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OPINION: Stop The Delta Debacle Before Property Owners Get Gouged

/in , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Ed Clendaniel

Call it the Big Gouge. Tuesday, Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration will try for a third time to secure a political mega-deal that would commit millions of California property owners to pay for the $19.9 billion  Delta twin-tunnels water grab. Without approval of voters or the Legislature. It’s an atrocious abuse of the political system that must be stopped. Blocking the effort would save property owners thousands of dollars over the next 20-40 years and help preserve the health of the Delta for the next generation and beyond.

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Part Of California Is Sinking, Here’s Where And Why

/in , /by /The Weather Networkby Dr. Mario Picazo

Researchers from UCLA and the University of Houston have been tracking changes in the groundwater table that runs below California’s San Joaquin Central Valley. The study directed by UCLA’s Department of Geography Dennis Lettenmaier shows how between 2002 and 2016 there was a significant loss of groundwater from what is considered one of the largest agricultural hubs in the United States, as it provides more than half of the country’s fruit, vegetable and nut supply.

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Oroville Dam Repairs Hit $1.1 Billion, Could Climb Further

/in , /by /Bakersfield Nowby Paul Elias

The cost of repairs and other improvements stemming from last year’s near disaster at the nation’s tallest dam is $1.1 billion, a staggering total nearly $250 million over projections at the start of the year and that could go higher, California officials said Wednesday.

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Orange County Water District Awarded Two U.S. Bureau Of Reclamation Water Purification Research Grants

/in , /by /WaterWorld (Tulsa, Okla.)

The United States Bureau of Reclamation recently announced its selection of sixteen research projects to receive funding under the Desalination and Water Purification Research Program (DWPR), two of which will be conducted in part by Orange County Water District’s (OCWD) research and development staff. Of the $3.5 million that the DWPR awarded, $350,000 will go to OCWD research.

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Op-Ed: High-Tech Careers Abound In California’s Water Industry

/in , /by /San Jose Insideby Martin Kropelnicki

When you think of high tech in Silicon Valley, your mind immediately goes to the latest app or newest device. What you probably don’t think of is the “water” industry. You turn on your tap and there it is … clean, fresh water, a fundamental building block we often take for granted. What you probably don’t know is that the water industry is a leader in innovation, creating demand for exciting careers at all levels in a field that is essential to our health, safety and well-being.

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Deeply Talks: Fire & Drought – The Extremes Become Routine

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Lindsay Abrams

In this month’s episode of Deeply Talks, Water Deeply managing editor Matt Weiser discussed the American West’s dual challenges of water scarcity and wildfires with Crystal Kolden, associate professor of forest, rangeland and fire sciences in the College of Natural Resources at the University of Idaho, and Van Butsic, assistant cooperative extension specialist at the University of California, Berkeley.

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Bills To Create Drinking Water Fund Die In State Legislature

/in , /by /Valley Public Radioby Kerry Klein

California’s legislative session ended last week, and with it, the hopes for a statewide pool of money that would have supported drinking water projects. It was called the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, and it would have been available for disadvantaged communities in need of water cleanup projects. The fund would have been sourced by fees on residential water bills and on some agricultural producers. But the two bills that set the framework for the fund died in the state assembly last week as California’s legislative deadline passed by.

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OPINION: Proposition 3: An $8.87 Billion Water And Habitat Bond

/in , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Jerry Meral

California needs a clean, safe and reliable water supply to meet its needs as the population grows and the climate changes. Proposition 3 will provide that water supply for people, agriculture, and our native fish and wildlife. Proposition 3 is a general obligation bond, and will not raise taxes. Some of its most important features include

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Report: Oroville Dam Has Unsatisfactory Rating For 2nd Year In A Row

/in , /by /KCRA 3 (Sacramento, Calif.)by Mike Luery

A new report on the safety of more than 1,200 California dams reveals only one dam is listed as unsatisfactory — and that dam is Oroville. In this Butte County town of some 19,000 people, some are getting wary. “Businesses are concerned with getting on with business,” said Eric Smith, CEO of the Oroville Chamber of Commerce. “And folks are wanting to get on and feel they can live safely in their homes.” The new report by the Division of Safety of Dams in the Department of Water Resources shows an old problem is still active at Oroville Dam, which has the “unsatisfactory” rating due to safety deficiencies.

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US Southwest Set For Water Crisis As Levels Continue To Drop At Lake Mead And Lake Powell

/in , /by /Daily Mailby Cheyenne MacDonald

Two major lakes in the Colorado River Basin that operate as one huge reservoir to supply millions of people with water are drying up, scientists have warned. Water levels at Lake Mead and Lake Powell have been steadily declining over the course of a two-decade drought affecting the region. In addition to the extended dry spell hitting the Colorado River Basin, the water supply is suffering a severe ‘structural deficit,’ in which more water is being consumed each year than can be replenished. More than 40 million people and 7,800 square miles of farmland rely on the Colorado River and its tributaries.

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