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Every Day is Earth Day for Water Agencies in San Diego County

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

“Invest in Our Planet” is the theme for Earth Day 2023. Investing in sustainable, local water supply sources and conservation has long been a way of life in San Diego County by water agencies and residents.

“Investing in our planet can take many forms, and the challenges we face differ from community to community,” said Water Authority General Manager Sandra L. Kerl. “One investment I encourage San Diegans to think about on this Earth Day is landscape transformation. This is important because the biggest users of water at our homes are our landscapes – perhaps as much as 70% of our water use, depending on where we live.”

Sustainability is a priority of the San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies. Creating and maintaining a safe, reliable, sustainable water supply for the region ensures the vitality of San Diego County’s $268 billion economy for its 3.3 million residents.

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Opinion: Lake Mead Could Get a Lot More Colorado River Water. What Changed So Quickly?

/in , , /by /AZ Central by Joanna Allhands

What a difference a month makes.

The March 24-month forecast, which predicts reservoir levels along the Colorado River for the next two years, had Lake Mead on a steady trajectory downward.

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Feds Will Release More Water Downstream Into Drought-Stricken Lake Mead After Wet Winter

/in , , /by /CNNby Ella Nilsen

After years of punishing drought, a historic winter snowpack is bringing a reprieve to the Colorado River Basin and the nation’s largest reservoirs.

The US Bureau of Reclamation announced Thursday that this winter’s rain and the projected runoff from above-normal snowfall is expected to boost its water releases this year from Lake Powell to Lake Mead by 2.5 million acre-feet.

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Upper Colorado River States Add Muscle as Decisions Loom on the Shrinking River’s Future

/in , , /by /Western Water (Water Education Foundation)by Nick Cahill

The states of the Lower Colorado River Basin have traditionally played an oversized role in tapping the lifeline that supplies 40 million people in the West. California, Nevada and Arizona were quicker to build major canals and dams and negotiated a landmark deal that requires the Upper Basin to send predictable flows through the Grand Canyon, even during dry years. But with the federal government threatening unprecedented water cuts amid decades of drought and declining reservoirs, the Upper Basin states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico are muscling up to protect their shares of an overallocated river whose average flows have already dropped 20% over the last century.

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Westlands Receives $1.5mil for Desalination Pilot Program

/in , /by /The Sunby Daniel Gligich

Westlands Water District received a state grant to support desalination and on-farm recycling.

Westlands, which serves western Fresno and Kings Counties, views the grant as strengthening its ability to improve the water supply for local communities and farmers.

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Wildflowers Are Popping Up Across the Western United States

/in , /by /NPR

A wet winter in parts of California and Arizona means an epic wildflower season. In some areas the so-called “superbloom” can be seen from space.

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A Wet California Boosts Water Allocations to 100% for First Time in Nearly 20 Years

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Grace Toohey

For the first time since 2006, California officials have increased allocations from the vital State Water Project to 100% of requested supplies, as reservoirs across the state are nearing capacity and an epic snowpack has yet to melt.

An unusually wet winter brought unprecedented snowfall and a succession of heavy rainstorms, pulling much of the state out of a punishing years-long drought and transforming the year’s water outlook.

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Olivenhain Municipal Water District 4S Ranch Water Reclamation Facility is California’s Plant of the Year

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s 4S Ranch Water Reclamation Facility is the California Water Environment Association statewide 2022 Plant of the Year. The award was presented April 19 at CWEA’s Annual Conference in San Diego. The award acknowledges the facility’s accomplishments to increase water supply reliability by reducing imported water demand and plant operations.

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When Will California Have Its Next Drought? JPL May Soon Offer a Water Crystal Ball

/in , , /by /NBC Los Angelesby Helen Jeong and Belen De Leon

A new satellite by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will soon provide more precise — and vital — data on how much water is available on Earth’s surface, allowing better forecasts for extreme weather conditions such as droughts and floods, and helping water resources managers and farmers to get a better picture of their water budget.

The international Surface Water and Ocean Topography or SWOT mission was launched in December 2022 from Vandenberg Space Force Base atop a Falcon 9 rocket.

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How America’s Fastest Growing City is Trying to Secure Its Water Future

/in , , /by /ABC Newsby Patrick Linehan

Rob Ford was watering his hay last October at his small Washington County, Utah, ranch when he realized the flow was weaker than usual. He called the irrigation manager who monitors the water levels.

“The water is really weak,” Ford said he told the irrigation manager. “Is that about what we are expecting today?”

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