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

MPWMD Prevails in Lawsuit Against LAFCO

/in , /by /Monterey County Weeklyby David Schmalz

In the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District’s pursuit of buying out California American Water’s system on the Monterey Peninsula, a small but notable victory was meted out Oct. 25 with a ruling from Monterey County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wills.

The ruling came out of a lawsuit the district filed against the Local Agency Formation Commission of Monterey County in April 2022, centered around a decision LAFCO’s board made in December 2021 in which the board voted 5-2 to deny granting the district the “latent powers” to be a retail water provider.

Full Story

Snowpack at 114% After Weekend Storms Hit Rockies; Will We See a Repeat of Wet Winter?

/in , , /by /8 News Nowby Greg Haas

It’s still more than seven weeks before the official start of winter (Dec. 21), but weekend storms in Colorado’s high country are reason enough to look in on snowpack levels that will eventually provide the water that flows to Lake Mead.

A month into the 2023 “water year,” snowpack levels are slightly above normal in the Upper Colorado River Basin: 114% as of Nov. 1, according to data on the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s website. The water year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30 each year.

Full Story

How Snowfall Will Change Lake Mead’s Water Levels

/in , , /by /Newsweek by Anna Skinner

An El Niño winter snowfall map from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted more good news for Lake Mead.

After years of drought the lake, located in Nevada and Arizona, reached drastically low levels in the summer of 2022. However, water levels have since started to recover because of above-average precipitation and snowpack that melted throughout this year. As of Wednesday afternoon, its levels were at 1,065 feet, 20 feet higher than this time last year.

Full Story

Troubled Waters: Colorado River Crisis – Into the Wild West

/in , , /by /KESQby Angela Chen

In the sun-split desert of the Coachella Valley, life here is only possible with water from elsewhere. The water that grows our food, the water we drink and the water we exist around come from the special aquifers below the valley and the Colorado River.

Full Story

How Imperial Valley Spends San Diego’s Cash for Water

/in , , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

I traveled to Imperial County last month to see what this desert farming community built with the cash San Diegans pay for some of its water.

The latest thing is a small lake, eight times the length of an Olympic lap pool, built into the harsh, flat landscape. The hot wind whipped at the new reservoir’s surface so hard, waves of it almost breached the bare dirt rims of its chamber.

Full Story

A Tangle of Rules to Protect America’s Water Is Falling Short

/in , , /by /The New York Times by Dionne Searcey and Delger Erdenesanaa

America’s stewardship of one of its most precious resources, groundwater, relies on a patchwork of state and local rules so lax and outdated that in many places oversight is all but nonexistent, a New York Times analysis has found.

The majority of states don’t know how many wells they have, the analysis revealed. Many have incomplete records of older wells, including some that pump large volumes of water, and many states don’t register the millions of household wells that dot the country.

Full Story

Expanded Drought.gov Tool Visualizes Historical Drought Conditions by County, State

/in , , /by /Drought.gov

The “Dust Bowl” drought of the 1930s brought nearly a decade of dry conditions to the Great Plains, causing many farmers to flee their lands and livelihoods. Looking further back, tree-ring and lake-sediment records indicate that “megadroughts” have occurred in North America over the last thousand years. By looking back at historical data, communities can get a better understanding of how current droughts compare to past events and drought and extreme weather threats to be prepared for.

Full Story

Opinion: Lake Mead Has a 1-in-4 Chance of Going Low Again by 2026, if We Don’t Do More Now

/in , /by /AZ Central by Joanna Allhands

Now that we’re knee-deep in the long-term process to save the Colorado River, almost no one is asking whether we’ve done enough to stabilize it for the next few years.

A wet winter and billions of dollars in funding already solved that problem, right?

Full Story

Rain Barrel Rebates Timed for Rainy Season

/in , , /by /Water News Network Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

With climatologists predicting the potential for above-average precipitation in the months ahead due to the El Niño weather phenomenon, it’s an ideal time to take advantage of the County of San Diego’s upcoming rainwater harvesting workshops and rain barrel rebates.

The County’s Waterscape Rebate Program will host free rainwater harvesting workshops in Fall and Winter 2023.

Full Story

Summit Tackles Water Challenges Facing California

/in , , /by /Ag Alert by Christine Souza

Below-average precipitation and snowpack during 2020-22 and depleted surface and groundwater supplies pushed California into a drought emergency that brought curtailment orders and calls for modernizing water rights.

Full Story