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

Las Vegas Water Use Down 25% This Year, But a Hot Summer Looms

/in , , /by /Las Vegas Review-Journalby Colton Lochhead

A wet and cool start to 2023 helped Southern Nevada consume 25 percent less water from the drought-stricken Colorado River through the first five months of the year.

From January through May, the region’s consumptive use from the river was just under 61,000 acre-feet of water, Warren Turkett, a natural resource analyst for the Colorado River Commission of Nevada, told commissioners Tuesday. That’s down from nearly 82,000 acre-feet of water consumed during the same time period last year, which was near the same amount the valley consumed in 2021 (84,489 acre-feet) and 2020 (80,885 acre-feet).

Full Story

Lake Mead and Lake Powell Water Levels Have Risen, But Runoff Slowing Down

/in , , /by /KLAS Las Vegasby Greg Haas

Lake Mead has risen more than 3 feet over the past month, and nearly 13 feet since Jan. 1.

The lake, which supplies 90% of the water used in the Las Vegas valley, is bucking the trend of the past five years. Lake Mead typically drops beginning around April, following a seasonal pattern.

As snow melts upstream in the Upper Colorado River Basin, water is held back in dams all along the way to prepare for higher consumption during the hot summer months. Water eventually reaches Lake Powell before flowing through the Grand Canyon and into Lake Mead.

Full Story

Biden Administration Announces $660 Million To Plug Abandoned Wells

/in , /by /Gristby Lylla Younis

Over the past century, the fossil fuel industry has made a habit of letting others clean up their messes. Today, the U.S. is dotted with millions of “orphaned wells,” crevices in the earth that companies once used to extract oil and subsequently abandoned once they were no longer considered profitable. But additional help appears to be on the way: This week, the Biden administration announced it would make nearly $660 million in funds from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law available to states to plug more of these polluting fissures.

<

Full Story

Fallbrook and Rainbow Water Districts Get OK to Split From San Diego Water Authority

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Deborah Sullivan Brennan Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Rainbow and Fallbrook water districts are free to join a water system in Riverside County, after a split decision by regional policymakers Monday that would slightly lower costs for ratepayers in those districts but may raise water rates in other areas across San Diego County.

The San Diego County Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, which is responsible for approving and managing changes to local jurisdictions, voted 5-3 to authorize Fallbrook Public Utility District and Rainbow Muncipal Water District to separate from the San Diego Water Authority. They plan to join Eastern Municipal Water District, which serves southern Riverside County, said Jack Bebee general manager for the Fallbrook district.

Full Story

Newsom Signs Bills to Speed up Infrastructure Projects

/in , , /by /Courthouse News Service by Natalie Hanson

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a package of bills Monday aimed at streamlining the construction of solar and wind farms, reservoirs, bridges, railways and other infrastructure projects in the Golden State.

Full Story

Fallbrook, Rainbow Water ‘Divorce’ Approved by County Commission

/in , , /by /KPBS-FM/TVby Alexander Nguyen and Charlotte Radulovich Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), in a 5-3 vote Monday, approved the request of Fallbrook Public Utility District and Rainbow Municipal Water District to detach from the 24-member San Diego County Water Authority.

Full Story

Deadly Flooding is Hitting Several Countries at Once. Scientists Say This Will Only Be More Common

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Isabella O'Malley, Brittany Peterson, and Drew Costley

Schools in New Delhi were forced to close Monday after heavy monsoon rains battered the Indian capital, with landslides and flash floods killing at least 15 people over the last three days. Farther north, the overflowing Beas River swept vehicles downstream as it flooded neighborhoods. In Japan, torrential rain pounded the southwest, causing floods and mudslides that left two people dead and at least six others missing Monday.

Full Story

County Board Votes to Allow Fallbrook, Rainbow to Detach from Water Authority

/in , , /by /Times of San Diego by Chris Jennewein Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Local Area Formation Commission voted 5-3 on Monday to allow two rural water districts in North San Diego County to detach from the San Diego County Water Authority.

LAFCO, which is responsible for forming special public districts, did not require a vote by ratepayers and did not set a timetable for detachment of the two districts, pending further study.

The Fallbrook Public Utility District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District, with a total of 56,000 residents, are seeking to join the Eastern Municipal Water District in Riverside County in hopes of securing lower-cost water for farmers.

Full Story

A Racist Past and Hotter Future Are Testing Western Water Like Never Before

/in , /by /nprby Lauren Sommer

As droughts strain water supplies across Western states, some cities and farmers have struggled with mandatory cutbacks. Determining who gets cut is decided by the foundational pecking order of Western water: the older your claim to water, created as the country expanded westward, the better protected it is. When there’s a shortage, those with newer water rights have to cut back first, sometimes giving up their water completely before older claims lose a single drop.

Full Story

Rainbow, Fallbrook Voters to Choose Whether to Leave San Diego County Water Authority

/in , /by /CBS8by City News Service, Jasmine Ramirez

The San Diego County Local Area Formation Commission took a major step Monday toward allowing two rural water districts to leave the jurisdiction of the county Water Authority — by leaving the matter in the hands of the voters.

Full Story