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Opinion: Climate Change Will Undermine Quest by Fallbrook and Rainbow for Cheaper Water

/in , /by /Times of San Diego by Chris Jennewein Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The long-running debate over whether the Fallbrook and Rainbow communities should leave the San Diego County Water Authority to obtain cheaper rates ignores a very large elephant in the room — climate change.

If the two rural communities cast their lot with Riverside County, their agricultural economy will depend upon the Colorado River and the State Water Project, both of which have been reeling from increasingly severe droughts.

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Lake Mead-Lake Powell-Colorado River Basin-U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

Opinion: Climate Change Will Undermine Quest by Fallbrook and Rainbow for Cheaper Water

/in , /by /Times of San Diego by Chris Jennewein

The long-running debate over whether the Fallbrook and Rainbow communities should leave the San Diego County Water Authority to obtain cheaper rates ignores a very large elephant in the room — climate change.

If the two rural communities cast their lot with Riverside County, their agricultural economy will depend upon the Colorado River and the State Water Project, both of which have been reeling from increasingly severe droughts.

In December, just six months before the two communities’ case was heard by the Local Agency Formation Commission, the State Water Project announced that for the second year in a row, it would provide only 5% of requested water allocations.

Unexpectedly heavy winter rains then saved California, but not the Colorado River basin, where Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, remains 165 feet below its historic full level.

In May, the Western states that tap the Colorado River agreed to a reductions of up to 30% in water allocations. That’s a lot, and it’s not clear it is enough to save Lake Mead in the long run.

So Fallbrook and Rainbow are taking a risk. It’s a risk that was noted, albeit only briefly and obliquely, in the LAFCO proceedings.

“The superior reliability of SDCWA’s supply has benefitted FPUD and RMWD in the past … In switching from being wholesale customers of SDCWA to EMWD, FPUD and especially RMWD may face some challenges,” according to the official report for LAFCO.

Those “challenges” during a future drought could be a major reduction in water supply and higher prices at a time when the rest of San Diego County, thanks to the desalination plant, water recycling and the giant San Vicente Reservoir, has plenty of water.

Fallbrook and Rainbow say they don’t really benefit from this reliability, since their water systems are not directly connected. But water is a fungible resource. The two districts do have direct access to Colorado River water earmarked for San Diego County.

If the rest of San Diego County needs less Colorado water because of the investment in local supplies, then that water can be diverted to Fallbrook and Rainbow during a drought. And that’s exactly what happened during the most recent one. In any case, the Water Authority has plans for a physical connection, though it backed off amid the dispute.

Climate change impacts

There’s a whiff of national politics in all this. These are conservative communities where some may doubt climate change, and local business leaders have criticized desalination as a boondoggle. If you sincerely do not believe the climate is changing, then maybe you don’t see a risk in changing water suppliers.

In many ways this controversy is a bellwether for future wrangles over resources amid climate change. Do we stick with the old ways — in this case tapping our lakes and rivers — and hope for the best, or do we continue to invest in alternatives to protect our future?

It’s expensive to build desalination plants, recycling projects and new reservoirs, just like it’s expensive to upgrade the electrical grid and install car chargers. But a changing climate doesn’t ask for permission to impact our lives.

(Editor’s Note: Chris Jennewein is editor and publisher of Times of San Diego.)

States Have Started Negotiating New Rules to Keep the Colorado River From Crashing. Here’s What They Want

/in , , /by /CPR Newsby Michael Elizabeth Salas

The states that share the Colorado River need to negotiate new rules to better manage the dwindling river so it can continue to meet the needs of millions of people across the Southwest. That means finding ways to keep more water in the river and reservoirs, which means less water to go around.

The high-stakes, multi-year negotiation process between the states — Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico in the upper basin and Arizona, Nevada and California in the lower basin — along with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, officially kicked off in June.

