California and the U.S. Archives

OPINION: 10 Signs Of California Water Progress

The extreme weather swings California has experienced recently, from a historic drought to record-breaking rain and snow, may become increasingly commonplace. A study from the University of California, Los Angeles, suggests we will see more of this weather “whiplash” in the years to come. Fortunately, California has been busy preparing for an uncertain future. That means making the most of every drop of rain or snow that falls, stretching our supplies through increased efficiency, capturing rainwater and recycling water rather than dumping it. Below are 10 examples of water progress that suggest California is well on its way to water resilience.

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‘Controlled Burns’ Can Help Solve California’s Fire Problem — So Why Aren’t There More of Them?

With climate change, wildfires threaten disaster and chaos in more California communities, more often. But experts say it’s possible to avoid catastrophic harm to human and forest health by setting planned burns before human error, lightning or arson choose when fires start. “Putting prescribed fire back out on the landscape at a pace and scale to get real work done and to actually make a difference is a high priority,” says Cal Fire chief Ken Pimlott. “It really is, and it’s going to take a lot of effort.”

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Dousing Rainfall To Remain Absent From California Into Late July As Wildfire Season Ramps Up

July 16, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Andrea Mora /AccuWeather (State College, Pa.)by Renee Duff

As wildfires continue to char land in California, mainly dry, warm weather will provide little to no relief for firefighting efforts heading into the peak of fire season. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the number of wildfires and acres burned so far this year has nearly kept the same pace as 2017, which was one of the most destructive fire seasons on record. Sixteen active fires are burning across California as of Sunday evening, July 15, according to Cal Fire.

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OPINION: What Gavin Newsom Said – And Didn’t Say – During His Visit Monday in Modesto

July 16, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Gayle Falkenthal /Modesto Beeby Modesto Bee Editorial Board

Gavin Newsom came to Modesto on Monday night to shake hands and meet important people.

Most, if not all, wanted to know one thing: Newsom’s position on water. Specifically, the water flowing down the Tuolumne, Stanislaus and Merced rivers. Water the state is trying to take from us.

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California Is Preparing For Extreme Weather. It’s Time To Plant Some Trees.

July 15, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Andrea Mora /The New York Timesby Henry Fountain

For years, there has been a movement in California to restore floodplains, by moving levees back from rivers and planting trees, shrubs and grasses in the low-lying land between. The goal has been to go back in time, to bring back some of the habitat for birds, animals and fish that existed before the state was developed. But in addition to recreating the past, floodplain restoration is increasingly seen as a way of coping with the future — one of human-induced climate change.

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OPINION: A Way Out Of California’s Water Crisis

July 14, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Andrea Mora /Ventura County Starby Kerry Jackson

California’s chronic water problems were once again national news when Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation establishing a code of water-use restrictions that would be more fitting for an undeveloped nation. As usual, policymakers chose the austerity of coercive public policy over the voluntary, cooperative agreements that markets use to efficiently and fairly allocate goods and services. Aside from a few small enterprises, there are no comprehensive water markets in the state. More than 90 percent of the water that flows through California is under the control of a centralized government entity.

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The Valley Floor Is Sinking, And It’s Crippling California’s Ability To Deliver Water

July 13, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Andrea Mora /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler and Phillip Reese

Completed during Harry Truman’s presidency, the Friant-Kern Canal has been a workhorse in California’s elaborate man-made water-delivery network. It’s a low-tech concrete marvel that operates purely on gravity, capable of efficiently piping billions of gallons of water to cities and farms on a 152-mile journey along the east side of the fertile San Joaquin Valley. Until now. The Friant-Kern has been crippled by a phenomenon known as subsidence. The canal is sinking as the Valley floor beneath it slowly caves in, brought down by years of groundwater extraction by the region’s farmers.

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How Communities Are Turning Stormwater From A Liability To An Asset

July 13, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Andrea Mora /Water Deeply (New York)by Tara Lohan

Stormwater used to be viewed as a liability – it was shuttled into storm drains as fast as possible to prevent flooding – and then dumped into the ocean, rivers or streams. But increasingly, stormwater is now being viewed as an asset – a way to help augment water supplies and adapt to a changing climate. A new report on stormwater capture issued by the Pacific Institute – the Oakland, California-based water think tank – looks at regulatory and funding challenges as well as creative solutions and collaborations.

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OPINION: ‘So What?’ Attitude At Root Of Water Wars

July 12, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Andrea Mora /Chico Enterprise-Record

A sequence of events over that last week may explain why California is endlessly locked in water wars. Last Friday, the State Water Resources Control Board released a final plan for the San Joaquin River and the framework for an upcoming plan on the Sacramento River, which will require less water be diverted from those waterways and their tributaries. Four days later, the Metropolitan Water District in Southern California voted to spend $11 billion — the bulk of the $17 billion cost — to put two tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

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Where Would Extra Water In River Come From?

July 12, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Andrea Mora /Chico Enterprise-Recordby Steve Schoonover

The framework of a plan for the Sacramento River watershed released Friday by the state Water Resources Control Board calls for an increase in the amount of water running into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and out to sea, but it leaves the question of where that water would come from largely unanswered. It’s a good chunk of water. According to the framework, the target of letting 55 percent of “unimpeded flow” run downstream amounts to a reduction of 17 percent of the current average surface water supply available in the Sacramento River and its tributaries, plus the three rivers that run directly into the delta from the east.

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