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Mark Twain is credited with the aphorism, “whiskey’s fer drinkin’ and water’s fer fightin’.” Whether he said that or not, it could almost be the state motto but now the California Legislature is tinkering with the most fundamental – and convoluted – part of California law: water rights. The California Assembly, on an initial 55-0 vote, has approved the “Fair Water Rights” bill that makes reforms in how the state manages water rights. Assembly Bill 313, introduced by Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, makes fixes to what he calls the state’s broken water management structure.

The Enterprise-Record/Oroville Mercury-Register got its closest look so far Wednesday at the Oroville Dam spillway work on a site visit hosted by the state Department of Water Resources. The newspaper editorial board, along with a reporter and photographer, were invited to meet with acting DWR Director Bill Croyle; dam safety consultant David Gutierrez; communications and outreach adviser Erin Mellon from the Natural Resources Agency; Matt Notley, a senior account supervisor at Edelman; and Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea.

Looking to tap property owners, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved moving forward with a plan to consider a parcel tax to help fund an ambitious stormwater capturing system to bolster local drinking water supplies. An early analysis of how to develop infrastructure that best captures stormwater found that while the county is capable of building a viable system, there is little to no funding for it.

The good news is that Santa Barbara County has programs in place that address food insecurity and care for seniors, but the bad news is that climate change will make them more needed than ever. Doom and gloom dominate a new California Public Health study on the social ills that the changing climate will bring on. By the end of the century, it recounts, temperatures will rise by 3.2 degrees Fahrenheit in the happiest scenario and by 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit in Santa Barbara County in the worst.

The largest floating photovoltaic (PV) solar power facility on earth has been connected to a local power grid in China. Located in the city of Huainan in the Anhui province, the 40-megawatt facility was created by PV inverter manufacturer Sungrow Power Supply. The lake supporting the facility was created by rain after the surrounding land subsided after intensive coal mining operations. Floating solar farms don’t take up valuable land in heavily populated areas, can reduce evaporation from reservoirs and the cooler air at the water’s surface helps to maximize cell performance.