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

Throughout the history of the West, the old adage remains true: “water is worth fighting for.” I believe our national parks are also worth fighting for. They are cherished places collectively known as “America’s best idea.” To protect both water and National Parks and in response to increasing threats to the California desert’s national parks, national monuments and groundwater supplies, I recently introduced Assembly Bill 1000 — the California Desert Protection Act.

Two proposed reservoirs for the Central Valley are among the largest projects seeking money from a bond issue approved by California voters in 2014. But there are ten other projects also trying to get money from the bond issue. In all, the dozen projects seek $5.8 billion. The bond issue totaled $2.7 billion. The 12 applications for funding under the Water Storage Investment Program include several new or expanded reservoirs:

An innovative, off-stream water storage proposal northeast of Sacramento should be one of the top priorities for the state’s spending of Proposition 1 water-bond money. The Sites Reservoir project would, in wet years, divert “excess” water from the Sacramento River into what would be the seventh-largest reservoir in California. It would hold some 1.3 million to 1.8 million acre-feet of water, which could be used to meet several of the state’s water-system goals, along with the needs of agriculture and cities.

The authority will seek funding from the Proposition 1 water bond passed by California voters in 2014, to offset part of the cost of building the proposed Temperance Flat Reservoir on the San Joaquin River above Millerton Lake. The California Water Commission, which will evaluate applications for bond funding, had set an Aug. 14 deadline for project proponents to file applications and supporting documents. Backers of the proposed Sites Reservoir in the Sacramento Valley also filed their application with the Water Commission.

The snow has melted and the forecast is in: Lake Mead is safe from shortage for another year. According to projections released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the reservoir east of Las Vegas will have enough water in it on Jan. 1 to stave off a first-ever federal shortage declaration — and the mandatory water cuts for Nevada and Arizona that would come with it. The lake is also on track to avoid a shortage in 2019, thanks to decreased demand downstream on the Colorado River and a larger-than-usual influx of water from Lake Powell upstream.