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OPINION: Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan Is Necessary Now

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Tom Buschatzke

Last week, the seven Colorado River basin states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — sent a letter to Congress calling for federal legislation to authorize the Drought Contingency Plan (DCP). Congressional House and Senate committees are holding hearings on the plan. It’s a historic moment for a river that supports two countries, seven states, 40 million people, 5.5 million acres of agricultural land, 22 federally recognized tribes, 11 national parks, seven wildlife refuges, four national recreation areas, and seven endangered species.

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Atmospheric Rivers: California Could Experience More Intense Rains In The Future

/in , , /by /Yale Climate Connectionsby Diana Madson

Imagine a river flowing through the sky – and all of its water dropping down to earth. That’s kind of what happens during many winter storms on the west coast. A so-called “atmospheric river” is a long, flowing band of water vapor – typically a few hundred miles wide – that contains vast amounts of moisture. When it moves inland over mountains, the moisture rises, causing it to cool and fall to earth as rain or snow. Duane Waliser of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory says atmospheric rivers are often beneficial, because they provide about half of California’s fresh water supply. But strong atmospheric river systems can also be dangerous – especially when they stall, or produce rain on top of snow.

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Spillway Could Be Used Next Week, DWR Says

/in , /by /Chico Enterprise-Record

The newly-renovated Oroville Dam spillway could be used as early as next week, the state Department of Water Resources said Tuesday. DWR is “closely monitoring Oroville reservoir levels and current forecasts,” the water agency said in a press release. With storms forecast in the Feather River basin, DWR said it is taking steps to prepare for use of the main spillway by the first week of April. Although the state water agency said the spillway was usable in October 2017 if needed, water has not flowed in significant amounts since the spillway crisis in February 2017, when a hole in the enormous concrete structure led to use of the emergency spillway concrete weir for the first time in history and eventually the evacuation of more than 188,000 downstream residents.

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Twelve Bay Area Water Agencies Award Outstanding Student Projects In Water Disciplines

/in , /by /California Water News Daily

Eleven Bay area water, wastewater and recycled water agencies have joined forces to form the Excellence in Water, Wastewater and Recycled Water Research award category at the annual Contra Costa County Science & Engineering Fair. The water division recognizes outstanding student projects in the disciplines of water.  The category is one of many as part of fair which was held at on March 14-16 at Los Medanos College in Pittsburgh, CA.

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A Closer Look At Environmental Impact Bonds

/in , /by /Water Finance and Management

Across the nation, countless cities with antiquated sewer and stormwater systems are under orders from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce stormwater runoff to decrease the amount of pollution entering local waterways. When Washington, D.C., faced this problem, city officials decided to experiment with green infrastructure rather than investing in expensive new pumps and pipes. Since green infrastructure had never been implemented on such a large scale, however, the city faced a huge challenge when it came to financing the project.

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OPINION: New Path On California Water Must Include Delta Communities

/in , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla

Delta advocates agree about the need to break out of our silos. And we all agree, the Delta is an amazing estuary, and a vital water supply source for the state. But any new path on California water must bring Delta community and fishing interests to the table. We have solutions to offer. We live with the impacts of state water management decisions from loss of recreation to degradation of water quality to collapsing fisheries.

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Reservoir Releases Shift From Flood Control To Storage

/in , , /by /KCRA (Sacramento)by Vicki Gonzalez

Water managers are shifting from flood control to water storage at reservoirs across the California. Folsom Lake is at roughly 70 percent capacity, with about twice the amount of inflow as outflow. “We can kind of buffer up and down — give or take — to try and get that target,” said Todd Plain with Bureau of Reclamation. “That target, as time goes on, is moving up as we fill. So, it’s OK to be to be a little bit above average right now.”

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As Trump Tries To Roll Back Clean Water Rules, California Seeks Stronger Protections

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

When grower Brad Goehring looks across his rows of grapes, he can’t help but see a pool of murky water that breaks the rhythm of his vines, which otherwise stretch steadily into the Sierra foothills. The pool is relatively small, maybe half an acre, but vital, according to environmental regulators. They say it helps to clean the runoff from Goehring’s fields and provides a home for critters such as marsh birds. And by law, it can’t be disrupted, which is what makes this mini wetland a headache for Goehring.

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Threat For Flooding, Heavy Snow Renewed Throughout California Through Midweek

/in , , /by /Accuweatherby Faith Eherts

Another round of soaking winter weather is on the horizon for the West Coast, with a series of storms expected to impact the region through midweek. Dry weather has been rare for much of California over the past week, with Sunday acting as a brief respite before more rain arrived overnight. “Unsettled weather will continue across the West Coast this week as more rain and mountain snow targets Northern California, Oregon and Washington,” according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Max Vido.

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Heavy Sierra Snow, Valley Thunderstorms And Hail Possible Wednesday As Storm Peaks

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Michael McGough

The heaviest rain, heaviest snow and highest probability of thunderstorms accompanying the current storm will pass through Northern California at varying times Wednesday. Early morning showers were scattered, dropping heavier precipitation in the northern half of the Sacramento Valley while Sacramento stayed mostly dry as of 6 a.m., as National Weather Service radar images show. Rain in Sacramento will likely begin later Wednesday morning.

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