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Murray-Darling stakeholders to scrutinise basin plan
The federal government in December introduced the Restoring our Rivers legislation to set out how water is shared along the river system after it was recognised the decade-old plan was failing and too much water was being extracted. The plan allows for more voluntary water buybacks and water-saving infrastructure projects and is designed to secure a healthy, sustainable river, but it's fiercely opposed by some farmers and regional communities.
Hedge Funds Including Millennium Are Shorting UK Water Companies
Hedge funds including Millennium Management and Arrowstreet Capital are shorting the assets of UK water companies after a crisis at Thames Water spotlighted high debt levels across the industry. Millennium has disclosed a short position on United Utilities Group Plc, which provides water and wastewater services in the north west of England. ArrowStreet has a short position on Pennon Group Plc, which owns three water utilities in the south west of England.
Metropolitan Water commits up to $250 million for previously untapped water sources
The Metropolitan Water District plans to spend up to $250 million on four non-traditional water projects that, combined, could supply up to 100,000 Southern California households over the next few years.
Arbol executes unique parametric risk transfer in water risk management
Arbol, the global climate risk coverage platform, has executed an innovative parametric risk transfer on the NASDAQ Veles California Water Index NQH2O. A first-of-its-kind trade, which has a call spread option that expires on June 20, 2024, represents a major step in managing climate-related financial risks, particularly within the water sector. The NASDAQ Veles California Water Index, – also known as NQH2O – is an essential tool that helps track the changing water prices in California. The tool takes the volume weighted average price of actual water trades in California, which helps to give a clear picture of the actual cost of water. The tool is a helpful resource for understanding water prices, and it is especially useful for creating financial options too. From what we understand, Arbol executed the trade in strategic collaboration with Veles Water Limited, a financial products company that specializes in water pricing, designing bespoke financial products, and economic methodologies. At the same time, Arbol has also structured this unique deal with John Dolan, a renowned Veles Water futures market maker on the CME. This parametric risk transfer marks a significant step within environmental financial products, as it offers a new way to manage the risks associated with water scarcity and pricing.
Nation’s largest dam removal marks milestone: the freeing of a major California river
The nation’s largest dam-removal project is reaching a major milestone this month as work crews release the water behind three dams on the Klamath River, leaving the storied waterway in Northern California and southern Oregon to flow freely for the first time in a century. The drawdown of the reservoirs and the unleashing of the river, which began Thursday at the 189-foot-high Iron Gate Dam, is a necessary — and hugely transformative — step before the three hydroelectric facilities in the remote Siskiyou Mountains are fully removed. Last fall, workers took out a smaller, fourth dam on the river.
New 4-year cloud-seeding pilot program hopes to make it rain in Santa Ana River watershed
Using meteorology and chemistry to help prod Mother Nature, water officials have begun seeding storm clouds throughout the Santa Ana Watershed to boost regional water supplies by enhancing the rain and snowfall produced during storms. Started in November as a four-year pilot under the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority — a joint powers authority comprising five public agencies, including Orange County Water District and others in the Inland Empire, San Bernardino and Riverside — the project aims to increase precipitation levels anywhere from 5% to 15%. Officials estimated in a 2020 feasibility study that, on the southwest end of the watershed in Orange County, cloud seeding could add .59 inches of seasonal rainfall, amounting to nearly 450 additional acre-feet of natural streamflow, or a 9.7% increase.
How Imperial Valley Became a Target for Water
The hornet’s nest was kicked when the Bureau of Reclamation made an announcement in June of 2022 calling the users of the Colorado River to collectively and immediately conserve an additional 2 to 4 million acre-feet (MAF) of water to stabilize the river’s supply amidst the drought. Since then, from San Diego and Los Angeles to Las Vegas and Denver, and even Washington, D.C., eyes have been on the Imperial Valley, even if most of us here haven’t noticed.
The deal that’s shaping the future of the American West
The future of the American West is quietly being hashed out in the conference rooms of a Las Vegas casino this week. Just across the strip from the Bellagio’s fountains, in the shadow of an enormous Eiffel Tower-knock-off, negotiators from the seven states that share the Colorado River are racing to reach a deal on how to share the West’s most important — and shrinking — waterway. Climate change has shriveled the river’s flows by more than 20 percent over the past two decades, and the only question now is how much worse things will get. The negotiations over how to share the pain of bringing water use in line with the shrunken waterway will have huge implications for the 40 million people who rely on it at their taps in metro areas from Denver to Phoenix to San Diego, as well as for the powerhouse farming operations that use roughly three-quarters of the river’s water to irrigate some of the country’s most productive agricultural land. Also on the line are the interests of 30 federally-recognized tribes along the river and the 11 national parks and monuments it courses through, including the Grand Canyon.
