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OPINION: Long-Term Commitment to California’s Water Resources is Essential

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.

Is Tunneling Water Across the State Our Best Option?

Like many before him, California Governor Jerry Brown has vowed to “fix” the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, that vast and beleaguered wetland east of San Francisco Bay that is a source for much of Southern California’s water, an agricultural powerhouse, and a nursery for valuable fisheries. The root of the problem, of course, is the number and degree of demands on the Delta. There are too many stakeholders and too little water, so nobody ever gets what they want, and often they don’t get what they need.

Applications for Water Bond Money are Double What’s Available

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:

A Dozen Water Storage Projects Compete For Bond Funding

In the midst of California’s historic drought, voters approved a $7.5 billion water bond intended to ease water shortages.  The bond sets aside $2.7 billion for water storage projects. The California Water Commission has received a dozen applications asking for more than $5.7 billion. Two big reservoir projects are asking for the largest sum of money. The Sites Reservoir, which would be located about an hour north of Sacramento, wants $1.6 billion. It would draw water from the Sacramento River.

OPINION: Sites Reservoir a Water-Storage Plan Worth Funding

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.

Farmers & Environmentalists Join to Battle Planned Delta Tunnels Project

An hour’s drive northeast of San Francisco lies California’s most important water source and the West Coast’s largest estuary. Stretching across 1,100 square miles and five counties, the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and its dozens of manmade islands support a $5 billion agricultural industry and supply water to over 25 million Californians. But the Golden State’s endless thirst and population growth has the delta on the brink of ecological disaster, experts predict. Decades of overpumping, agricultural runoff and tepid water temperatures have nearly extinguished a once-booming salmon population and polluted water quality.

Water Project Backers File Application for Proposition 1 Water Bond Funding

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.

NASA Says Land is Taking Longer to Recover from Drought

As global temperatures continue to rise, droughts are expected to become more frequent and severe in many regions during this century. A new study with NASA participation finds that land ecosystems took progressively longer to recover from droughts in the 20th century, and incomplete drought recovery may become the new normal in some areas, possibly leading to tree death and increased emissions of greenhouse gases.

Lake Mead Skirts Shortage for Another Year

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.

US: ‘Zero’ Chance of Colorado River Water Shortage in 2018

Heavy winter snows in the Rocky Mountains have rescued the thirsty Western U.S. for another year. U.S. water managers said Tuesday there will be no water cutbacks in 2018 for millions of residents and farmers served by the Lake Mead reservoir on the Colorado River that lies behind the Hoover Dam. “The projection indicates there is no chance of shortage in 2018,” said Rose Davis, spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. “Zero.”