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Record Low Lake Powell and Bad 2021 Drought Forecast Sets Stage For Water Cuts

/in , , /by /The Colorado Sunby Jason Blevins

The dry 2020 and the lack of snow this season has water managers in seven states preparing for the first time for cutbacks outlined in drought contingency plans drafted two years ago. A sobering forecast released this week by the Bureau of Reclamation shows the federally owned Lake Mead and Lake Powell — the nation’s two largest reservoirs and critical storage for Colorado River water and its 40 million users — dipping near-record-low levels.

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DuPont, 3M Win Dismissal of California PFAS Lawsuit

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Peter Hayes

3M Co. and E.I. DuPont de Nemours Inc. shook off a California water utility’s claims that they contaminated the state water supply with PFAS after the Central District of California found the utility failed to establish jurisdiction.

Golden State Water Co. alleges that the companies “directed and instructed” intermediaries and end users of their products to dispose of them in a way they should have known may cause contamination.

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Environmental Turnaround — 8 Issues That Will Pivot in California’s Favor Under Biden

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

As wildfires, heat waves, water scarcity and threats to wildlife intensify in the West, California’s effort to confront these environmental crises now has support in Washington, a stark change from the past four years.

Even as former President Donald Trump spent his final days in office on the sidelines, lamenting his election loss, his administration continued to roll back environmental conservation and gut climate regulations.

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Radhika Fox Appointed to Lead EPA’s Office of Water

/in , , /by /Water Finance & Management

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced the selection of US Water Alliance CEO Radhika Fox as the Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water. Fox was a Day One Presidential Appointee in the Biden-Harris Administration. She will serve as the Acting Assistant Administrator for Water.

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After Snow in Malibu, US Braces for Series of Wintry Storms in Coming Days

/in , /by /USA Todayby John Bacon

Days after a weather system brought snow conditions along stretches of the nation from Malibu, California, eastward for 1,500 miles, a new series of storms could lead to a wintry mess for much of the nation.

A storm tracking from the southern Plains to the Northeast will bring areas of heavy snow and ice from Kansas into the Great Lakes region Monday into Wednesday, the National Weather Service warned. Snow totals exceeding one foot are possible across parts of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa.

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EID Approves Permanent Water Contract to Draw From Folsom Reservoir

/in , /by /Mountain Democratby Jesse Saich

At a special meeting Jan. 11 the El Dorado Irrigation District Board of Directors unanimously voted to adopt a resolution authorizing the conversion of the district’s existing long-term Central Valley Project water contract to one that runs in perpetuity. For six decades the district has held a long-term water service contract with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for the diversion of up to 7,550 acre-feet annually of CVP water from Folsom reservoir.

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County Water Authority Completes First Aqueduct Project in North County

/in , /by /The Coast News Groupby City News Service Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority has completed a major rehabilitation project on the historic First Aqueduct in North San Diego County, it was announced Thursday.

The project renovated and replaced dozens of structures on two large-diameter pipelines which delivered the first imported water to the San Diego region in 1947 and remains a part of the regional water delivery system. The construction contract for the project was worth approximately $30 million.

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Upper Colorado River Drought Plan Triggered for First Time

/in , , /by /KUNC (Greeley, Colorado)by Luke Runyon

Increasingly bleak forecasts for the Colorado River have for the first time put into action elements of the 2019 upper basin drought contingency plan.

The 24-month study released in January by the Bureau of Reclamation, which projects two years of operations at the river’s biggest reservoirs, showed Lake Powell possibly dipping below an elevation of 3,525 feet above sea level in 2022. That elevation was designated as a critical threshold in the agreement to preserve the ability to produce hydropower at Glen Canyon Dam.

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Water Authority Rehabilitates Historic ‘First Aqueduct’ Dating to 1947 in North County

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby City News Service Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority has completed a major rehabilitation project on the historic First Aqueduct in North San Diego County, it was announced Thursday.

The project renovated and replaced dozens of structures on two large- diameter pipelines which delivered the first imported water to the San Diego region in 1947 and remains a part of the regional water delivery system. The construction contract for the project was worth approximately $30 million.

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Colorado River Expert Biden’s Pick for Interior Water Post

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Tripp Baltz and Bobby Magill

Tanya Trujillo, an expert on water law and the Colorado River Basin, is President Joe Biden’s choice to serve in the Interior Department’s top water and science position.

If confirmed by the Senate, Trujillo, currently the Lower Basin project director for the Colorado River Sustainability Campaign, will serve as principal deputy assistant secretary for water and science, overseeing the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Geological Survey.

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