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Great Salt Lake: In Danger Of Disappearing
April 7th, 2023
Courtesy of the New York Times, commentary on the drought threatening the Great Salt Lake: From a distance, it is hard to tell whether the three figures walking the salt playa are human, bird or some other animal. Through binoculars, I see they are pelicans, juveniles, gaunt and emaciated without water or food. In feathered […]
Read more »California Plans To Replenish Groundwater With Floodwaters
April 7th, 2023
Courtesy of the Los Angeles Times, an article on California’s plans to replenish drought-depleted groundwater with floodwaters: With torrential rains drenching California, state water regulators have endorsed a plan to divert floodwaters from the San Joaquin River to replenish groundwater that has been depleted by heavy agricultural pumping during three years of record drought. The […]
Read more »Fasting Growing US City Looks To Shrinking Reservoir For Water
April 7th, 2023
Via CNN, an article on how he fastest growing metro in the US is looking to a shrinking reservoir to keep the boom going: In a bright-red county in a state allergic to regulations, there is a ban on growing grass outside new businesses. Only 8% of a home’s landscaping can have a grass lawn […]
Read more »‘A Foundation of Racism’: California’s Antiquated Water Rights System Faces Scrutiny
April 7th, 2023
Via the Los Angeles Times, a report on California’s antiquated water rights system: It’s an arcane system of water law that dates back to the birth of California — an era when 49ers used sluice boxes and water cannons to scour gold from Sierra Nevada foothills and when the state government promoted the extermination of […]
Read more »Does Colorado Need Water-Use Standards Given Impacts of Aridification?
February 17th, 2023
Via Big Pivots, a look at the tension between the fact that agriculture uses the vast majority of water in Colorado, but its cities depend upon Colorado River diversions: Let me give you a precise example of what we’re talking about. An infill housing development took shape a couple of years ago near the Arvada […]
Read more »Lessons Emerge As Seven Thirsty States War Over Colorado River Water
February 16th, 2023
Via The Harvard Gazette, commentary on the Colorado River crisis where the U.S. will decide on apportionment as demand grows due to rising populations in the West and a shrinking supply due to drought: Seven Western states, which include some of the fastest-growing in the nation, get some of their water from the Colorado River. […]
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