In California water news today …
Parade of cross-country storms to hammer the West Coast into mid-January
“The weather in the new year will kick off on an active note as a series of storms will travel from coast to coast, bringing heavy rain, snow and thunderstorms over the 10 days. The West will bear the brunt of each storm first, beginning with one arriving early this week, warn AccuWeather meteorologists. Packing flooding downpours, mountain snow and a continuation of coastal threats seen last week, the first in the “parade of storms” will arrive along the Pacific Northwest coast south to Northern California on Tuesday. Rain and snow will spread south through the Golden State from Tuesday night into Wednesday. … ” Read more from AccuWeather.
Northern California Impact: Timeline for rain and Sierra snow on Tuesday and Wednesday
“The next round of rain and snow is expected to cause travel impacts for Northern California on Tuesday and Wednesday. Look for some rounds of dense fog across the Valley floor during the morning commute on Tuesday. Clouds will increase throughout the day on Tuesday, but the daylight hours will be dry. Highs peak in the upper 50s. Rain will reach the Valley after sunset Tuesday and continue through the overnight hours. There could be a moderate line of rain across the Sacramento area between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Rainfall totals will range between a half inch to an inch by midday Wednesday. … ” Read more from KCRA Channel 3.
SEE ALSO: Storm Ready 2024: A look back at last year’s flooding during extreme weather in Northern California, from KCRA
It’s not just Utah, snow shortages are plaguing the entire West
“With gusts of wind howling around Mount Ashland’s vacant ski lodge this week, Andrew Gast watched from a window as a brief snowfall dusted the landscape. It was not nearly enough. The ski area’s parking lot remained largely empty. … Across much of the West Coast, from the Cascades in the north to the Sierra Nevada in the south, mountain sites are recording less than half of their normal snowpack for this point in winter. The situation has created serious problems for dozens of ski resorts during the holiday weeks, which are crucial to their livelihoods, and has stirred wider concerns about the future — for the coming summer agriculture season and for the region’s altered ecosystems amid a warming climate. … ” Read more from the Salt Lake Tribune.
What will become of rice?
“In one of the greenhouses on the Lundberg Family Farms acreage in northern California, there sits a binder. Technically, there are multiple volumes of the binder, as it’s grown significantly over the years. The binder contains the thousands of different varieties of rice with which Lundberg growers have experimented, bred from and either liked or discarded, along with notes on all of the above. When I visited the farm in late 2022, research supervisor JP Bergmann showed me the 40 varieties on which they were then focused in their breeding program. Those varieties get tested against each other and the rice the Lundbergs currently grow, and they can get interbred in nearly infinite variations. It can all get out of control very quickly without some organization and focus. Hence, the binder. … ” Read more from Modern Farmer.
Believing in the power of beavers
“Last winter’s parade of atmospheric river storms raised water levels in the Bay Area’s creeks, rivers, and reservoirs. Like most water utilities, Santa Clara Valley Water District, which serves the county’s two million people, releases water from its 10 reservoirs ahead of big storms to make space for new runoff. As Steve Holmes walked along Los Gatos Creek beside Highway 17 in Campbell on a bright February day, not long after the emergency releases, he pointed out mounds of sticks and mud clinging to the banks. The director of South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition, Holmes has spent his decade in retirement clearing trash from streams in service to his love for fish. …“Do you think the beavers are still here?” I asked. … ” Read the full story from Bay Nature.
New technologies and responsible management can solve California’s water crisis
“Despite historic rainfalls last winter, California could be back into drought conditions before we know it. If we are not careful, we could end up like South Africa. … Like South Africa’s, California’s water infrastructure is outdated and in need of repair. California’s reservoirs are largely full now, but there is only enough water for the state to make it through one dry year. To avoid an outcome like Cape Town’s, California needs to start using new technology and smart public policy to ensure the state has enough water. … ” Continue reading from the Fair Observer.
Mountains of holiday food and packing waste are clogging landfills. Is there a better way?
