California and the U.S. Archives

OPINION: Sierra Is White with Snow, but More Drought Solutions Needed

January 21, 2016/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Modesto Beeby By Roger Bales

Yes, it’s nice to see snow, and those Californians dreaming of a white Christmas saw that dream come true in the Sierra. But dreaming isn’t going to solve the state’s long-term water problems.

For that, we need shared strategy and cooperation.

The drought brought unprecedented change to the Sierra Nevada headwaters. Tree mortality rates are up to 50 percent in some mixed-conifer forest areas. A record number of acres have experienced high-intensity wildfires.

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More Rain on the Way in Northern California

January 21, 2016/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Associated Press (As published by The Sacramento Bee)

There’s a run on umbrellas, people are flocking to the slopes and the big wave surfers are celebrating the swells.

There’s been nearly a dozen days of rain in Northern California already this month and more is to come in the upcoming days and weeks. This is great for skiers, farmers and water users but the rain is hardly the end of the four-year dry spell. State water managers say California’s snowpack needs to be at 150 percent of normal on April 1 to signal an end to drought.

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Mission Accomplished: Sacramentans Cut Water Use in Drought By 30 Percent In 2015

January 21, 2016/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby By Dale Kasler

It seemed like a tall order: California drought regulators were demanding that urban residents slash water consumption by 25 percent, and even more in the Sacramento area.

Sacramento residents met the state’s mandate. The region reduced water use by 30 percent in calendar 2015, according to data released Thursday by the Sacramento Regional Water Authority.

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Will State Water Resources Board Protect the Delta?

January 20, 2016/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Bee by By Jonas Minton

When a company sells tainted ice cream, we ask, “When did the FDA know about the contamination?” When a train carrying crude oil derails, we ask, “When did the NTSB know the safety equipment was not installed?”

We ask because those are the agencies that need to be held accountable for protecting us.

But agencies are made up of individuals who make conscious choices about whether they will act. Most take their responsibility very seriously. The state Air Resources Board, for instance, helped uncover the Volkswagen diesel fraud.

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It’s Official: 2015 ‘Smashed’ 2014’s Global Temperature Record. It Wasn’t Even Close

January 20, 2016/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Washington Postby By Chris Mooney and Joby Warrick

Last year shattered 2014’s record to become the hottest year since reliable record-keeping began, two U.S. government science agencies announced Wednesday in yet another sign that the planet is heating up.

2015’s sharp spike in temperatures was aided by a strong El Niño weather pattern late in the year that caused ocean waters in the central Pacific to heat up. But the unusual warming started early and steadily gained strength in a year in which 10 of 12 months set records, scientists said.

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Could Insurance Markets Help Water Utilities Respond to Drought?

January 20, 2016/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Circle of Blueby By Brett Walton

Last Friday, the California Water Resources Control Board extended for eight months an emergency water conservation mandate that Governor Jerry Brown first ordered on April 1, 2015. The goal of the regulation, issued in response to California’s worst-ever drought, was to reduce urban water use by 25 percent compared to 2013, a year before water reserves began to plummet.

By and large, the mandate worked. Californians, despite bristling at the top-down order, followed the governor’s directive. Through November, the 411 urban water suppliers that are covered by the regulation had reduced water use by 26 percent. Homeowners tore out lawns, stopped washing cars, and took shorter showers,

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Mountain Snows That Feed Colorado River Look Good So Far

January 20, 2016/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Associated Press (As published by Phys.org)by By Dan Elliott

Snowpack in the mountains that feed the Colorado River was slightly above the long-term average on Wednesday — welcome news in the drought-stricken Southwest. But water and weather experts said it’s too early to predict how deep the snow will get or how much of it will make its way into the river and on to Lake Powell in Utah and Arizona, one of two major reservoirs on the Colorado.

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OPINION: Another View: Don’t Ease Up On Water Conservation

January 20, 2016/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby By Tracy Quinn

State and federal agencies seem to disagree about California’s drought. The Department of Water Resources and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s 2016 Drought Contingency Plan, released Friday, painted a grim picture, but that same day, the State Water Resources Control Board staff proposed to relax emergency drought regulations.

Some farmers in California’s Central Valley are bracing for a third year without federal irrigation water. So how can we rationalize backing off conservation, recognized as the least expensive, fastest and most environmentally sound way to meet water needs?

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El Nino-Fueled Storms Expected To Rise Lake Oroville 25 Feet in Next Week

January 20, 2016/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /KRON 4 (San Francisco Bay Area)by By Vince Cestone

El Nino-fueled storms are expected to help Lake Oroville rise about another 25 feet in the next week, according to the California Department of Water Resources. The department said with the lake rising rapidly due to the rain, the lake is now 47 feet higher than its low point of elevation, about 650 feet above sea level on Dec. 25.

“Rising lake levels will allow for the Spillway concrete boat ramp to be opened by Friday and Lime Saddle Boat Ramp is expected to be open sometime this weekend,” according to spokesman Ted Thomas.

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State Proposes Extending Emergency Drought Conservation through October

January 20, 2016/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Sonoma Westby By Tony Landucci

The California State Water Resource Control Board on Friday Jan. 15 released a draft proposal to extend state mandated water conservation rules through October. If adopted, the extension will mean that the current water conservation goal of 25 percent less water use compared to 2013 will continue.

As written, the latest draft will extend conservation rules through October of this year. The water board is asking for public comment on the proposal.

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