By the start of 2027, the states and the federal government are expected to have a new agreement on rules to manage the river so that Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the country’s largest reservoirs, don’t hit critically low levels. Climate change and overuse have stressed the river system and helped drive both reservoirs to drop to record-low water levels.

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Central Valley Farmers Are Having a Climate Reckoning

/in , , /by /Politicoby Ry Rivard

Climate change — and changing political winds — are prompting shifts in strategy at California’s largest agricultural water district.

Westlands Water District, which occupies some 1,100 square miles of the arid San Joaquin Valley, is in the midst of an internal power struggle that will determine how water fights unfold across the state.

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Reclamation Announces 2024 Operating Conditions for Lake Powell and Lake Mead

/in , , /by /Water News Networkby U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

The Bureau of Reclamation on August 15, released the Colorado River Basin August 2023 24-Month Study, which determines the tiers for the coordinated operation of Lake Powell and Lake Mead for 2024. These operating conditions, which are based on existing agreements under the 2007 guidelines and lower basin Drought Contingency Plans, will be in effect until the near-term guidelines from the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) are finalized. Reclamation is currently analyzing the consensus-based Lower Division States proposed alternative for the SEIS.

Based on projections in the 24-Month Study, Lake Powell will operate in a Mid-Elevation Release Tier with a 7.48 million acre-feet release in water year 2024. Consistent with existing agreements, Lake Mead will operate in a Level 1 Shortage Condition – an improvement from the Level 2 Shortage Condition announced last year – with required shortages by Arizona and Nevada, coupled with Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan water savings contributions. Mexico’s water delivery will be reduced consistent with Minute 323.

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Western States Will Not Lose as Much Colorado River Water in 2024, Despite Long-Term Challenges

/in , /by /APby Suman Naishadham

Federal officials said Tuesday they will ease water cuts for Western states reliant on the Colorado River in 2024, thanks to a slightly improved outlook, but long-term challenges remain.

The river serves seven U.S. states, Native American tribes and two states in Mexico. It also supports a multibillion-dollar farm industry in the West and generates hydropower used across the region. Years of overuse by farms and cities, and the effects of drought worsened by climate change has meant much less water flows today through the Colorado River than in previous decades.

The U.S. government announces water availability for the coming year months in advance so that cities, farmers and others can plan. The first mandatory cuts that magnified the crisis on the river went into effect in 2022, followed by even deeper cuts this year due to drought, poor precipitation and less runoff from the headwaters in the Rocky Mountains.

Conservation measures and a wetter winter have improved the river’s health, leading to cuts being dialed back, starting in January. It won’t lead to dramatic changes because those affected have been living with water cuts for two years — or are voluntarily conserving water.

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Lake Mead-Lake Powell-Colorado River Basin-U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

Reclamation Announces 2024 Operating Conditions for Lake Powell and Lake Mead

/in , /by /U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

The Bureau of Reclamation on August 15, released the Colorado River Basin August 2023 24-Month Study, which determines the tiers for the coordinated operation of Lake Powell and Lake Mead for 2024. These operating conditions, which are based on existing agreements under the 2007 guidelines and lower basin Drought Contingency Plans, will be in effect until the near-term guidelines from the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) are finalized. Reclamation is currently analyzing the consensus-based Lower Division States proposed alternative for the SEIS.

Based on projections in the 24-Month Study, Lake Powell will operate in a Mid-Elevation Release Tier with a 7.48 million acre-feet release in water year 2024. Consistent with existing agreements, Lake Mead will operate in a Level 1 Shortage Condition – an improvement from the Level 2 Shortage Condition announced last year – with required shortages by Arizona and Nevada, coupled with Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan water savings contributions. Mexico’s water delivery will be reduced consistent with Minute 323.

Lake Mead’s release in 2023 is projected to be the lowest in 30 years, approximately one and half million acre-feet lower than an average normal year, reflecting extensive, ongoing conservation efforts in the Lower Basin states funded in part by President Biden’s historic Investing in America agenda, above-normal inflows in the lower basin below Hoover Dam, and conservation in Mexico.

