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MWD Vote Moves Colorado River Drought Plan Forward

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Bettina Boxall

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California on Tuesday sealed California’s participation in a landmark Colorado River drought management plan, agreeing to shoulder more of the state’s future delivery cuts to prevent Lake Mead from falling to dangerously low levels. With California signed on, the plan can move to Congress, which must approve the multi-state agreement before it takes effect. The MWD board took the step over the objections of the Imperial Irrigation District, which holds senior rights to the biggest allocation of river water on the entire length of the Colorado.

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2018 Was The U.S.’s Third-Wettest Year On Record—Here’s Why

/in , , /by /National Geographicby Alejandra Borunda

On Wednesday, NASA and NOAA announced that 2018 was the fourth hottest year on record. But the impacts of a warming planet extend beyond just warming air; the feverish state of the planet is also changing when, where, and how intensely rain and snow fall. And 2018, the reports say, was the third-wettest year since 1895, when steady record-keeping began. Overall, the U.S. got 4.68 inches more precipitation in 2018 than the 20th-century average, but that rain and snow was not anywhere close to evenly distributed across the country. In the eastern half, several states, like North Carolina and Virginia, blew past their previous precipitation records, while most of the western U.S. remained mired in drought.

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OPINION: Newsom’s Picks For Environmental Protection And Water Chiefs Will Reveal His Priorities

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Richard M. Frank

One of the keys to former Gov. Jerry Brown’s success as California’s chief executive over the past eight years was the stellar group of individuals he recruited as his top environmental and water officials. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s initial, senior environmental appointments suggest that he is wisely following in Brown’s footsteps. Californians can only hope his water leadership team turns out to be equally strong. Newsom’s first two environmental appointments are his most important, and his choices are impressive indeed.

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San Diego Again Gets Drenched By Overnight Rains, And There’s More Coming Tonight

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

For the second time this week, drenching rains spread across San Diego County during the overnight hours. And it will happen again late this evening and early Thursday, says the National Weather Service. So far, the rainfall has been impressive, in a cumulative sense. Since early Monday, parts of San Diego have received more than two inches of rain, including Palomar Observatory, which got 2.87 inches, Henshaw Dam, which got 2.25 inches, and Julian, which got 2.16 inches. San Onofre received 1.63 inches.

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Our Current Drought Is Worse Than Most Megadroughts, New Study Says

/in , , /by /Arizona Daily Star (Tuscon)by Tony Davis

Tucson’s drinking water supply — carries nearly 20 percent less water than in 2000. Bark beetles are chomping away at our forests and killing off ponderosa pines. Wildfires are rapidly growing in intensity. These problems have been linked to a drought that has stretched 19 years with no respite. Now, a team of researchers concludes that the ongoing drought across the western U.S. rivals most past “megadroughts” dating as far back as 800 A.D. — and that this region is currently in a megadrought.

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