By Ella Nilsen, CNN (CNN) — The Biden administration is swimming against the current to get seven Western states to agree to divvy up the Colorado River’s water in a way that would protect the river basin and the West’s largest single water source – and do it before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, according
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The Imperial Irrigation District finalized a landmark conservation agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation that will build 10-12 feet of elevation at Lake Mead and conserve up to 700,000 acre-feet of water for the Colorado River. IID officials added that the agreement also unlocks a full federal investment of $250 million in Salton Sea
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By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press The Navajo Nation Council has signed off on a proposed settlement that would ensure water rights for its tribe and two others in the drought-stricken Southwest — a deal that could become the most expensive enacted by Congress. The Navajo Nation has one of the largest single outstanding claims
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By SUMAN NAISHADHAM Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Plumbing problems at the dam holding back the second-largest reservoir in the U.S. are spurring concerns about future water delivery issues to Southwestern states supplied by the Colorado River. Federal officials recently reported damage to four tubes known as “river outlet works” at Glen Canyon Dam on
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By Robert Boyd Click here for updates on this story TAMPA, Florida (WFTS) — Girl Scouts are known for their cookies, but they also need to be recognized for their survival skills. This past summer, 17-year-old scout Elizabeth Fiore put those skills to the ultimate test, saving a little boy’s life. Fiore will never look
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By AMY TAXIN Associated Press Southern California’s Imperial Irrigation District, which supplies water to farmers who grow most of the nation’s winter vegetables, planned to start a conservation program in April to scale back what it draws from the critical Colorado River. But a tiny, tough fish got in the way. Now, those plans won’t
Continue Reading By AMY TAXIN and BRITTANY PETERSON Associated Press SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — The seven U.S. states that draw water from the Colorado River basin are suggesting new ways to determine how the increasingly scarce resource is divvied up when the river can’t provide what it historically promised. The Upper Basin and the Lower Basin
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By KATHLEEN RONAYNE and AMY TAXIN Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Federal officials said Wednesday that conditions have improved on the Colorado River to the point that a plan by California, Arizona and Nevada to voluntarily reduce water use should help keep the river basin on stable footing for the next few years. The
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CNN By Ella Nilsen, CNN (CNN) — Federal officials are easing water restrictions on the Colorado River next year, an incredible improvement after above-average winter snowpack helped shore up plummeting water levels at the nation’s two largest reservoirs. The US Bureau of Reclamation on Tuesday announced Lake Mead and the Lower Colorado River will operate
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The three Colorado River lower basin states, California, Arizona, and Nevada, have reached a landmark deal on water cuts to conserve water from the river amid continuing drought concerns. The U.S. Department of the Interior made the announcement in a press release today. The Colorado River system provides water to more than 40 million people
Continue Reading By Melissa Blasius Click here for updates on this story COLORADO (KNXV) — The Colorado River Indian Tribes Farm is experimenting with new irrigation technology that could help conserve water for future generations. The farm which encompasses more than 30,000 acres, is located in western Arizona, south of Parker. The fields use Colorado River water
Continue Reading By KEN RITTER and SUMAN NAISHADHAM BOULDER CITY, Nev. (AP) — The Biden administration released an environmental analysis Tuesday that outlined two ways that seven Western states and tribes reliant on the overtapped Colorado River could cut their use, but declined to publicly take a side on the best option. One option would be more
Continue ReadingBy Ella Nilsen, CNN In a closed-door negotiation last week over the fate of the Colorado River, representatives from California’s powerful water districts proposed modeling what the basin’s future would look like if some of the West’s biggest cities — including Phoenix and Las Vegas — were cut off from the river’s water supply, three
Continue ReadingBy Ryan Bergeron, CNN The Mississippi River was running so low in October, you could walk to an island that should only be accessible by boat. This summer, the Danube River that flows through much of central Europe got so shallow, you could see sunken warships from World War II at the bottom of it.
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By JONATHAN J. COOPER AND KATHLEEN RONAYNE PHOENIX (AP) — California communities exposed to hazardous dust by a drying lake bed have found themselves at the center of tensions between Arizona and California over how to conserve water along the overtaxed Colorado River. U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat facing reelection, wants the federal
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By ZAK PODMORE The Salt Lake Tribune SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) — The second driest state in the country, Utah, doesn’t contribute much water to the Colorado River as it flows from Rocky Mountain headwaters through Canyonlands National Park to Lake Powell. Utah has a unique position in the middle of the river basin,
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By SUMAN NAISHADHAM and GREGORY BULL Associated Press MEXICALI (AP) — When Gilbert Quintana, a farmer in the Mexicali Valley, learned he would soon lose 15% of his water supply, he did what he’s done before in a pinch: buy water from other growers in northern Mexico. But Quintana worries that such workarounds won’t always
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An I-team investigation reveals that despite the statewide drought declaration and additional water restrictions, the Coachella Valley’s water supply is dramatically better off than most other areas of California right now. It’s not the message you’re hearing from state leaders, but experts say our local water supplies are plentiful and well-managed as they have been
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