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Many Cities, Farms Getting Full Water Supplies, But Not All

/in /by /The Associated Press (as published by U.S. News - Washington, D.C.)

Federal water managers in California say they’ll provide many cities and farms their full water supply in a year of record rain and snowfall. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Tuesday announced its initial allocations for a wet 2017 following five drought years. The vast system of reservoirs and canals irrigates three million acres of farmland and provide drinking water to two million people. Reclamation’s Pablo Arroyave says recent storms dumped rain and snowfall nearing record highs. However, the initial supply estimates don’t include many farms in the vast San Joaquin Valley, which won’t learn their allotments until late March.

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Trump Directs EPA To Begin Dismantling Clean Water Rule

/in /by /Los Angeles Timesby Evan Halper
President Trump stepped up his attack on federal environmental protections Tuesday, issuing an order directing his administration to begin the long process of rolling back sweeping clean water rules that were enacted by his predecessor. The order directing the Environmental Protection Agency to set about dismantling the Waters of the United States rule takes aim at one of President Obama’s signature environmental legacies, a far-reaching anti-pollution effort that expanded the authority of regulators over the nation’s waterways and wetlands.
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California Farms Given Good News As Reservoirs Fill And Snowpack Builds

/in /by /SFGate (San Francisco)by Kurtis Alexander

The extraordinary turnaround in California’s water picture is becoming a windfall for farm country. Federal officials announced Tuesday that the 20 reservoirs that make up the Central Valley Project are so swollen with winter runoff that many growers will get all the water they requested this year — a remarkable change from the past few years when countless orchards and fields received no federal water at all.

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California Water Bills Are Starting To Trickle Out On Capitol Hill

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby Michael Doyle

The lead author in the House of Representatives of a big and controversial California water bill that passed last year is back for more. With a Republican in the White House and the GOP controlling Congress, Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., said Tuesday that he was hoping to build on last year’s legislation that was loved by farmers and loathed by environmentalists. The bill scales back an ambitious San Joaquin River restoration program, speeds completion of California dam feasibility studies and locks in certain water deliveries to Sacramento Valley irrigation districts, among other things.

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Drought-Busting Winter Storms Have Another Upside: Cleaner Air

/in /by /89.3 KPCC (Pasadena)by Emily Guerin

The epic rainfall that has pummeled Southern California this winter has lifted the area out of extreme drought – and it’s also been great for air quality. Strong winds blow smoke, soot and particulates out of the L.A. basin, while rain rinses the air clean. This winter is the 7th wettest in Southern California since 1946, according to data through February 24. Air pollution has exceeded federal standards for particulate matter on just 7 days since November 2016. Compare that to 35 days in the same period in 2014-2015, the worst winter of the drought.

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In California, A Move To Ease The Pressures On Aging Dams

/in /by /The New York Timesby Henry Fountain

Until a few weeks ago, the McCormack-Williamson Tract in the California Delta was an island of low-lying farmland, more than two square miles protected from the surrounding rivers and sloughs by earthen levees. Today the tract is an immense lake, up to 15 feet deep, with fish prowling the water and ducks skimming the surface. The adjacent Mokelumne River, swollen by the intense storms that have drenched the state this winter, caused a levee to break, allowing the water to rush in.

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In California, A Move To Ease The Pressures On Aging Dams

/in /by /The New York Timesby Henry Fountain

Until a few weeks ago, the McCormack-Williamson Tract in the California Delta was an island of low-lying farmland, more than two square miles protected from the surrounding rivers and sloughs by earthen levees. Today the tract is an immense lake, up to 15 feet deep, with fish prowling the water and ducks skimming the surface. The adjacent Mokelumne River, swollen by the intense storms that have drenched the state this winter, caused a levee to break, allowing the water to rush in.

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Sinking Land Crushes California Groundwater Storage Capacity

/in /by /Circle Of Blue (Traverse City, Mich.)by Brett Walton

Unbridled pumping of aquifers in California’s San Joaquin Valley is severely reducing the land’s capacity to hold water, according to a Stanford University study. The loss of storage is due to subsidence, which is the compaction of soils as a result of removing too much water. The study, which provides the first estimate of the permanent loss of groundwater storage space that occurred during a drought from 2007 to 2010, also shows that California lost natural water storage capacity equal to a medium-sized reservoir.

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Recent California Floods Could Trigger Earthquakes, New Report Says

/in /by /San Francisco Business Timesby Riley McDermid

As if we don’t have enough trouble from flooding, extreme amounts of rain caused by back-to-back storms systems in the state could create enough pressure in the groundwater system to trigger earthquakes along California’s faults, a new report says. California has received record amounts of rain this winter, causing everything from dam failures to widespread flooding and mudslides.

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OPINON: How Does California Move Forward After Historic Storm Season?

/in /by /The Modesto Beeby Mike Wade

This winter’s record-breaking storms have proven a fierce test of our state and its infrastructure. It has has been particularly frightening for people in and around the city of Oroville. We’d first like to say how glad we are that hundreds of thousands of people were able to safely evacuate and the emergency spillway helped provide the necessary time to do so. And we share their relief at being able to return to their homes. Now that the immediate danger is passed, we can take a more thoughtful look at what happened.

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