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Signs of Drought From Space

/in , , /by /PHYS.ORGby Sofie Bates, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

As Tracy Schohr goes about her day, water is always on her mind. She’s thinking of it as she rides an all-terrain vehicle around the pasture, looks up hay prices and weather forecasts, and collects data on grazing and invasive weeds for a scientific study.

Schohr is a rancher and farmer in Gridley, California, where her family has raised beef cattle and grown rice for six generations. She also aids in scientific research to study drought and other agricultural issues with the University of California Cooperative Extension.

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Opinion: In Southern Nevada’s Endless Water Crisis, We’re Well Past the Time to be Lawn Gone

/in , /by /The Nevada Independentby John L. Smith

The front lawn came with the house we moved into a couple years ago.

The patch of Bermudagrass was smaller than an average putting green and easy to mow. The splash of deep green was cute as far as that goes, but it was out of place on a street that had largely made the transition to colored rock and water-smart landscaping.

Beyond the postcard aesthetics, it made zero sense to continue to water a lawn in the desert. Setting aside the politics of climate change and our arid land with its endless water crisis — a basic definition of “desert” — there were no children at home to play on it. And I could live with the dogs’ disappointment. In short, there was nothing to debate.

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Demand for Greywater Systems Surge During Drought

/in , , /by /Spectrum News 1by Renee Eng

With a full house that includes her husband, two young daughters and two dogs, homeowner Erin Payne is constantly doing laundry, sometimes one load every day.

“All of our pets and kids and being out in the dirt,” she said. “It’s a lot.”

But Payne said one thing that always bothered her was all the water going to waste, not only for laundry but other things. “All of our showers and baths and bathroom sinks are all connected, so the combination is quite a bit of water,” she said.

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Megadrought to Pit Fish Lives Against Human Needs in U.S. West

/in , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Bobby Magill

Water cuts aimed at farmers amid the West’s megadrought have set the stage for bitter legal and political fights over one of the most overlooked water uses—the right of water to remain in streams to sustain fish and endangered species, lawyers say.

The drought is poised to call that right into question, pitting drinking water providers and food growers against conservationists who want to keep streams wet so that fish can survive.

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Singapore’s First Dual-Mode Desalination Plant

/in , /by /WaterWorld

Singapore is using desalination as part of the solution to provide enough clean drinking water for its ever-growing population of 5.5 million. Though surrounded by water, having enough drinking water has always been a challenge for this island state. Currently the demand for drinking water is up to 430 million gallons a day. The Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant is the latest step of Singapore using advanced technology to help address their water challenge.

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Opinion: What Can Arizona Learn from California’s Drought and Mandatory Water Cuts?

/in , , /by /Arizona Republicby Joanna Allhands

Arizona has water issues.

But they are not nearly as deep or widespread as those pummeling northern California.

Some areas there are facing mandatory 40% cuts in use. In Redwood Valley, residents have been asked to live on 55 gallons a day – barely enough to take a bath and flush the toilet a few times.

Meanwhile, thousands of farmers and others – even those with senior water rights – have been barred from diverting water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. As have irrigators along the Klamath River near the Oregon border, which also is seeing massive numbers of fish die.

Officials for the first time shut down a major hydroelectric plant on Lake Oroville because of low water levels, a move some feared would add to rolling blackouts.

And the governor is warning that mandatory, statewide cuts could be in the offing, impacting residents in Los Angeles and San Diego, which so far have been insulated from the pain.

That has lessons for Arizona.

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Mayor, EPA Chief Celebrate First Phase of San Diego’s Drought-Resistant Water Recycling Project

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

Mayor Todd Gloria, along with state and federal leaders, formally kicked off construction of Phase 1 of the city’s Pure Water program August 20. The project is intended to provide nearly 50% of the city’s drinking water by 2035 and reduce the need for imported water.

Helping the mayor celebrate the historic occasion in University City were Rep. Scott Peters, California Senate President Pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael S. Regan and California State Water Resources Control Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel.

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Interactive Display Added to Hydro Station Project in Chula Vista

/in , , /by /Water News Network

A new display added to the Chula Vista Hydro Station helps students learn about the water treatment process through interactive activities.

This unique joint educational partnership between the Sweetwater Authority, the Otay Water District, and the Chula Vista Elementary School District, the Hydro Station opened two years ago on August 15, at the Richard A. Reynolds Groundwater Desalination Facility.

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Wildfires, Drought and Blackouts: California’s Climate Change Nightmare Is Already Here

/in , , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler and Margo Rosenbaum

After last year’s historic wildfire season, two nights of blackouts and a dry winter that raised alarm bells about another drought, California knew a difficult summer lay head.

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The Climate Crisis Is Taking These Farmers’ Most Valuable Resource

/in , , /by /KDRV

The federal government on Monday declared a water shortage on the Colorado River for the first time, triggering mandatory water consumption cuts for states in the Southwest, as climate change-fueled drought pushes the level in Lake Mead to unprecedented lows.

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the US by volume, has drained at an alarming rate this year. At around 1,067 feet above sea level and 35% full, the Colorado River reservoir is at its lowest since the lake was filled after the Hoover Dam was completed in the 1930s.

Lake Powell, which is also fed by the Colorado River and is the country’s second-largest reservoir, recently sank to a record low and is now 32% full.

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