Water Deeply Archives

Can We Operate the Colorado River Differently Amid Climate Change?

The Colorado River watershed faces increasing challenges from chronic water shortage. And it appears increasingly likely this is a new permanent condition, not an episodic drought.

As a result, the many reservoirs built in the watershed – large and small – may have to be operated differently to optimize new precipitation patterns and snowmelt routines. That is a complicated problem, because they are all operated by different entities, with different water demands and unique environmental and flood-control concerns.

But if the 10 million people who depend on the Colorado River are to continue thriving, something’s got to be done.

Full Story

OPINION: More Conservation, Cooperation Vital To Our New Era Of Water Shortages

September 13, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)by Ted Kowalski

The agency tasked with managing water and power in the West recently issued its annual report on projected future water levels at Lake Mead, the reservoir that provides water to Arizona, Nevada and California. This report by the Bureau of Reclamation confirmed that it will not impose mandatory water cutbacks in 2019. But it also projected a more than 50 percent chance of cutbacks in 2020 if water levels in the lake continue their decline and fall below 1,075ft.

Full Story

Crisis at Lake Powell Looms Large As Long-Term Drought Reaches Upstream

September 11, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Andrea Mora /Water Deeply (New York)by Matt Weiser

Like rust slowly consuming the body of a car, drought has spread upstream on the Colorado River. The river’s Upper Basin – generally north of Lake Powell – has been largely insulated from the 19-year drought afflicting the giant watershed, thanks to the region’s relatively small water demand and heavy snows that bury Colorado’s 14,000ft peaks each winter. But this year, there was no salvation in the snowpack. Several major Colorado River tributaries – the Dolores, San Juan and Gunnison rivers – saw record-low snowpack this winter.

Full Story

Saving Troubled Water Systems Requires Flexible Solutions, Not Mandates

September 10, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Andrea Mora /Water Deeply (New York)by Michael Kiparsky and Nell Green Nylen

During the hot summer months of 2014, East Porterville, Calif., became a poster child for vulnerable drinking water. Hundreds of shallow wells in this unincorporated Tulare County community ran dry in the midst of statewide drought. Some families had to wait years to have running water again, when their homes were finally connected to the city of Porterville’s municipal water supply. While East Porterville’s experience made headlines around the country, the serious drinking-water problems facing other communities across California are just beginning to receive much-needed attention.

Full Story

Water Agencies, Farmers Fret Over California’s Move To Regulate Wetlands

September 7, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Andrea Mora /Water Deeply (New York)by Matt Weiser

The State of California is working on a new regulatory program to oversee protection of wetlands and other ephemeral water bodies, such as seasonal streams. It comes in response to the Trump administration’s plan to roll back federal protection of such waters, which are critical for wildlife habitat, flood protection, groundwater recharge and water quality. Water Deeply explored the state’s proposal in detail in an article published this week. But what would this broad new California regulatory program mean to the water industry and developers in the state?

Full Story

Why Some Water Managers Are Unprepared For Climate Change

September 6, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)by Lindsay Abrams

Water Utility Managers in California are far from unified in their use of climate change science to guide decisions, according to a recent study from the University of California, Davis. And as a result, they may be putting water supplies at risk. The study’s authors were interested in finding out what was happening on the ground, right at the local utility level. They interviewed 61 water managers across the state, ultimately dividing them into three groups based on how they engage with climate information.

Full Story

Deeply Talks: Fire & Drought – The Extremes Become Routine

September 5, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)by Lindsay Abrams

In this month’s episode of Deeply Talks, Water Deeply managing editor Matt Weiser discussed the American West’s dual challenges of water scarcity and wildfires with Crystal Kolden, associate professor of forest, rangeland and fire sciences in the College of Natural Resources at the University of Idaho, and Van Butsic, assistant cooperative extension specialist at the University of California, Berkeley.

Full Story

Amid Trump Rollbacks, California Moves To Regulate Wetlands On Its Own

September 3, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)by Matt Weiser

California officials are poised to seize control over a major arena of federal regulation in response to Trump administration rollbacks: the management and protection of wetlands. Wetlands are vital features on the landscape. Basically low spots in a watershed, when they fill with water they provide important habitat for birds, fish and other species. Wetlands also help control floods and recharge groundwater, and they filter the water we drink. On the other hand, being generally flat and maligned as “swamps,” they are popular places to pave and build.

Full Story

Groundwater Banking: A Likely Solution To Achieve Greater River Flows

August 30, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)by Patrick Koepele

A proposal by the California Water Resources Control Board to require additional water to be left in the Tuolumne River and other San Joaquin River tributaries has prompted strong negative opinions, including from some newspapers serving the region, such as the Modesto Bee. Regrettably, what has received little attention in this debate are the opportunities for improving water management to meet the agricultural and environmental demands placed on these rivers.

Full Story

Expert Views: Managing Wildfires To Protect Water Resources

August 28, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)by Lindsay Abrams

It’s wildfire season in the American West, and this one has already been setting records: the second-most destructive conflagration in Colorado, the largest-ever wildfire recorded in California and the worst air quality on record in smoky Seattle. Multiple fires continue to ravage the region, threatening homes, lives and, in many cases, water supplies.

Full Story

Posts