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

Slowly — but surely — we are learning that the near-catastrophic failure of Oroville Dam’s main spillway wasn’t truly caused by weather, even though the state claims that in seeking federal aid for repairs. Rather, it resulted from poor engineering and construction when the nation’s highest dam was rising more than a half-century ago as the centerpiece of the State Water Project, and poor maintenance since its completion. The latest evidence is a huge report by a team of engineering experts, headed by Robert Bea and Tony Johnson of the University of California’s Center for Catastrophic Risk Management.

California Governor Jerry Brown has named Sonoma County Water Agency General Manager Grant Davis as the new director of the California Department of Water Resources (DWR). The appointment, which requires state Senate confirmation, means Davis takes over Aug. 1 as head of the state agency that oversees California’s water supplies. Davis, 54, has been general manager of the Sonoma County Water Agency since 2010 when he took over after retirement of Randy Poole. The Davis era at the Water Agency has won praise for transparency and progressive policies in water conservation and environmental restoration of the Russian River watershed.

The drought is over, but Sacramento water officials want to make permanent some of the region’s most restrictive lawn watering rules. The Department of Utilities wants to change the city code to allow sprinkler system watering two days a week during the summer, down from three in typical rainfall years. It will also increase the fines for a second violation of the rules from $25 to $50.Sacramento has kept its twice-weekly drought restrictions in place while other cities have eased rules. The plan, which a City Council subcommittee will consider on Tuesday, isn’t just about slashing water use.

The state has reached a key milestone in its $15.7 billion proposal to build tunnel bypasses around the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta as an environmental group is threatening to sue to stop it.The twin tunnels, both 40 feet in diameter and 35 miles long, would be California’s most ambitious water project since the 1950s and 1960s. The project would enable Sacramento River water to be sent directly to southern and central California farms and cities, bypassing the Delta.

A new report from a UC Berkeley group researching what caused the Lake Oroville spillway to fail in February is concerned that a green spot on the nation’s tallest dam might mean it is leaking. This is not the first time the “green spot” on the southern end of Oroville Dam has been brought up. It has been asked and answered at community meetings, where state Department of Water Resources officials have said it is caused by rain or is a natural spring.