“‘Twas the week after Christmas, and in a quiet corner of the San Fernando Valley, lines of waste collection trucks waited to offload their goods onto a growing mountain of garbage. Here at the Athens Materials Recovery Facility in Sun Valley, cardboard boxes careened down conveyor belts, empty bottles and cans flew through crushers and sorters, and hand crews sifted through soggy recyclables. Wrapping paper, aluminum trays and Amazon logos were a near-constant among the detritus. “We get a lot more boxes during this time of year for sure,” said Fabiola Martinez, an operations lead with Athens Services, which handles much of the waste hauling and recycling in Los Angeles and other nearby areas. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Obituary: Frank Lawrence (Larry) Ruhstaller
“A beloved family man, consummate host, and admired public servant, Larry Ruhstaller, died peacefully December 27, 2023, at the age of 75 with his devoted wife Kitty and daughter Vanesa by his side. … ” Among his many, many civic positions, Larry Ruhstaller served as the San Joaquin County representative on the Delta Protection Commission, at one point being elected Chair of the Commission, and then serving on the Delta Stewardship Council. ” … Yet despite all these amazing efforts and achievements, he will be remembered by all who knew him for his humility, honesty, generosity, and hilarious sense of humor.” RIP, Larry. Read the full obituary at the Stockton Record.
In commentary today …
California’s water supply and flood infrastructure cannot adapt to climate volatility
Letitia Grenier and Ellen Hanak, both with the PPIC, write, “Climate change is throwing California’s already variable climate for a loop, supercharging the extremes of drought and flood and leaving us with fewer “in-between” moments. But while we’ve done a great job preparing for increasingly frequent and severe droughts in California, our infrastructure and institutions remain woefully underprepared for the extreme floods that are coming our way. It’s time to take this threat seriously, and accelerate planning for the wet years we know are bound to happen. The need is urgent. … ” Continue reading at the Sacramento Bee.
Is flood control losing priority in the state’s climate change agenda? Money matters
Sacramento Bee opinion columnist Tom Philp writes, “From Fisherman’s Wharf to Oracle Park, where the Giants play baseball, San Francisco wants to build a 30-foot wall to prevent a rising bay from submerging this low-lying edge of the city. The 7.5-mile wall is expected to cost $13 billion. It would be the largest public works project in an expensive city’s storied history. And it’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg for the Bay Area. … Now, however, the Bay Area has to worry about floods coming from the Bay through a cruel combination of sea level rise and peak storm surge. Its needs are exploding — financially overwhelming those of Sacramento and the Central Valley. … ” Read the full commentary at the Sacramento Bee.
Investing in sustainable water sources
Congressman Jared Huffman writes, “Looking around the West, it’s impossible to ignore the signs of water scarcity. Our changing climate, growing population and massive demands from irrigated agriculture are colliding with critically dewatered streams and estuaries and the collapse of iconic salmon fisheries. California is wringing dry our diminishing water resources. On the Colorado River, plunging reservoir levels have forced water supply cuts once unthinkable. In the Bay-Delta, which sustains California’s billion-dollar salmon fishery, drought and mismanagement have forced a statewide closure of all salmon fishing. Land in the Central Valley is sinking, undermining critical infrastructure like the California Aqueduct, because of unsustainable groundwater pumping. One thing is certain: overdrawing finite water resources has a limit, and we are hurtling toward it. … ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Researchers, tribes, residents prepare for a century of sediment released from the Klamath dams
“In the coming weeks, water will be let out from behind the three remaining dams on the Klamath River. A century’s worth of sediment that has piled up behind the dams will also flow downriver. … The crew from the restoration company Resource Environmental Solutions, or RES, and Northern California’s Karuk Tribe are spending two weeks catching as many young coho salmon as they can and relocating them to specially constructed ponds next to creeks. By doing so, they hope to protect the Endangered Species Act-listed fish from the deluge of sediment that will be released when water from three Klamath River reservoirs is released in January—a major step toward the removal of three major dams. … ” Read the full story at Jefferson Public Radio.
Salmon won’t return to the Klamath River overnight, but tribes are ready for restoration work
“The last of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River is expected to come down in 2024, restoring the river’s full flow and the spawning grounds for fish for the first time in more than 100 years. But for the people who live there — and some who have lived on the river for up to 15,000 years — the removal of the dams is just the beginning of the Klamath’s recovery. Fish protectors like Oscar and Georgianna Gensaw of the Yurok Tribe expect the salmon’s return to take years. Also ahead are the arduous tasks of restoring forests ravaged by huge wildfires, repairing the damage to creeks and rivers that were dredged and channelized to dry up wetlands that once made their waters clear and pure, and mitigating other damage to lands and waters occurring over the past 150 years. … ” Read more from the USA Today.
