Category: Reduce – Reuse – Recycle
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California adopts sweeping statewide water conservation framework
After years of deliberation, California water officials have adopted landmark rules that will guide future water use and conservation in the state. According to officials, the Making Conservation a California Way of Life framework will help save 500,000 acre-feet of water annually by 2040 — enough to supply more than 1.4 million households for a year —…
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On Farms, ‘Plasticulture’ Persists
U.S. farms are covered in plastic, from the sides of greenhouses to plastic mulch, hoop houses, irrigation tubes, and more. As it degrades, plastic accumulates in soil and in plants, with potential threats to food safety. Photo: Rows of plastic-covered strawberry plants. In 1948, E.M. Emmert, a horticulturist at the University of Kentucky, was tinkering…
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Lower Basin Colorado River consumptive use is lowest in 40 years
Average Colorado River consumptive use for the Lower Basin states has been steadily decreasing over the past decade. The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has released the 2023 Colorado River Accounting and Water Use Report, which states the most recent Colorado River consumptive use volumes for Arizona, California and Nevada. Congratulations to the water users in Arizona,…
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In a first, California cracks down on farms guzzling groundwater
Photo by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images Regulators just imposed unprecedented fees on water usage in the state’s agricultural heartland. In much of the United States, groundwater extraction is unregulated and unlimited. There are few rules governing who can pump water from underground aquifers or how much they can take. This lack of regulation has…
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Cherish that hamburger. It cost a quarter of the Colorado River, according to researchers.
The Colorado River passes through Mesa County, March 7, 2024, near Loma. New research illuminates how water is used in the drought-stressed river basin. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun) The Colorado River has been overused for decades, but no one has known exactly how the water was used — until a team of researchers compiled…
