New Melones Reservoir — critical to Escalon farmland, as well as Manteca, Lathrop, and Tracy water supplies — was at 616,704 acre feet on Oct. 6.
That’s less than half the average 1,326,146 acre feet of water storage for the date of Oct. 5.
To put that in perspective, it is 47 percent of the average in storage for the start of a new California water year that officially started on Oct. 1.
All eyes are on Arizona and the six other Colorado River basin states that recently missed the federal government’s deadline to adopt a plan that substantially cuts water usage in just one year.
The 23rd consecutive year of drought, fueled by climate change, has accelerated the basin’s water crisis. Quite simply, demand for water within basin states exceeds what the river can sustainably provide.
At the September meeting of the California Water Commission, commissioners were given a briefing by the Department of Water Resources on their preparations for yet another dry year and the steps they are taking to prepare the State Water Project for climate extremes and the challenges of drought, flood, and wildfire.
Key takeaways from these presentations:
This week marks the 50th Anniversary of the 1972 Clean Water Act, which, among other things, made it a legal requirement to clean up sewage to certain standards before dumping it into rivers or the ocean.
Officials with the City of Burbank announced Tuesday that residents will be allowed to water their lawns and outdoor plants one day per week starting Nov. 1.
A Sustainable Water Use Ordinance is now in State III. The ordinance limits potable water usage for outdoor watering due to the California drought.
The Rainbow Municipal Water District certified the Programmatic Environmental Impact Report for Rainbow’s water and sewer master plan.
What the Bonsall Unified School District does in the long term with the 49.78-acre parcel off of Gird Road the district owns wasn’t addressed at the Sept. 13 BUSD board meeting. Regardless of whether the district builds a school, builds athletic or other non-classroom facilities, or sells the land, the current use for part of the land will be by the Rainbow Municipal Water District for storage.
Last year, the Rainbow Municipal Water District board approved a professional services contract with Hoch Consulting to design the Hutton and Turner pump stations. On Aug. 30, the board amended the contract to add the Dentro De Lomas Pump Station to the work.
The California Energy Commission on Oct. 12 adopted new load management standards requiring utilities to develop retail electricity rates that “change at least hourly” to reflect grid costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
The Gila River Indian Community is the first Arizona water rights holder to publicly pursue the federal government’s new offer of compensation to leave Colorado River water in Lake Mead.
Tribal Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis announced the plan on Monday at a gathering of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s water advisory council, which is reviewing ways to spend $4 billion of Inflation Reduction Act funds targeted at Colorado River drought relief, as well as funds approved in an infrastructure funding law.
