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BLOG: How Wildfires Affect California’s Water Supply

/in , /by /Public Policy Institute of California (San Francisco)by Henry McCann, Jeffrey Mount and Claudia Herbert

Summer marks the traditional beginning of California’s fire season, although the warming climate has stretched the season considerably. Until the winter rains arrive, wildfires will burn forests and grasslands throughout the state. Since January 1, about 3,700 fires have consumed more than 111,000 acres of land—outpacing 2017, the most destructive and deadly fire season in state history. While public safety and economic costs deserve and receive a great deal of attention, wildfires also have consequences for the management of water—including the amount and quality of supply, and the potential for flooding.

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Agency Aims To Tackle Groundwater Supply Problems

/in , /by /Santa Cruz Sentinelby Matthew Renda and Matthew Crenda

A diverse group of public officials, agency representatives and citizens are working to tackle one of the most pressing issues dogging the region — the continued depletion of groundwater reserves. “There’s not a lot of water available for recharge and there’s not going to be one project that is going to get us to the finish line,” said Darcy Pruitt of the Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Agency, a group mandated by state law to develop a sustainability plan for local aquifers. “It’s and, not or.”

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Monitoring Agricultural Water Use Remains Challenging Despite New Oversight Rules

/in , /by /KQED (San Francisco)by Matt Weiser

A new program in California aimed at tracking agricultural water consumption is off to a bumpy start, highlighting the challenges of monitoring an industry that has historically enjoyed limited oversight. Agriculture is the biggest consumer of water in the West, with many states using more than 70 percent of developed freshwater supplies for agriculture. So you would think state governments watch water consumption on farms carefully to look for conservation opportunities. In fact, some do not.

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The Great Era Of California Dam Building May Be Over. Here’s What’s Next

/in , /by /KQED (San Francisco)by Lauren Sommer

For a century, California has harnessed its water with concrete, building dams and reservoirs on an epic scale. Now, as the state prepares to hand out $2.7 billion for new water storage projects, it looks as though that era of dam-building might be ending. During the height of the California’s 5-year drought, state voters approved new funding for water storage as part of Proposition 1. This week, the California Water Commission will allocate those funds to the eight projects that have qualified after a lengthy analysis.

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California Farms’ Water Use Still Unclear, Despite New Reporting Rules

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Matt Weiser

A new program in California aimed at tracking agricultural water consumption is off to a bumpy start, highlighting the challenges of monitoring an industry that has historically enjoyed limited oversight. Agriculture is the biggest consumer of water in the West, with many states using more than 70 percent of developed freshwater supplies for agriculture. So you would think state governments watch water consumption on farms carefully to look for conservation opportunities. In fact, some do not.

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$1 Billion Coming To Bay Area For Two New Dams

/in , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Paul Rogers

During California’s recent five-year drought, it was common to hear people asking why the state doesn’t build more dams. On Tuesday, flush with cash from voters, the administration of Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to finally do just that, committing nearly $1 billion to build two huge dam projects in the Bay Area, and another $1.5 billion for six more big water projects from the Sacramento Valley to Bakersfield. The California Water Commission, whose eight members are appointed by the governor, will likely vote to fund $2.5 billion overall for the eight projects — four new dams and four groundwater storage proposals.

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Water Wars Head Upstream As State Considers Cutbacks For Senior Central Valley Irrigation Districts

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Bettina Boxall

More than two decades after Los Angeles was forced to cut water diversions to protect California’s natural resources, the state is poised to impose similar restrictions on San Francisco and some of the Central Valley’s oldest irrigation districts. The proposal represents a dramatic new front in one of California’s most enduring water fights: the battle over the pastoral delta that is part of the West Coast’s largest estuary and also an important source of water for much of the state.

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California Wants To Reinvent The Power Grid. So What Could Go Wrong?

/in , /by /The New York Timesby Ivan Penn

Two decades ago, when California deregulated the delivery of electric power, lawmakers, regulators and even some environmentalists hailed the decision as a way to lower consumers’ bills. The strategy proved disastrous. The plan resulted in an energy crisis that sent power bills soaring, prompted billions in penalties against utilities and banks for manipulating the new electricity market, and led Congress to enact laws to help prevent it all from happening again. Now the state’s leaders have a new proposal for an energy makeover, this time to create a single authority to manage the electric grid for most or all of the West.

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OPINION: State Water Board’s Delta Plan Is No Fix For Fish And Hurts Farms

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Mike Wade

In announcing its new Bay-Delta Water Quality plan, the California State Water Resources Control Board said it wanted to “change the channel” on California’s water debate. We completely agree it’s time to move away from outdated thinking and embrace new, collaborative, science-based solutions and therefore are puzzled that the board is stubbornly clinging to the same failed approach of the past.

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Federal Watchdog Urges Better EPA Oversight After Flint Water Response

/in , /by /USA Todayby Carlos Osorio

A federal watchdog is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen its oversight of state drinking water systems nationally and respond more quickly to public health emergencies such as the lead-in-the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. In a 74-page report released Thursday, the EPA’s inspector general report pointed to “oversight lapses” at the federal, state and local levels in the response to Flint’s contaminated drinking water.

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