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Can We Do It? Unprecedented Water Cuts Will Require Sacrifices for Southern California

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith and Ian James

In less than a month, residents in large portions of Southern California will be under unprecedented water restrictions due to a worsening drought that has severely limited water supplies.

The biggest change is the requirement from the Metropolitan Water District that local water suppliers in those areas, from Ventura County to northwestern L.A. County to parts of the Inland Empire, limit outdoor watering to once a week.

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Drought Imperils Arizona Hydropower Plant Operations

/in , , /by /ENR Southwestby James Leggate

Ongoing dry weather in the western U.S. conducive to wildfires burning in New Mexico and Arizona has also helped drop the waters of Lake Powell to a level approaching the minimum needed to operate the Glen Canyon Dam hydroelectric power plant.

“This year the Colorado River Basin has experienced extremely variable conditions with a record high snowpack one month, followed by weeks without snow,” David Palumbo, acting commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, said in a statement. “This variable hydrology and a warmer, drier west have drastically impacted our operations and we are faced with the urgent need to manage in the moment.”

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Why Farmers Often Pay Higher Water Rates and Fees During Drought

/in , /by /Capital Pressby Sierra Dawn McClain

California walnut grower Tim McCord is at the dry end of the spigot, facing a zero-water allocation from the Central Valley Project, which is supposed to deliver to his local San Benito County Water District.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” said McCord.

The farmer is not just concerned about his orchard; he’s also frustrated that he owes substantial water-related taxes to the district, and, if water is eventually delivered, he’ll be charged $309.75 per acre-foot — more than in non-drought years.

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Colorado River Reservoirs Are So Low, Government Is Delaying Releases

/in , /by /The New York Timesby Henry Fountain

With long-term severe drought continuing to take a toll on the Colorado River, the federal government is expected to announce on Monday that it will retain some water in one of the river’s major reservoirs to temporarily stave off what it called increased uncertainty in water and electricity supplies.

The anticipated decision to keep more water in Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah border, rather than releasing it downstream to the other major reservoir, Lake Mead near Las Vegas, comes as both are at record-low levels after 20 years of drought.

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Estimate for Cost of Advanced Water Purification Skyrockets

/in , /by /East County Magazineby Mike Allen

A new estimated cost for the Advanced Water Purification project, a system of recapturing sewage and transforming it to drinkable water for about 500,000 East County residents, escalated to about $850 million, an increase of more than $300 million above the estimate three years ago.

Allen Carlisle, general manager of the Padre Dam Municipal Water District, revealed the number at a public forum held April 24 in Santee, saying the project should begin construction this summer.

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Hodges Reservoir Will be Closed for Recreation During Five-Month Project

/in , /by /Rancho Santa Fe Reviewby Karen Billing Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

In the coming weeks, the City of San Diego will begin emergency repairs on the Lake Hodges Dam at the Hodges Reservoir in Escondido outside of Rancho Santa Fe.

During a recent inspection, the city identified areas in the dam wall that require repair and need be sealed. In order to complete the work, the water level of the reservoir needs to be lowered by about 18 feet from its current level to an elevation of 275 feet.

The repair project is expected to continue for an estimated five months.

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Newsom: Desalination Project Should be Approved — “We Need More Damn Tools in the Toolkit”

/in , , /by /Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

Citing California’s worsening drought conditions, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday made a powerful new push for a controversial $1.4 billion desalination plant on the state’s coastline.

The proposed oceanfront facility in Huntington Beach has been under debate for more than 20 years, and its fate could set a course for other desalination plants on the state’s coast. The California Coastal Commission is scheduled to take a final vote on the project in two weeks.

“We need more tools in the damn tool kit,” Newsom said during a meeting with the Bay Area News Group editorial board when asked about the project. “We are as dumb as we want to be. What more evidence do you need that you need to have more tools in the tool kit than what we’ve experienced? Seven out of the last 10 years have been severe drought.”

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Vegas Water Intake Now Visible at Drought-Stricken Lake Mead

/in , , /by /AP News

A massive drought-starved reservoir on the Colorado River has become so depleted that Las Vegas now is pumping water from deeper within Lake Mead where other states downstream don’t have access.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority announced this week that its Low Lake Level Pumping Station is operational, and released photos of the uppermost intake visible at 1,050 feet (320 meters) above sea level at the lake behind Hoover Dam.

“While this emphasizes the seriousness of the drought conditions, we have been preparing for this for more than a decade,” said Bronson Mack, water authority spokesman. The low-level intake allows Las Vegas “to maintain access to its primary water supply in Lake Mead, even if water levels continue to decline due to ongoing drought and climate change conditions,” he said.

The move to begin using what had been seen as an in-case-we-need-it hedge against taps running dry comes as water managers in several states that rely on the Colorado River take new steps to conserve water amid what has become perpetual drought.

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Why Some SoCal Neighborhoods Face Dire Water Cuts While Others Escape Restrictions

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith and Ian James

Major water restrictions are about to take effect in areas ranging from Rancho Cucamonga to Thousand Oaks, and Baldwin Park to North Hollywood. But many nearby areas will escape the mandatory one-day-a-week watering limits — among them Santa Monica, Long Beach, Torrance and Beverly Hills. Why? The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has targeted these first-ever water restrictions for areas that rely heavily or entirely on the State Water Project — a Northern California water supply that officials say faces a real risk of running dry. Areas that receive water from the Colorado River and other sources will be spared — at least for now.

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La Niña Could Enter Rare Third Straight Year. Here’s What That Means.

/in , , /by /The Washington Postby Matthew Cappucci

Meteorologists are monitoring the potential for a “triple-dip La Niña,” an unusual resurgence of cooler-than-normal sea surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific. While such a phenomenon might seem remote, La Niña plays an enormous role in our weather stateside. In addition to helping juice up tornado season in the spring, La Niña has been known to supercharge Atlantic hurricane season when it sticks around into the summer and fall.

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