Tag Archive for: Lake Mead

Southern California Desert Farmers Will Earn Millions to Fallow Fields, Save Colorado River Water

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

California farmers near the Arizona border with the oldest rights to Colorado River water will reap $38 million over three years to not plant some of their fields and leave extra water in the rapidly declining Lake Mead reservoir.

Located roughly halfway between Los Angeles and Phoenix, growers near the City of Blythe in Riverside County have first priority to the river water. They hold rights that stretch back to 1877, superseding 40 million customers in eight states who also depend on it.

Full Story

Opinion: How to Make Your Voice Heard on the Future of the Threatened Salton Sea

/in , , /by /Palm Springs Desert Sunby Chuck Parker

The 22-year-long drought in the Colorado River Basin is growing more severe. The levels of Lake Mead and Lake Powell are lower than they have ever been. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has ordered mandatory cutbacks of water deliveries in 2022 with more cuts predicted in the following two years.

Experts are acknowledging that the river has changed fundamentally: “No doubt climate change is real. We’re seeing it on the Colorado River every day,” as an official quoted in an Aug. 17 Desert Sun article said.

Full Story

Metropolitan Water District, Supplier of Most of Pasadena’s Water, Partners with Other Agencies to Conserve Water in Lake Mead

/in , , /by /Pasadena Nowby City News Service

In response to worsening drought conditions, the board of Southern California’s regional water wholesaler and other water agencies across the Southwest have announced a partnership with the federal government to fund a short-term agricultural land fallowing program in California that will conserve water on a large scale.

The partnership among the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Central Arizona Project, Southern Nevada Water Authority, and the Palo Verde Irrigation District is expected to help conserve up to 180,000 acre-feet of water over the next three years, amounting to about a 3-feet increase in Lake Mead’s water level.

Full Story

As the West Bakes, Utah Forges Ahead with Water Pipeline

/in , , /by /E&E News by Jeremy P. Jacobs

As drought and climate change strangle the Colorado River, a small county in Utah nevertheless continues forging ahead with a billion-dollar pipeline to suck more water from it to sustain its growing population.

The proposed Lake Powell Pipeline, a 140-mile straw from one of the country’s largest reservoirs to Washington County in southwestern Utah, has sparked backlash from other states in the Colorado River basin and environmentalists, and now has the Biden administration in a difficult position.

Full Story

The Climate Crisis Is Taking These Farmers’ Most Valuable Resource

/in , , /by /KDRV

The federal government on Monday declared a water shortage on the Colorado River for the first time, triggering mandatory water consumption cuts for states in the Southwest, as climate change-fueled drought pushes the level in Lake Mead to unprecedented lows.

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the US by volume, has drained at an alarming rate this year. At around 1,067 feet above sea level and 35% full, the Colorado River reservoir is at its lowest since the lake was filled after the Hoover Dam was completed in the 1930s.

Lake Powell, which is also fed by the Colorado River and is the country’s second-largest reservoir, recently sank to a record low and is now 32% full.

Full Story

New Water Cuts Are Coming in the West

/in , /by /The New York Timesby Henry Fountain

In this summer of wildfires, heat waves and drought, there was another bit of bad environmental news out of the West this week. Federal officials declared a water shortage at Lake Mead, the huge reservoir on the Colorado River near Las Vegas, setting off sharp cuts in water to Arizona farmers next year.

Full Story

Historic ‘Level 1’ Shortage Declared for Lake Mead, Though San Diego Still Has Reliable Supply

/in , , /by /Water News Networkby Chris Jennewein/Times of San Diego Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Federal officials on Monday issued the first-ever “Level 1” shortage declaration for the massive reservoir of Lake Mead on the Colorado River, triggering major water cuts for Arizona, Nevada and Mexico.

The cuts for water users downstream from Hoover Dam will begin in October, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said in a statement.

Full Story

Colorado River Water Shortage Declared for First Time; California Could See Cuts by 2024

/in , /by /Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Janet Wilson and Ian James

The federal government on Monday declared a first shortage on the Colorado River, announcing mandatory water cutbacks next year for Arizona, Nevada and Mexico. California will not be immediately affected, but U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials warned that more cuts would likely be necessary.

The river supplies drinking water and irrigation for 40 million people. The declaration of a shortage was triggered by the spiraling decline of Lake Mead, which stores water used by California, Arizona, Nevada and Mexico.

Full Story

First-Ever Water Shortage on the Colorado River Will Bring Cuts for Arizona Farmers

/in , , /by /Arizona Republicby Ian James and Zayna Syed

The federal government on Monday declared a first-ever water shortage on the Colorado River, announcing mandatory cutbacks next year that will bring major challenges for Arizona farmers and reduce the water allotments of Nevada and Mexico.

The declaration of a shortage by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has been anticipated for months and was triggered by the spiraling decline of Lake Mead, which stores water used by Arizona, Nevada, California and Mexico.

Full Story

Western States Face First Federal Water Cuts

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Suman Naishadham

U.S. officials on Monday declared the first-ever water shortage from a river that serves 40 million people in the West, triggering cuts to some Arizona farmers next year amid a gripping drought.

Water levels at the largest reservoir on the Colorado River — Lake Mead — have fallen to record lows. Along its perimeter, a white “bathtub ring” of minerals outlines where the high water line once stood, underscoring the acute water challenges for a region facing a growing population and a drought that is being worsened by hotter, drier weather brought on by climate change.

Full Story