(With expanded coverage of all the Western States)
by Patrick Ruckert
www.californiadroughtupdate.org/20230824-California-Water-and-Infrastructure-Report.pdf
A Note to Readers
We begin this week’s report with the weather. Hurricane Hilary supposedly drowned out the last vestiges of drought in California, though as this week’s U.S. Drought Monitor map shows at least 1% of the state remains in Moderate Drought.
Hurricane Hilary, while dumping large amounts of water on southern California, also brought up the level of Lake Mead a few feet. That hurricane is the first to make landfall in the state since 1858.
A Hawaii Fire Update includes three reports: First, a link to my report from last week. Secondly, a political evaluation of the fire and the policies that made this an environmentalist crime, by my associate Barbara Boyd. And, thirdly, a link to my second report on the fire,“The Fire This Time: It had to happen.”
Under my title: “They Will Not Stop Until They Destroy the Most Productive Agricultural Region in the World,” is this article, “California repurposes farmland to save its water supply.”
Serious fires have been started by lightning in northern California and southern Oregon. One article summarizes the situation.
Developments and policy discussions are ongoing on how to cut the usage of the Colorado River which is covered in this article, which, while I only include here a few paragraphs from it, I urge you to go to the link included: “Colorado River Basin states stake out positions on the future of Mead, Powell reservoirs.”
The report concludes with a report on how the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant is making even some environmentalists realize that nuclear is really the only choice for those who wish “carbon free” electricity production.
