You are now in California and the U.S. Home Headline Media Coverage category.

Arizona, Nevada Cuts To Colorado River Water Negligible

/in , , /by /Associated Pressby Felicia Fonseca

Arizona and Nevada will face their first-ever cuts in Colorado River water next year, but the changes aren’t expected to be overly burdensome for either state. The water is delivered through Lake Mead, one of the largest manmade reservoirs in the country that straddles the Arizona-Nevada border. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said Thursday that Lake Mead barely will fall below 1,090 feet (332 meters) on Jan. 1, triggering cuts for the junior users in the river’s lower basin, at 1,089.4 (332 meters) above sea level. For Arizona, that means less water for underground storage, recharging aquifers and for agricultural use. About 7% of its 2.8 million acre-feet, or 192,000 acre-feet, will be left behind Lake Mead.

Full Story

Caps On Groundwater Use Create A New Market In California

/in , , /by /The Economist

A long stretch of highway running between Los Angeles and San Francisco separates the dry hills to the west from the green plains of the San Joaquin Valley to the east, where much of America’s fruit, nuts and vegetables are grown. Every couple of miles billboards hint at the looming threat to the valley. “Is growing food a waste of water?” one billboard asks. Another simply says, “No Water, no Jobs”. In the San Joaquin Valley agriculture accounts for 18% of jobs and agriculture runs on water. Most of it comes from local rivers and rainfall, some is imported from the river deltas upstate, and the rest is pumped out of groundwater basins.

Full Story

First-Ever Mandatory Water Cutbacks Will Kick In Next Year Along The Colorado River

/in , , /by /The Arizona Republic (Phoenix, Ariz.)by Ian James

Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will be required to take less water from the Colorado River for the first time next year under a set of agreements that aim to keep enough water in Lake Mead to reduce the risk of a crash. The federal Bureau of Reclamation activated the mandatory reductions in water deliveries on Thursday when it released projections showing that as of Jan. 1, the level of Lake Mead will sit just below a threshold that triggers the cuts. Arizona and Nevada agreed to leave a portion of their water allotments in the reservoir under a landmark deal with California called the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan, which the states’ representatives signed at Hoover Dam in May.

Full Story

Water Conservation Garden Awarded SDG&E Environmental Champion Grant

/in , , /by /The Water News Network

The Water Conservation Garden’s Ms. Smarty-Plants program received a $25,000 Environmental Champion Grant in June from SDG&E. The award comes as The Garden, at Cuyamaca College in El Cajon, celebrates its 20th anniversary. “SDG&E has been a long-time supporter of The Garden and its innovative Ms. Smarty-Plants education program,” said Jennifer Pillsbury, executive director/CEO of The Water Conservation Garden. “In fact, SDG&E was one of the first funders to provide seed funding that allowed the program to have the widespread impact it has today. We are grateful for their support.”

Full Story

Wet Winter Doesn’t End Climate Change Risk To Colorado River

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Felicia Fonseca

Snow swamped mountains across the U.S. West last winter, leaving enough to thrill skiers into the summer, swelling rivers and streams when it melted, and largely making wildfire restrictions unnecessary. But the wet weather can be misleading.

Climate change means the region is still getting drier and hotter.

“It only demonstrates the wide swings we have to manage going forward,” James Eklund, former director of the Upper Colorado River Commission, an interstate agency that ensures river water is doled out properly, said earlier this year. “You can put an ice cube — even an excellent ice cube — in a cup of hot coffee, but eventually it’s going to disappear.”

Full Story

The West Is Trading Water for Cash. The Water Is Running Out

/in , , /by /Bloomberg by Luke McGrath

Desert farmers along the Colorado River are striking lucrative deals with big cities. But not everyone comes out a winner.

When it comes to global warming’s one-two punch of inundation and drought, the presence of too much water has had the most impact on U.S. agriculture this year, with farmers in the Midwest swamped by flooding throughout the Mississippi Basin.

 

Full Story

New Sprinklers Will Soon Be More Expensive In California. Here’s Why

/in , , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Andrew Sheeler

Californians, your yard sprinklers are about to get a little bit more expensive. The good news is, your water bill is about to get cheaper. California on Wednesday officially adopted new regulations which are estimated to save more than 400 million gallons of water per day within 10 years, enough to supply San Diego, the second largest city in the state, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Beginning in 2020, spray sprinklers will be required to be sold with a component that restricts the water flow to as close as possible to 30 pounds per square inch (PSI), the manufacturer-recommended level.

Full Story

UCLA To Lead $10 Million California Conservation Project

/in , , /by /University Of California by Stuart Wolpert

UCLA scientists are leading a $10 million project to help California officials make ecologically wise decisions as the state continues to confront the effects of climate change.

The California Conservation Genomics Project, which is funded by the state, will involve conservation biologists, geneticists, ecologists and climate scientists from all 10 University of California campuses, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory, the UC Natural Reserve System and California State University campuses, as well as officials from state and federal regulatory agencies and nongovernment agencies, such as The Nature Conservancy. It is intended to run through 2022 or 2023.

Full Story

Technology Offers Options To Farmers

/in , , /by /AgAlert (Sacramento, Calif.)by Kevin Hecteman

Amid employee shortages, groundwater issues and other challenges, farmers in Monterey County and elsewhere are looking to the tech sector to help them bring their crops to market.

Parker Jones is one of those seeking to help farmers do more with less. Two months ago, he launched a custom-farming operation, Hermanos Automated Services, renting out a weeding machine that largely replaces hand labor in lettuce fields. It’s made by British-based Garford Farm Machinery.

Full Story

Is A California Solar+Storage Boom About To Happen?

/in , , /by /pv magazine by John Weaver

CAISO has warned state regulators that there could be a 4.7 GW capacity shortfall in 2022, in the early evening hours of the annual peak demand events of September. The grid operator has suggested alteration of water cooling laws, as well as increased procurement of resources.

Full Story