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OPINION: How Santa Clara Valley Water District Is Preparing For Flood Season

/in , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Richard Santos

For months, the Santa Clara Valley Water District has been preparing for its annual flood awareness campaign. Our multi-language poster full of flood safety tips is hitting mailboxes in areas located in or near flood-prone zones. You may hear or see our new flood awareness ads, with the theme “Climate Changed.” The timing of this message could not be more fitting. The newly released Fourth National Climate Assessment shows that the effects of climate change are already being felt all over the country, including more frequent and intense extreme weather and climate-related events.

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One Of California’s Most Important Assets Is Off To Great Start This Year

/in , /by /The Weather Channelby Jonathan Belles

California’s Sierra Nevada, the state’s increasingly crucial reservoir, is off to a well-above-normal snowpack to begin the wet season. Many of the peaks are seeing double the normal amount of snowpack compared to early-December averages. Several systems, including the disturbance that became Winter Storm Carter, have dumped feet of snow in the Sierra since late November. Snowfall totals ranged from three to five feet of snow in Carter alone. You can see the difference between a rather wimpy late November snowpack and the early December blanket of slow from the Sierra eastward below.

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Jerry Brown’s New Water Deal Is Not Certain

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Dan Walters

Water supply is clearly the most important long-term issue affecting California’s future. It’s also the most politically complicated. Incremental changes in California water policy typically take years, if not decades, to work their way through seemingly infinite legal, regulatory and political processes at federal, state and local levels — and the conflicts often are over the processes themselves.

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The Surprise Reincarnation Of Owens Lake

/in , /by /California Sun (San Luis Obispo)by Mike McPhate

A century ago, Los Angeles pulled a sensational swindle. Agents from the city posed as farmers and ranchers and strategically bought up land in the lush Owens Valley, 200 miles to the north. Water rights in hand, the thirsty metropolis proceeded to drain the region via a great canal.

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Series Of Pacific Storms Raises Hopes For A Wet El Niño Season

/in , , , /by /NBC News (New York)by Dennis Romero

Southern California was in the midst of its fourth rain event of the season this week and with another expected next week, some experts believe the arrival of the weather phenomenon known as El Niño could be imminent. While it may be too early to link the Pacific storms to El Niño, the federal Climate Prediction Center’s El Niño “diagnostics discussion” could make the call next week on Dec. 13.

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Tiny Salamanders Could Stand In The Way Of Massive Dam Raising Project

/in , /by /Redding Record Searchlightby Damon Arthur

A trio of tiny salamanders could stand in the way of a massive $1.4 billion project to raise the height of Shasta Dam. An environmental organization has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, asking a judge to force the federal agency to make a determination on whether three salamander species living around Lake Shasta should be protected under the Endangered Species Act.

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Editorial: Brown, Feinstein Betrayal of the Delta is Unacceptable

/in , /by /San Jose Mercury Newsby Editorial Board

Shame on Gov. Jerry Brown and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Their betrayal of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ignores respected scientists’ research, circumvents the state’s management of water and could negatively impact California water politics for the next decade. Without a public hearing. Without proper vetting. And possibly without the support of any West Coast senator except Feinstein.

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USDA Announces $449 Million For Sites Reservoir

/in , /by /Western FarmPress (Fresno)

Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a $449 million loan to Sites Reservoir Project Authority to build the interconnection facilities to move water in and out of Sites Reservoir. LaMalfa said: “Sites Reservoir is a project that I’ve been fighting to see completed since I’ve been in Congress. After many years of working with the USDA and my California colleague, Congressman John Garamendi, this newly acquired funding will allow the Sites project to finally take the next steps. I’ve said many times before – surface storage projects like this one are absolutely critical to securing the future of our state’s water supply.

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All Of This Snow Is Great, But It Will Likely Be Months Before We Know The Impact On Colorado’s Drought

/in , /by /The Colorado Sun (Denver)by Jesse Paul

You’re seeing the pictures of deep snow being surfed by skiers and snowboarders across the state. The Colorado Department of Transportation is working double time to keep high country stretches of highways passable. But if you were expecting an overnight solution to Colorado’s drought, which has been particularly acute in the southwest part of the state, don’t hold your breath. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows conditions have improved only marginally since the summer and meteorologists and water advocates say whether the snow is adequate to quench the most parched parts of the state won’t be known until spring, when the runoff begins.

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California to be First Stop of Next Cross-Country US Winter Storm

/in , /by /AccuWeatherby Kristina Pydynowski

A new winter storm is gearing up to bring widespread impacts from the south-central United States to the East later this week after first sweeping into California around midweek. The new storm is expected to end the current cool and dry spell in California by returning another round of rain, mountain snow and gusty winds. This storm is not expected to rival the potent storm from late last week which dumped feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada and triggered numerous mudslides in the burn scar areas. However, residents and visitors can still face travel disruptions and localized hazards around midweek.

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