Democrats in Congress have stalled an attempt to jump start an expansion of Shasta Dam, California’s largest reservoir and a major water source for the Central Valley. Their objections blocked a Republican gambit to allow the $1.3 billion project to move forward without full up-front funding and despite objections from Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration. A Democratic leadership aide in the House confirmed to the Sacramento Bee on Monday that House Democrats rejected a GOP proposal to speed preparations for the project, by eliminating a requirement on the amount of upfront funding needed for pre-construction.

An atmospheric river is predicted to dump more rain on Southern California and the Central Coast than any other storm this year, and is expected to drop up to 4 feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada and 2 inches of rain in Sacramento before dissipating over the weekend. The National Weather Service expects a weak preliminary storm to hit Tuesday afternoon. Light rain and snow above 5,000-6,000 feet elevation is expected before a short break Wednesday morning, followed by a second system’s arrival that afternoon.

Stay away from my lake, Californians. It’s too important, for the likes of you. Yes, as a legal matter, I don’t own Lake Mathews. But I’ve always felt a kinship with a Riverside County reservoir that spells our mutual name the correct way, with just one “t.” What’s more, Lake Mathews serves as the beating heart of the system that supplies water for me and millions of Southern Californians. Lake Mathews represents an end and a beginning.

Less than a year after Gov. Jerry Brown declared the end of a statewide drought in April 2017, people are conserving less water and California’s water systems are once again vulnerable to drought. Following an unusually dry winter, water conservation this year has fallen far below the mandated levels during the state’s recent multiyear drought, resulting in a combination of factors that may potentially lead to another drought.

State Parks workers were pulling cable up a launch ramp at Bidwell Marina Thursday because the water level in Lake Oroville is on the rise. March’s storms have brought the lake level up almost 13 feet since the start of the month, according to the Department of Water Resources website. As of 2 p.m. Thursday the surface was just over 738 feet above sea level, up almost 3 feet in the previous 24 hours.