. The city’s newly minted mayor says her highest priority next year will be working with officials in Baja California to stem the pollution that routinely spills over the border and floats up the coastline.
First of Two Storms Could Drop Half-Inch of Rain in San Diego by Early Wednesday
The first of two Pacific storms will push into San Diego County on Tuesday night and likely drop a half-inch or more of rain at and near the coast and slightly more in the foothills and mountains by early Wednesday, says the National Weather Service. The rain represents the tail of a much larger system that is soaking the Bay Area and is expected to bring heavy snow to the Sierra Nevada, benefiting many of the state’s reservoirs.
Court Fight Averted: San Diego Makes a Deal with East County Water Project Over Contested Pump Station
The city of San Diego and East County leaders have resolved a months-long dispute over a planned water recycling project, heading off a potentially expensive court fight over what to do with the plant’s waste.
‘Full On Crisis’: Groundwater in California’s Central Valley Disappearing at Alarming Rate
Scientists have discovered that the pace of groundwater depletion in California’s Central Valley has accelerated dramatically during the drought as heavy agricultural pumping has drawn down aquifer levels to new lows and now threatens to devastate the underground water reserves. The research shows that chronic declines in groundwater levels, which have plagued the Central Valley for decades, have worsened significantly in recent years, with particularly rapid declines occurring since 2019.
A Water War Is Brewing Over the Dwindling Colorado River
On a crisp day this fall I drove southeast from Grand Junction, Colorado, into the Uncompahgre Valley, a rich basin of row crops and hayfields. A snow line hung like a bowl cut around the upper cliffs of the Grand Mesa, while in the valley some farmers were taking their last deliveries of water, sowing winter wheat and onions. I turned south at the farm town of Delta onto Route 348, a shoulder-less two-lane road lined with irrigation ditches and dent corn still hanging crisp on their browned stalks. The road crossed the Uncompahgre River, and it was thin, nearly dry.
