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In Drought-Stricken West, Officials Weigh Emergency Actions

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Felicia Fonseca

Federal officials say it may be necessary to reduce water deliveries to users on the Colorado River to prevent the shutdown of a huge dam that supplies hydropower to some 5 million customers across the U.S. West.

Officials had hoped snowmelt would buoy Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah border to ensure its dam could continue to supply power. But snow is already melting, and hotter-than-normal temperatures and prolonged drought are further shrinking the lake.

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Study Maps Financial Risks for Calif.’s Water Resilience Planning

/in , , /by /WaterWorld

A new study warns that the benefits of California’s Water Resilience Portfolio Initiative might not be evenly distributed without proper structure to the agreements.

Partnerships between water utilities, irrigation districts and other stakeholders in California will play a critical role in funding new infrastructure under the Water Resilience Portfolio Initiative announced in 2020 by the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom.

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LADWP Urges Customers to Step Up Conservation Efforts

/in , , /by /Spectrum News 1

With warmer spring and summer months approaching, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Wednesday urged customers to increase conservation efforts in light of unusually early and rapid snowmelt.

On April 1, the snowpack was 41% of normal, however on Tuesday, less than two weeks later, readings from the DWP’s Eastern Sierra snow measuring stations showed it had melted to 22% of normal, the equivalent of 4.9 inches of water content.

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Does All Snow in the Rockies Turn Into Water for Lake Mead?

/in , , /by /12 Newsby Michael Doudna

Lake Mead mostly relies on snowfall in the Rocky Mountains to refill its water levels.

However, after years of drought and increasing temperatures, is the cycle of snow, runoff, and refill still working?

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‘More Significant Land Fallowing’ Expected This Year with Ongoing Drought

/in , , /by /AgNet Mediaby Brian German

With drought conditions rivaling those experienced in 2015, there are expectations for further agricultural land fallowing this year. As of April 13, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) shows the statewide snowpack at just 23 percent of average. DWR Director Karla Nemeth noted that California’s current water situation has created some difficult circumstances for both rural and urban areas. Water allocations have been drastically curtailed with more action expected in the coming months to affect urban water users as well.

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Climate Action Plan Report Card Has Mixed Reviews for Cities in San Diego County

/in , , /by /KPBSby Erik Anderson Quoted: `

Climate advocates are giving the San Diego region mixed reviews when it comes to developing climate action plans.

Those plans are considered vital roadmaps to slowing the warming of the planet’s climate and steering state and federal climate funding to the region.

More than half of the region’s municipalities have climate action plans (CAPs), and the latest report card singles out three examples of good ones.

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Asset Management: Successful Pipeline Repair 4 Project in San Diego

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

Tens of millions of gallons of water are flowing through a major pipeline in North San Diego County after successful repairs on a distressed section of Pipeline 4. The urgent repair project is a testament to the San Diego County Water Authority’s proactive Asset Management Program, which helps maintain water supply reliability while saving ratepayers money.

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Western Half of U.S. To See Higher Fire Risk This Spring From Drought

/in , , , /by /The Washington Postby Diana Leonard

Large swaths of the western and central United States are expected to see heightened wildfire risk this spring and summer because of ongoing severe drought and warmer- and drier-than-normal weather in the coming months. Fire danger is already high in some regions as active weather patterns funnel dry winds over drought-stricken landscapes.

That risk is on display this week in the Plains states, where fierce winds are targeting parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado and Nebraska.

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Interior Department May Limit Lake Powell Water Releases to Protect Infrastructure, Hydropower Production

/in , , /by /The Colorado Sunby Chris Outcalt

In an effort to protect the infrastructure at Lake Powell and the ability of Glen Canyon Dam to generate electricity, the U.S. Department of the Interior may keep nearly a half million acre-feet of water in the Utah reservoir instead of releasing that water to the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada this year as scheduled.

Although it’s not clear the Department of Interior proposal would have any immediate impact on Colorado, it highlights the challenges of balancing a system relied on by 40 million people that has been taxed by water users and climate change. It’s also a reminder of the dire assessment of water in the West amid the driest two-decade stretch in the past 1,200 years.

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Santa Clara Valley Water District Limits Outdoor Watering to Twice Weekly as Drought Deepens

/in , , /by /CBS SF BayAreaby Devin Fehely

The South Bay’s largest water provider is limiting when and how often people can water their yards as Santa Clara County faces the effects of a deepening drought.

“People spent so much money on their landscape they want to maintain it. Especially in town here. There’s a lot of wealth in Palo Alto. And they don’t want to see their yards go dry,” said Steve Crosariol, who works in Palo Alto and lives in Cupertino.

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