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California Avoids Further Colorado River Water Cuts, for Now

/in , , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

San Diego and the rest of California won’t have to shoulder any mandatory water cuts from the Colorado River next year, unlike Arizona, Nevada and Mexico. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the federal government’s water manager, unveiled Tuesday how it predicts this decades-long drought will affect major reservoirs next year. The levels of those reservoirs serve as a barometer for how much water the river’s seven basin states and Mexico can receive. The Colorado River, the largest freshwater source for the western U.S. and northwestern Mexico, provides enough water for 40 million people and fuels a massive agricultural industry.

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US: Drought-Stricken States to Get Less From Colorado River

/in , /by /KPBS-FM/TVby Tom Fudge Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

For the second year in a row, Arizona and Nevada will face cuts in the amount of water they can draw from the Colorado River as the West endures an extreme drought, federal officials announced Tuesday. California has avoided cutbacks for now.

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US West Hit With Water Cuts but Rebuffs Call for Deeper Ones

/in , , /by /Associated Pressby Sam Metz, Suman Naishadham and Kathleen Ronayne

For the second year in a row, Arizona and Nevada will face cuts in the amount of water they can draw from the Colorado River as the West endures more drought, federal officials announced Tuesday.

The cuts planned for next year will force states to make critical decisions about where to reduce consumption and whether to prioritize growing cities or agricultural areas. Mexico will also face cuts.

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Four Things to Know About Colorado River Water in California

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

Southern California water districts are grappling with what the fallout could look like if supplies from a critical source — the rapidly drying Colorado River — are cut next year.

The US Bureau of Reclamation warned at a U.S. Senate hearing in mid-June that seven western states had 60 days to voluntarily reach a deal: Cut Colorado River water use by 2 to 4 million acre-feet in 2023 or face federally-mandated cuts instead. It’s a massive amount — at least seven times more than Nevada is entitled to in a year.

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15-Day Watering Ban in Portions of L.A. County Due to Pipeline Leak

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

Drought-pummeled lawns across Los Angeles County will be a little bit thirstier for 15 days in September when officials suspend outdoor watering in several areas to repair a leaking pipeline, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California announced Monday.

The emergency repair will shut down the 36-mile Upper Feeder pipeline — which delivers water from the Colorado River to Southern California — from Sept. 6 to 20, the MWD said. The leak was discovered this year, and the pipeline has been operating at reduced capacity under a temporary fix while officials designed a more permanent solution.

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San Diego Lifts Boil Water Notice for Tierrasanta Neighborhood

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Elizabeth Ireland

The city of San Diego Monday lifted a boil water notice for about 600 residential customers in a portion of the Tierrasanta neighborhood who were affected by fluctuating water pressure issues following a burst pipeline last week.

Multiple tests showed no quality issues with water coming from the tap. The California Division of Drinking Water reviewed the findings and approved the lifting of the notice.

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Taps Have Run Dry in a Major Mexico City for Months. A Similar Water Crisis Looms in the US, Experts Say

/in , , /by /Phys.orgby Maria Aguilar

About 300 miles southwest of San Antonio, water taps have run dry in a major Mexico city.

Thousands of residents wake up at dawn to check their taps and fill up containers. Others line up with large jugs, bottles and buckets at cisterns around the city, where fights have broken out when people try to jump the line.

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Better Atmospheric River Forecasts Are Giving Emergency Planners More Time to Prepare for Flooding

/in , , /by /Scientific Americanby F. Martin Ralph

I was eating breakfast on a Monday morning at Sears Fine Food in downtown San Francisco, casually watching the local five-day weather forecast on a television screen behind the counter. A little symbol along the bottom showed a happy-looking sun for the rest of the day. Wednesday had a friendly-looking cloud and a few raindrops, and Thursday had a dark, threatening cloud with heavier drops.

I knew Thursday’s conditions would be much rougher than the symbol conveyed. I had been studying detailed satellite data and weather models, and they indicated that a major atmospheric river (AR) was likely to hit the city. The symbol was completely inadequate for communicating the threat of the approaching storm.

 

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How the Western Drought is Pushing the Power Grid to the Brink

/in , , /by /Voxby Umair Irfan

It takes a lot of water to make power.

From spinning turbines to hydraulic fracturing to refining fuel, the flow of water is critical to the flow of electrons and heat. About 40 percent of water withdrawals — water taken out of groundwater or surface sources — in the United States go toward energy production. The large majority of that share is used to cool power plants. In turn, it requires energy to extract, purify, transport, and deliver water.

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Water-Rationing Worry Haunts US West With 40 Million at Risk

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Kellie Lunney

The federal government this week will announce the drought forecast for the arid Colorado River Basin, as well as possible cuts western states must make to conserve more water from a supply serving roughly 40 million people.

The Bureau of Reclamation Tuesday will issue its projection for conditions over the next two years in the West’s most important water supply—and the news is expected to be bleak.

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