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State Refuses Request for More Water in Communities With High Wildfire Risk

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Alex Wigglesworth

State officials have denied a request by Southern California municipal water districts for more water to mitigate wildfire risk.

The agencies had worked with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to ask the California Department of Water Resources to allocate 26,300 more acre-feet of water under the health-and-safety exception to drought rules, using the rationale that the exception should include supplies to reduce wildfire hazards by irrigating vegetation in high-risk areas.

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Creating a Drought-Tolerant California Garden: How to Replace Your Thirsty Lawn With Lush Plants and Grasses

/in , , /by /KQEDby Mina Kim and Katrin Snow

The megadrought California is enduring right now is the worst in more than a millennium.

In the last two decades, we have only sporadically not been in a state of drought, and the first three months of 2022 were the driest on record. Now, nearly every inch of California is experiencing severe or extreme drought, or even worse: A thick, donut-shaped ring in the Central Valley is in an exceptional drought — the highest drought designation the U.S. Drought Monitor gives.

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Caring For Your WaterSmart Living Landscape

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Whether you install a new WaterSmart Living landscape or are just looking for tips on how to conserve water in your existing landscape, the following section can help you make an immediate impact on your landscape water savings.

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Bring a New Water-Saving Landscape to Life with Native California Plants

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Water News Network

With your new water-saving landscaping plans complete, demolition and turf removal done, and your new irrigation system in place, it’s time to get started on the plant installation. For most homeowners, this is the most rewarding part of the process — seeing your new landscaping come to life.

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Senators Add $4 Billion for Colorado River Drought Relief Into Inflation Reduction Act

/in , , /by /Desert Sunby Janet Wilson

The massive climate and healthcare package that passed Sunday in the Senate includes $4 billion to help shore up the rapidly dwindling Colorado River and its massive reservoirs.

California officials who are pushing to meet an August deadline for huge water savings in Lake Mead and Lake Powell praised the bill’s passage.

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In Dry California, Salty Water Creeps Into Key Waterways

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Kathleen Ronayne

Charlie Hamilton hasn’t irrigated his vineyards with water from the Sacramento River since early May, even though it flows just yards from his crop.

Nearby to the south, the industrial Bay Area city of Antioch has supplied its people with water from the San Joaquin River for just 32 days this year, compared to roughly 128 days by this time in a wet year.

They may be close by, but these two rivers, central arms of California’s water system, have become too salty to use in some places as the state’s punishing drought drags on.

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A Battle for Safe Drinking Water Grows Heated Amid Drought in California’s Central Valley

/in , , /by /Courthouse News Serviceby Natalie Hanson

Thousands of acres of crops, from corn to nectarines, surround Melynda Metheney’s community in West Goshen, California — one of the key battlegrounds where residents say irrigation and overpumping have depleted drinkable water.

“You know what you’re up against when you live in these communities. You have to decide, are there enough of us?” said Metheney, standing in her parched yard.

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Salton Sea, Indian Tribe to Get 5,000 Acre-feet of Water Annually

/in , , /by /Patch

 A natural resources investment company announced Thursday it intends to allocate up to 5,000 acre-feet of water annually to the Salton Sea and Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Tribe as part of a public-private partnership intended to help reinvigorate the dying Salton Sea and ensure reliable potable water for communities on tribal land.

Los Angeles-based Cadiz Inc. said that an agreement with the Salton Sea Authority, tribe and Coachella Valley Water District will be part of a wider water distribution enterprise known as the Cadiz Water Conservation & Storage Project, which originally focused on drawing water from the Colorado River and delivering it to Southern California metropolitan areas via a single pipeline.

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Will a Rare ‘Triple Dip’ La Niña Yield Another Dry Winter?

/in , , /by /ABC 10by Brody Adams

Although we’re currently mired in the dog days of summer, it’s time to look ahead to the rainy season.

The state thirsts for a wet winter, with extreme drought existing in just under 60% of California. Below-average rain and snow have plagued the state the last couple of years, coinciding with La Niña conditions and expanding drought conditions.

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California Drought 2022: Two Water Districts Eye Hefty Colorado River Cuts

/in , , /by /Palm Springs Desert Sun by Janet Wilson

Two powerful Southern California water districts are actively negotiating an agreement for hefty voluntary cuts of Colorado River supply to farmers and reduced delivery of water to greater Los Angeles, as part of urgent efforts across seven states and Mexico to stave off the collapse of the drought-stricken river system that provides drinking water and irrigation for nearly 40 million people.

Responding to a June mandate from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for all those who rely on the river to cut 2 million to 4 million acre-feet of water usage within 60 days, Imperial Irrigation District and Metropolitan Water District officials are negotiating “around half a million, between 400,000 and 500,000 acre-feet” in combined reductions, IID general manager Enrique Martinez said on Monday.

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