BAY AREA
First Bay Area rainfall of 2024 expected Tuesday
“As Bay Area residents are still ringing in the new year, the first rainfall of 2024 could arrive by Tuesday afternoon, for a dousing that could last well into Wednesday according to the National Weather Service. In a bulletin posted early Tuesday morning, the NWS said “widespread rain” throughout the Bay Area could roll in by the the late afternoon. The clouds began to roll in early in the morning ahead of the incoming low pressure system that should see rain fall from the North Bay all the way down the Central Coast. While light precipitation could kickstart in some areas by 10 or 11 a.m. Tuesday, the rainfall won’t likely advance past a light drizzle until about 2 or 3 p.m. in most places. From there, a steady rainfall could transition into showers lasting overnight and into Thursday, according to the NWS. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News.
Marin County to advance San Anselmo bridge removal project
“Required flood mitigation will not prevent a plan to remove an aging bridge in downtown San Anselmo over the summer, Marin County officials said. The removal of the structure, called “Building Bridge 2,” is a crucial part of a project that will reduce flooding risk for an estimated 400 Ross Valley homes while increasing it for a much smaller number of residences. The other major component of the $26 million project is a 33-acre detention basin at the former Sunnyside Nursery growing grounds, just west of Fairfax, which was completed in 2022 but has not been put to use. “We’ll be going out to bid for construction in February,” said Rosemarie Gaglione, the county’s director of public works. “We can’t get into the creek until June 15, but there’s mobilization and work-up above the bridge that can be done before that.” … ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal.
Richardson Bay authority defeats lawsuit over boat removals
“A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit arguing that the Richardson’s Bay Regional Authority does not have legal standing to police the water. The judge found no merit in an argument by plaintiff Robert Roark, an anchor-out who lives on the bay, that he has a constitutional right to anchor there. “To the extent Roark is alleging a stand-alone constitutional entitlement to anchor where he chooses, the United States’ constitution does not confer a blanket right to anchor in Richardson’s Bay,” wrote Judge William Orrick of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Despite a law that prohibits boaters from anchoring in the bay for longer than 72 hours, many have lived on their vessels there for decades. The number of anchor-outs swelled to 240 in 2016. Today there are about 40. … ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal.
CENTRAL COAST
Monterey County leaders decry delayed Pajaro levee repairs
“The Monterey County Board of Supervisors authorized a letter to federal representatives urging support after the Army Corps of Engineers announced that repairs to the Pajaro River Levee have been delayed. All the levee repairs were projected to be completed by the end of the year, but now the goalpost has been moved to July 1, 2024. Repairs to Site 1 were completed in early October, but work has just barely begun on Site 3, and it hasn’t even started on Site 2. … ” Read more from KSBY.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Can Merced prevent a repeat of January’s flood? City leaders say they’ve been preparing
“Nearly a year after record rains brought devastating floods to the region, Merced leaders say they’re prepared in the event another large winter storm drenches the city. Merced City Manager Scott McBride recently updated the City Council on what preparations have been made to prevent a repeat of the flood that caused millions of dollars in damages and displaced many residents. McBride briefed the council on Dec. 18 at the request of Mayor Matthew Serratto. “The drought has subsided. However, the water that we did receive (brought) a lot of local emergencies and ongoing recovery efforts for residents,” McBride said. … ” Read more from KVPR.
Video: Rooted in the Valley: The Hagopians escaped the Armenian Genocide to thrive in the San Joaquin Valley
“Richard Hagopian’s family was one of thousands that escaped the Armenian Genocide in the early 1900s and forged a new path in the fertile San Joaquin Valley. It wasn’t an easy life, especially after his father died, leaving Richard the man of the family while still in his teens. But hard work, a successful music career and a beloved family restaurant in Visalia, sustained the family and built a future for new generations. Now in his 80s, Richard has come back to farming. Whether his sons will keep it going is up to them. “I can’t tell the future,” he said.” Watch the video at SJV Water.