Reclamation: Significant improvement for Lake Mead due to improved hydrology, ongoing conservation efforts. Operating guidelines in effect until Reclamation finalizes SEIS, including analysis of consensus-based state conservation agreement.

Investments in system conservation and improved hydrology this year have provided an opportunity to recover some reservoir storage. At the same time, the Colorado River system continues to face low elevations, with Lake Powell and Lake Mead at a combined storage of 36%.

“The above-average precipitation this year was a welcome relief, and coupled with our hard work for system conservation, we have the time to focus on the long-term sustainability solutions needed in the Colorado River Basin. However, Lake Powell and Lake Mead – the two largest reservoirs in the United States and the two largest storage units in the Colorado River system – remain at historically low levels,” said Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton. “As we experience a warmer, drier west due to a prolonged drought, accelerated by climate change, Reclamation is committed to leading inclusive and transparent efforts to develop the next-generation framework for managing the river system.”

Reclamation on Development of Near- and Long-Term Guidelines

Reclamation is simultaneously developing both near- and long-term guidelines for Lake Powell and Lake Mead operations. The supplemental SEIS in progress focuses on near-term actions, which would be applicable from 2024 through 2026 based on potential changes to limited sections of the 2007 Interim Guidelines. Reclamation temporarily withdrew the SEIS so it could fully analyze the consensus-based Lower Division States proposed alternative and will publish an updated draft SEIS for public review and comment with the consensus-based proposal as an action alternative later this year.

In addition to several agreements that have already been finalized, a consensus-based proposal – agreed upon by the three Lower Basin states earlier this year – commits to measures to conserve at least 3 million-acre-feet (maf) of system water through the end of 2026, when the current operating guidelines are set to expire.

The long-term guidelines, informally referred to as Post 2026 Operations, will revisit the 2007 Interim Guidelines in full, as well as other operating agreements that expire in 2026, including Drought Contingency Plans and Minute 323. In June, Reclamation initiated the formal process to develop the long-term operating guidelines.

Reclamation is committed to an inclusive and transparent process that enhances meaningful Tribal engagement as well as collaboration with all stakeholders in the basin. In response to Tribal feedback, the Department of the Interior established the first-ever Federal-Tribal-State partnership to promote equitable information-sharing and discussion among the sovereign governments in the Colorado River Basin. All 30 Colorado River Basin Tribal Nations and the seven U.S. basin states were invited to participate in this new group. The group met for the first time last week with Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau, Commissioner Touton, and other Department leaders. The formation of this new group does not replace any independent consultation with either Tribes or states.

2024 Operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead

Until the updated near-term guidelines are finalized once the supplemental SEIS is complete, Reclamation will continue to implement the plans developed over the past two decades that lay out detailed operational rules for these critical Colorado River reservoirs through 2026:

  • Lake Powell Mid-Elevation Release Tier: The 24-Month Study, with an 8.23 maf release pattern in October – December 2023, projects Lake Powell’s January 1, 2024, elevation to be 3,568.57 feet – about 130 feet below full and about 80 feet above minimum power pool. Based on this projection, Lake Powell will operate in the Mid-Elevation Release Tier in water year 2024 (October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024). Under this tier, Lake Powell will release 7.48 million acre-feet in water year 2024 without the potential for a mid-year adjustment in April 2024. Under the most probable scenario, and with a 7.48 maf release pattern in October – December 2023, Lake Powell’s projected elevation on January 1, 2024, is 3,573.68 feet.
  • Lake Mead Level 1 Shortage Condition: The 24-Month Study projects Lake Mead’s January 1, 2024, elevation to be 1,065.27 feet – about 10 feet below the Lower Basin shortage determination trigger of 1,075 feet and about 25 feet below the drought contingency plan trigger of 1,090 feet. This elevation is based on a 7.48 maf release from Lake Powell in water year 2024. Based on this projection, Lake Mead will operate in a Level 1 Shortage Condition for calendar year 2024 (January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024). This is a significant improvement from the Level 2 Shortage Condition announced last year. The required shortage reductions and water savings contributions under the 2007 Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and Coordinated Operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead, 2019 Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan and Minute 323 to the 1944 Water Treaty with Mexico are:
    • Arizona:  512,000 acre-feet, which is approximately 18% of the state’s annual apportionment.
    • Nevada:  21,000 acre-feet, which is 7% of the state’s annual apportionment.
    • Mexico:  80,000 acre-feet, which is approximately 5% of the country’s annual allotment.

