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Dry Boat Ramps, Exposed Rocks at Lake Powell Reveal the Cost of Colorado River Drought

/in , , /by /Arizona Republicby Brandon Loomis

A small bucket loader scraped Wahweap Bay’s expanding strip of red mud and gravel, its operator smoothing the shoreline where concrete workers were busy chasing a lake in retreat.

To the left, where the bay had long offered kayakers and water skiers a loop around Lone Rock, the monumental slab now rose from dust flats instead of from flat water. To the right, in the channel that leads to Glen Canyon Dam and the Colorado River’s sunken bed, formerly submerged islands and peninsulas mapped out a warming climate’s continuing transformation of one of America’s great water stores and pleasure grounds.

A desert flooded by impounded waters in the last century has visibly reasserted itself in this one.

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Agencies Break Ground for Regional Recycled Water Facility

/in , , /by /Highland Community News

Thursday, Feb. 24, three lead water agencies broke ground on the first phase of a regional recycled water project that will keep recycled water in local groundwater basins for future use. East Valley Water District (EVWD), San Bernardino Municipal Water Department (San Bernardino Water) and San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District (Valley District) are partnering on a multi-phase regional recycled water project that includes infrastructure to store and transport water through Highland and San Bernardino.

The Weaver Basins Groundbreaking was held at the site on Greenspot Road in the city of Highland. This groundbreaking is just one part of Phase I of a larger Regional Recycled Water System. Included in Phase 1 is the installation of a 30-inch pipeline, which will bring water to the Weaver Basins site.

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The Colorado River Starts as Snow, and the Way We Understand It Is Changing

/in , /by /KUNCby Alex Hager

High in the Rocky Mountains, under thin air and bluebird skies, the Colorado River basin is slowly filling its savings account. Craggy peaks become smooth walls of white and piles of snow climb conifer trunks, covering even the deepest, darkest corners of the woods with a glimmering blanket.

The snow that accumulates in the mountains of Colorado and Wyoming will eventually become water in the Colorado River. Some of it will flow as far south as Mexico, running through kitchen faucets in cities and suburbs along the way, or watering crops that keep America fed through the winter.

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Opinion: Why We Turned the L.A. River Into a Freeway (for Water)

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Patt Morrison

If the Los Angeles River had its own IMDb listing — and why shouldn’t it? It’s appeared in all kinds of movies — its career arc would look something like this:

  • Leading man for tens of thousands of years, star and creator of the epic story of Los Angeles’ ecosystem and living things.
  • Demoted to a supporting role around 1913, when L.A.’s new producers and directors began importing younger, more reliable water.
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What Can Be Done to Keep California’s Utility Bills From Getting Even Higher?

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Rob Nikolewski

As rising power bills leave many Californians howling — with San Diego Gas & Electric customers paying the highest rates — the regulatory agency that approves what the state’s three big investor-owned utilities can charge opened a two-day workshop Monday to discuss what can be done to keep prices from climbing even higher.

The California Public Utilities Commission, known as the CPUC, heard from a range of voices that included consumer and trade groups, energy analysts, environmental organizations, academics and the power companies themselves during the virtual meeting opening day.

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Water Authority to Make Precautionary Repairs to Key Pipeline in Bonsall

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewein Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority
Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority announced Monday that it will begin precautionary repairs to a key pipeline in Bonsall.

The Water Authority said its staff detected potential weaknesses in a 48-foot section of Pipeline 4 just north of West Lilac Road in late January using acoustic fiber-optic monitoring.

Plans are to shut down and drain that stretch of 90-inch diameter pipe starting Tuesday. Work to replace the segment will continue until the line is back in service approximately 10 days later.

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Slo County Had Driest January and February in More Than 150 Years — Is This the ‘New Normal’?

/in , /by /The Tribuneby John Lindsey Mentioned: https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/weather/weather-watch/article258890608.html

After reviewing 153 years of rainfall records from Cal Poly’s Irrigation Training & Research Center, there has never been a back-to-back dry January followed by a parched February in San Luis Obispo County. Over the many decades of rain data, if you saw a primarily dry January, it would be followed by a wet February and vice versa during the peak of our rainy season (July 1 through June 30).

Read more at: https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/weather/weather-watch/article258890608.html#storylink=cpy

Successful Pipeline 4 Repair Saves San Diego County Ratepayers Money

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

Tens of millions of gallons of water will soon be flowing again through a major pipeline in North San Diego County following a successful repair on Pipeline 4 near Bonsall. The repair is part of the Water Authority’s proactive approach and long-term commitment to maintaining regional water supply.

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Satellite Images Show Just How Quickly Sierra’s Snowpack Is Retreating

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Gwendolyn Wu

The storms that frosted the Sierra Nevada with a healthy layer of snow in December soon gave way to dry weather, and the snowpack is showing it.

Satellite images from NASA show a big difference even between January and February. Images from Jan. 9 showed a blanket of snow over the Sierra Nevada and their foothills, with clouds overshadowing parts of the Bay Area and Central Valley.

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California Agriculture Takes $1.2-Billion Hit During Drought, Losing 8,700 Farm Jobs, Researchers Find

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

Severe drought last year caused the California agriculture industry to shrink by an estimated 8,745 jobs and shoulder $1.2 billion in direct costs as water cutbacks forced growers to fallow farmland and pump more groundwater from wells, according to new research.

In a report prepared for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, researchers calculated that reduced water deliveries resulted in 395,000 acres of cropland left dry and unplanted — an area larger than Los Angeles. In estimating the costs, they factored in losses in crop revenue and higher costs for pumping more groundwater.

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