Isabella power plant operators have a plan to make repairs without drying up Kern River
“Engineers with Isabella Partners, which operates the power plant at the base of Isabella Dam, believe they’ve found a way to make repairs to the plant without drying up the lower Kern River for weeks on end. If successful, water levels will drop from where they are now, but the river won’t go totally dry. The work around will require fast action by an Isabella Partners crew that has been training on practice runs to weld a temporary “muscle wall” in one of two portals through the plant while water is cut back. Water will then be ramped back up through the main portal and dropped into the river bed, according to an explanation from Isabella Partners to William McKinnon, attorney for Water Audit California. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
Community Voices: The city of Bakersfield operates diversion weirs, not dams
Steven Alan Lafond, retired from the Bakersfield Water Resources Department, writes, “When the city of Bakersfield first acquired Kern River water and storage rights from Tenneco West Inc. in 1976, included was a 34% share of Isabella Reservoir conservation storage (total lake storage less the Kern County 30,000-acre-foot perpetual Recreational Pool). They also acquired, in the $17.9 million deal (no taxpayer money involved), approximately 25% of the river’s yield as measured at First Point of Measurement near Hart Park, 2,800 acres of prime (sugar sand) groundwater recharge lands west of town, and the Kern River bottom through Bakersfield. With this acquisition came the city’s responsibility to maintain and operate five Kern River diversion weirs situated between the Beardsley River Weir east of Gordon’s Ferry and the Bellevue Weir upstream of the Stockdale Highway bridge for the mutual benefit of all Kern River interests. Later, at its sole expense, the city built the 2,800-acre diversion weir (aka McClung Weir) in 1983 to help divert spreading water to both the north and south sides of the river’s invaluable flood plain. … ” Read more from the Bakersfield Californian.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Rain, snow and possibly another round of big waves headed for Southern California this week
“Back-to-back storms off the Pacific Ocean will bring rain and snow to Southern California this week, along with the potential for another round of big waves. The swells that closed beaches and piers up and down the California shore eased up over the weekend, but high surf advisories remained in place in several counties as officials warned the public to avoid swimming or walking on rocks near the beach. Public health officials in Los Angeles County also issued a warning about high levels of bacteria from storm runoff at some local beaches, including parts of Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice and Redondo Beach. The Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard saw 12-foot waves on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Dredging operation to begin at Marina del Rey’s harbor
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to remove about 100 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of sediment from Marina del Rey’s harbor in an operation set to begin Monday. The five-month-long dredging effort is expected to remove about 400,000 to 500,000 cubic yards of sediment accumulated along the harbor’s north jetty, where shoaling has impacted navigation for boaters and first-responders, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors. The Army Corps of Engineers will use a vessel dubbed Sea Horse in the dredging effort. … ” Read more from NBC LA.
Seal Beach Pier reopens as big waves calm along Southern California coast
“Big waves that battered the Southern California coastline earlier this weekend subsided early Sunday, but flood advisories remained in effect at beaches in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Seal Beach and Manhattan Beach piers reopened Sunday after being closed Saturday due to dangerous surf levels caused by a strong, one-day rainstorm that brought flood warnings and other safety concerns to coastal communities. Waves were expected to continue to calm Sunday through Monday, according to the National Weather Service, though beachgoers were advised Sunday to remain cautious of strong rip currents. Waves are expected to peak again Wednesday night and especially Sunday, Jan. 7. … ” Read more from the OC Register.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
New River Improvement Project changes order, predicts completion late 2024
“The ongoing New River Improvement Project recently proceeded to change order in the amount of $1,050,787.00, which was approved unanimously by the city council during the last regular city council meeting on Wednesday, December 20. “Due to the complexity of the project, it was discovered many items were unknown because it is a very long project in a long area with many issues,” City engineer Guillermo Sillas said during the meeting. Two existing sewer lines over 50 years old for the wastewater treatment plant were affected during the storms of Hilary and the second rainstorm in September. When the new pipe is built on the top of these sewer lines, it will have an impact and they will not sustain the new pipe, Sillas and City Manager Esperanza Colio explained. … ” Read more from the Imperial Valley Press.
SAN DIEGO
Residents want Oceanside dune project moved away from harbor
“Residents unhappy about building sand dunes at Oceanside’s harbor beach have asked the city to consider moving the project to a different location, maybe near the San Luis Rey River mouth. The city accepted a grant Dec. 20 of more than $56,000 for the proposed pilot project. A consultant will install low fences and stakes to hold wind-blown sand, creating dunes and habitat for native plants at three different locations totaling about one acre. The sand dunes and plants are intended to demonstrate a small, nature-based solution that could help protect the coast from sea-level rise, flooding and erosion. The dunes also may lower maintenance costs by reducing wind-blown sand that piles up on sidewalks, streets, parks and parking lots. … ” Continue reading at the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Pipeline getting sunk to the bottom of reservoir; in 4 years, it could carry drinking water.
