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The West Has A Tricky, Expensive Water Problem – And Even Solving It Is Controversial

A controversial California irrigation drainage deal designed to resolve one of the West’s trickiest, most expensive and longest-running water problems won approval from a key House of Representatives panel Thursday. But the debate – and uproar over the proposal – is only beginning, and its long-term fate is uncertain. On a mostly party-line 23-16 vote, the House Natural Resources Committee approved the bill to settle the irrigation dispute between the mammoth Westlands Water District and the federal government.

OPINION: Huntington Beach Desal Project is a ‘No-Brainer’

I will never forget the extraordinary experience California voters gave me over my 40 years in elected life, from local office, to congresswoman and then 24 years in the U.S. Senate representing the entire state. And when people ask me to recount the issues that are forever sealed in my memory, one of them is the very difficult challenge of climate change and the strain we are already experiencing from drought and extreme weather in our beloved state.

Oroville Dam: Mystery Foam Appears Below Damaged Spillway

Foam floated downstream and made circles on the water last week in the pool below Oroville Dam. Water quality experts are trying to determine why. Foam can happen naturally, or it can be a result of something else in the water. At this point the cause of the foam is unknown. Water tests were planned Wednesday, with lab results available in about two weeks, said Bryan Smith, supervising engineer with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board.

BLOG: State’s Survey Of Other Tunnel Projects Scrutinized

As the Delta tunnels hearings resumed in Sacramento this week, an engineering expert for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California testified that many other large tunnels have been drilled “without incurring risk or injury to project stakeholders.” But in their “detailed” survey of these projects spread across two continents, Delta tunnels proponents did not actually talk to nearby landowners, who would presumably be considered “stakeholders.” Instead, officials relied on their meetings with project designers and owners, construction managers, and on written reports available on the Internet.

OPINION: An Ill-Advised Editorial Lights A Fire Under Peninsula Water Activists.

Nothing quite like calling a group of committed activists “stupid” to light an even bigger fire under their already aggrieved asses. In publishing a factually challenged editorial that uses the S-word five times, “dumbest” once, “narcissistic” once (rubber/glue, anyone?), calls their mission a “little takeover hobby” and compares them to stoners who celebrate 4/20 every day of the year, Carmel Pine Cone Publisher Paul Miller gave Public Water Now what I think of as a new sense of resiliency in its mission to bring public ownership of the Monterey Peninsula’s water utility to reality.

Survey Underway For Farmers On Sustainable Groundwater

Even as local hearings have been scheduled for California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, a student survey is being planned to find out what farmers think of the program. The groundwater act has been the focus of debate statewide for the past two years with Yolo County primarily because of the involvement of the Water Resources Association of Yolo County. Known as “SGMA,” the act became law on Jan. 1, 2015, and mandates the creation of Groundwater Sustainability Agencies in groundwater basins defined as high or medium priority by the Department of Water Resources by June 30.

VIDEO: Lake Tahoe Filled To The Brim For First Time In Years

Lake Tahoe is full. As of Thursday, April 20, the lake’s surface elevation was 6,227.69 feet — almost 5 feet above its natural rim. U.S. Water Master Chad Blanchard said his office has been spilling water from Lake Tahoe since Feb. 22 in an effort to prevent the lake’s level from rising too high. It’s the first time since 2006 that excess water has been spilled from the lake.

California Could Have Stored Abundant Water Underground

California’s recent drought was the worst in memory. However, in a relatively quick turnaround, this year the state’s water infrastructure is full and water managers are battling the wettest winter in quite some time. Now, by many accounts, the drought is over for much of the state. The uniquely wet winter of 2016-2017 has highlighted a key issue surrounding our surface water and groundwater storage infrastructure: We could have stored this abundant water, not in new reservoirs, but right under our feet.

Bye-bye, Brown Lawns: Arroyo Grande Calls Off Its Water Shortage Emergency

Arroyo Grande residents can once again pull out their garden hoses without fear of financial penalty, though they’re still being required to restrict some of their water usage. The city declared an end to its water shortage emergency on Tuesday, following Gov. Jerry Brown’s announcement earlier this month that California is no longer in a drought. The decision removes the city’s water bill penalties, which charge users if they fail to reduce their water usage by a certain amount compared with their property’s historic usage.

New Study: California Drought Increased Electricity Bills and Air Pollution

California’s brutal five-year drought did more than lead to water shortages and dead lawns. It increased electricity bills statewide by $2.45 billion and boosted levels of smog and greenhouse gases, according to a new study released Wednesday. Why? A big drop-off in hydroelectric power. With little rain or snow between 2012 and 2016, cheap, clean power from dozens of large dams around California was scarce, and cities and utilities had to use more electricity from natural-gas-fired power plants, which is more expensive and pollutes more.