A railway project in Eastern Utah is drawing significant pushback in Colorado as elected officials voice concerns about crude oil risks to the Colorado River, which is the West’s primary freshwater river.
The Uinta Basin Railway project would build around 80 miles of train tracks connecting oil production to America’s rail network.
Satellite images taken over the past several weeks show a dramatic resurrection of Tulare Lake in California’s Central Valley and the flooding that could remain for as long as two years across previously arid farmland.
The satellite imagery, provided by the Earth imaging company Planet Labs, show the transition from a dry basin to a wide and deep lake running about ten miles from bank to bank on land used to grow almonds, tomatoes, cotton and other crops.
With Western water challenges in mind, Lorelei Cloud has a message for policymakers: There should be room for partnerships — not fear — when Native American tribes join the negotiating table.
In March, Cloud became one of the newest members of the state’s top water agency, the Colorado Water Conservation Board, when Gov. Jared Polis appointed her to represent the San Miguel-Dolores-San Juan drainage basin in southwestern Colorado. She’s also the first known tribal member to hold a seat on the board since its creation in 1937.
An attorney for the West Basin Municipal Water District has determined board member Gloria Gray is likely holding two incompatible offices, in violation of state law, because the water district sells to the Inglewood, where she is now a City Council member.
Elected officials do not need an actual conflict of interest for the two roles to be deemed incompatible, only the “possibility of a clash of duties,” said attorney Joe Byrne, the district’s general counsel, during the water board meeting on Monday, April 24.
Lake Mead, in Arizona and Nevada, is the largest reservoir in the United States and part of the Colorado River system, which supplies water to seven U.S. states and part of Mexico, including one third of the water used in Southern California. It also supplies 30 Tribal Nations.
At the end of last year, experts predicted that, due to drought and heavy demand for water, Lake Mead was just two years shy of dead pool, when water levels drop below the point at which it can flow downstream of the reservoir.
California and Arizona are currently fighting each other over water from the Colorado River. But this isn’t new — it’s actually been going on for over 100 years. At one point, the states literally went to war about it. The problem comes down to some really bad math from 1922.
The largest project in the city of San Marcos is only a few weeks from completion.
The city dedicated millions of dollars and spent three years improving the area around San Marcos Creek, which runs through the center of town. The creek regularly flooded streets when it rained, prompting road closures and backed–up traffic.
After a series of winter storms boosted California’s reservoirs and snowpack, state and federal officials are pledging full water deliveries, increasing 2023 allocations for farmers and water districts to 100% of requested supplies for the year.
With snowmelt occurring, the California Department of Water Resources said last week it expects to deliver 100% of requested water supplies from the State Water Project. That is up from a 75% allocation announced in March.
Californians could be voting on a major flood protection bond next November.
State lawmakers are pushing a $4.5 billion bond measure which would help fund water infrastructure projects across the state.
Safe, clean and affordable drinking water is a human right in California. But making that legal requirement a reality is a difficult challenge exacerbated further by climate change.
