Federal officials on Monday issued the first-ever “Level 1” shortage declaration for the massive reservoir of Lake Mead on the Colorado River, triggering major water cuts for Arizona, Nevada and Mexico.
The cuts for water users downstream from Hoover Dam will begin in October, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said in a statement.
Residents and businesses in unincorporated areas of San Diego County are eligible for increased water-use efficiency rebates under a new partnership between the County’s Watershed Protection Program and the San Diego County Water Authority.
The County’s new Waterscape Rebate Program will save money for residential, commercial, and agricultural customers who make landscape upgrades that improve the region’s climate resilience and reduce the flow of pollutants into waterways.
The federal government on Monday declared a first shortage on the Colorado River, announcing mandatory water cutbacks next year for Arizona, Nevada and Mexico. California will not be immediately affected, but U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials warned that more cuts would likely be necessary.
The river supplies drinking water and irrigation for 40 million people. The declaration of a shortage was triggered by the spiraling decline of Lake Mead, which stores water used by California, Arizona, Nevada and Mexico.
The federal government on Monday declared a first-ever water shortage on the Colorado River, announcing mandatory cutbacks next year that will bring major challenges for Arizona farmers and reduce the water allotments of Nevada and Mexico.
The declaration of a shortage by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has been anticipated for months and was triggered by the spiraling decline of Lake Mead, which stores water used by Arizona, Nevada, California and Mexico.
As temperatures recently reached triple digits, farmer Joe Del Bosque inspected the almonds in his parched orchard in California’s agriculture-rich San Joaquin Valley, where a deepening drought threatens one of the state’s most profitable crops.
Del Bosque doesn’t have enough water to properly irrigate his almond orchards, so he’s practicing “deficit irrigation” — providing less water than the trees need. He left a third of his farmland unplanted to save water for the nuts. And he may pull out 100 of his 600 acres (243 hectares) of almond trees after the late summer harvest — years earlier than planned.
The City of Folsom announced Monday it will require residents to reduce water use by 20%. The water-use restriction will go into effect Aug. 30.
This comes as the water supply across the state continues to dwindle amid a crippling drought. Folsom itself draws water from the American River at Folsom Lake, which has lower levels than it did during the 2014-15 drought. This is the second driest year on record since 1977.
An Exceptional Drought has been declared in the Western United States. Extreme summer heat and a lack of Rocky Mountain runoff is affecting agriculture, livestock, and critical drinking water supplies for millions of people. In part three of a three-part series, reporter Jeff Zevely visits Page, Arizona, a town that depends on water and tourism to survive.
The small town has a population of 8,250. In 2019, an estimated four million people visited Page. The town was founded in 1957 to build a dam and supply the Southwest with water and electricity. Lake Powell is the town’s lifeline.
A new player has entered the legal fray over the Kern River — the public. Actually, it’s a consortium of Bakersfield and other nonprofit, public interest groups that hope to sway the state Water Resources Control Board to, ultimately, re-water the mostly dry Kern River through town. The Flowing Kern Coalition made its debut Tuesday when it filed a notice of intent to appear at an upcoming proceeding on the Kern River. The Water Board’s Administrative Hearing Office announced in July it would begin the process of deciding whether the river has available water and, if so, how much on Aug. 17. This all stems from a 2007 court ruling that the Kern Delta Water District had forfeited some of its rights to the river.
In response to worsening drought conditions, the board of Southern California’s regional water wholesaler will consider declaring a Water Supply Alert tomorrow that calls upon residents to voluntarily conserve the precious resource.
According to officials with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), Southern California’s water supply has been severely impacted by extreme drought in both the Northern Sierra and the Colorado River, saying crucial storage reservoirs have never been lower.
U.S. officials on Monday declared the first-ever water shortage from a river that serves 40 million people in the West, triggering cuts to some Arizona farmers next year amid a gripping drought.
Water levels at the largest reservoir on the Colorado River — Lake Mead — have fallen to record lows. Along its perimeter, a white “bathtub ring” of minerals outlines where the high water line once stood, underscoring the acute water challenges for a region facing a growing population and a drought that is being worsened by hotter, drier weather brought on by climate change.
