On the calendar today …
- EVENT: Applications of Natural and Nature-Based Features from 9am to 10:30. This webinar will highlight the role of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) and partner applications of Natural and Nature-Based Features (NNBF). Included are case studies providing a wide range of applications on inland fluvial systems. Join Christopher Haring, Ph.D., Research Physical Scientist, River Engineering Branch, Coastal and Hydraulics Lab, Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), as he considers his experience with geomorphic watershed assessments, wildfire recovery, and soil stabilization projects that combine engineering with nature-based restoration techniques. Click here for more information and to register.
Incoming storms …
Sierra Nevada snowpack triples in past month, more storms on the way
“California ushered in the New Year with a dry and disappointing snowpack in the Sierra Nevada — just 25% of the historical average. But in the month since, like the stock market and the 49ers playoff hopes, the picture has improved significantly. On Monday, the snowpack, a vast 400-mile long frozen reservoir that provides nearly one-third of the state’s water supply, had jumped to 52% of normal, boosted by several big storms that have taken ski resorts out of the doldrums in recent weeks and tempered talk of a 2024 “snow drought.” “We’ve come a long way from where we were at the beginning of the month,” said Andrew Schwartz, lead scientist at the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Laboratory near Donner Summit west of Lake Tahoe. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News (gift article).
SEE ALSO: Here’s where California’s snowpack stands with winter half over, from the San Francisco Chronicle
Pair of major “Pineapple Express”-type atmospheric rivers to affect California Wed-Mon; elevated flood and wind risk (especially from storm #2)
Dr. Daniel Swain writes, “Well, I’ll keep this section short since there’s a lot to talk about! But most of California and indeed much of western North America has been experiencing record mid-winter warmth since the weekend–and although it’s hardly the only time California has seen multi-day stretches with record-breaking temperatures in recent years, it’s worth noting just how ho-hum these kinds of records have become as our winters continue to warm. It’s especially notable given that San Diego County saw record-breaking rainfall and severe flash flooding just last week, and that large portions of the state will be at risk of additional flooding in the coming days (with the sunny days in the 70s and locally even 80s sandwiched in between). There will be two separate major storm events in the next 7 days in California, and I’ll address them each separately. … ” Read more from Weather West.
Monster Pacific storm to ‘firehose’ California with rain, flooding and wind
“A potent storm with plenty of moisture will throw heavy rain and gusty winds at the West Coast of the United States this week, with most of the focus on California from Wednesday to Thursday. As AccuWeather meteorologists have warned since mid-January, the upcoming storm will trigger an atmospheric river that can bring rain heavy enough to trigger flooding, mudslides and major travel disruptions. The storm will approach midweek after a potent winter storm pushes inland over British Columbia, producing showery rain and mountain snow in the Northwest into Tuesday. This new storm will deliver a narrow zone of intense rain, or an atmospheric river, from well out over the Pacific and toward coastal areas of California. The firehose effect of rain will shift southward from Northern California on Wednesday to Southern California on Thursday. … ” Read more from AccuWeather.
What is an atmospheric river? A hydrologist explains the good and bad of these flood-prone storms and how they’re changing
“An atmospheric river is a narrow corridor or filament of concentrated water vapor transported in the atmosphere. It’s like a river in the sky that can be 1,000 miles long. On average, atmospheric rivers have about twice the regular flow of the Amazon River. When atmospheric rivers run up against mountains or run into local atmospheric dynamics and are forced to ascend, the moisture they carry cools and condenses, so they can produce intense rainfall or snowfall. Atmospheric rivers occur all over the world, most commonly in the mid-latitudes. They form when large-scale weather patterns align to create narrow channels, or filaments, of intense moisture transport. These start over warm water, typically tropical oceans, and are guided toward the coast by low-level jet streams ahead of cold fronts of extratropical cyclones. … ” Continue reading at The Conversation.
Are incoming atmospheric rivers getting an El Niño boost?
“While it’s tank top weather today, by Wednesday night you’re going to want to grab your galoshes, as the first of two atmospheric rivers is expected to arrive in the area. The storms are standard for this time of year, but a warm patch of water off the coast, likely associated with El Niño, is a must watch. With the first storm, Southern California is likely to see one to three inches of rain in our urban areas, and as much as five inches in our foothills and mountains. … Speaking of forecasts, the models aren’t quite there yet when it comes to accurately incorporating an anomalously warm area of sea water stretching a few hundred miles out into the Pacific. … ” Continue reading at the LAist.
