Tag Archive for: California

Feds Announce Start of Public Process to Reshape Key Rules on Colorado River Water Use by 2027

/in , , /by /APby Ken Ritter

A public process started Thursday to reshape the way Colorado River water is distributed, with federal officials promising to collect comments about updating and enacting rules in 2027 to continue providing hydropower, drinking water and irrigation to farms, cities and tribes in seven Western U.S. states and Mexico.

The U.S. Interior Department said it will publish in the Federal Register on Friday a call for replacing guidelines that expire in 2026, including pacts enacted in 2007 for states to share cutbacks in water drawn from a river diminished by drought and climate change, as well as operating plans for the key Lake Powell and Lake Mead reservoirs. An agreement between the United States and Mexico on use of Colorado River water also is set to expire at that time.

The department’s U.S. Bureau of Reclamation promised a “robust and transparent public process” beginning with online virtual public meetings July 17, July 18 and July 24. It set an Aug. 15 deadline for receipt of public comments on “specific operational guidelines, strategies and any other issues that should be considered.”

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Lake Oroville is 100% Full as California Reservoirs are Revived by Historic Rain and Snowmelt

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Nathan Solis

California’s second-largest reservoir is now completely full after a historic rainy season recharged reservoirs across the state following years of drought.

Lake Oroville, fed by the Feather River about 80 miles north of Sacramento, is at 100% of its capacity, according to the California Department of Water Resources.

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Could Mother Nature Cut Off California’s Water Guarantee?

/in , , /by /E&E Newsby Jennifer Yachnin

In the contentious, yearlong negotiations over how to share the pain of Colorado River shortages, California officials leaned on their state’s status as the basin’s most senior water rights holder — or the last in line to take cuts when supplies run low — to fend off arguments it should bear the brunt of reductions.

The gambit worked, ultimately sparking a compromise in which California will share cuts with Arizona and Nevada over the next three years. The deal means the state will give less than 10 percent of its annual allocation, in line with its original offer.

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Opinion: Water is Precious in the American West. California Barely Even Tries to Manage it

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Dave Owen, Nell Green Nylen, Michael Kiparsky

For eight days last summer, a group of about 80 California ranchers and farmers took more than half the Shasta River’s flow during severe drought conditions, violating state requirements designed to protect salmon. The state’s water regulator couldn’t stop the illegal diversion but fined the group the maximum penalty it could — $4,000. The fine translated to about $50 per person.

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Newsom and Democratic Lawmakers Remain Divided on Infrastructure Plan

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Taryn Luna

Democrats leading California’s Senate and Assembly on Monday announced a legislative state budget deal, but they remain at odds with Gov. Gavin Newsom over his sweeping plan to streamline major infrastructure projects and reduce environmental litigation delays. Newsom introduced a series of budget bills related to infrastructure last month after lawmakers had already wrapped up committee hearings on spending proposals.

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Colorado River Water Cutbacks Could Hit Alfalfa Yields, Livestock Producers

/in , , /by /AgriPulseby Philip Brasher and Jana Rose Schleis
Dairy operations and cattle producers in the Southwest are bracing for potentially higher feed bills, depending on how farmers respond to a historic agreement among California, Nevada and Arizona that’s intended to slash agricultural water usage and preserve hydropower generation.
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Lake Mead Water Level Rises – But Shortages Are Still on the Way

/in , , /by /Newsweekby Robyn White

Lake Mead’s water levels have risen slightly as the record snowpack in the southwest continues to melt.

As of June 5, the Colorado River reservoir in Nevada stood at 1,054.42 feet.

The lake has risen sharply since the end of April when the Bureau of Reclamation released a vast amount of water from Lake Powell. The water ran through the Grand Canyon and eventually into Lake Mead, replenishing sandbars and beaches.

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Opinion: Colorado River Deal Forever Changes the Price of Water in the West

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Grayson Zulauf

For the first time in this drought-stricken century, a new price for water in the West has been set – and it’s 25 times higher than what farmers have paid for the last 75 years.

Arizona, Nevada and California recently agreed to reduce their water consumption from the Colorado River by 13% through 2026. The federal government will pay their irrigation districts, Native American tribes and cities $521 for each acre-foot of water they don’t use.

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‘Improvised, Spotty and Belated’: Will California Reform Its Oversight of Water Rights?

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

California’s complex system of water rights took shape starting in the mid-1800s, when settlers saw the state’s water as abundant and free for the taking — a time when a Gold Rush prospector could stake claim to river flows simply by nailing a notice to a tree.

Today, California’s oldest and most senior water rights — called riparian and pre-1914 rights — have been passed along to thousands of agricultural landowners, irrigation districts and urban water suppliers that claim control of roughly one-third of the water that is diverted from the state’s rivers and streams.

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‘Climate Whiplash’ is the New Normal for California, Experts Say

/in , , /by /Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Spengemen and Elise Osenga

Summer is approaching in California, and warmer temperatures have been melting the massive snowpack dumped on the state over the winter. Several swimmers and kayakers drowned this spring as rivers flooded and raged. The National Park Service took the rare step of closing much of Yosemite National Park’s scenic valley for several days to protect hikers and campers from floods. In April, California snowpack was at 237% of the average.

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