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Could Sea Level Rise Threaten The Water Coming Out Of Some California Taps?

/in , /by /California Department of Water Resources

Most Californians turn on their taps without thinking about where the water comes from or if that flow might trickle out someday. They may not realize how local, state, and even federal water managers work together to ensure a steady water supply now and in the future.

Flooding from earthquake-caused levee breeches or climate change-caused sea level rise could result in more saltwater invading our water supply that travels through the Delta. DWR’s climate scientists and water managers will address ways to plan for potential climate change impacts such as sea level rise at the Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation Summit in Sacramento on September 17, 2019.

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Trump Administration Threatens Jail Time For California Officials Over River Project

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler and Ryan Sabalow

The Trump administration and California officials have sued each other, swapped insults on Twitter and clashed on everything from climate change to immigration.

But threatening someone with jail time? That might be a new one.

The threats came in a dispute over reintroducing winter-run Chinook salmon into the McCloud River, a pristine river above Shasta Dam, as part of a federal plan approved under the Obama administration to try to stave off extinction for the critically endangered fish.

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State To Increase Flows On Santa Ynez River To Protect Steelhead

/in , /by /VC Star

State officials have ordered increased water flows on the Santa Ynez River in Santa Barbara County to protect steelhead trout, which are endangered in Southern California.

The State Water Resources Control Board says Tuesday that its action follows two decades of legal efforts to address long-term declines in native fish populations in the Santa Ynez.

The order requires the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to increase flows below Cachuma Reservoir to provide additional habitat for steelhead. To minimize impacts on local water users, higher flows will be required only during wetter years.

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California’s New, $100 Million, Low-Income Solar Program

/in , /by /pv magazine by Tim Sylvia

DAC-SASH has been approved, and now GRID Alternatives will have $120 million to work with over the next decade to bring solar power and job training to disadvantaged communities across the state.

A new program expanding solar access to low-income families in California has been unanimously passed by state regulators.

Disadvantaged Communities – Single-family Solar Homes (DAC-SASH) aims to increase the adoption of solar power by low income households in disadvantaged communities by investing $120 million dollars into incentives annually through 2030. Specifically, the program will provide $8.5 million in annual total to customers who meet income qualifications and live in the top-25% most disadvantaged communities in the state.

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Governor To Act On Key Legislation For Farms, Ranches

/in , /by /AgAlert (Sacramento, Calif.)by Kevin Hecteman

A hectic week for the state Legislature ended with welcome news for California farmers and ranchers—Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he intends to veto Senate Bill 1, which sought to preserve existing California environmental and labor standards from federal changes initiated by the Trump administration.

Water-related provisions of the bill proved problematic for farmers, ranchers and water agencies. For example, SB 1 would apply the California Endangered Species Act to the federally operated Central Valley Project. That provision threatened negotiations to establish voluntary settlement agreements concerning water flows from the Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems into the delta.

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OPINION: California Has A Chance To Make Water History

/in , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Jeffrey Kightlinger

California’s contemporary effort to modernize the water system in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta officially began in 2006.

George W. Bush was president Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor. Their administrations signed a planning agreement. And the search for a solution was on.

Thirteen years, two governors and two presidents later, we are all still at it.

We have yet to find ways to stabilize important water ecosystems or the reliability of water supplies for the state economy. And we are going to reach a point where we either collectively fail to achieve these two important goals despite years of efforts, or we move forward in historic and meaningful ways that undoubtedly will not please everyone.

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As Wildfires Worsen, U.S. Forest Service Seeks 1,500 Temporary Workers In California

/in , /by /The Sunby Steve Scauzillo

With temperatures rising due to global climate change and millions of forest trees dying from heat and pest infestations every year, the potential for more wildfires is real.

To combat this growing threat, the U.S. Forest Service on Monday, Sept. 16, began accepting applications for 1,500 temporary jobs to work in the 18 national forests across the state next spring and summer, said Brenda Kendrix, a USFS spokesperson for the Pacific Region in Vallejo.

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OPINION: California Must Not Fall For Marketing Scheme That Falsely Claims To Protect Tropical Forests

/in , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Katie Valenzuela and Leila Salazar-Lopez

Imagine we were presenting you with an investment opportunity. It would cost a lot, and similar programs have failed miserably.

Human rights violations would very likely occur. There are more viable alternatives available with similar (or lower) costs, but we’re asking you to invest anyway because we are certain we could figure out a way to make a failed program work this time.

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Will Climate Change Mean Less Farming in the West?

/in , , /by /Civil Eats by Twilight Greenaway

Colorado and California are rethinking water management for a hotter, drier future, while balancing urban water needs with the benefits agriculture brings to rural communities.

Most years, ranchers in Wyoming irrigate their land with water from the Green River—a tributary of the Colorado—in the summer so they have forage to feed their cattle late in the season.

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The Latest: Snow Falling On I-80 On Top Of Sierra Nevada

/in , , /by /AP News

It’s still technically summer but snow is falling in the Sierra along the California-Nevada line.

California transportation officials posted a photo on the Caltrans District 3 Twitter account shortly after noon Monday showing snow accumulating on U.S. Interstate 80 at the top of Donner Summit about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of Truckee, California.

Caltrans is urging motorists to slow down.

A strong cold front packing winds gusting up to 50 mph (80 kph) sent sending temperatures plummeting Monday across western Nevada.

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