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Diverters Reminded to Measure Water Use Under Law

/in , /by /AgAlertby Christine Souza

Data is key to better understanding and managing California’s water supply. However, the state reports a lack of compliance by affected water-rights holders, who are required to report the water they divert.

“Even though we initially opposed the regulation, it is the law, so it is very important that people are in compliance,” said Danny Merkley, California Farm Bureau director of water resources. “It protects our existing water-rights system, which was designed for times of scarcity, like we have now, and it works if we get the data.”

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Opinion: California’s Variable Water Supply Needs More Than Rainfall

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Allison Schutte and Nathan Metcalf

Downpours in October and December, along with record snowfall in the Sierra Nevada, alleviated dry conditions statewide and moved California out of the U.S. Drought Monitor’s “exceptional” drought category. The state is still mandating conservation and curtailing water diversions, however, and water agencies have declared water shortage emergencies and called for mandated water use restrictions.

Why is most of California still in an “extreme” or “severe” drought?

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Water Diversions Paused to Ensure Rio Grande Keeps Flowing

/in , /by /AP Newsby Susan Montoya Bryan

One of New Mexico’s largest drinking water providers will stop diverting water from the Rio Grande to help prevent the stretch of the river that runs through Albuquerque from going dry this summer, officials said Tuesday.

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