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Arizona Water Leaders Lean On Developers To Support Drought Plan

/in , /by /Phoenix New Timesby Elizabeth Whitman

As the Colorado River teeters on the brink of shortage, water leaders in Arizona are begging developers to pressure legislators to sign off on a drought plan, while also aiming to reassure those developers that despite a drier future, it’s safe to come to Arizona and build. “We need all of you to go to your favorite legislator and express your support for the Drought Contingency Plan,” Tom Buschatzke, the director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, told a group of 250 development industry representatives and others during a breakfast meeting Friday. “I implore you.”

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A Recap Of California’s Water Year So Far

/in , /by /ABC10 (Sacramento) by Rob Carlmark

When the skies clear and the weather gets calmer, it’s a good time to take stock of our storms and see where we are with water in California. Starting with snowpack, Sierra storms have been strong lately, with many adding feet of fresh, new snow. As of Monday, the snow is above average at 111 percent, and that number is expected to grow with additional snow from the last storm. About 30 percent of California’s water comes from snowpack, so when that metric is in good shape, it tends to set the tone for other indicators.

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California Water Projects Would Get Boost Under Budget Fund

/in , /by /Bloomberg by Emily C. Dooley

Nearly one million Californians use contaminated water to drink, shower, and cook, but the state’s politicians want to change that—including by amending the constitution or taxing certain products. Two state assembly members, Republican Devon Mathis and Democrat Eduardo Garcia, filed language Jan. 16 to amend the state constitution to require that 2 percent of the general fund budget be set aside each year for water quality, supply, and delivery projects in the thirsty state.

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OPINION: Why Gov. Newsom Should Save The Delta Ecosystem

/in , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Barbara Barrigan-Parilla

The confluence of California’s two great rivers, the Sacramento and the San Joaquin, create the largest estuary on the West Coast. Those of who live here call it, simply, the Delta. It is essential to California’s future. That’s why we must save it. In the early 1800s, this estuary teemed with salmon migrating to and from the rivers of the Sierra Nevada. Salmon were, as documented in photographs, so plentiful that you could harvest them from the river with a pitchfork.

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OPINION: Raising Shasta Dam Won’t Solve California Water Woes

/in , /by /Redding Record Searchlightby Bob Madgic

The proposed raising of Shasta Dam represents just more of the same shenanigans in California’s long water history. As with most dam projects, it will cause more harm than whatever positives might accrue from such an action. California already has 1,300 (named) dams. More water storage projects will not solve the basic fact that the state’s finite amount of water is incapable of meeting all of the demands. This deficit has been created primarily by the transformation of a semi-arid area— the Central Valley — by an infusion of water from northern California.

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OPINION: California Needs To Explore New Approaches To Water

/in , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Mike Wade

As we launch into the new year there is good news about one of our state’s most persistent problems – water. For as long as most of us can remember, water users have retreated into their corners, demanding their share of water, with all water-users suffering in the stalemate. Status-quo policy hasn’t helped struggling fish populations, farms, or urban users, including residents of Santa Clara Valley and the East Bay.

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Energy Storage Evolution; POU Leaders Weigh Costs, Benefits And Performance

/in , /by /California Municipal Utilities Association Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

With a decarbonizing electricity business and the West perennially coping with drought, pumped-storage projects would seem to be the ideal win-win solution. Carbon-free electricity is generated by water from an upper reservoir falling on a turbine. Water is then pumped from the lower reservoir back to the upper reservoir chiefly using renewable power to be used again and again. Federal legislation signed in October may provide a boost to pumped storage projects under development by lengthening the duration of preliminary permits issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The new law, named the Water Resources Development Act, extended the duration of a FERC preliminary permit for pumped-storage projects to four years.

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He’s ‘Famous’ For Measuring California’s Snow. Now, He’s Retiring After 30 Years — Sort Of.

/in , /by /Capital Public Radio (Sacramento)by Ezra David Romero

A simple web search will pull up nearly a million articles, videos and photos featuring Frank Gehrke. He’s no fashion icon like Kim Kardashian or a dogged politician like Gov. Jerry Brown. But he has broken a lot of news. Sometimes, it’s bad news, like California suffering yet another year of drought. That’s a realization he alluded to in 2014, when he measured the snowpack near Lake Tahoe.

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What Happens If Arizona Fails To Meet A Water Plan Deadline?

/in , /by /12 News (Phoenix)

Lake Mead, the biggest source for water in the Southwest, is on the verge of reaching a critically low level. Gov. Doug Ducey said, “this is by far the most pressing issue we face as a state.” Arizona is facing a deadline to come up with a plan to conserve Colorado River water feeding Lake Mead. That deadline is two weeks away on Jan. 31 and the governor and legislature are running out of time.

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OPINION: Newsom’s Picks For Environmental Protection And Water Chiefs Will Reveal His Priorities

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Richard M. Frank

One of the keys to former Gov. Jerry Brown’s success as California’s chief executive over the past eight years was the stellar group of individuals he recruited as his top environmental and water officials. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s initial, senior environmental appointments suggest that he is wisely following in Brown’s footsteps. Californians can only hope his water leadership team turns out to be equally strong. Newsom’s first two environmental appointments are his most important, and his choices are impressive indeed.

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