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California Water Agencies Submit Colorado River Modeling Framework to Bureau of Reclamation

/in , , /by /Water News Network Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

California water agencies that rely on the Colorado River today proposed a modeling framework for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to evaluate as it considers actions to help stabilize reservoir elevations and protect critical infrastructure to ensure the Colorado River system can continue to support 40 million people, nearly 6 million acres of agriculture, and Tribes across seven states and portions of Mexico.

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U.S. Warns California Cities to Prepare for Possible Water Cuts and Fourth Year of Drought

/in , , /by /CNBCby Emma Newburger

Federal water managers on Monday warned California cities and industrial users receiving water from the Central Valley Project to prepare for a fourth year of drought and possibly “extremely limited water supply” during 2023.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, an agency of the Interior Department that oversees water resource management, said drought conditions in California have persisted despite early storms this month, and warned of looming water conservation actions.

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U.S. Warns Western States It May Impose Colorado River Water Cuts

/in , , /by /Reutersby Daniel Trotta

The U.S. government warned on Friday that it may impose water supply cuts on California, Arizona and Nevada to protect the Colorado River and its two main reservoirs from overuse, drought and climate change.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation unveiled three possible action plans: one to impose cutbacks, another to allow western states to work out a reduction plan on their own, or a third and least likely option of taking no action.

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No Firm New Deadline for Colorado River Basin States’ Conservation Plans

/in , , /by /KUNCby Luke Runyon

Federal officials aren’t ready to give states along the Colorado River a new deadline for water conservation goals.

The seven states that rely on the river blew past an August 16 deadline without a plan to conserve 2 to 4 million acre-feet of water. They were given that task by officials with the Bureau of Reclamation and from within the Interior Department. The agency’s models show that amount is what is necessary to keep the river’s biggest reservoirs — lakes Mead and Powell — from reaching critical levels.

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Western States Hit With More Cuts to Colorado River Water

/in , , /by /AP News by Sam Metz, Suman Naishadham and Kathleen Ronayne

For the second year in a row, Arizona and Nevada will face cuts in the amount of water they can draw from the Colorado River as the West endures more drought, federal officials announced Tuesday.

Though the cuts will not result in any immediate new restrictions — like banning lawn watering or car washing — they signal that unpopular decisions about how to reduce consumption are on the horizon, including whether to prioritize growing cities or agricultural areas. Mexico will also face cuts.

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As Talks on Colorado River Water Falter, U.S. Government Imposes New Restriction

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Tony Briscoe

After Colorado River Basin states failed to meet a deadline for emergency drought reductions Tuesday, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced new emergency water cuts for Arizona, Nevada and Mexico as the nation’s two largest reservoirs decline to perilously low levels.

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California Avoids Further Colorado River Water Cuts, for Now

/in , , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

San Diego and the rest of California won’t have to shoulder any mandatory water cuts from the Colorado River next year, unlike Arizona, Nevada and Mexico. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the federal government’s water manager, unveiled Tuesday how it predicts this decades-long drought will affect major reservoirs next year. The levels of those reservoirs serve as a barometer for how much water the river’s seven basin states and Mexico can receive. The Colorado River, the largest freshwater source for the western U.S. and northwestern Mexico, provides enough water for 40 million people and fuels a massive agricultural industry.

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Tensions Grow Over Lack of a Water Deal for the Shrinking Colorado River

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

Two months ago, federal officials took the unprecedented step of telling the seven states that depend on Colorado River water to prepare for emergency cuts next year to prevent reservoirs from dropping to dangerously low levels.

The states and managers of affected water agencies were told to come up with plans to reduce water use drastically, by 2 million to 4 million acre-feet, by mid-August.

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Pure Water Oceanside Project to Receive $1.7 Million Federal Grant

/in , , /by /Times of San Diego by City News Service Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The Secretary of the Interior will be recommending a $1.7 million grant award for construction of the Pure Water Oceanside project, it was announced Friday.

The funding will be awarded via the Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART: Title XVI WIIN Water Reclamation and Reuse Projects funding opportunity. Oceanside is one of 11 applicants named in the federal appropriations process for this funding.

“We are excited to continue working with the Bureau of Reclamation on Pure Water Oceanside,” said Cari Dale, Oceanside’s water utilities director. “Their continued support along with multiple grant, loan and incentive programs through the EPA, the Department of Water Resources as well as Metropolitan Water District and the San Diego County Water Authority continue to make local water supply development affordable for the city of Oceanside customers.”

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Water Crisis “Couldn’t be Worse” on Oregon-California Border

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Gillian Flaccus

The water crisis along the California-Oregon border went from dire to catastrophic this week as federal regulators shut off irrigation water to farmers from a critical reservoir and said they would not send extra water to dying salmon downstream or to a half-dozen wildlife refuges that harbor millions of migrating birds each year.

In what is shaping up to be the worst water crisis in generations, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said it will not release water this season into the main canal that feeds the bulk of the massive Klamath Reclamation Project, marking a first for the 114-year-old irrigation system.

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