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Where’d The Beach Go? Lake Tahoe Fills To The Top As Massive Winter Snows Melt

/in , /by /Vallejo Times-Herald (Vallejo, Calif.)by Paul Rogers

If you visit Lake Tahoe this summer, the beaches might seem a little smaller than they were a few years ago. It’s not an optical illusion. Large sections of them really are underwater. Dozens of feet of snow that blanked the Sierra Nevada this winter, generated by blizzards from raging atmospheric river storms, have been steadily melting all spring and summer, sending billions of gallons of water rushing downhill and steadily raising the water level at Lake Tahoe.

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Administration Sidelines Federal Biologists Who Could Stand In Way Of More Water For Calif. Farmers

/in , /by /KQED (San Francisco)by Lauren Sommer

After rushing forward on a plan to send more water to California’s Central Valley, the Trump Administration has unexpectedly hit the brakes and ordered the work already done by federal scientists to be completed by a different team. Just days before federal biologists were set to release new rules governing the future of endangered salmon and drinking water for two-thirds of Californians, the administration replaced them with an almost entirely new group of lawyers, administrators and biologists to “refine” and “improve” the rules, according to an email obtained by KQED.

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California Legislators Halt Cadiz Water Project, Bill Heads To Gov. Newsom’s Desk

/in , , /by /Palm Springs Desert Sunby Janet Wilson and Sam Metz

The Cadiz groundwater pumping project in the Mojave Desert hit a major roadblock on Thursday, when the California State Assembly advanced a bill that could halt its progress for up to two years. If the bill becomes law, Cadiz, Inc.’s proposed project will need to undergo additional environmental review to prove its extraction plans will not harm the surrounding desert. S.B. 307, authored by Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside, cleared the Assembly 49-23, where it was led by Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, D-Glendale, who carried similar Cadiz-related legislation in 2017 and 2018 that stalled before final votes. After years of legislative battles and intense lobbying, the bill now only needs Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature to become law.

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California’s Coast Is Disappearing, And The Debate Over What To Do About It Is In Full Swing

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Diya Chacko

Even as quakes, wildfires and drought have taken up most of our focus, the slow-moving disaster of rising seas has paralyzed Californians, and left us with “both too much and not enough time” to act, as environment reporter Rosanna Xia wrote in a special report examining sea level rise and the future of California’s disappearing coastline. The report, read by more than half a million people since it was published online and in print on Sunday, laid out our limited options in a future where certain areas of California will almost certainly be submerged. Cities such as San Francisco, Pacifica, Imperial Beach and many more are already dealing with the ocean at their doorstep.

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The Fight Over Monterey Peninsula’s Water Future is a Debate Over Who Gets To Decide

/in , , /by /Monterey County Weeklyby Asaf Shalev

What is at stake is the water supply for the Monterey Peninsula. Consuming water drawn from the Carmel River is no longer feasible, neither ecologically nor legally. But the power to decide on an alternative supply is largely vested in the hands of public officials from outside the region.

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Federal Judge Remands Cadiz Water Project Pipeline Evaluation Back to BLM for Explicit Explanation

/in , , /by /California Water News Dailyby Staff

Judge George H. Wu of the Los Angeles Central District Federal Court recently issued a ruling in two consolidated cases brought against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) related to co-location of infrastructure in existing railroad rights-of-way, including the Cadiz Water Project’s proposed use of a local southern California railroad for water conveyance.

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The United States Is Headed For A Battery Breakthrough

/in , /by /PV Magazineby Tim Sylvia

Symbiosis is one of life’s most beautiful and lasting natural phenomena. Regardless of the circumstances, certain things just work perfectly together: peanut butter and jelly, sharks and pilot fish, Brady and Belichick. The energy revolution is no different, as renewable resources and battery storage go together like two peas in a pod.

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Report: 50% Of US Construction Activity Concentrated In 10 States

/in , /by /Construction Diveby Kim Slowey

If it seems that certain areas of the United States are benefiting more than others from the country’s current construction boom, it’s because they are, according to a new report from research firm GlobalData.

In fact, of the more than 11,200 U.S. projects the company is tracking — public and private, in development and under construction — 10 states have captured about 60% of the $3.7 trillion those projects represent.

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Agricultural Water Agencies Refine Efficiency Plans

/in , /by /Ag Alertby Christine Souza

Agricultural water suppliers must develop annual water budgets and drought plans that meet requirements of recently enacted legislation, and are meeting with state officials to comply with the updated law—a process that could ultimately affect water costs for California farmers and ranchers.

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Enormous Montana Pumped Hydro Project Gets Danish Investment

/in , , /by /PV Magazineby William Driscoll

A 400 MW pumped hydro project in Montana has received an equity investment from Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).

While the technical potential of closed-loop pumped hydro storage is an estimated 500,000 sites worldwide, the cost of pumped hydro, especially as it compares to the cost of battery storage, remains an issue.

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