The Western US is an empire built on snow. And that snow is vanishing. Since most of the region gets little rain in the summer, even in good years, its bustling cities and bountiful farms all hinge on fall and winter snow settling in the mountains before slowly melting into rivers and reservoirs.
The United Nations warned on Tuesday that the two biggest water reservoirs in the United States have dwindled to “dangerously low levels” due to the impacts of climate change. The situation has become so severe that these reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, are on the verge of reaching “dead pool status” — the point […]
KTVU is continuing its week-long series of stories about the drought with a look at the dire situation at California’s largest reservoir. Lake Shasta provides water not only to agriculture in the Central Valley, but also to several regional Bay Area water systems. Lake Shasta is located 10 miles from Redding, in Shasta County, and about 200 miles north […]
As of Spring 2022, National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) data show nearly 70 percent of the lower 48 U.S. states in drought, affecting more than 100 million residents. California in particular is facing a deepening water crisis, with over 93 percent of the state experiencing extreme drought. 2022 is the state’s driest year on […]
It was the end of a fight that lasted for almost a decade. On 12 May 2022, the California Coastal Commission, which has a legal mandate to protect the coastline of the US state, voted to deny the building permit for a large seawater-desalination plant that was proposed to be erected near Huntington Beach. Ever […]
On a recent, scorching afternoon in Albuquerque, off-road vehicles cruised up and down a stretch of dry riverbed where normally the Rio Grande flows. The drivers weren’t thrill-seekers, but biologists hoping to save as many endangered fish as they could before the sun turned shrinking pools of water into dust. For the first time in […]
The End of Snow Threatens to Upend 76 Million American Lives
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Bloombergby David R Baker, Brian K Sullivan, Kim Chipman and Mark ChediakThe Western US is an empire built on snow. And that snow is vanishing. Since most of the region gets little rain in the summer, even in good years, its bustling cities and bountiful farms all hinge on fall and winter snow settling in the mountains before slowly melting into rivers and reservoirs.
UN Warns Two Largest US Water Reservoirs at ‘Dangerously Low Levels’
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Hillby Sharon UdasinThe United Nations warned on Tuesday that the two biggest water reservoirs in the United States have dwindled to “dangerously low levels” due to the impacts of climate change. The situation has become so severe that these reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, are on the verge of reaching “dead pool status” — the point […]
Critically Low Water Levels at Lake Shasta, California’s Largest Reservoir
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /FOX KTVUby Mark SayreKTVU is continuing its week-long series of stories about the drought with a look at the dire situation at California’s largest reservoir. Lake Shasta provides water not only to agriculture in the Central Valley, but also to several regional Bay Area water systems. Lake Shasta is located 10 miles from Redding, in Shasta County, and about 200 miles north […]
California Water Agencies Cope With Diminishing Water Supply
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /WaterWorldby Wayne TateAs of Spring 2022, National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) data show nearly 70 percent of the lower 48 U.S. states in drought, affecting more than 100 million residents. California in particular is facing a deepening water crisis, with over 93 percent of the state experiencing extreme drought. 2022 is the state’s driest year on […]
The Future of Desalination
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Geographicalby Roman GoerganIt was the end of a fight that lasted for almost a decade. On 12 May 2022, the California Coastal Commission, which has a legal mandate to protect the coastline of the US state, voted to deny the building permit for a large seawater-desalination plant that was proposed to be erected near Huntington Beach. Ever […]
A Race to Save the Fish as Rio Grande Dries, Even in Albuquerque
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /AP Newsby Brittany Peterson and Suman NaishadhamOn a recent, scorching afternoon in Albuquerque, off-road vehicles cruised up and down a stretch of dry riverbed where normally the Rio Grande flows. The drivers weren’t thrill-seekers, but biologists hoping to save as many endangered fish as they could before the sun turned shrinking pools of water into dust. For the first time in […]