“San Diego is starting work on the last leg of a pipeline that would ultimately carry purified water to Miramar Reservoir — part of a sprawling, more than $1 billion sewage recycling system whose first phase the city aims to have fully operational four years from now. The current work involves installing an underwater stretch of pipeline as part of a longer, 8-mile line between the North City Pure Water Facility and the lake. Finishing the 1-mile segment along the reservoir bed involves assembling it on dry land, then loading it onto barges to install it underwater. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union Tribune.
Rebate program helps HOAs become grand-scale water savers
“The bowl-shaped common space at the Mall III Homeowners Association property in Lake San Marcos was once a pricey, turf-heavy problem for its HOA board. After a water-smart landscape upgrade, it’s now a point of pride that’s easier on the budget. The transformation, made possible in part by incentives offered through a San Diego County Water Authority rebate program, is one that local officials hope will inspire other similar communities. The 49-home property has an intimate feel, with homes in a horseshoe around the common area that extends to the tip of the lake and its dock. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Defending the Tijuana Estuary
“Typically foggy and cold “June gloom” morning gave way to a blindingly bright sunny afternoon at the Tijuana Estuary as Mike McCoy and I walked down a path bordered by bright yellow goldenbush. The air smelled of sweet nectar, common sagebrush and coastal sage scrub, mixed with prickly pear cactus and black mustard, an invasive weed that can top 6 feet, as tall as McCoy, or taller. … McCoy and I followed the path until it opened onto a wide vista. To our right, about a quarter-mile away, stood houses and sleek palm trees — the edge of the city of Imperial Beach, California — and to the left lay an airstrip, part of a U.S. Navy facility. But straight ahead, through brush and marsh grasses, we could glimpse the shallow Tijuana River, meandering about a mile through its delta and widening as it reached the Pacific. … ” Read more from the High Country News.
‘Without citizen enforcement, it’s clear nothing will change:’ San Diego groups to sue feds over cross-border sewage
“Two San Diego nonprofits announced that they plan to file a lawsuit to compel the federal government to stop the overflow of Tijuana sewage that is wreaking havoc on local communities. San Diego Coastkeeper and Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation on Thursday sent the International Boundary and Water Commission, or IBWC, a notice of intent to sue them, alleging violations of the Clean Water Act. At least 60 days notice is required before a lawsuit can be filed, per the Clean Water Act. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Along the Colorado River …
2024 outlook for Colorado River less rosy after banner year
“It was a banner water year for the Colorado River Basin, with water use in the three Lower Basin states including Arizona way below normal and water supplies in the river running well above normal in 2023. The outlook for 2024 is cloudier. While approved and planned water conservation efforts are likely to keep water demand below normal, the river’s water supply forecast for the year is much less rosy, though it’s too early in the season to know how it will turn out. For 2023, heavy river runoff along with much bigger water conservation efforts helped push the water levels at Lakes Mead and Powell much higher than they were a year earlier. … Now, however, the early projections for 2024 are for spring and summer runoff well below normal. … ” Read more from the Arizona Daily Star.
SEE ALSO: Arizona’s water crisis: Colorado river restrictions easing in 2024, but negotiations over future continues, from AOL News
The forgotten hydrologist: how an overlooked study over a century ago helped fuel the Colorado River crisis
“When it comes to the Colorado River, history often repeats itself—but it doesn’t have to. That’s the take-home message from CU Boulder hydrologist Shemin Ge, who recently presented a little-known piece of history from the river at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting in San Francisco. The story of hydrologist Eugene Clyde La Rue, Ge said, may help to explain the current water crisis facing many states in the American West. Ge’s presentation centers around a decision made in 1922, when the seven men who made up the Colorado River Commission came to an agreement to divvy up water on the Colorado River. This waterway winds over 1,450 miles and through seven states. The commission relied on an estimate from the U.S. Reclamation Service suggesting that 16.4 million acre-feet of water ran through the river at Lees Ferry, Arizona, every year. … ” Read more from Sci Tech Daily.
These tribal leaders are water pioneers — and 2023 Arizonans of the Year
“The Colorado River Indian Tribes and Gila River Indian Community began irrigating farmland thousands of years ago using water from the rivers that are now their namesake. Water stewardship is an inextricable part of their community fabric and identity, and its leaders carry a deep obligation to care for what the Creator has provided. The rest of us are relatively new to the water management debate, not the other way around. “It’s in our blood — our DNA — to be caretakers of the land and water,” Gila River Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis said. Lewis and Colorado River Indian Tribes Chairwoman Amelia Flores have become influential water caretakers in Arizona and across the Colorado River basin. … ” Read more from the Arizona Republic.
