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Why Some Reservoirs Don’t Fill as Quickly

Years of drought followed by the recent pounding storms to hit the Bay Area and Northern California has turned water watching into a spectator sport.

It has been a spectacular show this month. The formula is different for every watershed and every lake.Lakes in the foothills of the Bay Area are fed 100 percent by rain. Those above 8,000 feet elevation are fed 100 percent by snowmelt. In the foothills of the Sierra, Cascades and Shasta-Siskiyous, it’s a volatile mix.

Rice-Growing Experiment Will Cut Water Use but Subtract From Habitat

California’s rice farmers pride themselves on environmental stewardship, saying their flooded fields provide habitat for millions of ducks and geese in an era when traditional marshlands have largely disappeared.

Now a giant Yolo County farm controlled by the family of Sacramento land baron Angelo K. Tsakopoulos will test whether it can grow rice with water measured in drops. Conaway Ranch, a 17,000-acre farm in which the Tsakopoulos family acquired controlling interest in 2010, said Monday it will work with water-use experts from Israel to experiment with drip irrigation on a small portion of its rice fields.

Obama Calls for Proactive Drought Strategy. What Would That Look Like?

While on his three-day trip to Cuba, President Obama released an action plan on Monday to help the federal government proactively deal with drought, which affects one-eighth of the continental US population, mostly in the West.

In a memorandum and accompanying action plan, Mr. Obama’s administration outlined his goals for the federal government to help the country prevent and cope with drought, which scientists expect will worsen with changing climate conditions.

Video: Did El Niño live up to its expectations? KRON asks the experts

With storms calming down, does that mean El Niño is over? KRON’s Justine Waldman asked the experts on Monday to get some answers.

All models indicate that El Niño is weakening. Bay Area residents took out their umbrellas, wore rain boots, and packed in the sandbags–all to prepare for the pounding rains. Experts predicted a strong El Niño, or warming in the Pacific Ocean, that would bring some drought-busting rain to California.

Recycled Water System to be put to Test at Development Near Tracy

Occupants of 11,000 new single-family houses under construction near Tracy will be able to recycle their shower, bath, laundry and sink water on site using a system designed by Australian water engineers, one of dozens of new water technologies the White House will showcase at its big “water summit” Tuesday.

Hoping to leapfrog a Congress still trying to wring more water out of California’s over-drafted rivers, the Obama administration wants to replicate for water the push it made on solar power nearly eight years ago to jump start new technologies and coordinate the federal response to droughts.

Obama Seeks More Coordination on Dealing with Drought

President Barack Obama on Monday directed the federal government to come up with a less reactionary and more long-term strategy for dealing with drought.

 About 12.5 percent of the continental U.S. was experiencing drought as of mid-March, said Alice Hill, a key Obama aide on this issue.That translates into more than 39 million people, or about one-eighth of the U.S. population, living with drought in the lower 48 states, mostly in the West and with much of California suffering through its fifth year of dryness.

Will El Niño’s Water Bounty in Northern California Provide for Dry Southern Cities?

The so-called March Miracle has unleashed the largest allocation of water from Northern California in four years, more than doubling the flow of imported water from the State Water Project into Central and Southern California.

By increasing the official allocation from the State Water Project from 5 percent in 2014 to 45 percent today, the state Department of Water Resources has sent signals the drought is easing, although far from vanquished.

How ‘March Miracle’ Replenished California’s Reservoirs, Snowpack

Up to another foot of snow is expected in the Sierras over the next two days as yet another storm moves through.

Dubbed by some as the “March Miracle,” the storms have helped replenish reservoirs and created a winter wonderland as April approaches. Snow levels in the northern Sierra are now above average. The snow is not enough by any measure to end the drought, but it’s making a dent.

Will El Niño’s water bounty in Northern California provide for dry southern cities?

The so-called March Miracle has unleashed the largest allocation of water from Northern California in four years, more than doubling the flow of imported water from the State Water Project into Central and Southern California.

By increasing the official allocation from the State Water Project from 5 percent in 2014 to 45 percent today, the state Department of Water Resources has sent signals the drought is easing, although far from vanquished.