You are now in California and the U.S. category.

A late arrival to winter is taking hold, and every creek, river and waterfall is acquiring its own personality. Some, like Silver Falls in the remote Santa Cruz Mountains, are roaring, having been jump-started by 7 inches of rain in the past week. Others, like Carson Falls in the Marin Watershed, have been brought to life in recent days, including 5.7 inches of rain a week ago Monday, with more on the way Thursday, Friday and early next week.

The millions of trees that died in the Sierra Nevada during California’s five-year drought may have actually helped the state’s water supply once the historic dry spell finally ended, according to a new study. Scientists led by UC Merced’s Sierra Nevada Research Institute examined how much water was being absorbed by plant life in 1 million acres of Sierra forest along the watershed that feeds into the Kings River east of Fresno. The study, published Friday in the journal Scientific Reports, spanned the years before, during and after the drought, which officially ended last year.

A state agency that is supposed to independently judge the merits of Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed Delta tunnels has simultaneously been holding meetings illegally with project proponents, critics allege in a pair of motions filed this week. The State Water Resources Control Board on Thursday is scheduled to resume lengthy public hearings that could result in a permit that would allow the $17 billion project to move forward.

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) is working to scale back his signature infrastructure proposal: a $17 billion plan to build a pair of water tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

The Department of Water Resources has released a fly-over video of the State Water Project, the water storage and delivery system of reservoirs, aqueducts, power plants and pumping plants serving 25 million Californians and 750,000 acres of irrigated farmland. The video begins in Northern California.