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Monthly Reservoir Report for February 2

/in , /by /Maven's Notebookby Robert Shibatani

The New Year’s Atmospheric River storms of 2023 have abated and catchments across the State are draining as exemplified by continuing baseflows through their hydrograph recession limbs.  River flows are still elevated, but releases have been incrementally curtailed and stage levels continue to drop.

Despite early positive signs, however, the reality of what this storm (or series of storms) brought in terms of drought relief is made eminently clear by reviewing various data sources.

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California Water Agencies Submit Colorado River Modeling Framework to Bureau of Reclamation

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

California water agencies that rely on the Colorado River today proposed a modeling framework for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to evaluate as it considers actions to help stabilize reservoir elevations and protect critical infrastructure to ensure the Colorado River system can continue to support 40 million people, nearly 6 million acres of agriculture, and Tribes across seven states and portions of Mexico.

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Imperial Irrigation District Responds to Six-State Consensus on Colorado River

/in , , /by /Imperial Valley Press by Marcie Landeros

Responding to an Associated Press (AP) article titled “California lone holdout in consensus for Colorado River cuts,” Imperial Irrigation District Division 2 Director and Chairman of the Colorado River Board of Directors J.B. Hamby said the six-state consensus is inconsistent with the “Law of the River.”

The AP article appeared in the Tuesday, January 31 edition of the Imperial Valley Press, where the article accused California of not joining a plan created by the other six Colorado Basin States to see more than 2-million-acre feet of water cut from most the lower basin.

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California Fires Back at Other Western States With Its Own Colorado River Plan

/in , , /by /Desert Sunby Janet Wilson

Dueling plans for how to save the fast-drying Colorado River have been submitted by California and six other states to federal authorities, who have made clear they may impose draconian cuts if consensus is not reached regionally on deep reductions. That agreement could be hard to come by.

California swung hard at six other Western states late Tuesday, submitting its own proposal for more than 3 million acre feet in reductions — both from current and future agreements — if necessary from the river’s dwindling reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead.

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California Releases Its Own Plan for Colorado River Cuts

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Kathleen Ronayne and Suman Naishadham

California released a plan Tuesday detailing how Western states reliant on the Colorado River should save more water. It came a day after the six other states in the river basin made a competing proposal.

In a letter to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, California described how states could conserve between 1 million and nearly 2 million acre feet of water through new cuts based on the elevation of Lake Mead, a key reservoir.

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Sierra Nevada Snowpack Hits Biggest Level in Nearly 30 Years

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

The statewide Sierra Nevada snowpack — the source of nearly one-third of California’s water supply — is at its highest level since 1995, boosting hopes that an end to the drought is near, but also raising concerns that a few warm spring storms could melt it too early and trigger major flooding.

Not since Toy Story packed movie theaters, Steve Young led the 49ers to their fifth Super Bowl win, and gasoline cost $1.28 a gallon has there been so much snow in California’s most famous mountain range at the end of January.

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Colorado’s Wet Winter is a Drop in the Drought Bucket

/in , /by /Axios Denverby Alayna Alvarez

The heavy snow blanketing the Rocky Mountains this winter is a welcome respite for the shrinking Colorado River.

Yes, but: Climate experts say it still falls short from saturating the state’s drought-ridden reservoirs.

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Here’s How Much Rain and Snow This Storm Dumped on San Diego

/in , /by /NBC 7 San Diegoby Rafael Avitabile

Another multi-day storm soaked San Diego County to start this week. Thankfully, this one didn’t bring surging tides and destructive winds along with it — but it did bring snow.

That means instead of counting toppled trees and calculating damage to city infrastructure, we can just focus on how much water fell from the sky.

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Oceanside’s Landscape Management Balances Beauty and Water Conservation

/in , /by /Western Cityby Carolina Alban-Stoughton

Thousands of visitors descend on the beautiful city of Oceanside every week. They are in town to hit the beach, swim or surf, go boating or fishing, and visit the historic Mission San Luis Rey. They come in such numbers that Oceanside’s population can swell from just over 170,000 to nearly 200,000.

All these visitors bring a huge benefit to the local economy. Beautifying the local landscape makes sense for both the well-being of local residents and the increased attractiveness for visitors.

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Here’s How Much Rain Fell in 45 San Diego County Communities Through 5 a.m. Tuesday

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

The Canadian storm that arrived late Sunday night and moved out early Tuesday left significant rain across San Diego County. Here are the totals for 45 local communities, through 5 a.m. Tuesday. The final snowfall totals aren’t in yet.

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