You are now in California and the U.S. Media Coverage category.

Is It OK To Water Your Lawn This Summer, Amid Washington’s Drought?

/in , /by /My Northwestby Dyer Oxley

As summer approaches with most of Washington state experiencing drought conditions, the Seattle area will likely weather the season just fine. “After experiencing a below-average snowpack this winter and very little rain in March, Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) started refilling its mountain reservoirs earlier than normal,” said Sabrina Register with Seattle Public Utilities. “This operation resulted in a combined reservoir water storage that is above normal for this time of the year, helping to offset the challenging weather conditions.”

Full Story

Renewable energy: Australia Bets On A ‘Water Battery’

/in , /by /Financial Timesby Jamie Smyth, Tumut, New South Wales

It took 100,000 construction workers a quarter of a century to bore through the Snowy Mountains to build Australia’s largest hydroelectric scheme. The vast nation-building project links nine power stations and 16 dams via a network of 145km of tunnels and pipelines, providing irrigation water and energy that has helped transform the country’s economy since it began operating in 1974.

Now, almost half a century later, Australia’s newly elected government is placing the state-owned Snowy Hydro plant at the vanguard of another energy transition by transforming it into a massive “water battery” that will help keep the lights on as the country shifts from an electricity grid based mainly on fossil fuels to one built around renewable energy.

Full Story

Gas-Powered Engines, Democrats’ Turmoil, And Clean Water

/in , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Dan Morain

A million Californians don’t have clean water when they turn on their taps. Most live in farm towns like East Orosi, as the New York Times detailed last week. And no policymaker doubts there is a problem. The question: How to raise the money to fix the problem. The cost of a solution is pegged at $140 million a year. That should be easy in a $213 billion budget. It’s not, evidently.

Full Story

Warmth To Ramp Up In California, Southwest At Late Week Following Unusually Chilly Weekend

/in , /by /AccuWeatherby Courtney Spamer

Following record cold across parts of California, temperatures will rebound to near-normal levels by the end of the month. During the Memorial Day weekend, afternoon high temperatures were held to the lowest levels in almost 10 years. Temperatures in Northern and Central California were mainly in the 50s to near 60 degrees Fahrenheit for the high on Sunday afternoon, while southwestern California failed to get out of the lower 60s.

Full Story

OPINION: A Water Portfolio Planning Report Card For California

/in , /by /California Water Blogby Jay Lund

Governor Newsom recently called for a state portfolio of actions to manage water under rapidly changing climate and other conditions.  This post reviews the state of water portfolio planning in California today. In this complex changing world, major problems are rarely solved with a single solution or a single problem-solver. Portfolio-based planning and management tries to do many things in an organized and coordinated way, often wit

Full Story

Support Newsom’s ‘Reset’ To A One-Tunnel Project

/in , /by /Bakersfield.comby Ted R. Page

One tunnel or two? It’s just four words, but if you say them around anyone familiar with California water issues they will know exactly what you are talking about, and it’s likely they will have a strong opinion. During Gov. Newsom’s State of the State speech, he made it clear that his administration will build one tunnel under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta instead of two as was proposed in Gov. Brown’s California WaterFix.

Full Story

As Late-Season Wet Weather Hits Northern California, Snowpack And Reservoir Levels Soar

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Claire Morgan

Northern California rain and snow levels have soared with record wet weather in May, leaving the Sierra with higher-than-normal snowpack levels and pushing several reservoirs toward full capacity. Downtown Sacramento already has broken record rainfall numbers in May, with more than 3.42 inches of rain this month, according to National Weather Service forecaster Karl Swanberg. The previous record of 3.25 inches was set in 1889. Current statewide snowpack levels are being recorded at 20 inches of “snow water equivalent,” the depth of water that would result if the snowpack melted at once, a figure that is 167 percent above average for this time of year, according to the California Department of Water Resources.

Full Story

California Senate Announces Safe Drinking Water Plan

/in , /by /The Press (Brentwood, Calif.)

The State Senate has announced a plan to ensure safe drinking water throughout California. The proposal would implement a Safe Drinking Water Fund as outlined under SB 200, authored by Senator Bill Monning (D-Carmel). Rather than relying on new revenues, the Senate’s proposal authorizes the continuous appropriation of $150 million annually from the General Fund, with the same level of protections in place that a new fee would provide to ensure the funds are used only to secure safe drinking water in the most vulnerable communities. “California’s drinking water challenges are too urgent to ignore,” Senate Leader Toni Atkins said.

Full Story

Late-Season Snow Gives One Last Chance To Ski Tahoe This Memorial Day Weekend

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Dave Zook

It’s been a winter for the ages in Tahoe, with barely an end in sight. In February, Squaw Valley recorded its all-time highest snowfall for a single month with 313 inches (read: almost 1 foot per day on average). The region rolled into a wonderfully average March, and then to a quintessentially warm and sunny spring. Summer looked to be on the horizon, with trails beginning to melt out in April. But then a flurry of mid-May storms arrived, and we’re heading into Memorial Day weekend with boot-deep powder on the slopes. Historically, the Tahoe region has seen active weather patterns through May, with 80 of the last 109 years recorded measuring more than a trace of snow in the area.

Full Story

Valley Nut And Fruit Growers Get Relief In China Trade War

/in , /by /GV Wire (Fresno)

Growers of grapes, tree nuts, and cranberries got good news from Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Thursday morning. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide up to $16 billion in aid to farmers impacted by the tariff battle with Chinainitiated by President Donald Trump. A statement from the USDA said that Trump authorized the aid, which is a $4 billion bump from last year. “The plan we are announcing today ensures farmers do not bear the brunt of unfair retaliatory tariffs imposed by China and other trading partners,” Perdue said.

Full Story