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Colorado River Officials Weigh How to Cut Water, Include Tribes Ahead of Looming Negotiations

/in , , /by /The Colorado Sunby Shannon Mullane

In a warm, overstuffed auditorium at the University of Colorado on Thursday, tribal representatives from around the Colorado River Basin had a message for their federal and state counterparts: Tribes won’t be cut out of key water talks that will decide the future of the basin.

“As we develop a post-2026 plan, it’s no longer acceptable for the U.S. to meet with seven basin states separately, and then come to basin tribes, after the fact, with a post-hoc explanation or rationalization of what was discussed, or even worse, what was decided,” said Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona.

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Opinion: California Water Rights at Risk as Three Legislative Proposals Advance

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Dan Walters

When California imposed its first-ever regulation on the extraction of water from underground aquifers in 2014, it gave environmental groups a landmark victory in their decades-long effort to overhaul water use laws.

It was also a political setback for farmers, who are California’s major water users and have depended on wells to irrigate their crops as increasingly frequent droughts reduce surface water in rivers and reservoirs.

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IID Adds $10 million to Pay for On-Farm Conserved Water

/in , /by /The Desert Reviewby Betty Miller Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Hoping to alleviate a perennial tug-of-war between the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) Directors and farmers on timely payments for conserved water, the IID voted to provide revenue certainty to the On-Farm Efficiency Conservation Program (OFECP) by approving $310.50/AF payment rate for all the 2023 conservation and authorize a budget amendment to increase the 2023 budget by $9.936 million at the regular meeting Tuesday, June 6.

The IID had agreed to a single payment rate not to exceed the $310.50/AF, and this would prorate the fixed budget of $41,399,800 to create at least 133,333 AF of conserved water, back in November 2022.

All is done to comply with the QSA that requires the IID to furnish San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) with 200,000 AF a year. The complaints the farmers have had with the IID was expending capital upfront to conserve water either through leveling, sprinkler, pump backs, drip, or tile, and then waiting months, or more than a year to get paid for the conserved water. Unfortunately, some of the costs never were reimbursed if paperwork requirements or water conserved did not meet the pre-set standards.
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Opinion: Finding a New Path to Water Conservation for the Next Millennium, for California and the World

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Peter Gleick

In the long sweep of human history, water has always played a central role in determining the geography of civilizations, and eons ago it influenced the migration of our early ancestors out of Africa and across the world. The ability to manage water contributed to the success or failure of empires along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers of the Middle East, the Indus in southern Asia, and the Yangtze in China. This First Age of water saw the earliest efforts to manipulate water with dams, aqueducts and intentional irrigation, and also the first water laws, institutions and water conflicts.

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These Two San Diego Reservoirs Are Almost 100% Full

/in , /by /Fox 5 San Diegoby Amber Coakley

Two reservoirs in San Diego County are almost 100% full, according to data released Monday. The City of San Diego updated its water levels information page on June 5, showing the Barrett Reservoir in Jamul and the Lower Otay Reservoir in Chula Vista are both over 96% filled. At its max capacity, the Barrett Reservoir would have a depth of 160.40 feet. The most recent measurements show it’s 96.5% full, according to the city.

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LAFCO Votes to Table FPUD/RMWD Detachment

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

Just before 4 p.m. on June 5, the San Diego County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) voted 5 to 3 to table the vote on the FPUD/RMWD detachment from San Diego Water Authority until their Aug. 7, 2023 meeting.

County Supervisor and LAFCO Director Jim Desmond made a motion for an “option 2” for detachment. Director Willis seconded the motion and then Director Jo Mackenzie asked for a 5-minute break. Upon returning, Director Joel Anderson motioned for the vote to be tabled for 60 days.

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Padre Dam Board Tells CWA It Can’t Accept Any Water Rate Increase

/in , /by /East County Magazineby Mike Allen Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Padre Dam Water District’s board is fed up with having to pay higher rates for the water it purchases from the San Diego County Water Authority, and voted unanimously not to go along with any rate hike unless the CWA gets serious about its long-range planning.

The five-member board took the vote after listening to a presentation by CEO Kyle Swanson (photo, right)about CWA raising the wholesale rate charged to member water agencies next year by a range between 8.2 to 12.7 percent. At one point, CWA was considering increasing to about 13 percent, but the range is ever-changing and unknowable at the current time, Swanson said.

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Here Comes El Niño: It’s Early, Likely to be Big, Sloppy and Add Even More Heat to a Warming World

/in , , /by /Associated Pressby Seth Borenstein and Isabella O'Malley

An early bird El Niño has officially formed, likely to be strong, warp weather worldwide and give an already warming Earth an extra kick of natural heat, meteorologists announced.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Thursday issued an El Niño advisory, announcing the arrival of the climatic condition. It may not quite be like the others.

 

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Water Awareness Artwork Wins Escondido 2023 Student Poster Contest

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Twelve students have won the 2023 City of Escondido Student Poster Contest by illustrating the theme, “Love Water, Save Water.”

Winners have the opportunity to have their work featured in a regional North San Diego County water agencies calendar. First, second, and third-place winners will be featured in next year’s regional calendar.

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Ahead of New Colorado River Talks, Governments and Tribes Weigh in On the Future

/in , , /by /KUNCby Alex Hager

Hot on the heels of a short-term agreement to cut back on Colorado River water use, states are looking ahead to talks about more permanent cuts. The Bureau of Reclamation, the federal agency which manages the West’s water, announced that those negotiations will formally begin next week with a notice in the Federal Register.

The announcement came at an environmental law conference in Boulder, Colorado on Thursday, where scientists, state and federal governments, and tribes met at the University of Colorado’s law school.

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