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Lower Yuba River Project Helps Create Safer Home for Salmon Population, Reduces Flood Risk

A habitat restoration project in the lower Yuba River is complete. The project not only helps the local fish population but also those who live along the river’s banks.

“The Hallwood Fish Habitat Project” restored the natural flow of the Yuba River after decades of collecting debris from hydraulic mining during the Gold Rush.

National Climate Assessment Predicts Growing Threats to Society, Economy

A long-awaited federal climate report, released Tuesday, delivers a blunt warning: Rapidly curb planet-warming emissions or face dire consequences to human health, infrastructure and the economy.

The fifth installment of the National Climate Assessment presents the most comprehensive evaluation to date of U.S. climate science, impacts and action. Dozens of authors, including representatives from multiple federal agencies, contributed to the congressionally mandated report.

New Tribal Water Institute Will Help Arizona Tribes Navigate Water Law and Policies

A new institute created by a national Native nonprofit law group and a foundation that works to protect rivers will support tribal water rights advocacy, recruit and train the next generation of tribal water attorneys and provide education on tribal water law and policies.

The Toll of Climate Disasters Is Rising. But a U.S. Report Has Good News, Too.

The food we eat and the roads we drive on. Our health and safety. Our cultural heritage, natural environments and economic flourishing. Nearly every cherished aspect of American life is under growing threat from climate change and it is effectively too late to prevent many of the harms from worsening over the next decade, a major report from the federal government has concluded.

The West Is Running Out Of Water. A Heavy Snow Could Help, But Will It Come This Winter?

Snowfall forecasts for the West’s mountains are critically important this winter after last year’s unusually heavy snow helped improve the region’s long-simmering water crisis, including conditions at Lake Powell and downstream Lake Mead outside Las Vegas.

Another heavy snow year could help reduce the need for water restrictions and help farmers continue producing irrigated crops such as melons, lettuce and almonds.

Cost To Rebuild Major California Reservoir Rises To $2.3 Billion, Tripling From Two Years Ago

The cost to bring Anderson Dam, which holds back the largest reservoir in California’s Santa Clara County, up to modern earthquake standards has increased to $2.3 billion, water officials said Monday. That’s double what was estimated a year ago, triple the price tag from two years ago, and nearly certain to drive water rates higher next year across Silicon Valley.

The 20 Farming Families Who Use More Water From the Colorado River Than Some Western States

As the Colorado River snakes through the deserts of the Southwest United States, its water is diverted to cities, states, tribes and farmers along its course.

Agriculture has always been the largest use of the Colorado River, and California’s Imperial Irrigation District, established in 1911, has among the earliest claims and by far the largest claim to the river.

California Farmers are Reeling From Loss of Powerful Congressional Allies

California’s agricultural industry – the nation’s largest food producer — is fighting for its political future.

First came the death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a staunch Democratic ally who was unafraid of prioritizing farms over endangered fish in the state’s long-running water wars. Then House Republicans kicked Rep. Kevin McCarthy, a native of the Central Valley’s agricultural heartland, out of the speakership.

Federal Funds Would Boost Water Agency Fire Readiness

Last week the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would allocate $7.25 million to help protect water agency infrastructure in California’s 3rd Congressional District against fire.

If the legislation is also supported by a Senate majority, the Georgetown Divide Public Utility District would get $1.25 million to construct a 2-million-gallon fire resilient water storage tank to aid in fire suppression efforts, according to a news release from the office of Congressman Kevin Kiley.

The Historic Claims That Put a Few California Farming Families First in Line for Colorado River Water

Craig Elmore’s family history is the stuff of Westerns. His grandfather, John Elmore, a poor son of a Missouri preacher, arrived in California’s Imperial Valley in 1908 and dug ditches to deliver water to homesteaders.