SEE ALSO:
- First Of Two Atmospheric River Storms To Hit California Beginning Wednesday, from the Weather Channel
- Viral video about California megaflood is ‘full of misinformation.’ What’s actually coming?, from the Sacramento Bee
Scientists debunk California biblical-storm hysteria swirling on internet
“ARkStorm — the name given by the U.S. Geological Survey to a “hypothetical but plausible” megastorm that would bring massive rain and flooding to California — was trending on social media last week. The frightening possibility is back in the news thanks to a social media post from Danielle Langlois, an actor, writer and activist, according to her online bio. Last Tuesday, Langlois wrote in a lengthy message on X (formerly Twitter) that an ARkStorm could soon wreak havoc on California, amid an upcoming expected shift to wet weather on the West Coast. … ” Read more from SF Gate.
SEE ALSO:
- A major wet weather pattern is barreling toward California. But it’s not the dreaded ‘megaflood’, from the LA Times
In other California water news today …
Experts predict bigger swings between wet and dry years in California
“There is no such thing as a “normal” weather year in California anymore. Olive producers have to be ready for anything at any time. As Golden State farmers wrap up their 2023 harvest and begin a new year, the water outlook is as uncertain as ever. Predictions from the California Water Blog note that the main lesson of the wild 2023 water year is that California’s water situation is highly variable, averages are unreliable and improvements are needed to adapt to a constellation of interacting changes. Anxiety and worry are often devoted to drought and water scarcity in California. Still, a new report from the State of California Department of Water Resources emphasizes that growers must not lose sight of the less frequent and shorter wet years. … ” Read more from the Olive Oil Times.
Story Map: California’s untapped stormwater capture potential
“When rain falls in natural environments like the forest, rainwater infiltrates down through the soil layers, eventually traveling into groundwater aquifers to replenish groundwater supplies. Excess rainwater that cannot be infiltrated through the soil flows over the land surface as stormwater runoff. This stormwater runoff flows untreated to streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and finally to the oceans . When it rains in urban environments, impervious surfaces like sidewalks, parking lots, and streets prevent stormwater from infiltrating into the soil. The rain turns into urban stormwater runoff that flows over the impervious surfaces in the cityscape into storm sewer systems. The storm sewer systems then drain into natural water bodies such as streams, rivers, lakes, bays, and oceans. … ” Read this story map from the State Water Resources Control Board.
California’s largest reservoir nears 7-year milestone as water levels rise
“Water levels at Lake Shasta have climbed significantly over the past 10 days, spurring hopes that California’s largest reservoir could hit a milestone it hasn’t seen for seven years: dam spillover. After years of drought, the lake’s water levels reached near capacity last year following an abnormally wet winter. Water levels steadily declined throughout the fall but have since started to rise again after a series of atmospheric rivers dumped excessive rain in the area. The levels have risen 12 feet since January 19 and might continue to climb this week after another storm arrives on Wednesday. … ” Read more from Newsweek.
Gov. Gavin Newsom backs dam removal projects aimed at sustaining salmon populations
“California Gov. Gavin Newsom is pledging to fast-track more than half a dozen projects by the end of his term to remove or bypass dams that have blocked salmon from returning to the state’s chilly mountain streams and acting as the keystone of a complex ecosystem that sustains both economies and spiritual beliefs for tribes. Newsom — now in his second term and seen as a potential Democratic presidential candidate beyond 2024 — has worked hard to stake a claim as the nation’s most environmentally-conscious governor. But his record has been dogged by criticism from environmental groups who say his water policies benefit big agriculture at the expense of salmon and other species of fish in danger of becoming extinct. … ” Read more from the Associated Press.
