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Colorado Officially Declares Statewide Emergency Due to Ongoing Drought Conditions

/in , /by /Sky Hi News Colorado

Colorado’s low snowpack and ongoing drought conditions led Gov. Jared Polis to declare a statewide drought emergency Thursday.

The governor activated Phase 3 of Colorado’s Drought Response Plan, which allows the state to take additional emergency response actions, such as emergency funding for unmet response needs, a request for a federal disaster declaration, and reductions in outdoor water usage at state facilities.

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‘It’s an Injustice’: Shrinking State Funds Could Slow Fixes for Californians With Toxic Water

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

In a neighborhood flanked by grapevines and orange groves on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley, people cannot drink the water from their faucets because it’s contaminated.

Residents in the area north of Porterville, many of them farmworkers, have been discussing a solution, which they expect will require running pipes to connect to the nearby city system.

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Could the Tijuana River Help Get Arizona More Water?

/in , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Arizona is desperate for water. So much so that its taxpayers are willing to invest in treating Tijuana’s sewage so it’s drinkable.

How would that help Arizona? The state would ask Mexico for some of its Colorado River water in exchange.

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‘This Is the ’Uh-Oh’ Moment’: Record-Low Snowpack Leaves Western U.S. Bracing for Water Restrictions and Wildfire Danger

/in , /by /The Cool Downby Brooklyn Smith

After the West’s warm winter and fast spring thaw, reservoirs that many communities depend on are entering summer with little margin for error.

With reserves already thin, water managers in places such as Utah and Idaho are warning that summer could bring stricter conservation rules and heightened wildfire danger.

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California Lake Level and Late Spring Water Temperature Check

/in , /by /Fox 26 Fresnoby Kris Kuyper

Summer is just around the corner, but our recent hot weather makes it feel like it’s already here. So, if you’re thinking about hitting the lake to go fishing, boating, or just relaxing… how full is that lake? And how about the water temperatures in the local rivers?

We’ve been talking about how the Sierra Nevada snowpack started it’s Spring melt-off early this year for a while now, so now it’s time to take a look at how our reservoirs are doing as we near Summer. And while the snowpack news has been bad, the reservoir news is pretty good. Most major reservoirs around the state are 75% to 95% full – great news! Because the Sierra snowpack is just about done, this will likely be their peak for the year – they likely won’t see any significant inflow until next November, at the earliest.

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Nevada, California and Arizona Exploring Colorado River Water Sharing Options

/in , /by /ABC 13 Las Vegasby Jarah Wright Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

While the future of the Colorado River remains uncertain, officials from Nevada, California and Arizona are looking at other options to increase water stability in the southwest.

This week, the three states agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding to explore the legal and policy framework of possibly exchanging shares of Colorado River water and explore the potential need for federal funds to facilitate interstate exchanges.

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Colorado River Deal Is a ‘QSA 2.0’

/in , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer

San Diego signed a deal Tuesday to start talking about something that’s never been done before: Sell water to other thirsty states in the Southwest.

The San Diego County Water Authority received a lot of national press recently because it’s probably the only water agency in this Colorado River-dependent region that has claim over more water than its people and industries use. Even The New York Times showed up Tuesday to catch the Water Authority’s general manager, Dan Denham, raise a glass of desalted water with top Colorado River negotiators celebrating their shared interest in creating an interstate water market.

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Arizona’s Salty Solution for Its Water Future

/in , /by /ABC 15 Arizonaby Adam Klepp Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

For years, Arizona has explored the possibility of turning seawater into drinking water as a way to help offset shortages on the Colorado River.

Now, state water leaders say a new partnership with California could move that concept one step closer to reality.

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Carlsbad Desalination Plant Backdrop for Regional Water Accord

/in , /by /North Coast Current Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Water leaders from California, Nevada and Arizona gathered at the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant on Wednesday, June 3, to sign an agreement aimed at exploring interstate water exchanges as a way to strengthen long-term water reliability across the Southwest.

The memorandum of understanding was signed June 3 at the plant by officials from the San Diego County Water Authority, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Southern Nevada Water Authority, Arizona Department of Water Resources, Central Arizona Project and Salt River Project.

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Colorado River States Suggest Mediation As Water Supplies Near Crisis

/in , /by /Tucson.comby Brandon Loomis Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Negotiators for some of the seven states competing for dwindling Colorado River water supplies say they’re disappointed in a federal plan to adopt only short-term fixes in the coming years, and they think going to mediation could help reach a longer-lasting agreement.

The Trump administration’s Bureau of Reclamation has said that, lacking a seven-state agreement to guide operations and cutbacks to arrest the loss of reservoir storage, it intends to create a 10-year “framework” with new rules to be imposed every two years. The lead negotiators for Colorado and Nevada appeared on stage at a June 5 conference and both said such a plan lacks the certainty that their water users need when deciding on investments.

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