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Feds Dodge Claims Of Violating California Water Law

/in , , /by /Courthouse News Service (Pasadena, Calif.)by Nicholas Iovino

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Friday successfully dodged claims its management of a California dam violates state law and threatens the survival of endangered steelhead trout, but the legal battle is far from over. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen rejected a move by conservationists to add the United States as a “necessary party” to a state court action involving disputed rights to water from the Twitchell Dam and Reservoir in San Luis Obispo County.

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1 million Californians Use Tainted Water. Will State Pass A Clean-Water Tax?

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Alexei Koseff

José Hernández has two plastic barrels in his front yard, filled to the brim with water collected during the recent rains. Half a dozen buckets, a trash can and a cooking pot sit close by, nearly overflowing. It should be enough for Hernández to tend to his garden for the next few weeks  and slight relief for a water bill that sets him back $130 to $170 each month. A retired farmworker, Hernández, 64, supports his wife and two daughters primarily on a $950 monthly Social Security check.

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Coming Together For The Potter Valley Project

/in , /by /Cloverdale Reveille by Zoë Strickland,

Last week three local entities California Trout, Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission (IWPC) and Sonoma Water  announced that they will be signing a project planning agreement with the hopes of looking at pathways to relicense the Potter Valley Project. The Potter Valley Project is a hydropower project that sits in the middle of the Eel River and Russian River watershed basins and is integral in providing water to both Mendocino County and northern Sonoma County.

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California Cold: Record-Breaking Chilly And Wet Weather Settles In, Along With A Hefty Snowpack

/in , /by /The Mercury Newsby Mike Branom

Any Californian who has simply had it with May’s gray, soggy chill had to hate the Memorial Day weekend. Rending asunder holiday plans of grilling at the park, or maybe some beach time, the final days of the month continued a statewide stretch of unseasonably cold, wet weather. On Sunday and Monday, precipitation fell and temperatures dropped, establishing daily records across the southern two-thirds of the state, from Modesto to Death Valley (0.04 inches of rain Monday).

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OPINION: Changes In Climate Continue To Make Surveying Watersheds Tricky. ‘But We Can Change That’

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Frank Gehrke

In April 2015, I escorted then-Gov. Jerry Brown to Echo Summit, where we ceremoniously plunged a metal pole onto the dry, bare earth that typically would have been covered by snow but wasn’t that year. That spring, we were in the depths of a record-setting drought. If you’re among the many Californians who remember the photo of that survey, you’ll probably recognize me. I’m the one wearing a ball cap with “DWR” plastered on the front. Until my retirement last December, I’d been measuring snow in California for nearly 40 years.

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Thirsty Silicon Valley Water Agency Might Buy A Central Valley Farm. Why Agriculture Is Worried

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

Once again, a big thirsty metropolis is looking at buying Central Valley farmland with an eye toward boosting its water supplies. And once again, neighboring farmers are nervous about it. Silicon Valley’s main water agency, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, confirmed Wednesday that it’s considering buying a 5,200-acre Merced County ranch. The district would build a groundwater storage bank beneath the ranch as a buffer during drought conditions.

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An 800-Acre Reservoir Could Be Coming To Stanislaus County, But What Are The Risks?

/in , /by /The Modesto Beeby Ken Carlson

A federal bill promising $14 million in funding for water storage projects for the Central Valley and Northern California served to place more attention on a proposed reservoir in Stanislaus County. Rep. Josh Harder, D-Turlock, got the millions included in a massive energy and water infrastructure bill in the House of Representatives. It includes $6 million for the Sites Reservoir near Colusa favored by agribusiness, $4.1 million for the North Valley Regional Recycled Water Program, $2.1 million for the Los Vaqueros Reservoir expansion in Contra Costa County, and $1.5 million for Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir near Patterson

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Rights To Water Stored By Willamette Dams Up for Grabs; Cities, Farmers, Fish compete

/in , /by /Statesman Journalby William Poehler and Tracy Loew,

Billions of gallons of water have been hidden behind the Willamette River Basin’s 13 dams since they were constructed starting in the 1930s. For 30 years, powerful interests including cities, farmers and industry have been slugging it out for access to that water, which has yet to be designated for a use. Fisheries and environmental groups also want a say in how the water is distributed from the dams, operated by the Army Corps of Engineers.

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Drone View Of Proposed Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir

/in , /by /The Modesto Beeby Joan L Lee

The area west of Patterson Calif. along Del Puerto Canyon Road is pictured on Wednesday afternoon May 29, 2019. A proposal for an 800 acre reservoir that would include a lake in the scenic canyon in the foothills west of Patterson is underway.

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Liability Law Could Burn Water Districts

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

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. is in bankruptcy largely because of wildfire costs. Now, water districts are seeking protection against California’s fire-related liability law, believing their financial stability is at risk even if their actions and operations had nothing to do with causing a fire.

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