Tag Archive for: Climate Change

Water Deliveries to Dry Delta Along U.S.-Mexico Border to Support Wildlife, Vegetation

/in , , /by /Spectrum News 1by Sarah Pilla

The mighty Colorado River used to flow freely all the way to the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. But over the years, its delta and various ecosystems have dried up.

Thanks to an agreement between the U.S. and Mexico, the delta will receive water deliveries for environmental purposes from now until October. This will help restore a landscape that once supported a rich diversity of life because, as scientists have discovered, life returns if you add some water.

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Double Whammy: Heat, Toxic Algae Bedevil Water Sector

/in , /by /E&E Newsby Hannah Northey

One of the two rivers flowing into the heart of Iowa that provide 500,000 residents with drinking water is slowly being infiltrated by toxic algae as temperatures climb.

The other river is drying up and dipping to dangerously low levels as a historic drought grips the United States.

The Hawkeye State’s plight underscores why climate change is seen as a threat multiplier for the drinking water sector — from cratering water levels and drought to floods and extreme weather. And then there are toxic algal blooms that can kill fish, foul water, and threaten human and ecosystem health.

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Intensifying California Drought Promises ‘Very Concerning’ Fire Season

/in , , /by /The Washington Postby Diana Leonard

California is entering its summer fire season with a high level of flammability. The hottest and most fire-prone months of the year are ahead. Conditions in the state are a striking example of escalating fire potential in the drought-stricken West.

How the season unfolds will depend on a number of factors, including where ignitions occur and the duration of summer heat waves.

But the outlook is poor at this time, given deepening drought, abundant dry fuels and hot early-season temperatures.

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Hefty Water Rate Hikes Could be Coming for CVWD Customers

/in , , /by /Palm Springs Desert Sunby Janet Wilson

The Coachella Valley Water District is expected to vote Tuesday on a series of hikes that could sharply raise some residential and commercial customers’ monthly water bills over the next five years.

The proposed hikes would mean an average family that uses about 20 ccf  per month could see their bill rise from $32 currently to $48 by 2026, according to agenda materials. A ccf, or one hundred cubic feet, equals is 748 gallons of water.

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The Colorado River is Facing an Alarming Water Shortage for the First Time Ever

/in , , /by /The Hillby Christian Spencer

Between Las Vegas and Arizona, Lake Mead, the body of water that is fed by the Colorado River, dropped below 1,075 feet on Tuesday. The low water marks are signaling what could be the first-ever water shortage on the Colorado River, CNN reports.

The lake’s levels show a continuing decline, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), and any hope of recovery won’t happen until at least the end of 2022.

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Urban Water Management Plan-2020-San Diego County Water Authority-San Vicente Dam

Water Authority Board Approves 2020 Urban Water Management Plan

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The San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors May 27 approved the Water Authority’s 2020 Urban Water Management Plan for timely submission to the state. The plan highlights how regional investments in a “water portfolio approach” to supply management and a sustained emphasis on water-use efficiency mean that San Diego County will continue to have reliable water supplies through the 2045 planning horizon – even during multiple dry years.

The Board approved the final plan following a public hearing on March 25 and a 60-day public comment period which ended May 6. The final 2020 UWMP will be submitted to the California Department of Water Resources by the July 1, 2021, deadline.

“Successful efforts to create a reliable water supply coupled with the development of new local sources by the Water Authority and its 24 member agencies ensure that the region will weather dry times over the next two decades,” said Water Authority Board Chair Gary Croucher. “We continue to collaborate with our member agencies on investments in infrastructure and local supply sources to benefit the region’s ratepayers now and in future years.”

Collaboration with member agencies

The Water Authority started the current UWMP process in September 2018, coordinating closely with its 24 member agencies, most of which must submit their own plans to the state. Member agencies provided input into the final plan as part of the Water Authority’s ongoing effort to align local and regional projections as closely as possible while still following applicable guidelines and using regional models. The plan’s long-range demand forecast shows an increase in regional demands of less than 1% per year through 2045. This change in demand is consistent with the change forecasted by other large water suppliers in the state, including the City of San Diego and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Multiple supply and demand projections factor into Urban Water Management Plans, which are mandated by the state to ensure sufficient supplies over 25 years. The plans are not used to set water rates; rates are set annually based on multiple financial factors at the time, not long-term projections about water supplies.

