The Official Drought Thread

[beefytee]

Does the state still do a credit for removing lawns? I got paid by the square foot of sod removed.

It requires you to go to a class about what to do. We had already got most of our stuff done by the time, but probably would have used a bunch of the suggestions if we hadn’t. It was a pretty good class.


We took out at the Jordan water conservatory district place. It is worth looking into.

[USUC]

Does the state still do a credit for removing lawns? I got paid by the square foot of sod removed.

It requires you to go to a class about what to do. We had already got most of our stuff done by the time, but probably would have used a bunch of the suggestions if we hadn’t. It was a pretty good class.


We took out at the Jordan water conservatory district place. It is worth looking into.

This is a great idea. Thank you.

[Pelado]

We've had rain the last couple of days. No drought here!

[Northwestcoug]

There were a lot of xeriscaping resources when we lived in central Oregon. With our acre lot, we landscaped about a third of it. We had a few rhododendrons and 'showy' plants, but most of it was fescues and native bushes with drip irrigation. The remainder of it was unirrigated wild grasses and bushes. That portion of our lot just subsisted year to year.

Anyways it's December 23rd on Vancouver Island and my grass is still green. I have never lived in a place that gets so much precipitation, and we're on the side of the island that gets relatively less rain.The local ski hill opened about a week late because it hadn't snowed yet, but once it dipped into the high 30's down here it dumped like crazy up there. I tell myself that the cold in my bones mornings are worth not having to worry if the snow pack will be enough to stave off fires in the summer.

[chrisrenrut]

There were a lot of xeriscaping resources when we lived in central Oregon. With our acre lot, we landscaped about a third of it. We had a few rhododendrons and 'showy' plants, but most of it was fescues and native bushes with drip irrigation. The remainder of it was unirrigated wild grasses and bushes. That portion of our lot just subsisted year to year.

Anyways it's December 23rd on Vancouver Island and my grass is still green. I have never lived in a place that gets so much precipitation, and we're on the side of the island that gets relatively less rain.The local ski hill opened about a week late because it hadn't snowed yet, but once it dipped into the high 30's down here it dumped like crazy up there. I tell myself that the cold in my bones mornings are worth not having to worry if the snow pack will be enough to stave off fires in the summer.

The cold on Vancouver Island is different. You feel it in your bones. 45 degrees there (Fahrenheit) felts like 25 degrees back in Utah.

[Northwestcoug]

Do I have to book a river cruise in Europe now before the Danube is gone?

This week, water levels hit their lowest point since 1880, when official measurements were first recorded, disrupting supply chains, raising shipping costs and possibly forcing companies to scale back on production. Map shows the Rhine River from Switzerland through Germany and locates the port of Duisburg in Germany.

The wave of extreme weather is also affecting the Danube, the second longest river in Europe, where record low water levels are exposing the previously hidden hulks of warships sunk during World War II.

That water crisis is forcing a scramble to keep electricity flowing in Hungary and Romania, which use water from the Danube to cool nuclear power reactors. Governments in both countries have appealed to households and businesses to reduce their power use.

And since drought is everywhere, is going full bore on nuclear even an option anymore?

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/b...y-economy.html

[Northwestcoug]

Seems bad:

Lake Powell, the second-largest reservoir in the United States,provides water and electricity to millions in the West. It has now has shrunk to its lowest level on record, in the latest sign of the alarming crisis unfolding on the drought-stricken Colorado River.
The reservoir’s levels dropped to 3519.91feet on Saturday, breaking the record low of 3,519.92 feet set in April 2023, according to data from the US Bureau of Reclamation published Sunday. It is now just under 30feet away from the point at which its dam will no longer be able to generate hydropower.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/16/climate/lake-powell-reservoir-record-low-colorado-river

[Donuthole]

Meanwhile, the entire state of Utah is flooding. Make it make sense.

[Pelado]

Meanwhile, the entire state of Utah is flooding. Make it make sense.

The floods haven't made it to the reservoir yet?

[Bo Diddley]

Hiking around Camp Williams this morning, there's a lot of water damage to our trails that will need to be addressed.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Yeah, we need an endless array of storms and several high snowfall winters to get out of this mess. Things are really bad.

[Flystripper]

El Niño should help for this season but it’s pretty bleak.