It’s human nature to mark big-number anniversaries, but there’s a centennial looming just ahead that Californians — and other Westerners — might not want to celebrate.
It’s the 100th anniversary of the Colorado River Compact, a seven-state agreement that was signed Nov. 24, 1922.
Much-needed rainfall and thunderstorms are hitting central and northern parts of California, bringing relief to places that typically see little precipitation in September. An upper-level low-pressure system, an occurrence more likely in winter, is churning off the coast of Northern California. It follows unprecedented heat across much of California at the start of September, when a prolonged heat wave shattered thousands of records across the West.
Videos produced by the Vallecitos Water District public affairs team are now being distributed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program to help educate the public about water conservation nationwide. The videos can be downloaded for free on the EPA WaterSense partner platform.
The district created a series of twelve videos. A new one will be released each month and posted on the Vallecitos Water District’s social media, and shared through the EPA’s social media.
“We’ve found video to be a powerful communication tool at the Vallecitos Water District, and we invest a great deal of time and effort in producing high-quality information for our ratepayers,” said Chris Robbins, Vallecitos Water District Public Information/Conservation Supervisor. “We received the EPA request to partner with them to share our videos with other organizations across the U.S. We considered it a compliment and validation of our investment. We’re glad to share the information with a larger audience.”
VWD Public Information Representative Alicia Yerman collaborated with Beth Livingston and Veronica Blette of the EPA on the productions including scripting, storyboards, and visual elements.
“Beth and Veronica were the stars, as they provided a lot of the graphics and the data for us to use and make our own for the video,” said Yerman. “They made sure the graphics were up to date with the statistics and allowed us to be free and open for creativity and fun for creating the videos for other agencies to share and download. They helped review the videos to make sure the language fit their goals and criteria.”
WaterSense is a program sponsored by the EPA, designed to encourage water efficiency in the U.S. through the use of a special label on consumer products. The goal of the program is to protect the future of the nation’s water supply by encouraging a nationwide ethic of water efficiency to conserve water resources for future generations and reduce infrastructure costs.
The WaterSense label makes it simple to find water-efficient products, new homes, and programs meeting the EPA’s criteria for efficiency and performance. WaterSense-labeled products and services are certified to use at least 20% less water, save energy, and perform as well as or better than regular models.
Starting in 2019, VWD began using video to document the district’s workforce and infrastructure improvements on its social media platforms and has also engaged the public with discussions of critically important water management issues. It has won multiple awards for its work. VWD also offers live video of its board meetings and other public discussions on its YouTube channel.
(Editors 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.)
In August, Governor Gavin Newsom and officials from the Department of Water Resources released a new Water Supply Strategy, saying that because of California’s “hotter, drier climate,” the state needed to find at least 10 percent more water to supply its farms, cities, and industry by 2040.
“We are experiencing extreme, sustained drought conditions in California and across the American West caused by hotter, drier weather,” states the plan. “Our warming climate means that a greater share of the rain and snowfall we receive will be absorbed by dry soils, consumed by thirsty plants, and evaporated into the air.”
Earlier this month, the California Department of Water Resources announced a new round of funding for desalination projects in the state. Six million dollar grants will be made available for new projects that help expand the Golden State’s fresh water supply. The move comes on the heels of a new water initiative Governor Gavin Newsom has launched to address California’s historic drought.
Desalination is the process of removing salts and other minerals from ocean or brackish water, thereby making water safe to be consumed or used for agriculture or other needs. A 2019 study estimated there are just under 16,000 desalination plants in operation worldwide, spread across 177 countries. It’s a rapidly growing industry, with reverse osmosis technology in particular behind much of the capacity growth in recent years (see figure).
If you’re looking to upgrade your landscape or just love gardens, it can be challenging to choose the right plant that will thrive within your WaterSmart Living landscape plans for your specific conditions.
The online plant finder WaterSmart Landscaping in San Diego County can assist you through a comprehensive database of choices well suited to this region’s Mediterranean climate.
When it comes to wasting water amid historic drought, Californians are good at pointing fingers. Last month, criticism was showered on Hollywood’s elite, including Sylvester Stallone, Kim Kardashian and Kevin Hart, who were accused of using water excessively. Some celebrity households consumed thousands of gallons of water per day during particularly dry times, bolstering Southern California’s reputation for recklessly indulging in big lawns, pools and shiny, clean cars. But given the bad rap that Southern California gets, is the Bay Area really that much better at stewarding its water?
One month after states missed a federal deadline to propose ways to drastically cut their use of water supplied by the Colorado River, water managers who met for a seminar in Grand Junction said they still didn’t have comprehensive solutions ready to help bolster the imperiled river system.
Water leaders, agricultural producers, environmentalists and others from across the drought-stricken river basin met Friday for the Colorado River District’s annual water seminar to discuss the historic-low levels in the river’s biggest reservoirs — and the need to cut back usage from Wyoming to California.
While the problems the basin faces were apparent in the day-long discussions about the state of the river, solutions were not.
Tony Valdez wasn’t worried about being left high and dry when he bought Buckboard Marina three years ago, but that’s changed with the receding waters of Flaming Gorge Reservoir.
This year, he has already dredged 10 feet (3 meters) so boats could still use the marina. Now, with Flaming Gorge becoming a crucial emergency water supply for the region, Valdez worries the reservoir has nowhere to go but lower still.
“I mean, this is our natural resource and it’s going away,” he said. “Water is the most precious thing we have.”
Chuck Cullom is used to responding to myriad challenges that arise on the Colorado River. But this summer problems on the drought-stressed river are piling up at a dizzying pace: Reservoirs plummeting to record low levels, question of whether Hoover Dam and Glen Canyon Dam can continue to release water and produce hydropower and unprecedented water cuts. As executive director of the Upper Colorado River Commission, Cullom brings an unusual perspective to the growing list of challenges. Cullom spent the last two decades viewing issues on the river through a Lower Basin lens, managing drought strategies and mitigation plans for the Central Arizona Project. Now, in his first year at the commission, Cullom has the chance to use his dual-basin perspective to help the seven states and 30 federally recognized tribes hash out ways to address the river’s issues.
