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California Has A New Plan For Allocating Its Water, And It Means Less For Farmers

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

State regulators proposed sweeping changes in the allocation of California’s water Friday, leaving more water in Northern California’s major rivers to help ailing fish populations — and giving less to farming and human consumption. By limiting water sent to cities and farms and keeping more for fish, the proposal by the State Water Resources Control Board’s staff likely will ignite a round of lawsuits and political squabbles. Critics immediately pounced on the plan, saying it will take some of the nation’s most fertile farmland out of production and harm the Central Valley economy.

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Cal Am Desal Project In “Home Stretch” At CPUC

/in , /by /Monterey Heraldby Jim Johnson

More than six years after being formally proposed to the state Public Utilities Commission, California American Water’s desalination project is in crunch time. A CPUC proposed decision on the proposal is less than a month away. It will be a precursor to the commission’s consideration of project permit approval and certification of the project’s environmental impact document, likely to occur some time in September just before a critical Carmel River cutback order milestone deadline. All this as Cal Am faces a second public takeover campaign and ballot measure led by Public Water Now this summer and fall.

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Falling Lake Mead Water Levels Prompt Detente In Arizona Feud

/in , /by /The Wall Street Journalby Jim Carlton

Arizona is the odd state out in agreeing to dramatically curtail water use from the Colorado River, raising tensions in the Southwest as extreme drought conditions return. At issue are falling water levels at the West’s biggest reservoir, Lake Mead. Having already dropped by more than 150 feet over the past two decades to 1,077 feet, the Nevada reservoir is two feet shy of falling below a federal threshold that can trigger mandatory cutbacks by U.S. officials.

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New California Water Plan Aimed At Boosting Fish Habitat

/in , /by /KCRA 3 (Sacramento, Calif.)by Kathleen Ronayne and Jonathan J. Cooper

California water officials on Friday released a plan to increase flows through a major central California river, an effort that would save salmon and other fish but deliver less water to farmers in the state’s agricultural heartland. It’s the latest development in California’s long-running feud between environmental and agricultural interests and is likely to spark lawsuits. “The State Water Resources Control Board’s decision today is the first shot fired in the next chapter of California’s water wars,” warned Democratic Assemblyman Adam Gray of Merced, who represents San Joaquin Valley communities that rely on diversion from the river for water supply.

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SF Would Face New Limits Under State Water Proposal

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

California water officials announced an ambitious plan Friday to revive some of the state’s biggest rivers, a move that seeks to stave off major devastation to wetlands and fish, but on the back of cities and farms. San Francisco, as well as numerous urban and agricultural water suppliers, under the plan would face new limits on how much water it draws from the San Joaquin River and its tributaries in the Sierra Nevada.

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Drought Conditions Spread Over State

/in , /by /Petaluma Argus Courierby Guy Kovner

Sixteen days into summer, with wildfires raging over the bone-dry landscape and more scorching hot days ahead, it might feel as if California is on the verge of another drought. The official word from weather authorities shows much of the state trending in that direction. Abnormally dry or drought conditions prevail over 85 percent of California, including the coast from Monterey County to the Oregon border, the U.S. Drought Monitor said Thursday. Nearly all of Lake County and parts of eastern Napa and Mendocino counties are now in moderate drought, authorities said.

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A Dangerous Heat Wave Threatens Millions Of People In California And The Southwest

/in , /by /CNNby Nicole Chavez

A dangerous heat wave is expected to grip California and parts of the southwest Friday and into the weekend, threatening millions of people and likely fueling existing wildfires. More than 25 million people are under excessive heat watches, warnings or advisories, including in Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Phoenix metro areas. The scorching heat will bring triple-digit temperatures to Los Angeles, where the mercury is forecast to reach 105 degrees on Friday and 100 on Saturday, CNN meteorologist Haley Brink said. Over a dozen record highs are forecast to be broken Friday afternoon across California.

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OPINION: Why California Needs A Plan To Protect Its Wetlands

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Holly Doremus

Californians have long valued our last remaining wetlands, which represent less than 10 percent of our once-rich natural endowment. In 1993, Republican governor Pete Wilson issued an executive order declaring a state policy not only of “no net loss,” but of long-term net gain, in the quality and quantity of wetlands. Yet 25 years later, protection of these special places remains at risk because the state has failed to create an effective wetlands protection program. If California could rely on federal law, we wouldn’t need our own program. In 1993, it looked like the federal Clean Water Act might do the job.

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Drought Conditions Spread Over Much Of California

/in , /by /The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa)by Guy Kovner

Sixteen days into summer, with wildfires raging over the bone-dry landscape and more scorching hot days ahead, it might feel as if California is on the verge of another drought. The official word from weather authorities shows much of the state trending in that direction. Abnormally dry or drought conditions prevail over 85 percent of California, including the coast from Monterey County to the Oregon border, the U.S. Drought Monitor said Thursday. Nearly all of Lake County and parts of eastern Napa and Mendocino counties are now in moderate drought, authorities said.

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Trump Administration Sends Sacramento $1.8 Billion For Flood Protection

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

Even after years of drought, Sacramento’s biggest worry over water is flood risk. The city is widely considered the second-most flood-prone major city in America, after New Orleans. Sacramento’s efforts to fight flooding got a major boost Thursday. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Rep. Doris Matsui’s office announced that the region has been allocated nearly $1.8 billion to strengthen levees and raise Folsom Dam. The federal money also will be spent widening the Sacramento Weir, a mechanism north of the city that acts as a safety valve by channeling flood waters into the Yolo Bypass.

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