(With expanded coverage of all the Western States)
by Patrick Ruckert
www.californiadroughtupdate.org/California-Water-and-Infrastructure-Report-March-28%2C-2024.pdf
A Note to Readers
The wet season officially ends next week, and it has been a winter of abundant rain and snow. The snowpack is above average, the reservoirs are full, and, for this year at least, there is no threat of drought forced water rationing.
This is the second consecutive wet winter, though not quite as good as last year’s. Temperatures have been slightly warmer, so the snowpack will likely melt more quickly.
That is not good news for the upcoming wild fire season, as vegetation growth will be abundant.
Perhaps that is what has led to the announcement this week that State Farm Insurance is canceling the home insurance policies of more than 70,000 homeowners who live in fire-prone areas of the state.
Meanwhile the state Department of Water Resources and the federal Bureau of Reclamation announced a second increase in the State Water Project (SWP) allocation forecast for 2024. The forecast allocation is now 30 percent of requested supplies, up from the 15 percent allocation update announced last month.Of course, the farmers are protesting once again that the agencies are favoring fish over growing food for humans.
Hydropower in some years provides 20% of the electricity for California. While last year and this year that is likely to be reached, the remainder of the West, because of drought in those states has resulted in Western states hydropower production falling to a 22-year low last year.
This headline summarizes this week’s report on the Colorado River: “Recent storms have pushed This snowpack above ‘normal,’ but crucial water reservoirs are lagging behind last year.”
All is not peaches and cream with solar power, as this headline and article demonstrates: “Texas Hail Storm Smashes Solar Farm.” (See the article on page 11)
This week’s Feature highlights the critical role of infrastructure of all kinds in the economic growth and well-being of the nation. Excerpts from a Baltimore Sun article on the affect on the local and national economy that will ensue with the collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge earlier this week. I provide the first few paragraphs and the link to two more articles that develop the theme further.
