Two charts show an improving trend in Lake Mead and Lake Powell water levels after the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) issued a low storage warning for the former on Tuesday.
County officials Tuesday convened in Huntington Beach to celebrate the revitalization of a 1-mile segment of a flood control channel, a vital first step in a $250-million collaboration with federal partners to reduce Orange County’s flood risk.
During an on-site news conference near a portion of the East Garden Grove-Wintersburg channel north of Warner Avenue, between Goldenwest and Springdale streets, Orange County Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Andrew Do explained the significance of the project.
Climate change — and changing political winds — are prompting shifts in strategy at California’s largest agricultural water district.
Westlands Water District, which occupies some 1,100 square miles of the arid San Joaquin Valley, is in the midst of an internal power struggle that will determine how water fights unfold across the state.
California’s only native sunfish, the Sacramento perch, survived catastrophic floods in the 1860s and was so abundant that it was a regular staple in San Francisco’s markets before invasive species decimated its population.
The Bureau of Reclamation on August 15, released the Colorado River Basin August 2023 24-Month Study, which determines the tiers for the coordinated operation of Lake Powell and Lake Mead for 2024. These operating conditions, which are based on existing agreements under the 2007 guidelines and lower basin Drought Contingency Plans, will be in effect until the near-term guidelines from the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) are finalized. Reclamation is currently analyzing the consensus-based Lower Division States proposed alternative for the SEIS.
Based on projections in the 24-Month Study, Lake Powell will operate in a Mid-Elevation Release Tier with a 7.48 million acre-feet release in water year 2024. Consistent with existing agreements, Lake Mead will operate in a Level 1 Shortage Condition – an improvement from the Level 2 Shortage Condition announced last year – with required shortages by Arizona and Nevada, coupled with Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan water savings contributions. Mexico’s water delivery will be reduced consistent with Minute 323.
A research effort tracking water scarcity around the world shows California, Arizona and other Western states are experiencing water stress at high levels similar to arid countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The analysis by researchers with the World Resources Institute found that all seven states that rely on the Colorado River face high or extremely high water stress. Arizona ranked first for the most severe water stress in the country, followed by New Mexico and Colorado, while California ranked fifth.
The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) Board of Directors voted unanimously on Tuesday for Jamie Asbury, the current IID Energy Department Manager, to serve as the new General Manager.
According to IID, Asbury is the first woman in the district’s 112-year history to lead the district.
California will likely not face any cuts in Colorado River supply in 2024, according to a new forecast released on Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The agency said heavy snowpack and rains last winter mean planned reductions can be eased slightly from more urgent levels last year.
In 2021, our team at UC Merced found that covering California’s extensive network of irrigation canals with solar panels could make significant contributions to both clean energy and water conservation, serving two of the state’s most pressing needs at once.
California officials agreed today to extend operations at three natural gas plants on the Southern California coast in an effort to shore up California’s straining power grid and avoid rolling blackouts.
The controversial and unanimous vote that keeps the plants open came from the State Water Resources Control Board, which oversees the phaseout of natural gas facilities that suck in seawater and kill marine life.
