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California, Arizona and Nevada Face Major Water Cutbacks From the Colorado River

/in , , /by /NPR

Because of the megadrought that’s gripping the southwestern United States, the federal government is cutting back how much water it delivers to California, Arizona and Nevada by a lot, about as much as Las Vegas uses in a year. It’s something water managers never thought they’d have to do. Alex Hager reports on the Colorado River from member station KUNC in Greeley, Colo., and joins us now to explain what’s going on. So decades ago, the U.S. built huge dams on the Colorado River specifically to store water as insurance against droughts. Why isn’t that system working now?

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Where Will California North Coast Get Its Water if Drought Becomes Common?

/in , , /by /North Bay Business Journalby Jeff Quackenbush

With parts of the North Coast facing what forecasters say is shaping up to be “extreme drought” this year, the region’s water managers are busy exploring near- and long-term options.

But new large reservoirs like Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino aren’t among them.

Even as the first of seven large reservoirs funded by the 2014 $2.7 billion California water bond is set to get under construction elsewhere in the state, agency officials and local lawmakers say the regulatory and political environment has shifted dramatically from decades ago when the Golden State’s big water catchments were constructed.

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The Snowmelt Is On – and That’s Too Soon in Colorado, Say Water Watchers

/in , , /by /The Denver Gazetteby Marianne Goodland

The concern over drought over the past couple of years has focused on the Western Slope and much of southern and southeastern Colorado, but water watchers said on April 19 that a lack of precipitation is now a factor for the Eastern Plains, as well, just when farmers are getting ready to plant.

Colorado’s drought situation is a little better than it was a year ago, but warm temperatures, windy conditions in April and almost no precipitation in parts of the state means the snowpack is melting a couple of weeks sooner than most water watchers would prefer.

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Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center Receives Multiple Awards for Its Excellence

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Valley Water has won two prestigious awards for its work to increase Santa Clara County’s local water supply through recycled and purified water.

In February 2022, the Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center (SVAWPC) was named the Tertiary Recycled Water Plant of the Year by the Santa Clara Valley Section of the California Water Environment Association (CWEA).

The accolades continued in March 2022 when the purification center claimed victory at the state competition. The regional and state recognitions come in the plant’s first year of applying.

Deliveries to Be Cut as Lake Powell Approaches Crisis Level

/in , , /by /Las Vegas Sunby Jessica Hill

Lake Mead’s “bathtub ring” is set to become even more pronounced this year.

The lingering drought is the overriding reason that the lake’s water level will fall again in 2022, but it’s also because less water will be released upstream on the Colorado River from Lake Powell.

This month, the seven Colorado River Basin States — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — agreed with federal officials’ recommendations to institute a 480,000 acre-foot reduction from Glen Canyon Dam on Lake Powell to reduce the risk of the lake declining below 3,490 feet.

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Governor Declares Drought in Four More Oregon Counties

/in , /by /KOIN-TV by Amanda Arden

It’s been a rainy April, but prolonged drought is still impacting parts of Oregon. On Monday, Gov. Kate Brown issued drought declarations for four Oregon counties.

Deschutes, Grant, Lake and Malheur counties are the latest where the governor has declared a drought. These counties join Gilliam, Morrow, Jefferson, Crook, Harney, Klamath and Jackson counties, for which the governor declared a drought earlier in 2022.

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Irrigation Districts Plan for Another Dry Year as Drought Mars Rio Grande

/in , /by /El Paso Timesby Martha Pskowski

Water districts in El Paso and southern New Mexico will start releasing irrigation water in June, as drought continues to pummel the Rio Grande Basin.

Elephant Butte Reservoir will open its gates June 1, releasing water for southern New Mexico, far west Texas and Mexico. The Elephant Butte Irrigation District (EBID) announced April 22 an allotment of 5 inches of water per acre, a far cry from the full allotment of 36 inches. El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1 (EPCWID1) has yet to announce its allotments but manager Jesús Reyes estimated it will be 18 inches of water per acre.

“(18 inches) is about what we had last year,” Reyes said. “We try and conserve as much as we can because we’ve been in and out of drought for 20 years.”

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Bigger ‘Bomb Cyclones’ Could Deluge Bay Area in Coming Decades, Climate Study Finds

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Julie Johnshon

Extreme storms like the massive bomb cyclone that drenched the San Francisco Bay Area last October are likely to become more powerful in the coming decades as climate change alters atmospheric conditions.

The Bay Area could see between 26% and 37% more water from these mega-storms by the end of the century, according to a new study from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory commissioned by the city.

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Coastal Commission Staff Says Poseidon’s Ocean-to-tap Water Plant Should Not Be Built

/in , /by /The Orange County Registerby Andre Mouchard

Poseidon Water’s long-running, controversial effort to turn the ocean off Huntington Beach into tap water for much of Orange County suffered a potentially fatal blow Monday, April 25 when staff for the California Coastal Commission released a report saying the project should not be built.

Citing a range of economic and social factors, including environmental damages from the proposed plant and the company’s track record for slow-walking environmental projects that would offset harm caused by its existing desalination plant in Carlsbad, the staff recommended that the commissioners vote against approving the project May 12 when they hold a public hearing in Costa Mesa.

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Manchester Avenue Potable Water Pipeline Replacement Project Completed

/in , , /by /Water News Network

The Olivenhain Municipal Water District recently completed the Manchester Avenue Potable Water Pipeline Project. In total, 3,700 linear feet of aged potable water pipeline was replaced along Manchester Avenue, Rancho Santa Fe Road and Encinitas Boulevard.

The pipelines previously serving water in this area were installed in 1961 and were approaching the end of their lifespan.

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