The years-long drought and dwindling water supply are estimated to have left more than 531,000 acres of California farmlands unplanted without harvest this year — a 36% increase since August of last year. The new estimates on acres farmed from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reflect the struggles of some California farmers to procure […]
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto joined state water officials Monday to demand immediate federal action on the Colorado River water crisis as Nevada faces its second year of mandatory water cuts. Last week, federal officials announced that Nevada would lose about 8% of its water allocation, or 25,000 acre-feet of water, starting January 2023 as a […]
California had been a state for scarcely a decade and was home to fewer than 500,000 people when it was hammered in the winter of 1861-62 by the most powerful series of rainstorms in recorded history. “This event, which was characterized by weeks-long sequences of winter storms, produced widespread catastrophic flooding across virtually all of […]
In the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, buzzing chainsaws interrupt the serenity. Crews are hustling to remove charred trees and other debris that have been washing down the mountainsides in the wake of the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s recorded history, choking rivers and streams. Heavy equipment operators are moving boulders dislodged by the daily […]
The Colorado River is the backbone of the West’s water supply. The river provides water to hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and 40 million people in seven U.S. states (California, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada) and northern Mexico. But overuse, a 23-year “megadrought” and aridification fueled by the climate crisis […]
Up and down the Colorado River last week, the state, local and tribal leaders in charge of water supplies for more than 40 million people waited to see if the federal government would impose deeper cuts to river allocations. The Bureau of Reclamation had given states and tribes an Aug. 15 deadline to find ways to conserve 2 to 4 million […]
California Drought: Why More Than 530,000 Acres of Farmlands Are Now Left Barren
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Gayle Falkenthal /San Francisco Chronicleby Yoohyun JungThe years-long drought and dwindling water supply are estimated to have left more than 531,000 acres of California farmlands unplanted without harvest this year — a 36% increase since August of last year. The new estimates on acres farmed from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reflect the struggles of some California farmers to procure […]
Citing Nevada’s Example, Cortez Masto Calls on Feds to Make Other States Conserve Water
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Gayle Falkenthal /Nevada Currentby Jennifer SolisSen. Catherine Cortez Masto joined state water officials Monday to demand immediate federal action on the Colorado River water crisis as Nevada faces its second year of mandatory water cuts. Last week, federal officials announced that Nevada would lose about 8% of its water allocation, or 25,000 acre-feet of water, starting January 2023 as a […]
Opinion: California Faces Existential Threat of a Megaflood
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Gayle Falkenthal /CalMattersby Dan WaltersCalifornia had been a state for scarcely a decade and was home to fewer than 500,000 people when it was hammered in the winter of 1861-62 by the most powerful series of rainstorms in recorded history. “This event, which was characterized by weeks-long sequences of winter storms, produced widespread catastrophic flooding across virtually all of […]
NM City, Victim of Government Burn, Now Faces Water Shortage
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Gayle Falkenthal /Associated Press by Susan Montoya Brown and Brittany PetersonIn the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, buzzing chainsaws interrupt the serenity. Crews are hustling to remove charred trees and other debris that have been washing down the mountainsides in the wake of the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s recorded history, choking rivers and streams. Heavy equipment operators are moving boulders dislodged by the daily […]
Southern California Has a Plan to Ease the Colorado River Crisis. And it Starts Right Under Your Feet
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /LAistby Erin StoneThe Colorado River is the backbone of the West’s water supply. The river provides water to hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and 40 million people in seven U.S. states (California, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada) and northern Mexico. But overuse, a 23-year “megadrought” and aridification fueled by the climate crisis […]
‘There’s Simply Not Enough Water’: Colorado River Cutbacks Ripple Across Arizona
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Gayle Falkenthal /Arizona Republicby Debra Utacia KrolUp and down the Colorado River last week, the state, local and tribal leaders in charge of water supplies for more than 40 million people waited to see if the federal government would impose deeper cuts to river allocations. The Bureau of Reclamation had given states and tribes an Aug. 15 deadline to find ways to conserve 2 to 4 million […]