Several irrigation districts and others having pre-1914 senior water rights have sued the State of California over water shut-offs and denial of due process. Historic water rights were cut last month by the State as part of its drought emergency measures.
Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) reintroduced The Desalination Development Act to raise the funding authorization for the Bureau of Reclamation’s grant program. The bill authorizes $260 million over the next 5 years for desalination projects and creates new environmental safeguards for funded projects.
California’s endangered winter-run Chinook salmon could be cooked to death this fall because the Sacramento River is too hot. At the Klamath River, over a million juvenile fish have been relocated by the State.
Thousands of junior water right holders are receiving notices of unavailability in drought-stricken California. This means they cannot divert surface water so that senior surface water rights are fulfilled. If the drought worsens, some senior entitlements may also be curtailed.
The California Department of Water Resources announced that it began construction on a temporary emergency drought barrier on the West False River in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The project will slow saltwater contamination of agriculture and municipal water supplies.
The Colorado River is one of the principal rivers in the US. Read about some of its features, history-making law, and the threat of drought and climate change.
