California and the U.S. Archives

Better Water Decisions In The Age Of Deep Uncertainty

November 15, 2016/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Circle of Blue (Traverse City, Mich.)by Brett Walton

The old ecological and political order is crumbling. When calculations are complete, 2016 will be the hottest year on record, surpassing a mark set one year ago. The oceans are rising at an increasing rate. In the American West, it is too warm and dry this month for snow, delaying the accumulation of a natural water reserve that cities, farms, and fisheries rely on during the summer. Politics are no less turbulent. After the U.S. election, domestic regulations affecting energy development, infrastructure spending, and water supplies are in flux.

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Future Look For The Delta?

November 14, 2016/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Stockton Recordby Alex Breitler

Its marshes drained and diked, its rivers dredged and diverted, today’s Delta has been called a “brittle skeleton” of what it was 200 years ago. In fact, scientists concluded in 2014 that the Delta is hardly a river delta at all, anymore. But in a follow-up report published today, those same experts with the San Francisco Estuary Institute say there is still hope of bringing back at least a portion of the largest estuary on the west coast of the Americas. Their broad plan calls for fundamental changes to the mostly agricultural landscape that exists today.

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OPINION: Bobker, Rosenfield: San Francisco Bay Estuary Needs More Fresh Water

November 14, 2016/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The San Jose Mercury Newsby Gary Bobker and Dr. Jonathan Rosenfield

The San Francisco Bay Estuary and the rivers that feed it face an existential crisis. The signs of impending collapse include six endangered native fish species, shrinking wetlands and beaches, and more frequent cyanobacteria blooms that generate neurotoxins powerful enough to kill pets and sicken people. Just outside the Golden Gate, Orca whales feeding on Chinook salmon go hungry, while commercial fishermen cope with another shortened fishing season.

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Cloud Seeding Resumes Over Sierra

November 14, 2016/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Calaveras Enterprise (San Andreas)by Charity Maness

Cloud seeding has resumed over the Sierra Nevada in hopes of increasing the winter snowpact, but La Nina might have other plans for the central California rainfall season. The Northern California Power Agency, which has conducted cloud seeding every year since 2006, has begun seeding a 74-square-mile watershed above New Spicer Reservoir in Tuolumne County above 6,500 feet, according Randy Bowersox, hydroelectric facilities manager for the power agency. The cloud seeding project, which commenced on Nov. 1, hopes to augment the winter snowpack runoff by at least 2 percent.

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Will Sacramento Finally Lift Its Ban On Artificial Turf?

November 14, 2016/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Ryan Sabalow and Anita Chabria

Now that the state has cleared the way, the Sacramento City Council will again consider finalizing an artificial turf ordinance that would lift a longtime ban on faux grass in front yards. Last year, the Sacramento Planning Commission approved a measure that would lift a three-decade ban on fake turf in front and side lawns visible from a street. But when it got to the council last November, the ordinance stalled out of concerns that too much faux turf could harm the city’s lush urban tree canopy.

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BLOG: New Report Offers Framework For California Delta Restoration

November 14, 2016/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)by Tara Lohan

California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is a productive agricultural area and a vital linchpin in the state’s complex water supply system. It’s also a highly unique ecosystem, which was a hotbed for endemic species, many of which are now under stress and some facing extinction. As various agencies and other stakeholders work on ways to balance the economic and environmental demands on the Delta, a new report released today attempts to build a framework to help locally driven restoration efforts.

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Delta Tunnels: A Steady Trickle Of Progress

November 14, 2016/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Capitol Weekly  (Sacramento)by Lisa Renner

Gov. Jerry Brown’s massive Delta tunnels project is moving forward through a series of state and federal environmental reviews. But it still faces an array of major hurdles including public opposition, financing and approvals by state water contractors. The $15 billion project, known as California Water Fix, is on track to finish the state environmental impact report and federal environmental impact statement by the end of the year, said Cindy Messer, assistant chief deputy with the state Department of Water Resources.

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Environmental Group Says Metropolitan Violated Its Own Rules In Buying Delta Islands

November 14, 2016/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Central Valley Business Times (Stockton)

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California failed to get an independent appraisal of Delta islands that they bought earlier this year, prior to the time of purchase, as required under the District’s own Administrative Code, says Restore the Delta, an environmental group that opposed planned water tunnels under the Delta. The water district bought four water-filled “islands” and a portion of a fifth in the California Delta from a unit of Zurich Insurance Group of Switzerland.

County Reports Stable Ground Water Levels Under Napa Valley

November 13, 2016/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Napa Valley Registerby Barry Eberling

Napa County is trying to make the case that it does a good job managing the underground reservoir beneath the Napa Valley that provides groundwater for rural homes, wineries and vineyards. Groundwater levels beneath the main Napa Valley floor are five to 35 feet deep in the spring and the basin remains “full overall” despite the drought, according to a new, draft Napa Valley groundwater report. “The conditions in the main Napa Valley subbasin have been stable for many decades,” said consultant Vicki Kretsinger Grabert, who worked on the report.

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A Giant Reservoir That Supplies A California County’s Drinking Water Is Nearly Empty

November 13, 2016/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Washington Postby Darryl Fears

At the marina Monty Keller manages amid sloping mountains here, business is down by half. For hours every workday, he stares sadly at the reason. Lake Cachuma, a giant reservoir built to hold Santa Barbara County’s drinking water, has all but vanished in California’s historic drought. It reached an all-time low this summer — 7 percent capacity, which left a thick beige watermark that circles the hills framing the lake like an enormous bathtub ring. “We’re just amazed,” Keller said.

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