Canals in California may soon feature a new look — solar panel canopies, designed to stop evaporation and soak up the sun’s rays, created under a new project funded with help from the federal government to boost green energy infrastructure.
California has more than 1,000 thousand miles of coastline and the water in the Pacific Ocean presents an opportunity for more fresh water in the state. Unlocking the opportunity takes time, money and resources, and some experts say it’s not for everyone.
California’s major reservoirs are nearly full thanks to two wet winters, the Sierra snowpack is deeper than usual and the state is likely to receive even more rain and snow this spring.
The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has released the final version of California Water Plan Update 2023. This plan is a critical planning tool and can now be used by water managers, such as water districts, cities and counties, and Tribal communities, to inform and guide the use and development of water resources in the state.
The Sierra Nevada was so bereft of snow in December that skiers and farmersalike worried that a disappointing winter was sure to give way to a drought-ridden spring and summer.
In the Records Room of the CalEPA building in Sacramento are some of the most important documents in the entire state of California. Some date back to 1914. “Our files are organized in ascending order,” explained Matthew Jay, an analyst with the State Water Resources Control Board. “The oldest documents are at the bottom and so you can see that some of the stuff is all typewritten and in a lot of cases, handwritten.”
Southern California’s Imperial Irrigation District, which supplies water to farmers who grow most of the nation’s winter vegetables, planned to start a conservation program in April to scale back what it draws from the critical Colorado River.
A recent court ruling may have thrown a wrench in the state’s funding plans for the controversial and expensive Delta Conveyance Project – a tunnel to move Sacramento River water 45 miles beneath the ecologically sensitive Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
On the heels of two wet winters, it’s easy to forget how close some parts of California came to running out of water a few short years ago. But this climate amnesia will not help us prepare for the next inevitable drought. Since before the state’s founding, the boom-and-bust of drought and flood have shaped our landscapes.
March is a notoriously fickle month for California precipitation, but the storm door remains open for the Golden State, where precipitation has been plentiful for a second straight year. The month began with a severe blizzard, and it looks like it will close with a solid dose of Sierra snow — and a potentially significant rainstorm in Southern California.
