You are now in California and the U.S. Media Coverage category.

Farm Bureau President Says Water Rights Will Be Priority In 2019

For months, the Santa Clara Valley Water District has been preparing for its annual flood awareness campaign. Our multi-language poster full of flood safety tips is hitting mailboxes in areas located in or near flood-prone zones. You may hear or see our new flood awareness ads, with the theme “Climate Changed.” The timing of this message could not be more fitting. The newly released Fourth National Climate Assessment shows that the effects of climate change are already being felt all over the country, including more frequent and intense extreme weather and climate-related events.

OPINION: How Santa Clara Valley Water District Is Preparing For Flood Season

For months, the Santa Clara Valley Water District has been preparing for its annual flood awareness campaign. Our multi-language poster full of flood safety tips is hitting mailboxes in areas located in or near flood-prone zones. You may hear or see our new flood awareness ads, with the theme “Climate Changed.” The timing of this message could not be more fitting. The newly released Fourth National Climate Assessment shows that the effects of climate change are already being felt all over the country, including more frequent and intense extreme weather and climate-related events.

$56M In Water, Wastewater Upgrades Planned For Calexico

The city of Calexico is planning to spend more than $50 million on improvements for its outdated water and wastewater infrastructure as part of its five-year capital improvement plan. The monies will come from a combination of recently approved — and controversial — water and sewer rate changes, as well as the anticipated sale of up to $50 million in bonds.

One Of California’s Most Important Assets Is Off To Great Start This Year

California’s Sierra Nevada, the state’s increasingly crucial reservoir, is off to a well-above-normal snowpack to begin the wet season. Many of the peaks are seeing double the normal amount of snowpack compared to early-December averages. Several systems, including the disturbance that became Winter Storm Carter, have dumped feet of snow in the Sierra since late November. Snowfall totals ranged from three to five feet of snow in Carter alone. You can see the difference between a rather wimpy late November snowpack and the early December blanket of slow from the Sierra eastward below.

Jerry Brown’s New Water Deal Is Not Certain

Water supply is clearly the most important long-term issue affecting California’s future. It’s also the most politically complicated. Incremental changes in California water policy typically take years, if not decades, to work their way through seemingly infinite legal, regulatory and political processes at federal, state and local levels — and the conflicts often are over the processes themselves.

The Surprise Reincarnation Of Owens Lake

A century ago, Los Angeles pulled a sensational swindle. Agents from the city posed as farmers and ranchers and strategically bought up land in the lush Owens Valley, 200 miles to the north. Water rights in hand, the thirsty metropolis proceeded to drain the region via a great canal.

Series Of Pacific Storms Raises Hopes For A Wet El Niño Season

Southern California was in the midst of its fourth rain event of the season this week and with another expected next week, some experts believe the arrival of the weather phenomenon known as El Niño could be imminent. While it may be too early to link the Pacific storms to El Niño, the federal Climate Prediction Center’s El Niño “diagnostics discussion” could make the call next week on Dec. 13.

Tiny Salamanders Could Stand In The Way Of Massive Dam Raising Project

A trio of tiny salamanders could stand in the way of a massive $1.4 billion project to raise the height of Shasta Dam. An environmental organization has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, asking a judge to force the federal agency to make a determination on whether three salamander species living around Lake Shasta should be protected under the Endangered Species Act.

San Diego County Crews Prepare For Next Bout Of Rainfall

More rain arrived in San Diego Wednesday, less than a week after a storm swept through the county, leaving some areas flooded and city crews preparing for the wet weather. In Coronado, on First Street, crews worked to clear pipes near the shoreline. This is a large reason for flooding in the area. Public Services Director, Clifford Maurer, says flooding comes after sand and sediment gets into the storm drain from the high tides.

Editorial: Brown, Feinstein Betrayal of the Delta is Unacceptable

Shame on Gov. Jerry Brown and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Their betrayal of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ignores respected scientists’ research, circumvents the state’s management of water and could negatively impact California water politics for the next decade. Without a public hearing. Without proper vetting. And possibly without the support of any West Coast senator except Feinstein.