On October 13, 1893, Major John Wesley Powell, celebrated explorer, geologist and Civil War veteran, addressed delegates of the Second Irrigation Congress in Los Angeles, declaring to the capitalists, politicians and boosters attending (and whose main agenda was to develop the arid West), “What matters it whether I am popular or unpopular? I tell you, […]
In the parched Colorado River basin, water managers are turning over every stone looking for ways to keep the taps flowing. Now, they’re finding more water in some unusual places – shower drains and toilet flushes. At a sprawling sewage treatment plant in Carson, California, the occasional breeze delivers a pungent whiff of a reminder […]
California’s drought regulators have lost a major lawsuit that could undermine their legal authority to stop farms and cities from pulling water from rivers and streams. With California in its third punishing year of a historic drought, an appeals court ruled Monday that the State Water Resources Control Board lacks the power to interfere with […]
When Don Cox was looking for a reliable place to build a family farm in the 1950s, he settled on California’s Imperial Valley. The desert region had high priority water rights, meaning its access to water was hard for anyone to take away. “He had it on his mind that water rights were very, very […]
The intensifying crisis facing the Colorado River amounts to what is fundamentally a math problem. The 40 million people who depend on the river to fill up a glass of water at the dinner table or wash their clothes or grow food across millions of acres use significantly more each year than actually flows through […]
The relentless Western drought that is threatening water supplies in the country’s largest reservoirs is exposing a reality that could portend a significant shift in electricity: Hydropower is not the reliable backbone it once was. Utilities and states are preparing for a world with less available water and turning more to wind and solar, demand […]
A Warmer, Drier West: A Detailed History and Possible Future of Water Use in the West
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Gayle Falkenthal /KCETby Kim StringfellowOn October 13, 1893, Major John Wesley Powell, celebrated explorer, geologist and Civil War veteran, addressed delegates of the Second Irrigation Congress in Los Angeles, declaring to the capitalists, politicians and boosters attending (and whose main agenda was to develop the arid West), “What matters it whether I am popular or unpopular? I tell you, […]
As the Colorado River Shrinks, Water Managers See Promise in Recycling Sewage
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Gayle Falkenthal /KUNCby Alex HagerIn the parched Colorado River basin, water managers are turning over every stone looking for ways to keep the taps flowing. Now, they’re finding more water in some unusual places – shower drains and toilet flushes. At a sprawling sewage treatment plant in Carson, California, the occasional breeze delivers a pungent whiff of a reminder […]
California’s Drought Regulators Lose Big Case. What it Means for State’s Power to Police Water
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Gayle Falkenthal /Sacramento Beeby Dale Kessler and Ryan SabalowCalifornia’s drought regulators have lost a major lawsuit that could undermine their legal authority to stop farms and cities from pulling water from rivers and streams. With California in its third punishing year of a historic drought, an appeals court ruled Monday that the State Water Resources Control Board lacks the power to interfere with […]
Stressed Colorado River Keeps California Desert Farms Alive
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Gayle Falkenthal /Associated PressWhen Don Cox was looking for a reliable place to build a family farm in the 1950s, he settled on California’s Imperial Valley. The desert region had high priority water rights, meaning its access to water was hard for anyone to take away. “He had it on his mind that water rights were very, very […]
100 Years After Compact, Colorado River Nearing Crisis Point
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Gayle Falkenthal /Associated Pressby Chris Outcalt and Brittany PetersonThe intensifying crisis facing the Colorado River amounts to what is fundamentally a math problem. The 40 million people who depend on the river to fill up a glass of water at the dinner table or wash their clothes or grow food across millions of acres use significantly more each year than actually flows through […]
What the Western Drought Reveals About Hydropower
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Gayle Falkenthal /EnergyWireby Jason PlautzThe relentless Western drought that is threatening water supplies in the country’s largest reservoirs is exposing a reality that could portend a significant shift in electricity: Hydropower is not the reliable backbone it once was. Utilities and states are preparing for a world with less available water and turning more to wind and solar, demand […]