California’s groundwater decline is ‘scary’ — but one area bucks the trend
“Californians are all-too-familiar with the hold water has on us. It keeps us alive and our farmland fertile, but its scarcity has plagued the state since long before climate change brought on longer droughts and sweltering days. In a study published January 24 in the journal Nature, scientists produced the first global record of groundwater evolution over the last half-century. They found that water stores across the world are evaporating faster and faster, and that California is a global hotspot for groundwater decline. “I was curious how unprecedented the declines that we are observing in California’s San Joaquin Valley are at global scale,” says Scott Jasechko, a scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara who led the study. But, there is some surprising good news in California as well. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
How to baffle a beaver: A simple trick turns destructive urban pests into valuable ecosystem engineers
“When the first beaver returned to Vancouver’s Stanley Park’s Beaver Lake after a 60 year absence, no one knew where it came from. Some thought it followed streams in from the Fraser Valley, others suggested it dodged freighters and fought Burrard Inlet’s strong currents, swimming from North Vancouver’s Capilano watershed. But far from being thrilled with the return of the lake’s namesake, park officials at Vancouver’s 1,001 acre, forested jewel were dismayed. In cities all over North America—New York, Seattle, Montreal, and others—the return of the aquatic rodents had wreaked havoc on landscapes as they toppled trees, flooded trails and roads, and damaged infrastructure. Many cities’ initial solution was to trap the pioneering beavers and remove their dam debris. But wildlife managers discovered that beavers are persistent; despite dismantled dams and trapped beavers, new animals just kept showing up. Then, like the person who built a better mousetrap, a guy came up with a way to baffle the beavers into better behavior—which not only led to a truce, but also a healthier eco-system. … ” Continue reading at Sierra Magazine.
The perverse policies that fuel wildfires
“The provincial government of Alberta defines a “wildfire of note” as a blaze that could “pose a threat to public safety, communities or critical infrastructure.” Last year, Alberta’s first wildfire of note broke out unusually early, on April 30th, near the tiny town of Entwistle, about sixty-five miles west of Edmonton. A second wildfire of note was recorded that same day, in the town of Evansburg. Four days later, an astonishing seventy-two wildfires were burning, and three days after that the number had grown to a hundred and nine. Some thirty thousand people had to be evacuated, and Alberta’s premier declared a state of emergency. “It’s been an unusual year,” Christie Tucker, an official from the province’s wildfire information unit, observed at the end of the week. The unusual soon became the unheard-of. … ” Read more from the New Yorker.
In commentary today …
Commentary: The Clear Lake hitch, and the Tribes that depend on them, face continuing threats
Jeanine Pfeiffer and Ron Montez Sr. write, “One year after California state and Lake County leaders declared an emergency for the endangered Clear Lake Hitch (known as “chi” to local Pomo Tribes), more than a dozen agencies are collaborating in an all-hands-on-deck approach to save this culturally important fish, one intertwined with our destiny as Tribal peoples. For millennia, abundant spring spawning runs of chi filled 14 tributaries feeding North America’s most ancient lake. Thousands of Tribal members gathered at Clear Lake to communally hand-harvest and process chi into fish jerky that provided year-long sustenance. Following successive genocides of Tribal communities, countless generations of sustainable fish harvests were erased by five generations of environmental damage: water diversions, invasive species introductions, and habitat destruction. Within our lifetimes, the chi spawning runs diminished to only six streams, and throughout the recent drought, we didn’t witness a single run. … ” Read more from Civil Eats.
Climate change flooding irony: Manteca, Lathrop taking real action; SF & LA aren’t
Dennis Wyatt, editor of the Manteca Bulletin, writes, “The official motto of the California Legislature majority is “do as I say and not as I do.” And by majority it isn’t the Democrats per se. Rather, it is the elected legislators that represent the coastal urban areas where most of California’s population resides and constitute more than two-thirds of the votes in Sacramento. There is no dispute that climate change is the big driver of initiatives coming out of the State Capitol. Yet, there is no looming mandate banning new construction of any type — from the foundation up or adding on to homes, retail concerns, employment centers and such — hanging over Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland when it comes to flooding predicted from climate change. There is on large swaths of the San Joaquin Valley and the Sacramento Valley. … ” Continue reading at the Manteca Bulletin.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
Audio: Conservation groups detail their request for a permanent flow in the Shasta River
“The rainy season around here is a good time to talk about the dry season. it will come, and that’s when streams drop and tempers rise over their use. Seven conservation groups want the Shasta River to drop LESS in the dry season, and they just put a petition before the California Water Board asking for action. The petition calls for the board to establish a permanent flow for the river, a bottom number that will protect fish and other river-dwellers. The flip side is that farmers and other water users will potentially have to curtail their water consumption to hit a permanent flow target. The Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center and Save California Salmon are two of the groups filing the petition. Regina Chichizola from SCS and Nick Joslin from MSBEC discuss the situation in the Shasta, and their proposed remedy for it.” Listen at Jefferson Public Radio.
