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Delta Battle Over Water and Fish Lands in Court

/in /by /San Jose Mercury News by By Denis Cuff

State and federal regulators have failed to protect Delta fish and the environment during the drought by repeatedly relaxing water-quality standards so as to keep water flowing to California cities and farms, three conservation groups argued in a federal lawsuit filed Friday.

The complaint against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mirrors a persistent one by conservationists: that California water managers have let the environment suffer disproportionately from the drought.
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OPINION: Start the Tunnels

/in /by /Ventura County Starby By Mike Anderson

Does it make sense to start the Delta tunnels? The Metropolitan Water District pays into the State Water Project every year for an allotment of water. The agreed-upon allotment of water is roughly 4 percent of the water flow from the Delta. In 2015, the State Water Project was only allowed to send 10 percent of the allotment (10 percent of the 4 percent). In 2014 and 2013, it was 5 percent of the allotment. The contracts of the State Water Project have been in place for over 50 years.

The Metropolitan Water District has been paying 100 percent of its agreed-upon fees but only receiving 5 to 10 percent of its allotment. This pain has caused great concerns over the reliability of water flow for the future of California.

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California Water Board Denies Bias Claims in Delta Tunnels Dispute

/in /by /The Sacramento Bee by By Ryan Sabalow

On Monday, State Water Resources Control Board Chair Felicia Marcus and board member Tam Doduc said there was no merit to a claim filed last month by the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority that accused them of having already made up their minds about a critical issue that could translate into less water delivered to south state water agencies that depend on water pumped from the Delta.

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OPINION: Water Releases Need to be Better Managed for all Wildlife

/in /by /Redding Record Searchlight by By Jeannette Carroll

I have only lived six years in Redding along a branch of the Sacramento River and feel extremely fortunate to be able to view and enjoy the abundant wildlife that lives in and along its waters.

The personnel who regulate the amount of water released from Keswick and Shasta Dams have a great responsibility and must take many factors into account. They must guard the public against possible flooding so public safety is a huge concern. Water in the lakes for recreation is important as is water needed for agriculture. All of this must balance and is very difficult with California drought problems.

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Snowpack is Melting Fast, Despite April Storms

/in /by /High Country News (Paonia, Colo.)by By Paige Blankenbuehler

Throughout late March and into April, much of the West experienced unseasonably warm days. Then, in late April, temperatures plummeted in Southwest Colorado’s San Juan Mountains and more than 2 feet of wet, heavy spring snow fell. Suddenly, ski boots were out again and for a day or two, it felt like winter was back.

But those storms have only helped a small fraction of the West, with much of the moisture buoying snowpack levels along the Eastern Rockies in Colorado and Wyoming. Meanwhile, the rest of the region is on the opposite trajectory, losing snowpack at record-breaking rates.

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California Desperately Needs New Surface Storage

/in /by /The Sacramento Bee by By Aubrey Bettencourt

Californians deserve rational and complete answers to their questions: Why has our state failed to initiate a meaningful response to not just one or two, but three catastrophic droughts we’ve experienced over the last 45 years?

California simply needs more water. Its people, fish, wildlife, food producers and others – all have been harmed by delays in our response to periodic droughts and climate change. What was an inconvenience in 1973 and a severe shortfall in the 1980s became an economy-stopping, public-health-threatening assault on our state’s residents in 2012-15.

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El Niño Came, So Why Didn’t It Bring More Rain?

/in /by /The San Luis Obsipo Tribune

Loren Eiseley, the great humanist and naturalist, wrote, “If there is magic on the planet, it is contained in water. … Its substance reaches everywhere; it touches the past and prepares the future; it moves under the poles and wanders thinly in the heights of air.”

Eiseley’s beautiful essay is correct on many levels. Water vapor in our atmosphere condenses into precipitation and releases latent heat that can have profound implications for severe weather in California. The warmer the atmosphere, the more water vapor it can hold.

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Lawsuit Accuses Regulators of Loosening Sacramento Delta Water Rules

/in /by /The Sacramento Bee by By Ryan Sabalow

Three environmentalist groups filed a lawsuit Friday alleging that to increase water flowing to farms and cities, state and federal regulators in the drought have repeatedly relaxed water-quality standards on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to the detriment of its wild fish species.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco claims the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency failed to enforce the Clean Water Act.

 

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City of Santa Barbara Sets Record Straight on Desalination Misinformation

/in /by /KEYT (Santa Barbara)

The City of Santa Barbara released an update on a future possible agreement with the Montecito Water District for the sale of desalinated water.

In the press release, the City says: “In response to inaccurate information in today’s Santa Barbara News Press concerning the assertion of an agreement between the City of Santa Barbara and the Montecito Water District regarding the sale of desalinated water, the City would like to clarify that there has been no agreement reached on the sale of desalinated water to the Montecito Water District.”

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OPINION: Must Fight Metropolitan Water’s Purchase of Islands

/in /by /Marin Independent Journal

Predictions that La Nia conditions may deepen the drought in California this winter would be more alarming if the results of a Field poll released last week had been different.

Fortunately, the poll showed an overwhelming majority of Californians continue to believe that the state faces an extremely serious water shortage and are continuing to conserve water. With two notable exceptions: Los Angeles and San Diego. They’re failing to do their part.

 

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