In tense Colorado River negotiations, Becky Mitchell takes a stand for Colorado and tribal water rights
“Around 8 a.m. Dec. 13, Becky Mitchell swapped flip-flops for heels, donned a blazer and headed out of her Las Vegas hotel room to fight for Colorado’s right to water in a drier future at the biggest water gathering of the year. … Mitchell, originally from Hawaii, is a Colorado School of Mines graduate who has worked on Colorado water issues for the state since 2009. In addition to serving as Colorado’s representative on the Upper Colorado River Commission, she has also been the director of the state’s top water agency, the Colorado Water Conservation Board. Now, she’s one of seven state leaders, and the only woman, at the center of negotiations over the crisis-plagued river where warmer temperatures, drought and overuse are jeopardizing vital resources for 40 million people. … ” Read more from the Colorado Sun.
Arizona: Whispers of groundwater regulations spur surges of deeper, higher-capacity wells
“In 2022, when the southeastern Arizona community of Willcox confronted state regulations that would’ve halted new groundwater irrigation in the largely agricultural area, voters and special interest groups mobilized to defeat the ballot measure by almost two to one. They acknowledged that, as in other rural areas of the state, more groundwater was being pumped out of the Willcox Basin than was naturally refilled, and they agreed something should be done about that overdrafting. But bringing the area under the state’s existing rules, as the measure proposed to do, wouldn’t give the rural community enough control to guide development in a way that differed from more urban areas like Phoenix or Tucson. … ” Read more from the Mohave Valley News.
The Salton Sea shows why Utah should pay attention to Great Salt Lake’s stench
“The eighth largest saline lake in the world is a Utah icon. More than 10 million birds take sanctuary there every year. And sometimes, Great Salt Lake smells like rotten eggs. That distinct tang is caused by hydrogen sulfide, a colorless gas that can be harmful in high concentrations. When concentrations are excessive, it “could kill you or [H2S] can cause nausea and headaches, or more commonly, it’s just a nuisance,” said Wayne Wurtsbaugh, a retired science professor at Utah State University who studied the gas. Great Salt Lake isn’t the only saline lake that produces hydrogen sulfide, there’s also the decaying Salton Sea, California’s largest lake. … ” Read more from the Salton Sea.
Here’s what feds think will happen with Lake Powell’s water level this year
“With below-average precipitation so far this winter, federal officials say that Lake Powell will get 2 million acre-feet less water than they originally thought. An acre-foot is enough water to flood an acre of land one foot deep. In Utah, an acre-foot of water is enough to supply two single-family permanent residences for a year, according to the Division of Water Rights. In October of this year, the Bureau of Reclamation — the agency that oversees water projects nationwide — reported that between October 2023 and September 2024, an estimated 9.4 million acre-feet of water would flow into Lake Powell. This month, they’ve revised their estimate. Reclamation now says that Lake Powell will receive just 7.6 million acre-feet of water in that time frame. That’s 79% of the historical average runoff between 1991 and 2020. … ” Read more from the Salt Lake Tribune.
Colorado: Study finds livestock growers need more compensation for water conservation
“The results of a recent economic study of Grand County irrigators show that certain water conservation programs may be worth it for irrigators who grow hay but not for those who grow cows. In 2020, a group of nine flood irrigators in the Kremmling area, scientists and conservation groups began a multiyear research project to find out what happens when irrigation water is withheld from high-elevation fields for a full season and a half-season. The project, officially called “Evaluating Conserved Consumptive Use in the Upper Colorado,” is ongoing through 2023, but preliminary results from 2020-22 show that the effects of taking water off a field linger beyond one season and that these types of programs may not make financial sense for irrigators who raise livestock. … ” Read more from KUNC.
Colorado River crisis looms over Colorado’s landscape decisions
“The deepening troubles of the Colorado River, a significant source of water for most of Colorado’s 5.9 million residents, has implications for the types of grasses we grow in our yards and in street medians. … Colorado’s mounting efforts to limit new expanses of thirsty turf won’t solve the Colorado River problems. Colorado is just one of seven states in the basin. And even within Colorado, agriculture consumes roughly 90% of Colorado’s water and cities about 7%. Exterior use, such as for watering thirsty Kentucky bluegrass yards, consumes 40% to 60% of municipal water. But if this water use is on the margins, it’s one that many water managers believe must be addressed. … ” Read the full story at Aspen Journalism.
