Drought

The Desert Water Agency's Board of Directors adopted water restrictions on June 7, which included a ban on sprinkler and spray irrigation during daylight hours. Another restriction on water says that restaurants must serve water to patrons only on request. Palm Springs Desert Sun (Calif.), June 7, 2022

Taylor County commissioners approved an order regulating some aerial fireworks in unincorporated parts of the county due to drought. The sale and use of “missiles with fins” and “skyrockets with sticks” are restricted. The order expires on the date the Texas Forest Service determines drought conditions no longer exist in the county or at midnight, July 4, whichever is earlier. Abilene Reporter News (Texas), June 7, 2022

Drought in the Hill Country of Texas has kept peaches small this year, but the fruit is sweeter, although yield is down a bit. San Antonio Express-News (Texas), June 8, 2022

The State Water Resources Control Board ordered 4,252 rights holders, including 212 public systems, to stop drawing from the Sacramento and San Joaquin watersheds effective June 8. Public systems, like the City of San Francisco, will have to have to turn to groundwater or other sources. San Francisco Chronicle (Calif.), June 7, 2022

A popular hiking trail to an oasis in Joshua Tree National Park was temporarily closed beginning June 1 to allow bighorn sheep undisturbed access to water. The extreme drought in the region makes the wildlife dependent on the Fortynine Palms Oasis spring on the north side of the park for survival during the hot months. The hiking trail will reopen when enough monsoon rain has fallen to offer more water sources for the bighorn. Associated Press News (New York), June 7, 2022

Water users in Travis County Water District 10, which includes West Lake Hills, entered Stage 1 water restrictions and must conserve or risk being fined up to $500. The district is a wholesale customer of Austin Water, which started Stage 1 restrictions on June 6. Austin American-Statesman (Texas), June 7, 2022

Fuel contamination in the Navy’s Pearl Harbor water distribution system affects Oahu’s water supply. More restrictions may be needed if the dry weather continues. Salinity is rising in the Beretania Well in Honolulu as pumping has increased after the utility shut down the Halawa Shaft for fear of fuel contamination from Red Hill. The dry weather has also contributed to the rising salt level. The public is urged to voluntarily reduce water use by 10%. Hawaii Public Radio (Honolulu), March 22, 2022

The Nevada Irrigation District enacted fire use restrictions effective June 7 for foothill recreational facilities owned and operated by the district. Drought, dry conditions and rising temperatures were reasons that campfires will be disallowed in developed campgrounds around Stotts Flat Reservoir and Rollins Reservoir. YubaNet.com (Nevada City, Calif.), June 6, 2022

Prolonged drought in West Texas and northern Mexico are cause for concern regarding reservoir storage levels on the Rio Grande River. Amistad and Falcon reservoirs, which store water for municipal use and irrigation, are at a combined capacity of 27.32%. Amistad is presently at 38.4% of capacity, down from 51.7% a year ago. Similarly, Falcon is at 19.3% of capacity, down from 26.0% a year ago. In the Big Bend area, the Rio Grande River was completely dry at the monitoring station at Johnson Ranch. In New Mexico, the Rio Grande is also expected to run dry in the middle valley, according to the chief engineer for the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District. MyRGV.com (McAllen, Texas), June 5, 2022

As Klamath County endures a third year of drought, hundreds of residential wells have run dry. The recent winter did not provide enough snow and rain to recharge the dry wells, leaving people still relying on the state to provide funds for trucking in water. The emergency response began in July 2021 and continues. Oregon Public Broadcasting (Portland), June 6, 2022 Increased groundwater pumping in the Klamath Basin since late summer 2021 through early April 2022 has resulted in hundreds of domestic wells running dry. Associated Press News (New York), April 11, 2022 There were 84 dry wells registered in Klamath County in July. One month later, there were 185 dry wells between the California state line and Crescent and La Pine, but there are likely more. When people register their dry wells with the watermaster, they receive water storage tanks and water deliveries from the state. The groundwater level in the Klamath Basin has fallen by 30 feet since 2001 and is expected to drop another 40 to 50 feet after this season. The Oregonian (Portland), Aug 10, 2021

People of Massachusetts were reminded by the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Acting Director that they can mitigate drought impacts by limiting water use and being careful about the increasing fire danger outdoors. Boston Herald (Mass.), June 2, 2022

Excessive water users in Calabasas can get a little help with conservation from the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District through the installation of a flow restrictor. The district began installing them on June 1, after warning customers about their water use and seeing the flagrant use continue. The district intended to install 20 restrictors on June 1, but most customers decided that they were more committed to water conservation than they previously realized and would use less water. The district leaves the flow restrictor in place for two weeks. If the customer tries to remove the restrictor, they will be fined $2,500. ABC 30 Action News (Fresno, Calif.), June 3, 2022