Water supply availability

Urban Water Management Plans are dictated by statutory guidelines, Water Authority Board direction and an agreement with the San Diego Association of Governments to use its regional growth forecast. The plans also support state laws that link approval for large housing developments to water supply availability.

By law, the plans must be updated every five years. Per state guidelines, the Water Authority’s Urban Water Management Plan includes:

  • Projected water demands under normal weather and dry weather scenarios
  • Conservation savings information
  • A process to conduct an annual water supply and demand assessment
  • Supply reliability analysis

The demand forecast accounts for changes in socio-economic factors, such as the number of projected housing units, the mix of single-family and multi-family dwellings, and employment growth.

2020 Urban Water Management Plan-San Diego County Water Authority-desalination

The 2020 UWMP highlights the value of the Water Authority’s long-term strategy to invest in highly reliable and locally controlled supplies from the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

Investments in local water supply

Conservation projections account for continued adoption of water-use efficiency measures, compliance with landscape water-use ordinances for new residential construction, and continued installations of sustainable landscapes at existing homes. Since 1991, San Diego County ratepayers have conserved more than 1 million acre-feet of water, and per capita potable water use in the region decreased nearly 50% between fiscal years 1990 and 2020.

The 2020 UWMP also highlights the value of the Water Authority’s long-term strategy to invest in highly reliable and locally controlled supplies from the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant and the nation’s largest conservation-and-transfer agreement, which provides high-priority, low-cost water from the Colorado River.

In addition to the UWMP, the Water Authority also regularly updates its Regional Water Facilities Optimization and Master Plan, which focuses on the infrastructure necessary to meet projected long-term demands, and its Long-Range Financing Plan. Those documents work together to ensure the right mix of supplies and facilities to meet the region’s needs at an affordable cost.

Colorado River Aqueduct-Urban Water Management Plan-Water Authority

The nation’s largest conservation-and-transfer agreement, which provides high-priority, low-cost water from the Colorado River, is one of several investments that ensures a reliable, plentiful water supply for the San Diego County region. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

Hoover Dam, Symbol of the Modern West, Faces a New Test With An Epic Water Shortage

/in , , /by /Arizona Republicby Ian James

Hoover Dam has helped store Colorado River water since 1935, but reservoir levels are nearing the lowest point since Lake Mead was filled.

Hoover Dam towers more than 700 feet above Black Canyon on the Arizona-Nevada state line, holding back the waters of the Colorado River. On top of the dam, where visitors peer down the graceful white arc of its face, one of its art deco-style towers is adorned with a work of art that memorializes the purposes of the dam.

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As Drought Intensifies, California Seeing More Wildfires

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Don Thompson

As California sinks deeper into drought it already has had more than 900 additional wildfires than at this point in 2020, which was a record-breaking year that saw more than 4% of the state’s land scorched by flames.

The danger prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to propose spending a record $2 billion on wildfire mitigation. That’s double what he had proposed in January.

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Grim Western Fire Season Starts Much Drier Than Record 2020

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Seth Borenstein

As bad as last year’s record-shattering fire season was, the western U.S. starts this year’s in even worse shape.

The soil in the West is record dry for this time of year. In much of the region, plants that fuel fires are also the driest scientists have seen. The vegetation is primed to ignite, especially in the Southwest where dead juniper trees are full of flammable needles.

“It’s like having gasoline out there,” said Brian Steinhardt, forest fire zone manager for Prescott and Coconino national forests in Arizona.

A climate change-fueled megadrought of more than 20 years is making conditions that lead to fire even more dangerous, scientists said. Rainfall in the Rockies and farther west was the second lowest on record in April, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

 

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Melting Snow Usually Means Water for the West. But This Year, It Might Not Be Enough

/in , , /by /NPRby Michael Elizabeth Sakas

There’s still snow in Colorado’s mountains near the headwaters of the South Platte River, and Brian Domonkos has strapped on a pair of cross-country skis to come measure it.

He’s the Colorado Snow Survey supervisor, and knowing how much snowpack is left from the winter to runoff into streams, rivers and reservoirs this summer is crucial, especially in a year when much of the West is in extreme drought. As it melts, the snowpack here will become the primary source of water for millions of people in Colorado and across the West.

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