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One Stretch Of River Could Decide Shasta Dam’s Future

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Ryan Sabalow and Dale Kasler

The final stretch of the McCloud River before it empties into the state’s largest reservoir is a place of raw beauty. On a recent morning, the river’s icy water, flanked by flowering dogwood trees and jagged rock formations, flowed fast and clean. This part of the McCloud is off limits to almost everyone except a few Native Americans and some well-heeled fly fishermen. Its gatekeeper is an unlikely one, an organization that also happens to be a hugely controversial player in California water politics.

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BLOG: Improving Urban Water Conservation In California

/in , /by /California WaterBlogby Erik Porse

The relatively dry 2017-18 winter in California resurfaced recent memories of drought conservation mandates. From 2013-16, urban water utilities complied with voluntary, then mandatory, water use limits as part of Executive Order B-37-16. Urban water utilities met a statewide 25% conservation target (24.9%), helping the state weather severe drought. Winter rains in 2016-17 led to a reprieve from mandatory conservation. Freed from statewide requirements, urban water agencies ended mandatory cutbacks by meeting “stress tests” that included several years of secured water supplies. A useful outcome of the 2013-17 drought period was long-needed reporting data on monthly urban water use and conservation.

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OPINION: How Colorado River Basin States Can Improve Water Efficiency

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Mary Ann Dickinson

These are difficult times on the Colorado River. Diminishing flows and population growth are exacerbating the already contentious Colorado River allocations among the Colorado River Basin states. To move forward, state-level legal frameworks will have to be strong and comprehensive to ensure that water from existing allocations is conserved, and that states are prepared for the inevitable climate-induced shortages. While efforts around these issues are in play in varying degrees among the Colorado River Basin states, there is still a lot of strengthening that can be done.

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OPINION: Invest In Watershed Improvements, Not Taller Dams

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Laurie Wayburn

There is broad consensus that California’s water challenges are only going to get worse as climate change continues. We will have more drought, more major rain events with consequent flooding and more uncertainty. In this era of global warming, we need new approaches to help solve our water problems. The Trump administration proposal to raise the Shasta Dam by 18½ feet, along with the recent vote by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to support the delta tunnels, illustrate our complete and outmoded dependence on built infrastructure to provide water.

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Inside The $4.1 Billion California Measure That Thinks Small To Fix Parks, Waterways

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

A far-reaching measure before California voters in June would authorize the state to borrow $4.1 billion for investments in outdoor recreation, land conservation and water projects. But Proposition 68, which needs a simple majority vote to pass, is not your typical water and parks bond measure. The proposition steers clear of flashy, big-ticket items like new dams and major state park expansions. Instead, it favors upgrading smaller neighborhood parks, protecting local greenways and open space and cleaning up polluted riverbanks and groundwater supplies, largely in urban and suburban areas.

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These Sacramento Area Water Storage Projects Just Got A Boost In State Bond Money

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Ryan Sabalow

Two water-storage projects in the Sacramento region are closer to becoming a reality after getting another bump in state bond funding. The California Water Commission announced Friday that the Sites Reservoir project was eligible for $1 billion in Proposition 1 funds, up from $933 million the commission had said it might receive last month. It’s the most money tentatively awarded to any of the 11 projects that have applied for Prop. 1 funds. If completed, the project near Williams along the Glenn-Colusa county line would store water piped in from the Sacramento River.

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All Hope Dries Up

/in , , /by /California Ag Todayby Patrick Cavanaugh

Again, it came down to fish, specifically Chinook salmon, that forced the proposed Temperance Flat Dam out of the race for Proposition 1 funding for building new water storage projects. For more than 20 years, the Temperance Flat Dam proposal was passionately advocated with unwavering support by Central Valley cities and the San Joaquin Valley Infrastructure Authority (SJVIA) who were behind the application. Temperance Flat came crumbling down Wednesday at the California Water Commission (CWC) meeting in Sacramento on the second day of discussion.

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Santa Clara Valley Water District Delays $650 Million Vote On Brown’s Delta Tunnels Project

/in , /by /The Reporter News (Vacaville)by Paul Rogers and Jason Green

After a five-hour packed public hearing, the board of Silicon Valley’s largest water provider postponed a decision on whether to provide up to $650 million toward a $17 billion plan to build two giant tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to move water south. Although it appeared there might be four votes on the seven-member Santa Clara Valley Water District board in favor of Gov. Jerry Brown’s so-called WaterFix project, board members late Wednesday night were divided and continued the issue until 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

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Congressman: State Put Delta Tunnels Ahead Of Oroville Dam Spillway

/in , /by /CBS Sacramentoby Kelly Ryan

Just days before the last repair work begins on the Oroville Dam spillway, the federal government is balking at whether or not it will pay for the repairs. Rep. John Garamendi (D-Davis) and Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Oroville) have been speaking with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for months to cover up to 75 percent of the repair costs, but have little to show for it. The agency is conducting a forensics study of the spillway but says it doesn’t have the legal precedent to reimburse repair costs from damage caused by deferred maintenance and design deficiencies.

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Temperance Flat Reservoir Project Far From Key State Funding Despite Valley Backing

/in , /by /The Fresno Beeby Robert Rodriguez

The California Water Commission on Thursday put in serious doubt the future of building a reservoir at Temperance Flat in east Fresno County. Meeting in Sacramento, the commission appeared to be headed toward preventing the massive water storage project to move forward. Commission members spent three days reviewing the public benefit portion of all 11 water projects seeking funding. Consideration of Temperance Flat began Wednesday and continued into Thursday evening. Commissioner Armando Quintero sympathized with the project organizers, but he said the project did not meet the technical requirements necessary.

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