Settlement reached in illegal California cannabis cultivation that damaged environment
“In a news release dated January 23, 2024, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced a settlement had been approved regarding an illegal cannabis cultivation operation in Humboldt County, located in the northwest of the state (1). As part of the settlement, Joshua Sweet, owner of The Hills LLC and Shadow Light Ranch LLC, must pay $1.75 million for destroying wetlands, converting woodlands, and failing to obtain permits required to divert water from nearby streams (1). A Superior Court judge approved the settlement of the violations, which included the payment of $500,000 to the Division of Water Rights, $175,000 to the North Coast Water Board, and $75,000 to CDFW, all over five years (1). “It is critical for all cannabis cultivators to be environmentally responsible and protect California’s water supply and water quality,” stated Taro Murano, program manager for the cannabis enforcement section of the State Water Board’s Division of Water Rights (1). … ” Read more from Cannabis Science and Technology.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
New multi-million dollar flood control project being tested in Sacramento region
“A new multi-million dollar flood control project is about to be put to the test along the Sacramento River. Water is now starting to spill into what had been tomato and wheat fields in Yolo County. Now, the land is part of a seven-mile-long expansion of the Yolo Bypass between Interstate 5 to the north and West Sacramento to the south. It’s an area that is designed to flood when water levels rise. “Water comes from the Sacramento River down through the Yolo Bypass and out into the delta,” said David Pesavento, a supervising engineer with the California Department of Water Resources. Pesavento said this project, in the lower Elkhorn Basin, helps protect more than 780,000 people living downstream. … ” Read more from CBS Sacramento.
Water meter shortage impacting home builders in Sacramento County
“California is no stranger to drought, and for decades, the state’s governors have been urging residents to conserve water. About 20 years ago, Assembly Bill 2572 was signed, requiring water suppliers to install water meters on all water connections by 2025. However, a water meter shortage is getting in the way of meeting that deadline. As more people are moving to the Sacramento area, builders are experiencing a housing boom. However, the Building Industry Association (BIA), a non-profit representing homebuilders and developers, says there’s been one problem after another following the pandemic. “We started seeing supply chain issues, in general, starting in 2020, with the pandemic, and it’s taken different shapes over time. And water meters are really just one of the more recent issues that we’ve faced,” said Vance Jarrard, with the BIA. … ” Read more from Channel 10.
NAPA/SONOMA
Reviving the rivers: Sonoma County’s mission for salmon survival
“Flowing 14 miles from Warm Springs Dam to the Russian River, Dry Creek serves as a habitat for endangered coho salmon, threatened Chinook salmon, and steelhead. Salmon, including the coho variety, are vital to Sonoma County for their ecological, cultural, and economic significance. Salmon rank as the top-earning fish in the county’s commercial fishing sector. These fish maintain the health of aquatic ecosystems and are key indicators of environmental health. Local communities, including Indigenous groups, rely on them for cultural and economic purposes, particularly in recreational and commercial fishing. Ann DuBay of Sonoma Water, qoted in Michael Shapiro’s “The Push to Save the Coho at Dry Creek” in Sierra Club Magazine, highlights the specific needs of coho in Dry Creek, “Coho like shallow water. They like ripples. They like complexity. They like places to hide… It’s challenging for them to thrive when they have that much volume.” … ” Read more from the Sonoma Gazette.