Lower Basin projections for Lake Mead include updated water orders to reflect additional conservation efforts and new completed system conservation agreements under the Lower Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program.

President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda

System conservation and efficiency programs in the Colorado River Basin are being strengthened by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and will invest in long-term durable system efficiency improvements that result in quantifiable, verifiable water savings in the Basin.

The Investing in America agenda represents the largest investment in climate resilience in the nation’s history and is providing much-needed resources to enhance Western communities’ resilience to drought and climate change, including protecting the short- and long-term sustainability of the Colorado River System. Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Reclamation is investing a total of $8.3 billion over five years for water infrastructure projects, including water purification and reuse, water storage and conveyance, desalination and dam safety. The Inflation Reduction Act is investing an additional $4.6 billion to address the historic drought.

To date, the Interior Department has announced the following investments for Colorado River Basin states, which will yield hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of water savings each year once these projects are complete:

Opinion: How Bad the Climate Crisis Gets is Still Up to Us. We Just Have to Act

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sammy Roth

As usual, California was ahead of the game. It’s been two decades since lawmakers passed the first law to begin requiring electric utilities to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy. Nearly as long since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called for 1 million solar roofs. A decade since the state first mandated large numbers of electric cars on the road, and four years since Berkeley became the first U.S. city to ban gas appliances in new homes.

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Opinion: Say Goodbye to Grass That’s Only There for Looks. California Can’t Afford to Waste Water

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby The Los Angeles Times Editorial Board

California was so dry and its water supply so precarious by May 2022 that the State Water Resources Control Board issued an emergency order: No drinkable water could be used to irrigate grass that had no function other than to look nice.

The regulation does not apply to residential lawns, although they were already turning brown due to local restrictions on sprinkler use.

It does apply to all purely ornamental lawns — “nonfunctional turf,” in regulatory parlance — at commercial, industrial and institutional sites, such as shopping centers and corporate headquarters.

That order was recently extended for another year.

It’s time for California to follow Nevada’s lead and permanently remove decorative turf.

To be clear, we’re talking only about nonfunctional turf. That means grass that no one walks on, except to mow it. It doesn’t apply to playing fields, picnic grounds, parks, meeting areas, schools, cemeteries or any place where people gather, play, loll, visit or frolic. It won’t keep anyone from feeling wet grass under their bare toes. Instead, think fenced areas with “keep off the grass” signs, plus street medians, mall landscaping and the like.

 

(Editor’s Note: For rebates, classes, and water-saving tips: sdcwa.org/your-water/conservation/.)

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How Much Water is Left in the Colorado River? Scientists and Officials are Scrambling to Find Out

/in , , /by /CNN

Fresh off a phenomenal winter snowpack, water levels on the Colorado River are going up for the first time in years.

As a result, federal officials will announce this week that they are easing water restrictions in the Southwest starting next year, three sources familiar with the plan told CNN, lifting the region from a Tier 2 water shortage to a Tier 1. It’s a remarkable turnaround that will give back billions of gallons of Colorado River water to millions of people in the Southwest, primarily in Arizona and Nevada.

But they can’t breathe a sigh of relief. Officials, farmers and tribes are bracing for more difficult negotiations on how to divvy up the river when the current interstate agreement expires in 2026.

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