Drought-stricken California on Thursday shut down one of its largest hydroelectric plants because there’s not enough water to power it.
The six-turbine Edward Hyatt Power Plant was taken off-line after the water level in the Oroville Dam reservoir that feeds it sank to an historic low of less than 642 feet (195.7 meters) above mean sea level.
The reservoir in the Sierra Nevada foothills north of Sacramento was less than a quarter full.
A record hot summer has laid bare a stark new reality for many states on America’s West Coast: Amid rising temperatures and worsening droughts, many will need to systematically rethink the way they manage limited water supplies.
“One of the problems with rising temperatures is how it’s going to affect water management,” said Washington state’s official climatologist, Nicholas Bond. “Simply from an agricultural point of view, generally when it is warmer, the demands of crops for water goes up. At higher temperatures, crops need more to be able to thrive.”
Historic drought has reduced Lake Mendocino to its second-lowest level since it was built, leaving reservoir storage in startling condition with months of likely warm, dry weather still ahead.
The lake on Thursday held just more than 24,000 acre feet of water — a result of critically low rainfall totals that, combined, make 2019-21 the driest two years on record, the National Weather Service said.
Storage in the reservoir, completed in 1958 with a flood storage capacity of 122,400 acre feet, has dipped below 25,000 acre feet only three times before and below 24,000 acre feet only once — by half, according to Sonoma Water.
San Diego County residents continue to embrace a conservation ethic by creating beautiful, waterwise landscapes. The Vallecitos Water District reports that more District water customers are reducing their outdoor water use and adopting WaterSmart practices.
Three Vallecitos customers are the most recent examples of the landscape makeover trend, creating beautiful landscapes, and winning the regional Watersmart Landscape Contest.
California water regulators took unprecedented action this week, passing an emergency regulation that will bar thousands of Californians from diverting stream and river water as the drought worsens.
The State Water Resources Control Board voted unanimously Tuesday to pass the “emergency curtailment” order for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed. The watershed encompasses a wide swath of the state, from the Oregon border in northeastern California down into the Central Valley.
Faced with dire water shortages and a severe drought, California has moved to enact emergency restrictions that will prevent thousands of farmers and landowners from using water drawn from an enormous system of streams and rivers that services nearly two-thirds of the state.
With all of the extreme heat and lack of rain here in California, some have said that we’re currently in the state’s worst drought in modern history. The drought is so bad that the state of California has now cut off water supplies to farmers in the Central Valley.
So how is the water supply here in San Diego? KUSI’s Dan Plante joined viewers live from Miramar Lake with the local situation.
San Diego County residents continue to embrace a conservation ethic by creating beautiful, waterwise landscapes. The Vallecitos Water District reports that more District water customers are reducing their outdoor water use and adopting WaterSmart practices.
Three Vallecitos customers are the most recent examples of the landscape makeover trend, creating beautiful landscapes, and winning the regional Watersmart Landscape Contest.
Neighbors often ask the Hausmanns about their new landscaping. Doug Hausmann often shares plants and lends a hand on their projects. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
Best in District winners Doug and Pam Hausmann have lived in San Diego County since 1975. They both became interested in succulents and decided to remove their sprinkler system. They now water by hand. Some of their plants get by with as little as four waterings a year.
By propagating and selling succulents, the Hausmanns raise about $1,000 a year on behalf of a nonprofit supporting a friend’s grandson affected by a rare disease. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
The Hausmanns started growing different plants from cuttings provided by neighbors, and from plants they purchased and then divided. Their success with propagation generated interest in low water use gardening among their friends and neighbors. The couple donated their propagated plants and expertise, helping neighbors to plant waterwise succulent gardens at their own homes.
The Hausmanns propagation talent helped raise money for “24 Hours for Hank,” which supports research in Cystinosis, a rare genetic disease. Cystinosis affects 500 people in the United States. Because the disease only affects a small percentage of the population, research money is scarce. By propagating and selling succulents, the Hausmanns raise about $1,000 a year for the charity on behalf of a friend’s grandson affected by Cystinosis.
The Hausmanns were selected as contest winners for their successful landscape project, for the philanthropy it generated, and for the teaching opportunity it inspired.
All three winning landscape designs provide habitat for pollinators and birds. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
Tours of residential native landscapes and a visit to the Vallecitos Water District Sustainable Demonstration Garden inspired second place winner Bruce Ferguson to follow through on his desire to transform his yard into a more natural and native setting, attractive to wildlife.
Ferguson loves to see lizards, birds, and butterflies. His garden design reduces stormwater runoff and allows for more infiltration of rainwater into the ground by including two small bioswales. He added two small ponds to provide a water source for animals. After the makeover, Ferguson’s water savings range from 20% to 40% monthly.
Bruce Ferguson completed all the work himself on his landscape makeover. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
Third place winner Ellen Kaplan replaced her lawn with a drought-tolerant garden to conserve water, eliminate expensive monthly landscaping, and to give her home more curb appeal.
She used a variety of palms, annuals, kangaroo paws, and succulents. She replaced the existing sprinkler system (which she admitted did a better job of watering her driveway) with a drip system providing targeted watering only where needed.
Ellen Kaplan enjoys watching hummingbirds visiting her new landscaping. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
All three winners received a gift certificate to Green Thumb Nursery in San Marcos to support their waterwise gardening adventures and a Watersmart Landscape Contest Winner sign for their front yards.
(Editor’s note: The Vallecitos Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
Some farmers in one of the country’s most important agricultural regions will have to stop taking water out of major rivers and streams because of a severe drought that is threatening the drinking water supply for 25 million people, state regulators said Tuesday.
The Water Resources Control Board approved an emergency resolution empowering regulators to halt diversions from the state’s two largest river systems. The order could apply to roughly 86% of landowners who have legal rights to divert water from the San Joaquin and Sacramento river watersheds. The remaining 14% could be impacted if things get worse.
Lake Oroville reached the lowest levels since September 1977, measuring 643.5 feet above sea level at 10 a.m. Tuesday. For comparison, when Lake Oroville is full, the surface water level is 900 feet above sea level.
Increasing issues are arising from the low levels being seen at Lake Oroville. Water operations manager for the Department of Water Resources State Water Project Molly White said last week in an email that due to the falling lake levels, the Edward Hyatt Power Plant may be forced to close down for the first time in its history due to low lake elevation.