Three key water projects mean new supplies for San Joaquin Valley farmers
Water is the lifeblood of California, and the state has always faced unique challenges in managing its precious water resources. In recent years, a series of ambitious projects spearheaded by the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority have been undertaken to restore California’s critical water infrastructure and to begin to address some of its members most pressing supply issues. San Luis and Delta-Mendota is a joint powers authority of 27 agencies providing federal water supplies to 1.2 million acres of irrigated agriculture in the San Joaquin, Santa Clara and San Benito valleys, more than 2.5 million Californians, and more than 135,000 acres of managed wetlands of importance to millions of migratory waterfowl traversing the Pacific Flyway.
Final Environmental Impact Report for Delta Conveyance Project Released
A Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Delta Conveyance Project has been released by the Department of Water Resources (DWR). This initiative, backed by Governor Gavin Newsom, marks a shift to a single tunnel design, responding to public input and the need for an environmentally and water-supply efficient solution. The Delta Conveyance Project serves as a critical component of California’s strategy to protect water supplies and is aimed at modernizing overall water infrastructure. Delta Conveyance The project would include strategic measures such as enhanced water capture during wet seasons and minimizing losses from weather extremes. It also seems to address earthquake preparedness and compliance with water quality regulations. Additionally, the project incorporates a Community Benefits Program to ensure local communities receive tangible and lasting benefits. Governor Newsom stresses the necessity of action in the face of climate change, emphasizing the project’s role in updating the water system for millions of Californians. The redesigned approach aligns with the Water Resilience Portfolio and the Governor’s Water Supply Strategy.
Murray-Darling water buybacks won’t be enough if we can’t get water to where it’s needed
When it was clear the Murray-Darling Basin Plan could not be completed on time, Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek announced a new agreement (without Victoria) to deliver in full the plan’s aim of restoring the health of this vast river system. The new agreement required changes to the Water Act to allow more water for the environment to be purchased from irrigators (water buybacks). Concerns about these changes prompted a Senate inquiry. The report from that inquiry, released on Friday, supports buybacks but also makes key recommendations to remove “constraints” to water delivery. These are physical constraints or limits to the movement of water through the river system. Managers can only deliver so much water before it spills out of the river onto private land.
Model predicts saltwater intrusion into groundwater
Researchers have developed a new model that can not only predict saltwater intrusion over the next 75 years, but also pinpoint the main sources of salt contamination today, according to a press release from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
San Diego Selling Back Some Pricey Colorado River Water for Cheaper Met Water
A trade deal is brewing between major southern California water agencies to help restock a major reservoir on the drought-stricken Colorado River and meet federal demands to cut back use. San Diego, Los Angeles and Imperial Valley are the major players trying something that’s never been done before using a water trading agreement inked 20 years ago as a guiding light. Under the proposal, San Diego is going to give up some of its Colorado River water it fought so hard to secure so more can be saved in the larger river system. But instead, it would lean on supplies from northern California, a source that was virtually unavailable to the region due to drought just last year.
First of its kind tribal water institute
On November 13, the Native American Rights Fund and the Walton Family Foundation announced the creation of the Tribal Water Institute. It will provide Tribal Nations resources and training to advocate for their water rights and develop water policy solutions. The Walton Family Foundation is making a three-year, $1.4 million commitment to launch the Institute. It will be housed within the Native American Rights Fund.
California faces first fall rains in what could be a stormy season
The first Pacific storm of the season is set to sweep into California this week. The wet weather arrives on the heels of a drought-busting year and during a building El Niño, the climate pattern that is often associated with increased storminess in California.
Cost to rebuild major California reservoir rises to $2.3 billion, tripling from two years ago
The cost to bring Anderson Dam, which holds back the largest reservoir in California's Santa Clara County, up to modern earthquake standards has increased to $2.3 billion, water officials said Monday. That’s double what was estimated a year ago, triple the price tag from two years ago, and nearly certain to drive water rates higher next year across Silicon Valley.
