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Dozens of High-Risk Bay Area Dams Lack Required Emergency Plans

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Joaquin Palomino

The Bay Area is dotted with at least 145 dams where failure or misoperation could result in death or property destruction, yet many lack required emergency plans, according to an analysis of state data.

Most of these “high-hazard” dams were built before 1960. While not at a higher risk of failure, they could endanger countless homes and businesses that rest below the aging facilities, making emergency planning and maintenance increasingly important, experts said.

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Snowmelt Fills Rivers In US Southwest, Easing Drought Fears

/in , , /by /The Associated Press by Dan Elliott

A welcome surge of melting snow is pouring out of the Rocky Mountains and into the drought-stricken rivers of the southwestern U.S., fending off a water shortage but threatening to push rivers over their banks. Last winter brought above-average snowfall to much of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, so an abundance of snowmelt is rushing into the Colorado River, the Rio Grande and other waterways after a desperately dry 2018.

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California Dispute Threatens Plan To Protect Colorado River

/in , , /by /The Associated Pressby Felicia Fonseca

A dispute between two major California water agencies is threatening to derail a hard-won agreement designed to protect a river that serves 40 million people in the U.S. West. The Imperial Irrigation District, the largest single recipient of Colorado River water, on Tuesday sued a Los Angeles water utility that agreed to contribute most of California’s share of water to a key reservoir under a multistate drought contingency plan.

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Trump Signs Colorado River Drought Plan

/in , /by /The Associated Pressby Jonathan J. Cooper

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a plan to cut back on the use of water from the Colorado River, which serves 40 million people in the U.S. West. The Colorado River drought contingency plan aims to keep two key reservoirs, Lakes Powell and Mead, from falling so low they cannot deliver water or produce hydropower. It was negotiated among the seven states that draw water from the river.

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Dam Spillway Faces 1st Use Since Imperiling California Towns

/in , /by /The Associated Press

Water will rush down the rebuilt spillway at the nation’s tallest dam for the first time since it crumbled two years ago and drove hundreds of thousands of California residents from their homes over fears of catastrophic flooding. The state Department of Water Resources said it anticipated releasing water down the spillway as early as Tuesday due to storms feeding the enormous reservoir behind Oroville Dam in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

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Colorado River Drought Plan Gets First Congressional Hearing

/in , , /by /The Associated Press

A plan that outlines how seven states will deal with declining flows in a major river in the U.S. West is getting its first hearing in Congress. The drought contingency plan aims to keep two Colorado River reservoirs from crashing. Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming recently agreed to push for federal legislation to implement the plan. Their goal is to have a bill approved by April 22 so that Mexico’s water contributions also kick in next year, though nothing’s been introduced yet.

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Forecasters: ‘Potentially Historic’ Flooding Threatens South

/in , /by /The Associated Press by Jeff Martin

Scientists are warning that historic flooding could soon deluge parts of several Southern states along the lower Mississippi River, where floodwaters could persist for several weeks. Major flooding now occurring in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and other Midwestern states is a preview of what forecasters expect the rest of the spring, said Mary Erickson, deputy director of the National Weather Service.

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California Governor Pushes For Fee To Clean Up Tainted Water

/in , , /by /The Associated Press by Kathleen Ronayne

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to charge California water customers up to $10 per month to help clean up contaminated water in low-income and rural areas, but he will face resistance from some legislative Democrats hesitant to impose new taxes. The Democratic governor says up to 1 million California residents have some type of contaminated or unclean water coming through their taps that can cause health issues. He has called it “a moral disgrace and a medical emergency.”

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US Official Declares Drought Plan Done For Colorado River

/in , , /by /The Associated Press by Felicia Fonseca

Seven states that rely on a major waterway in the U.S. West have finished a yearslong effort to create a plan to protect the Colorado River amid a prolonged drought, the federal government declared Tuesday. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman commended Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming for reaching a consensus on the Colorado River drought contingency plan. Now the states are seeking approval from Congress to implement it.

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Trump Signs Major Public Lands, Conservation Bill Into Law

/in , /by /The Associated Press by Darlene Superville

President Donald Trump signed a wide-ranging public lands bill Tuesday that creates five new national monuments and expands several national parks. The new law also adds 1.3 million acres of new wilderness and permanently reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which supports conservation and outdoor recreation projects nationwide. It’s the largest public lands bill Congress has considered in a decade, and it won large bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate.

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