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Lake Mead Water Levels Up 3 Feet After Reaching Record Low in June

/in /by /KSNV (Las Vegas, Nev.)by Denise Rosch

The summer season is ending on a high note for Lake Mead. After hitting an all-time low at the end of June, the water level is now up 3 feet in September. “It’s like a mini-vacation for me every time,” said Bob Clements, a frequent boater on the lake. “It’s a lot of fun.”The blue water of Lake Mead is just outside of Bob Clements front door, but inside he keeps another view on the wall. A picture taken before the water started draining away from the Lake Mead RV Village.

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Weather Agencies Predict Drought Could Benefit from Hot Summer and No La Niña

/in /by /AndNowUKnow (Sacramento)by Laura Hillen

Coming off the heels of a historically hot summer, California citizens may be in for a bit of a reprieve for this year’s winter, and if meteorologists are correct in their predictions, perhaps a positive impact on the drought as well.The Climate Prediction Center (CPC), a subsect of the National Weather Service, has released a monthly forecast which predicts that La Niña is no longer likely to occur. According to Reuters, last month the CPC stated that La Niña conditions were favored to occur with a 55-60 percent chance of developing during the upcoming fall and winter.

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California’s Warmest Summer: This Is It

/in /by /KQED Science (San Francisco)by Craig Miller

Okay, okay, so Mark Twain never said that the coldest winter he’d ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. But were he alive today to be misquoted, he might proclaim this summer in California the warmest he’d experienced. And he’d be right. Federal climate trackers confirmed Thursday that this summer (defined as June through August) was California’s warmest in 122 years of records. The statewide average temperature for the three months was 75.5°F, or 3.3°F above average.

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This is What the Climate Bill Jerry Brown Signed Means

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby David Siders

When Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 32 into law on Thursday, he said of the sweeping climate change bill, “This is big, and I hope it sends a message across the country.” Q: So what, exactly, does it do? A: SB 32 comes a decade after California’s landmark Assembly Bill 32, which required the California Air Resources Board to reduce statewide emissions of greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by 2020. The legislation Brown signed Wednesday expands on that mandate, requiring California to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.

 

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San Diego Explained: A Confusing Medley of Water Rules

/in /by /Voice of San Diegoby Kinsee Morlan

Water agencies across California are relaxing water use restrictions imposed last year because of the drought. In many places, about half of a household’s water usage goes to caring for a lawn. During the drought, the state prohibited people from watering their lawns more than twice a week. Those restrictions are loosening, though, and people can now return to watering their lawns more often, but keeping track of what’s allowed can be tricky since there’s about two dozen different water agencies in the county and a patchwork of rules.

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California Extends Ambitious Climate Change Law

/in /by /KPBS

Gov. Jerry Brown extended the nation’s most ambitious climate change law Thursday by another 10 years as California charts a new goal to reduce carbon pollution.The Democratic governor signed the legislation in a Los Angeles park amid opposition from the oil industry, business groups and Republicans. It expands on California’s landmark 2006 law, which set a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The state is poised to meet or exceed that benchmark, with steps including restricting the carbon content of gasoline and diesel fuel, encouraging sales of zero-emission vehicles and imposing a tax on pollution, Brown said.

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La Niña No Longer Seen as Likely This Winter

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

La Niña may not happen after all. Federal climate scientists on Thursday dialed back their forecast for the influential weather pattern that is sometimes associated with dry years in parts of the Americas, including California — where another winter of scant rain could wreak havoc on the drought-plagued state.California saw near-normal precipitation in most places last winter, but the state is still wrestling with the fallout from an unprecedented four-year dry spell before that. Water supplies are only beginning to recover, and many farmers and small towns still face restrictions while fish and forests continue to languish.

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Lake Ready for Angler Onslaught

/in /by /Ramona Home Journalby Johnny McDonald Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Freshwater fishermen will finally have a chance to go after what should be record-size bass, trout and catfish.
After eight years, the City of San Diego is reopening San Vicente Reservoir on Sept. 22. Fishing and boating permits have gone on sale via Ticketmaster online and by phone. Reservations will be sold initially for Sept. 22 to 26.The lake will be open Thursday to Monday each week for fishing and general boating. Water skiing and recreational boating will be permitted Thursday through Sunday. Mondays will be for fishing only. The San Diego County Water Authority has completed its commitments, which included increasing the size of the dam and improving recreational facilities.

 

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BLOG: Why California WaterFix Is a Path to Extinction

/in /by /NRDC (New York)by Doug Obegi

Last month, the website Water Deeply published an op-ed I wrote about the likely harm to salmon and other endangered species from the California WaterFix project.  This op-ed followed a letter that NRDC sent to the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service regarding major flaws in the draft biological assessment.  Below is a more detailed version of that op-ed, which includes page citations to the WaterFix biological assessment.

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BLOG: Major Habitat Restoration Project Could Help Delta Fish

/in /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Matt Weiser

If you restore aquatic habitat in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, will the fish come back? That’s the basic question behind a major restoration project planned at Prospect Island, a 1,600-acre (650-hectare) tract of levee-protected farmland near Rio Vista that is now owned by the state. The California Department of Water Resources and Department of Fish and Wildlife plan to breach the levees to restore tidal flow to the island, and reshape the terrain to create the kind of shallow habitat that could attract Chinook salmon and delta smelt. The agencies recently released a draft environmental impact report on their project.

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