Biden announces funding to combat climate change, raises campaign money, during swing through California
On his first trip to California since announcing his reelection campaign, President Biden on Monday announced $600 million in federal funding to fight the effects of climate change after touring a Northern California nature reserve with Gov. Gavin Newsom.
As the Colorado River Declines, Water Scarcity and the Hunt for New Sources Drive up Rates
Across the Southwest, water users are preparing for a future with a lot less water as the region looks to confront steep cuts from the Colorado River and states are forced to limit use to save the river. Farms are being paid to not farm. Cities are looking to be more efficient and find new water supplies. And prices are starting to go up.
Digital Technologies Key to Addressing Global Water Challenges
There is a convergence of trends taking place that provide an opportunity to address the world's most urgent water challenges. The most significant of those is the increasingly rapid adoption of digital technologies.
Here is the first step to a sustainable water policy
Water that is promised in a contract but can’t be delivered is called “paper water” – shorthand for water that does not exist except in legal documents. During its mid-20th century frenzy of dam and canal construction, California allocated much more water than it actually had. These paper water commitments far exceed the amount of water than is available in our reservoirs and rivers. According to a study from the University of California, Davis, “appropriative water rights filed for consumptive uses are approximately five times greater than estimated surface water withdrawals.” What this restrained academic language reveals is a management crisis: no matter how much it rains and snows in California, we will always have a chronic water shortage because of overallocation.
New study improves understanding of Southern California's intense winter rains
New research looks to improve prediction of brief but intense rainstorms that can cause devastating flash floods and landslides. The storms, called narrow cold-frontal rainbands, are long strips of rain that can stretch for tens to hundreds of kilometers in length but are only a few kilometers wide. They form along many of the world's coasts, including both coasts of the U.S.
Why the Hot New Shade for Green Bonds Could Be Blue
Few places in the world have greater need for financing to fund water projects and protect the oceans than the Indo-Pacific region, with its vast coastlines and countless islands, many at risk from rising sea levels due to climate change. Enter so-called blue bonds -- similar to wildly popular green bonds but focused on such challenges as sustainable fishing and reducing plastic waste.
Southern California Water Price Jumps 48% In 3 Weeks As Rainy Season Disappoints
Californians received a double dose of not so happy water news last month; cutbacks were made to water allocations and a key water price index surged higher. Drought fears are heightening due to low reservoir levels and below normal snowpack.
The Importance of Water to the U.S. Economy
Water is essential to life, making its total economic value immeasurable. At the same time water is a finite resource, and one for which competition is likely to increase as the U.S. economy grows
The Economic Benefits of Investing in Water Infrastructure Report
At a national level, a one-day disruption in water service can lead to a loss of $43.5 billion in sales and $22.5 billion in GDP.
The new oil: how investors can keep water flowing
The new oil: how investors can keep water flowing. A growing population and climate change puts pressure on mankind’s essential resource
Water set to become more valuable than oil
Water set to become more valuable than oil as rising demand from people, industries and agriculture puts pressure on supplies.
Value of Water: EPA Studies Importance of Water to U.S. Economy
Water is vital to a productive and growing economy in the U.S., directly and indirectly affecting the production of goods and services. For most consumers, water costs less than a penny per gallon at the tap, and buried infrastructure is out of sight and mind as long as the water is flowing.
The Economic Value of Water in United States’ Metropolitan Statistical Areas
California’s large metropolitan regions, especially the San Francisco-Oakland-Silicon Valley Bay Area, generate more economic value per unit of freshwater consumed than other regions in the United States.
Trading the Economic Value of Unsatisfied Municipal Water Demand
Modelling and optimization techniques for water resources allocation are proposed to identify the economic value of the unsatisfied municipal water demand against demands emerging from other sectors.
Determining payments for watershed services by hydro-economic modeling for optimal water allocation
Ever growing demand for agricultural and municipal water, caused by population growth and the need to feed the world, as well as increasing stress over waterbodies crave for efficient and sustainable water management.
Circle of Blue
In the mountains east of the Cape Town, South Africa, just beyond the curving road up Sir Lowry’s Pass, workers manoeuvre heavy machinery to stab at the ground near Steenbras Dam, drilling deeply with steel pipes to bring forth water.