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Who Likes State’s Plan To Keep More Water For Fish In California Rivers? Practically Nobody

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

California regulators say their sweeping proposal to devote more flows from the state’s major rivers to fish and wildlife is an attempt to balance competing interests for a scarce resource. So far, all they’ve done is get practically everyone mad at them. Opponents of the plan came out in force Tuesday, in the first of a series of hearings before the State Water Resources Control Board on the future of the San Joaquin River and its tributaries.

 

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BLOG: California Case Could Set National Precedent on Indian Water Rights

/in /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Matt Weiser

In Palm Springs, one of the hottest regions in California, precious groundwater has been depleted for decades to build lush golf courses, swimming pools and tract homes. Now the local American Indian tribe is pressing for a right to help manage that water. The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, which owns two casinos in the popular desert tourism region, has been buying water for decades from the two government water agencies that manage local groundwater, the Desert Water Agency and the Coachella Valley Water District.

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Lindo Lake Getting A Closer Look By County, Community

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Karen Pearlman

Hoping to push along a healthy future for one of Lakeside’s most scenic places, residents and members of a Lindo Lake committee met last month with staff of the county Department of Parks and Recreation to talk about a proposed multimillion-dollar improvement plan. The county has been taking community input for the past year about Lindo Lake Park’s biggest needs.

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California Tallies Snow, Rain From Weekend Storms

/in /by /The Associated Press as published by AP Newsby John Antczak

California had vital snow on Sierra Nevada peaks Monday and positive rainfall totals registered for many areas after a stormy autumn weekend up and down the state that hopes to avoid a sixth consecutive year of drought conditions. In the Sierra, where the annual snowpack functions as a reservoir for much of the state’s water supply, storms over Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks dumped 19 inches of snow at Lodgepole and 16 inches at Grant Grove, the National Weather Service said.

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California Drought: State Initially Estimates 20% Of Full Water Deliveries

/in /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Ian James

California’s Department of Water Resources has made its initial projection of how much water public agencies can count on receiving from the canals and pipelines of the State Water Project next year: 20 percent of their full allotments. The state’s preliminary annual estimate for the major north-to-south water artery is typically readjusted depending on rain and snowfall, and the percentage often ends up higher at the end of the winter. This year, the state initially projected 10 percent and water districts eventually received 60 percent of their full allotments.

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Considering California’s Tree Policies Amid Mass Die-Off

/in /by /KPBSby Ben Bradford

An epidemic of tree deaths in California due to drought and bark beetles is sparking a review of state and federal policies. The Little Hoover Commission, a state oversight board, is considering how to curb the problem, before it reshapes California’s forests. “We hope to kind of come in and take a big picture look on policy changes the state can make,” said Carole D’Elia, executive director of the commission. “Can we influence at all the United States Forest Service and federal government policies?”

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After Soaking October, November Is Quite A Bit Drier In Sacramento

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby Bill Lindelof

It looks like November will be about an inch short of normal rainfall in Sacramento as the region dries out for the remainder of the month. Scattered showers on Monday are expected to clear away as a fast-moving system exits to the southeast. A high pressure system is expected to build along the west coast, leading to an absence of rain in Northern California through Sunday. If the rainfall stays away through the end of the month, Sacramento will end up with about 1.4 inches of rain, which is about an inch short of the 2.43 the city normally gets in November.

 

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Desert Water Agency Poised To Approve Massive Rate Hike

/in /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Corinne S Kennedy

After a month of public outreach and meetings, the Desert Water Agency board of directors is set to vote in a rate hike next month which could result in an almost 80 percent increase to consumers’ bills over the next four years. DWA officials said the incremental hike is necessary to cover the operational costs of the utility company and replace severely aging water lines which have resulted in hundreds of leaks this year alone. At a public workshop Monday, spokesperson Ashley Metzger explained the reasoning behind the pending rate increase and the process by which the proposed rates were developed.

 

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California Must Pick Up Stormwater Check

/in /by /Public CEO (Sacramento)by Rebecca Andrews

Local public agencies realized an important victory in a more-than-decade-long, who-should-foot-the-stormwater-bill battle — a battle focused on a permit issued by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board to the County of Los Angeles and more than 80 local agencies, or “co-permittees.” The lengthy battle was not over the requirements themselves or whether state agencies had the authority to issue them. At the crux of the conflict was the question: Who’s picking up the check? The answer from the California Supreme Court — California — is welcome news to local agencies.

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BLOG: Desalination: Is the US Navy the Solution to the World’s Droughts?

/in /by /InHomelandSecurity.comby Dr. Stephen Schwalbe Mentioned: Carlsbad Desalination Plant

Since 2000, California has suffered some of its worst droughts since state climate record keeping began in the late 1800s. The 2001-2002 rainy season in Southern California was the driest on record. The drought of 2011-2014 was the worst in state history. As of May 2015, the drought has worsened and continued. Current Water Conservation Efforts Are Not Sufficient California implemented numerous water conservation efforts to counteract the lack of fresh water. Eventually, those efforts will not be enough if the drought continues. So what is Plan B in case of emergencies?

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