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OPINION: Why Does State Want More Water? To Send it South

/in /by /The Modesto Beeby Edwin J. Erwin

I just read the well written article by Opinions Page Editor Mike Dunbar regarding the State Water Resources Control Board’s proposed increase of out-flows of the Tuolumne, Stanislaus and Merced rivers. One factor not discussed is the offset this water increase would have to the reduced Sacramento River flow through the San Joaquin Delta Area that would result from implementation of Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed twin tunnel water project, his so-called California WaterFix.

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BLOG: Water Works: Sue Sims on How to Make Conservation Permanent

/in /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Eline Gordts

When it comes to water management in California, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a giant. The 26 public agencies belonging to the district together deliver water to 19 million people, making it the largest distributor of drinking water in the country. About half of it is imported, part from the Colorado River system and part from the State Water Project. What does it take to run an organization that delivers 1.5 billion gallons (5.7bn liters) of water per day? And what impact has the drought had on planning?

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OPINION: Tunnels or No Tunnels, All Californians Face Water Realities

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dan Morain

Jerry Brown’s Delta tunnels proposal is a muddled mess, or so write Jeffrey Michael of the University of The Pacific and John Kirlin of McGeorge School of Law. Greater clarity and transparency regarding what is proposed, its effects and responsibility for future decisions are needed. As currently proposed, the tunnels are a high-stakes gamble, Michael and Kirlin write. True enough, the tunnels are costly and disruptive. But a decision needs to be made one way or another.

 

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Good news: California Agriculture on Rebound in 2016

/in /by /Western Farm Press (St. Charles, Ill.)by Harry Cline

America’s No. 1 agricultural state, California, did not fare any better than the rest of nation last year with a drop of $9 billion in cash receipts, a 17 percent plunge from the previous year. The drop was not unexpected for Vernon Crowder, senior vice president of Rabobank in Fresno, Calif. However, the size did surprise him. The drought had plenty to do with the nose dive, but significant drops in dairy and nut prices also contributed. Unlike Midwest corn and soybeans, the prospects for a California turnaround are good.

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The Forecast for Lake Mead: Hot and Dry With Plenty of Anxiety

/in /by /Fremont Tribune (Fremont, Neb.)by William Yardley

A reckoning arrives every August for the Colorado River and the 40 million people across the West who depend on it. After water managers measure annual inflows and outflows and do their best to estimate future precipitation in places as far-flung as northwestern Wyoming and southwestern New Mexico, they make a pronouncement that once was arcane but has become increasingly prominent — and ominous. Technically, what they announce is the projected elevation of Lake Mead, the Colorado River’s largest reservoir, on Jan. 1 for each of the next two years.

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OPINION: Facing the Realities of Limited Water Supplies

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dan Morain

In the coming days and weeks, some of the implications of climate change and the need to improve California’s aging water delivery system will become more evident to all parts of the state, none too soon. Old lines in California’s unending water wars could start to shift, as Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration makes clear that the holders of senior water rights, which date to the turn of the last century and before, are not immune to the demands of the environment and the realities of diminishing supplies of what they claim as their water.

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OPINION: Delta Tunnels Proposal a Muddled Gamble

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby Jeffrey Michael and John Kirlin

The proposal to build two 35-mile-long tunnels to transport water below the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is reaching a critical decision point. You would think that after a decade and hundreds of millions of dollars spent on planning and analysis, the plan would be clear. Instead, uncertainties regarding the proposed project, environmental impacts, costs, financing and authority over operations loom larger than ever. Why the muddle?

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The Poisoning of California’s Drinking Water

/in /by /Pacific Standard (Santa Barbara)by Abrahm Lustgarten

As the Western United States struggles with chronic water shortages and a changing climate, scientists are warning that if vast underground stores of fresh water that California and other states rely on are not carefully conserved, they too may soon run dry. Heeding this warning, California passed new laws in late 2014 that for the first time require the state to account for its groundwater resources and measure how much water is being used.

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BLOG: Climate Change Is at the Heart of California’s Water Future

/in /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Juliet Christian-Smith

It’s getting close to that time of year when weather watchers and water managers start wringing their hands and wondering whether it will be a boy or a girl. The boy is none other than El Niño – that Pacific weather pattern characterized by warm ocean temperatures and heavy precipitation. Last year, we heard all about the monster El Niño that would refill California’s reservoirs. But it never actually materialized. Now, the National Weather Service projects a different winter visitor – La Niña. She’s the opposite of her brother – a weather pattern characterized by dry conditions.

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BLOG: Twelve California Water Experts to Watch on Climate and Energy

/in /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Eline Gordts Quoted: Kelly Rodgers

Water, energy and climate in California are closely linked. Nearly 20 percent of the state’s electricity currently goes to the water sector, and climate change is already impacting the availability and timing of water resources. Reducing the energy costs of water production, including through conserving electricity and increasing water efficiency, will become increasingly important as California faces the reality of climate change and prolonged drought. Meet 12 people who are among the top experts that Water Deeply’s editors, reporters and contributors look to when it comes to this crucial issue.

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