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California Water Board Faces Criticism Over San Joaquin Valley Proposal

The California State Water Resources Control Board is being urged to redraft a proposal to double the minimum environmental flows from the Merced, Tuolumne and Stanislaus rivers. Assembly member Adam Gray, D-Merced, has criticized the board for not paying attention to concerns voiced by multiple groups. In a statement, Gray said the proposal “contains so many oversights and error and is so substantially flawed that I cannot possibly do every issue justice in the short time I have today.”

State Increases Water Allocation

As winter storms continue to fill reservoirs and boost the snowpack, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) Wednesday increased its estimate of this year’s State Water Project (SWP) supply from 45 to 60 percent of most requests.

 

California Grapples With Pivot From Drought Rules To Long-Term Water Strategy

With storms drenching much of California and snow blanketing the Sierra Nevada, the state’s top water regulators are grappling with how to shift from conservation rules devised during more than five years of drought to a long-term strategy for using water more sustainably. The State Water Resources Control Board plans to decide in February whether to extend the current drought regulations, which require local water districts to report on monthly water use and include measures such as prohibiting outdoor watering for 48 hours after rainstorms.

California Drought Continues To Shrink, Federal Government Says

With major reservoirs nearly full, the Sierra Nevada snowpack well above average and flood warnings in place for some rivers, federal scientists reported Thursday a continued weakening of California’s drought. Overall, 44 percent of the state remains in severe drought conditions or worse, down from 49 percent a week ago, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The improved area, roughly 5.1 million acres, is mostly in the central Sierra Nevada, which has been hit with major snowstorms in recent weeks.

Calif.’s State Water Project Increases Allocation To 60 Percent

Amid what’s shaping up to be one of California’s wettest winters on record, the State Water Project on Jan. 18 upped its anticipated deliveries to at least 60 percent of requested supplies. The boost from 45 percent is the Department of Water Resources’ second allocation increase in less than a month, and it comes as many of its gauges in the Central Valley have recorded twice the normal rainfall for this time of year.

In South State, Lingering Drought Worries Farmers

Sometimes, it takes a dry sense of humor to deal with a years-long drought—especially when you’ve watched a wave of storms hammer Northern California and realize your end of the state is missing out. “Better rain dances” is what Ken Doty said he’d need to alleviate the parched conditions at his Goleta orchards, where he grows avocados and citrus. “We are getting some rain,” Doty said. “We’re tracking right on the average annual year-to-date figures, but we have not had anywhere near enough to recover from the drought.” Some farmers say they sense a meteorological imbalance.

California Storms: State to Keep Conservation Rules For Now

Despite drenching rains and heavy snowfall this winter, California moved Tuesday to keep in place its statewide water conservation rules — at least for another three months or so. On Tuesday, the staff of the State Water Resources Control Board recommended that the rules the agency put in place last summer relaxing strict mandates from 2015 should continue at least through May, when they can be re-evaluated after the winter rainy season is over.

 

California’s Recent Rains Won’t Fix Its Other, Very Big Problem

The powerful storm that pounded California this week seemed like the break the state so desperately needed. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. In fact, there is probably no storm capable of washing away California’s water woes, according to scientists. The state simply is using too much water – even during wet years. As a result, thousands of miles of prime agricultural area in the Central Valley are sinking. Roads and bridges are cracking, threatening to cause $1 billion in damage. Homeowners are watching their water supply dwindle.

First Of 3 More Storms Hits California As Drought Retreats

The worst area of drought in California has significantly narrowed to a small region northwest of Los Angeles that has stubbornly failed to benefit from Pacific storms that have drenched much of the state since the fall and were lining up again Wednesday. Just 2.1 percent of the state is now deemed to be in “exceptional drought” — a far cry from a year earlier when that label applied to a vast region stretching from greater Los Angeles hundreds of miles up the state’s core to far northern counties.

California Proposing To Continue Water Conservation

Water conservation would continue in California until at least May under a proposal regulators are considering. Currently, emergency drought regulations require cities and water agencies to prove they have enough water to meet future demands or they must cut back water use. Those rules are set to expire at the end of February. But the State Water Resources Control Board has proposed extending them, despite the heavy rain and snow this winter.