BAY AREA
Storm headed to Bay Area will engulf region in heavy rain. Here’s what to expect
“Wednesday’s storm is anticipated to be the strongest so far this winter, but before it arrives conditions will be calm and mild. After daily high temperature records were set Tuesday, another warm day is on tap Tuesday. Highs are expected to be about 5 degrees above normal at the coast, in the lower 60s, and 10 degrees above normal inland, in the upper 60s to near 70. A mix of sun and clouds is expected during the day, becoming mostly cloudy in the evening. Wind will slowly ramp up Tuesday night near the coast, with rain possible by daybreak Wednesday in Sonoma County. By Wednesday evening, the entire Bay Area will be engulfed by heavy rain and gusty wind. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Army Corps, Port of San Francisco issue draft plan on remaking shoreline
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Port of San Francisco on Friday released a draft plan to remake the city’s shoreline, raising it by several feet in a bid to adapt the waterfront to the future impacts of sea level rise, reported the San Francisco Chronicle. With a $13.5-billion budget, it would be the city’s largest single infrastructure project ever. The goal would be to complete work by 2040 if a final report is completed next year and Congress approves the project in 2026. That would be less time than the 16 years it took to design and build the eastern span of the Bay Bridge that opened in 2013, the Chronicle reported. “We have been in the trenches analyzing the risks for years,” Brad Benson, director of the Port of San Francisco’s Water Resilience Program, told the Chronicle. “Now we have something to show the public about how we can adapt to those risks.” … ” Read more from Connect CRE.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
A fire burning deep inside an L.A. County landfill is raising new alarms over toxic air
“Vapor hisses from surface fissures. Bubbling ponds of effluent form “rivers of odorous waste.” And at times, steaming hot liquid bursts into the air like a geyser. As operators struggle to contain a smoldering fire and pressure buildup deep within Chiquita Canyon Landfill, air quality regulators are raising alarms over the potential health risks posed by the toxic fumes escaping the Castaic facility. Environmental regulators say that the local air and water samples have contained elevated levels of benzene, a cancer-causing chemical that evaporates easily. They also have reprimanded Waste Connections, the landfill’s owner, for failing to report the leaks when they first occurred and for not providing area residents with air quality data. “The landfill operator is already collecting much of this air pollution information, but it isn’t being released to the community in a way that lets residents make informed choices to protect their own health,” said Jeff Lindberg of the California Air Resources Board. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority partners with nonprofit to launch water plan
“The Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority will partner with the Fenner Gap Mutual Water Company to launch the “One Water” plan. On Thursday, the Victorville-based water authority announced it had signed of a letter of intent with Fenner to develop a strategy for water infrastructure in San Bernardino County’s Mojave Basin region. The Fenner agency is a nonprofit corporation established by Cadiz, Inc. to distribute water supplies from the Cadiz Conservation, Supply and Storage Project in the Eastern Mojave Desert. “Regional planning of water infrastructure is the key to sustainable water management for the entire Southwest,” Cadiz’s CEO Susan Kennedy said. … ” Read more from the Victorville Daily Press.
SEE ALSO: VVRA and Fenner Gap Mutual Water Co. launch “One Water” plan, press release from the Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority
SAN DIEGO
Big storms are coming, but feared widespread disaster isn’t looming
“National Weather Service offices and other reputable meteorologists in California have been doing rumor control about the coming stormy period. Chatter on social media from unreliable sources had implied that the entire state will soon be underwater. Daniel Swain, a meteorologist and climatologist at UCLA who knows a thing or two about California underwater, wants to assure the public that statewide inundation is not going to happen in the next few weeks. Which is not to say that significant regional flooding, including in San Diego, is off the table in early February. … ” Read more from the Voice of San Diego.
‘What was the plan?’: Nonprofit calls on city of San Diego to make changes before next storm
“With floodwaters receded in the San Diego neighborhood of Southcrest, the nonprofit Alliance San Diego is canvassing those same streets, asking residents to call on the city for more transparency regarding plans to handle expected rainfall later this week. The nonprofit wants the city to “immediately clear the storm drains and culverts in the flooded areas.” The city, according to a fact sheet provided to NBC 7, said it is “working to clean channels” in Southcrest and Encanto. “What was the plan before the flood?” asked Andrea Guerrero, executive director of Alliance San Diego. “Was this the plan? That their entire street, their life belongings would be destroyed?” … ” Read more from Channel 7.
San Diego could have cleaned Chollas Creek before storm, state says
“Even if the city of San Diego regularly cleaned urban creeks, last Monday’s historic rain still would have flooded parts of southeastern San Diego. But, a good dredging of the sand, trash and trees clogging up Chollas Creek could have minimized the devastation. Residents in the Shelltown neighborhood along Beta Street were quick to blame the city for failing to keep the channel clean before an atmospheric river hit. Many count the clogged channel as another example of neglect these residents feel by their city government. But the city can’t just dredge or deep clean a channel when it wants to, at least, that’s what Kris McFadden, San Diego’s deputy chief operating officer, explained during a press conference last week in response to angry residents whose homes were swallowed by the Chollas Creek topping its banks. … ” Read more from the Voice of San Diego.
City documents outline stormwater infrastructure problems, including ‘historic underfunding’
“As people continue to recover from last week’s devastating storm, the City of San Diego is playing catch up. Workers are clearing drains and canals that were overwhelmed. But city documents show years of underfunding and deferred maintenance may have contributed to the stormwater drainage situation the city is in now. Elvira Paulin is like many of her Southcrest neighbors. “I’m really upset,” she says. “Really upset with the city.” On Monday, Paulin’s house on Beta Street flooded. Her belongings are ruined. “Almost everything is gone, everything people work for,” Paulin added. … ” Read more from Channel 10.
