Tag Archive for: Climate Change

States Are Considering Paying People to Keep Their Water in the Colorado River. Some Don’t Think They Can Afford It

/in , , /by /Colorado Public Radioby Michael Elizabeth Sakas

More than 40 million people rely on the Colorado River in the West, and every drop of it is used. But with climate change, there’s now less water to go around. To try and avoid a multi-state legal battle over this precious resource, Colorado and other states are considering paying people to keep more water in the river.

In southwest Gunnison County, farmers and ranchers rely on water that would otherwise end up in the Colorado River. Drought has plagued the area for more than 20 years, so the resource is now more valuable than ever.

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Roseville Announces 20% Mandatory Water Cut Amid Worsening Drought. What You Need to Know

/in , , /by /Sacramento Beeby Molly Sullivan

Roseville residents will be required to reduce water use by 20% beginning Monday, Roseville officials announced Tuesday.

The reduction, which began as a voluntary measure months ago, is now mandatory for all residents and builds on the 10% cut that was announced in May. The new measure to conserve water “recognizes that the water supply outlook worsens at Folsom Lake and throughout California,” city officials said in a news release.

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Researchers Study Impact of California Drought, Wildfires

/in , /by /The Daily Californianby Zachary Khouri

As California grapples with the effects of an ongoing drought, UC Berkeley researchers are studying changes in the magnitude of streamflows and drought-induced tree mortality in order to advise climate change policy.

Laurel Larsen, campus associate professor in the department of geography, is the lead scientist of the Delta Stewardship Council and provides data that informs the council’s decisions on water management in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

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Funds for Pumped Storage Hydro Expected to Help Propel California’s Clean Energy Future

/in , , /by /NHA Powerhouseby Cameron Schilling Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Employees working at the San Diego County Water Authority and the City of San Diego likely won’t be taking much of an August vacation. Instead, many of them will be gearing up for preliminary studies, environmental reviews, and licensing activities for the proposed San Vicente Energy Storage Facility.

That’s because the facility – being proposed in partnership by the city and the Water Authority – received a shot in the arm in July 2021, when California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the state budget into law. Specifically, the budget includes $18 million in funding – enough to advance the project through initial design, environmental reviews, and the federal licensing process.

The proposed 500-MW project would be located outside of San Diego. It is designed to be closed loop or “off-river,” which means the facility will have few environmental impacts to the local area.

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A Drought Like No Other, NOAA Scientist Says

/in , , /by /Capital Pressby Don Jenkins

The West has been so dry and so hot for so long that its current drought has no modern precedent, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorologist.

For the first time in 122 years of record-keeping, drought covers almost the entire Western U.S. as measured by the Palmer Drought Severity Index, said Richard Heim, a drought historian and an author of the U.S. Drought Monitor.

“It’s a very simple ‘yes,’ in terms of this drought being unprecedented,” Heim said.

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Opinion: San Diego’s in an Eerie Climate-Change Bubble, at Least for the Moment

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Michael Smolens Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

San Diego has long been blessed with its weather.

But this summer, it’s ridiculous — as in ridiculously good compared with the extreme weather exacerbated by climate change that’s wreaking havoc elsewhere.

Across oceans or up the coast, it seems various regions of the world are either burning or drowning.

But here, this summer has been, well, very San Diego. Sure, there have been hot spells and even some record temperatures, but really nothing much out of the ordinary.

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Opinion: It’s Time Again for Water Officials to Sound the Alarm

/in , , /by /Ventura County Starby The Star Editorial Board

California’s five-year drought that ended in 2016 was brutal, one of the most severe in history. It unfolded during historic statewide high temperatures and included the driest four-year period on record and the lowest Sierra Nevada snowpack ever recorded.

It took sacrifice and resolve, but the state made it through that challenge, thanks in part to a 25 percent reduction in urban water use mandated by former Gov. Jerry Brown.

Now drought conditions have returned — and arguably the underlying conditions are worse than those experienced five years ago. Temperatures continue to rise, setting all-time records last summer, and parched conditions have extended throughout most of the West, stressing the Colorado River basin.

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The California Water Model: Resilience Through Failure

/in , /by /California Water Blogby Nicholas Pinter, Jay Lund, Peter Moyle

A review of 170 years of water-related successes in California suggests that most successes can be traced directly to past mistakes.  California’s highly variable climate has made it a crucible for innovations in water technology and policy.  Similar water imperatives have led to advances in water management in other parts of the world.  A close look at California’s water model suggests that “far-sighted incrementalism” is a path to progress. Given the complexity of water management systems, better scientific information and new policy tools must be developed coherently and collaboratively over time.

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Report: Valley Could See 6-9 Degree Temperature Increase By 2100

/in , , /by /The Sentinelby Ravyn Cullor

Climate change projections show the Central Valley will see more hot, dry years like 2021, but also some dangerously wet years as well.

This year has already seen high temperatures, drought and high fire risk for Central Valley residents, and Jordi Vasquez, environmental scientist for the California Department of Water Resources, said climate models show the Central Valley heating up 6 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century.

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San Jose Relies on Water from the Sierra Nevada. Climate Change is Challenging that System

/in , , /by /KQEDby Ezra David Romero

In Santa Clara County, lawns are dry, a reservoir is nearly empty, and water restrictions are mandated. After two winters with very little rain — and San Jose’s driest year in 128 years of record keeping — the county is marked by one of the worst droughts in modern history.

Santa Clara County’s experience of drought is set apart from the rest of the state by a myriad of issues — less water from the Sierra Nevada, the effect of human-caused climate change on water supplies, and a case of incredibly bad luck.

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