Tag Archive for: Climate Change

Tempe Plans to Reopen Long Dormant Water Reclamation Plant Amid Grinding Drought

/in , , /by /Arizona Public Mediaby Cole Januszewski

The Kyrene Water Reclamation Facility, built in the late 1980s and closed by budget cuts in 2010, is being brought back online as a part of Tempe’s response to the ongoing drought. The plant will collect and recycle wastewater, used mainly to recharge aquifers beneath the city.

The announcement comes as Arizona experiences abnormally dry conditions, with 23% of the state in severe drought, a term used to describe conditions where water and feed are inadequate for livestock, fire danger is high and little forage remains for wildlife, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System. In fact, the drought that has gripped Arizona since 2000 has been the driest in more than 1,200 years, and it’s expected to persist in the near future, according to a study by Nature Climate Change.

Full Story

Opinion: Climate Change Forces California to Make Long-Term Adjustments, Immediate Water Cuts

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Michael Smolens

Internationally, the polar bear may be the climate-change canary in a coal mine.

Locally, it could be the avocado.

The fruit so identified with San Diego County agriculture has been on the decline for years. Severe weather, water availability and rising water prices — at least in part attributed to climate change — have reduced the yield of the crop and the revenue it generates.

Full Story

California’s Drought Withers Tomatoes, Pushing Grocery Prices Higher

/in , , /by /Reutersby Nathan Frandino , Christopher Walljasper and Aude Guerrucci

A lack of rain and snow in central California and restricted water supplies from the Colorado River in the southernmost part of the state have withered summer crops like tomatoes and onions and threatened leafy greens grown in the winter.

That has added pressure to grocery prices, putting a squeeze on wallets with no end in sight.

The rise in food prices this year has helped drive U.S. inflation to its highest levels in 40 years. California’s drought conditions, on top of Hurricane Ian ravaging citrus and tomato crops in Florida, are likely to push food costs even higher. Drought in an area known as the U.S. salad bowl has not only impacted fresh produce, but also pantry staples like pasta sauce and premade dinners.

Full Story

A California City’s Water Supply is Expected to Run Out in Two Months

/in , , /by /Washington Postby Joshua Partlow

The residents of this sun-scorched city feel California’s endless drought when the dust lifts off the brown hills and flings grit into their living rooms. They see it when they drive past almond trees being ripped from the ground for lack of water and the new blinking sign at the corner of Elm and Cherry warning: “No watering front yard lawns.”

The fire chief noticed it when he tested hydrants in August — a rare occurrence as Coalinga desperately seeks to conserve water — and the first one shot out a foot-long block of compacted dirt. The second one ejected a can of Axe body spray.

Full Story
Colorado River Basin-Lake Mead-drought-megadrought

Collaboration Key to Stabilizing Colorado River Basin Decline

/in , /by

Collaboration among all water users is key to developing solutions for the Colorado River Basin, which is in the midst of a 22-year megadrought. That was one of the common themes during a webinar Thursday, in which water managers and other officials discussed ways to slow or stabilize the rate of decline of the major source of water for seven states and Mexico.

“A Collaborative Approach to Colorado River Management,” was part of the Southern California Water Coalition‘s “What Matters” webinar series. The San Diego County Water Authority, Imperial Irrigation District, Black & Veatch, and Richard Brady & Associates sponsored the webinar.

Webinar participants:

  • Sandra Kerl, San Diego County Water Authority General Manager
  • Henry Martinez, Imperial Irrigation District General Manager
  • Adel Hagekhali, General Manager of the Metropolitan Southern California Water District
  • David Palumbo, Deputy Commissioner – Operations, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
  • Thomas Tortez, Jr., Tribal Chairman, Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians
  • Michael Cohen, Senior Associate, Pacific Institute
  • Chris Harris, Executive Director, Colorado River Board of California

“Unprecendented” and “challenging times”

During the 90-minute discussion, speakers said that drought and climate change impacts on the Colorado River Basin have created “challenging times” and that “unprecedented times require unprecendented management” solutions. Solutions mentioned included sustainable conservation, additional storage, a reduction in demand, and inclusion of all users to ensure the long-term health of the river system.

The Water Authority’s supply portfolio includes high-priority, conserved Colorado River supplies negotiated through the landmark 2003 Quantification Settlement Agreement, or QSA. The conserved supplies are the cornerstone of the San Diego region’s long-term water supply diversification strategy.

Colorado River Basin: Voluntary reductions from California

The webinar came a day after California water agencies that use Colorado River water supplies, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, voluntarily offering to reduce their use of water from the river starting in 2023:

“Given dire drought conditions across the region and dangerously low reservoir levels, we firmly believe that all water users within the Basin must take immediate voluntary actions to stabilize water supplies in the Basin’s major reservoirs.

“California water agencies that utilize Colorado River water supplies propose to conserve up to an additional 400,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead each year, beginning in 2023 and running through 2026. This water, which would otherwise be used by California’s communities and farms, will meaningfully contribute to stabilizing the Colorado River reservoir system. While a broad multi-state agreement to conserve water across the Basin has not been reached, the California agencies propose to take voluntary action now to conserve water in coming months.”

Colllaboration-Colorado River Basin-megadrought

Graphic shared October 6, 2022, during the Southern California Water Coalition webinar “A Collaborative Approach to Colorado River Management.”

(Editor’s note: The October 5 webinar was recorded and, when posted, can be viewed/heard here: socalwater.org/podcasts/).

Snow Loss is Fueling the West’s Megadrought

/in , , /by /Gristby Jesse Nichols

Lake Mead is America’s largest reservoir, supplying water for 25 million people across the southwest. It’s also drying up — a kind of poster child for the ongoing drought in the West. But upstream, a much larger but lesser known source of stored water is also disappearing: mountain snow.

This is how climate change is throwing one of the United States’ most critical sources of water out of whack.

Full Story

Climate Change Made Summer Drought 20 Times More Likely

/in , /by /AP Newsby Drew Costley

Drought that stretched across three continents this summer — drying out large parts of Europe, the United States and China — was made 20 times more likely by climate change, according to a new study.

Drought dried up major rivers, destroyed crops, sparked wildfire, threatened aquatic species and led to water restrictions in Europe. It struck places already plagued by drying in the U.S., like the West, but also places where drought is more rare, like the Northeast. China also just had its driest summer in 60 years, leaving its famous Yangtze river half its normal width.

Full Story

Don’t Think of Deserts as Wastelands, Researchers Say, But as a Key to Our Climate Future

/in , , /by /Arizona Republicby Joan Meiners

This story, like many, starts with rejection.

Jose Gruenzweig grew up in the lush, green hills of Switzerland and studied the cold, wet forests of Alaska before settling into his current position as associate professor of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Full Story

California Officials Warn of More Water Restrictions in 2023 as Fourth Year of Drought Looms

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

California cities and farms should brace for little or no water from the state’s big reservoirs in the coming year, a prospect that signals more water restrictions for households and more fallowed fields in the farm belt.

The warning was delivered Monday by state and federal water officials who said they are preparing for the possibility of a fourth year of drought. Both are considering, at least initially, reduced allocations for the many water agencies that contract for reservoir supplies from California’s sprawling water projects.

Full Story

OCC Climate Summit Presents Range of Climate Change Remedies

/in , /by /Spectrum News1by William D'urso

A climate change panel Wednesday told its small audience about policy changes Orange County has made and where local leadership has fallen short. Scientists, politicians and local first responders gathered at the Orange Coast College planetarium to share ways the county can improve and forthcoming dangers a warmer climate presents.

Full Story