Governor Newsom to Congress: Act now on Tijuana River crisis
“Today, Governor Gavin Newsom reaffirmed the critical importance of federal funding to solve the ongoing crisis in the Tijuana River Valley. The Governor reiterated that Congress must approve the $310 million that President Biden included in his emergency supplemental appropriations bill to address contamination in the cross-border river. More than 300,000 Californians live in proximity to the polluted river. For nearly a century, residents in the valley have suffered from raw sewage in the water, on the beaches, and in the air. Recent studies continue to warn of the health impacts and other threats spread from sewage, garbage and toxic chemicals. Just this week, storms caused an estimated 14.5 billion gallons of raw sewage to flow from Mexico into California. … ” Read more from the Office of the Governor.
SEE ALSO: Gov. Newsom urges Congress to act on Tijuana River Valley pollution crisis, from Channel 8
Along the Colorado River …
A quiet water deal paves the way to build thousands of homes in Arizona
Opinion columnist Joanna Allhands writes, “Home construction hasn’t stopped in Pinal County, even if it is steadily depleting its stash of subdivisions with enough water to build. In fact, the number of housing units in the county grew by an estimated 3.5% from 2021 to 2022, the fastest rate in Arizona and one of the fastest in the nation. But industry advocates warn that strong demand could turn to economic calamity when developers burn through this already approved housing supply. And some say it would be nearly impossible for homebuilders to add new projects to the pipeline, because the state now requires that they secure a renewable supply before getting the OK to build. But what if finding those supplies isn’t nearly as impossible as some might think? … ” Read more from the Arizona Republic.
USGS partners with Havasupai Tribe to identify potential contaminant exposure pathways from Grand Canyon uranium mining
“A new USGS report, co-produced with the Havasupai Tribe, identifies exposure pathways posed by uranium mining in the Grand Canyon watershed that arise from traditional uses and cultural values placed on resources. Previous models did not take into account Tribal perspectives or traditional uses. “To get a true picture of how environmental contaminants impact communities, it is critical to understand how all local communities use the land and its natural resources. This understanding is only possible by inviting those communities to share their knowledge and cultural perspectives so they can be incorporated into the work,” said Dave Applegate, director of the U.S. Geological Survey. “This report is an excellent example of how the USGS is striving to incorporate diverse perspectives and value systems to provide science relevant to all Americans.” … ” Read more from the USGS.
Colorado commits $20 million to help purchase historic Colorado River water rights on the Western Slope
“The state’s top water policy agency voted unanimously Monday to contribute $20 million toward purchasing Shoshone Power Plant water rights from Xcel Energy. It’s the latest step in a long process to finalize the deal, which comes with a $98.5 million price tag, and lawmakers still have to approve the expense. Western Slope water leaders — many of whom were at Monday’s meeting — see Shoshone water rights as a linchpin for their future water security in face of the Colorado River’s unpredictable flows. For them, the Colorado Water Conservation Board’s decision was cause for celebration after decades of effort. “It’s an incredible milestone to reach today and builds momentum to achieve both the fundraising objectives and ultimately the preservation of the historic Shoshone water right,” Amy Moyer, director of strategic partnerships with the Colorado River Water Conservation District, said after the meeting. … ” Read more from the Colorado Sun.
Data dashboard: Lake Powell’s water levels are slowing dropping but remain higher than last year
“Snowpack in the Roaring Fork basin reached an average of 9 inches of snow-water equivalent per site on Jan. 28, or 100% of median. That’s the same as Jan. 21, according to NRCS. SNOTEL sites that monitor snowfall throughout the winter measured the snowpack at Independence Pass at 78.3% of median on Jan. 28 with a “snow water equivalent” (SWE) of 7.6 inches, down from 7.7 inches and from 86.5% of normal on Jan. 21. Last year on Jan. 28, the SNOTEL station up the pass (located at elevation 10,600 feet) recorded an SWE of 10 inches. The monitoring station at McClure Pass, located at elevation 8,770 feet, recorded a SWE of 7.4 inches on Jan. 28 or 79% of median. That’s up from a SWE of 7.2 inches on Jan. 21. Last year, on Jan. 28, the station measured a snowpack holding 15.5 inches of water. … ” Continue reading at Aspen Journalism.