Fire restrictions took effect for parts of southeast Utah on June 2, due to prolonged drought and extremely dry vegetation. Restrictions take effect on state lands and unincorporated private lands in Grand and San Juan counties; Bureau of Land Management Moab and Monticello field office areas located in Grand and San Juan counties; National Park Service including Canyonlands and Arches national parks, and Natural Bridges and Hovenweep national monuments; and U.S. Forest Service Moab and Monticello ranger districts of the Manti-La Sal National Forest, areas within Grand and San Juan counties in Utah, and Mesa and Montrose counties in Colorado. Campfires, smoking outdoors and other activities are prohibited. The Times-Independent (Moab, Utah), May 27, 2022

Drought in Kansas has farmers concerned that lower winter wheat production will barely cover input costs. Crop experts anticipate the yield to fall by more than 100 million bushels from 2021, which would be worth more than $1.2 billion at present commodity prices. Drought hurt wheat in the western part of the state most as precipitation was lowest there. Recent rain may help finish filling out wheat berries, but will not help the wheat crop much. The Kansas Wheat Tour projects a harvest of 261 million bushels of wheat from an estimated 7.4 million acres of planted wheat last fall. The average yield is expected to be 39.7 bushels per acre, with a higher-than-normal abandonment rate of 11%. In 2021, Kansas’ average yield was 52 bushels per acre with a production of 364 million bushels for the most produced in any state. A projected drop in yield of 103 million bushels from last year's figure, at $12 a bushel for hard red winter wheat, would be more than $1.2 billion in lost production. The Topeka Capital-Journal (Kan.), June 2, 2022 Kansas wheat is expected to yield less than it would have with normal precipitation, but high commodity prices still give farmers hope. The western part of the state in particular went months without much rain. A wheat grower in Harvey County stated that prolonged drought kept his wheat from growing to its potential. KWCH 12 (Wichita, Kan.), June 2, 2022

Unusually dry, warm, windy weather in New Mexico amid overgrown, drought-stricken forests has been conducive to wildfires this spring with more than 600,000 acres up in smoke. The biggest and most destructive fire is the Hermits Peak Calf Canyon fire, which began nearly two months ago, and has charred 315,000 acres near Las Vegas. Two separate prescribed burns escaped containment and merged to become this megafire. Strong winds up to 80 miles an hour drove the flames and prevented firefighting planes and helicopters from aiding in the fight. This conflagration is the largest in the U.S. and the largest ever recorded in New Mexico. The Black fire in Gila National Forest grew rapidly mid-May and became the second largest fire burning in New Mexico. The New York Times, June 1, 2022 New Mexico has at least ten large fires burning. In the north are the Hermits Peak fire that has charred 65,000 acres and the nearby Cooks Peak Fire that burned nearly 56,000 acres. Both blazes are less than 50% contained. The McBride Fire, which consumed over 6,000 acres and more than 200 homes in the Ruidoso area, was still smoldering in the Lincoln National Forest in Lincoln County. Carlsbad Current Argus (N.M.), April 29, 2022

Fire restrictions took effect on June 2 on the Arizona Strip and all unincorporated county, state, and federally administrated public lands in the Utah counties of Washington, Kane, Garfield, and Iron. ABC4 (Salt Lake City, Utah), June 1, 2022

As strict water restrictions took effect in Los Angeles on June 1, not all residents were on board with the rules. Some residents observed the new restrictions on lawn watering, while others were less supportive and thought that they would rather just pay the fines for violating the rules. An estimated 14,000 trees died in Los Angeles’ city parks alone, due to watering restrictions during the previous drought. City officials have underscored the importance of watering trees amid the current drought. Los Angeles Times (Calif.), June 1, 2022

Severe drought has reduced the Kansas winter wheat harvest potential by more than 25%. Kansas is the top winter wheat grower in the U.S. The USDA estimated that 6% of the crop may be abandoned, but a Kansas State University wheat agronomist put the number higher at maybe 8% to 10%. Abandonment in Colorado could hit 30%, according to Colorado Wheat executive director after a very dry May. Excessive rain in North Dakota prevented farmers from planting as much spring wheat as usual to benefit from the high prices for the grain. While North Dakota is the U.S.’s top grower of spring wheat, this year wheat planting is expected to involve the smallest number of acres on record. As of May 22, farmers had seeded just 49% of their intended spring wheat acres, on par with 2014 for the slowest pace since 1996, according to the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Reuters (New York), May 31, 2022

A stage 1 water alert was declared during a city council meeting on June 1. Officials are urging the public to curb their water use. Reasons for the water alert include less water in the Colorado River and the record-low levels of Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Phoenix recycles almost all of its wastewater and uses it for agriculture, energy production, urban irrigation, aquifer recharge and riparian wetland maintenance. AZFamily.com (Phoenix), June 1, 2022 Tempe activated Stage 0 of its Drought Preparedness Plan due to a shortage on the Colorado River. Residents are not required to conserve water, but officials encourage the public to conserve. KTAR 620 News Radio (Phoenix, Ariz.), June 2, 2022

To conserve water, the cities of Roy, South Ogden and Riverdale have closed their splash pads for the summer, but the larger public pools remain open. Some city-owned green spaces in Roy will also receive less water this summer. Similarly, in Ogden, city parks will be watered less than normal. Residents are limited to watering once weekly, so cities aimed to show that they were also conserving. Ogden Standard Examiner/StandardNet (Utah), May 27, 2022