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Federal Officials Plan to Announce 2024 Cuts Along the Colorado River. Here’s What to Expect

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Suman Naishadham

Federal officials this week are expected to ease water cuts for 2024 under a slightly improved outlook for the Colorado River’s health, though long-term challenges remain. The river provides water for seven U.S. states, 29 Native American tribes and two states in Mexico. It also supports a multibillion-dollar farm industry in the West and generates hydropower used across the region. Years of overuse by farms and cities and the effects of drought worsened by climate change has meant much less water flows today through the Colorado River than in previous decades.

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July Was the Planet’s Hottest Month on Record — So Far

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

A sizzling month marked by record heat waves, major wildfires, melting sea ice and a burgeoning El Niño will go down in the books as the hottest July on record — at least until next year, federal officials said. The planet and its oceans roasted last month as global average temperatures soared 2.02 degrees above average, making July 2023 not only the hottest July ever, but very likely Earth’s warmest month in at least 174 years of record keeping.

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Montana Youth Victory Could Spur Momentum on Other Climate Cases

/in , , /by /E&E Newsby Lesley Clark

A landmark court decision that Montana is violating its youngest residents’ rights to a clean and healthful climate could have legal repercussions well beyond the Treasure State. Judge Kathy Seeley of the 1st Judicial District Court in Montana found Monday that youth in the state have a “fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment, which includes climate” as she struck down two laws that bar state agencies from considering the climate effects of fossil fuel projects.

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Opinion: How Bad the Climate Crisis Gets is Still Up to Us. We Just Have to Act

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sammy Roth

As usual, California was ahead of the game. It’s been two decades since lawmakers passed the first law to begin requiring electric utilities to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy. Nearly as long since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called for 1 million solar roofs. A decade since the state first mandated large numbers of electric cars on the road, and four years since Berkeley became the first U.S. city to ban gas appliances in new homes.

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The EPA is Investigating How California Manages its Water Following Complaints from Tribes

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Adam Beam

President Joe Biden’s administration has agreed to investigate how California manages its water after some Native American tribes and environmental groups complained the state’s policies are “rooted in white supremacy.” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last week it would investigate the California State Water Resources Control Board.

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Opinion: Recess is Over, Californians Demand Climate Action from State Legislators

/in , , /by /Capitol Weeklyby Irene Kao and Mike Young

In the final week of what became the hottest month in history, it was reported that California is not on track to reach our 2030 climate goals to reduce emissions to 48% below 1990 levels. As we experience more extreme heat, droughts, water scarcity, and intense wildfires, California’s role as a climate leader for the nation and world is called into question.

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Opinion: Say Goodbye to Grass That’s Only There for Looks. California Can’t Afford to Waste Water

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby The Los Angeles Times Editorial Board

California was so dry and its water supply so precarious by May 2022 that the State Water Resources Control Board issued an emergency order: No drinkable water could be used to irrigate grass that had no function other than to look nice.

The regulation does not apply to residential lawns, although they were already turning brown due to local restrictions on sprinkler use.

It does apply to all purely ornamental lawns — “nonfunctional turf,” in regulatory parlance — at commercial, industrial and institutional sites, such as shopping centers and corporate headquarters.

That order was recently extended for another year.

It’s time for California to follow Nevada’s lead and permanently remove decorative turf.

To be clear, we’re talking only about nonfunctional turf. That means grass that no one walks on, except to mow it. It doesn’t apply to playing fields, picnic grounds, parks, meeting areas, schools, cemeteries or any place where people gather, play, loll, visit or frolic. It won’t keep anyone from feeling wet grass under their bare toes. Instead, think fenced areas with “keep off the grass” signs, plus street medians, mall landscaping and the like.

 

(Editor’s Note: For rebates, classes, and water-saving tips: sdcwa.org/your-water/conservation/.)

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Robinson Tank “R” Project Completed

/in , , /by /Water News Network

On November 8, 2022, the Ramona Municipal Water District Board of Directors unanimously approved a resolution renaming Improvement District No. 5 (ID-5) tank to Robinson Tank to recognize retiring Director Jim Robinson’s 20-year service to the community. Director Robinson served on the water board from 1994 to 2010 and from 2018 to 2022.

He added his foresight and timely advice to numerous RMWD committees including those to improve the District’s engineering processes, the District’s responses to future with lessons learned from the Witch Creek Fire and planning and improvements for Santa Maria Recycled Water Plant. He was instrumental in the development of Ramona Parks and Recreation Association, Wellfield Community Park, and Ramona Junior Fairgrounds.

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To Help Navigate Looming Water Cuts, Imperial Irrigation Hires its Longtime Rival from LA

/in , , /by /The Desert Sunby Janet Wilson

One of the West’s top water kingpins is back, and in an unlikely new spot.

Jeffrey Kightlinger, retired general manager for the powerful Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, has been hired as a consultant by the Imperial Irrigation District, which in the past has been his bitter rival on Colorado River policy. The contract comes at a critical juncture, as seven states and federal officials ramp up negotiations over a long-term agreement to keep the massive but dwindling river and its reservoirs functional. IID holds the rights to by far the largest share of that water.

Kightlinger, 63, said of his new client, “It’s an intriguing thing … IID is obviously a big player, and I’ve been doing this for a long time, so I think it could work out well for both of us. “

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How Much Water is Left in the Colorado River? Scientists and Officials are Scrambling to Find Out

/in , , /by /CNN

Fresh off a phenomenal winter snowpack, water levels on the Colorado River are going up for the first time in years.

As a result, federal officials will announce this week that they are easing water restrictions in the Southwest starting next year, three sources familiar with the plan told CNN, lifting the region from a Tier 2 water shortage to a Tier 1. It’s a remarkable turnaround that will give back billions of gallons of Colorado River water to millions of people in the Southwest, primarily in Arizona and Nevada.

But they can’t breathe a sigh of relief. Officials, farmers and tribes are bracing for more difficult negotiations on how to divvy up the river when the current interstate agreement expires in 2026.

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