Twenty-five salmon shelters called “refugios”—made of large tree trunks and root wads, bolted to 12,000-pound limestone boulders—have been lowered into the Sacramento River near Redding. A Northern California farm partnered with state and federal agencies in what’s considered a first-of-its-kind project to benefit chinook salmon in the river.
The massive failure of the Oroville Dam’s main spillway in February involved two dozen potential design and maintenance problems, including thin concrete, inadequate reinforcing steel and weaknesses in the foundation, a panel of engineering experts reported Wednesday. A forensic investigation team said it was issuing a preliminary list of causes so that engineers do not repeat the problems as they rush to fix the spillway before the next cycle of rains begins in November. The two-page report does not identify what initiated the failure along the 3,000-foot chute that was used to drain the reservoir during massive winter storms.
It was 1997 when Californians began to worry in earnest about a chemical called perchlorate. For decades, the ingredient in jet fuel had been seeping from missile factories and rocket testing sites into groundwater across the state and, thanks to a new testing method, it was suddenly clear it had reached hundreds of drinking water wells. Soon, researchers discovered that the toxic chemical had reached Lake Mead, the picturesque reservoir that supplies water to 25 million people in the American Southwest and irrigates the fields that grow the lion’s share of the nation’s winter produce.
It was 1997 when Californians began to worry in earnest about a chemical called perchlorate. For decades, the ingredient in jet fuel had been seeping from missile factories and rocket testing sites into groundwater across the state and, thanks to a new testing method, it was suddenly clear it had reached hundreds of drinking water wells. Soon, researchers discovered that the toxic chemical had reached Lake Mead, the picturesque reservoir that supplies water to 25 million people in the American Southwest and irrigates the fields that grow the lion’s share of the nation’s winter produce.
In California, the five-year drought had some stunning silver linings, notably a more acute personal awareness of water use. The impacts of drought and climate change yielded scarce water flows and depleted groundwater supplies that focused people’s attention on cutting back on water use. During the drought, the media, water agency mailings and signs on the roadways all pointed over and over to the need to conserve. Local listserves (mailing lists) and cafes filled up with conversations about water costs, water quality, water failures and what water-saving programs were available through local water agencies.
May 8, 2017 (Sunnyvale, Calif.) – Water systems in California have the nation’s ninth-worst record for violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act, according to a new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Researchers pored over Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data from 2015 and found more than 1,900 violations in 832 different water systems that together serve 2.5 million people – in the Golden State alone. Erik Olson, a report coauthor and director of the NRDC’s Health Program, said many of the violations are for water conditions that can make people sick, and listed a few of the concerns.
Earlier this month Valley PBS launched a documentary miniseries called “Tapped Out: The History and Battle over Water in California’s San Joaquin Valley.” The four-part series examines the history of water in California. Each episode delves into a different part of the history and future of water in the region and includes the voices of farmers, water leaders and environmentalists.
After years of intense, record-setting drought across the U.S., particularly in the Great Plains and California, the country is now experiencing its lowest level of drought in the 17 years since the U.S. Drought Monitor began its weekly updates. Less than 5 percent of the U.S. was in some stage of drought as of May 4, the most recent update, compared to the 65 percent mired in drought in September 2012.
From “farmageddon” to good fortune. Five years after the drought, farmers across California’s Central Valley say produce is finally plentiful, but that doesn’t mean better prices. When the water ran out, farmers let go of their land. But after five years of California’s devastating drought, farmers markets are ripe for business. “The quality is exceptional this year,” said Missy Gotelli of Gotelli Farms. And fans know it. But perfection doesn’t come cheap. Alex Moreno at JJ Farms charges $5 a pound for cherries at local markets.
East Bay water customers would see rates rise 19 percent over the next two years under a proposal announced Tuesday. The East Bay Municipal Utility District said the increase is needed to more quickly replace old pipe, upgrade treatment plants and offset reduced water use by customers. The district proposes a 9.25 percent increase to take effect July 1 and another 9 percent increase to go into effect on July 1, 2018. Compounded, the increases amount to nearly 19 percent over two years for the district’s 1.4 million residents in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
