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NOAA releases spring flooding and drought forecast

/in /by /CBS Newsby By Amy Kraft

Parts of Louisiana, Arkansas and eastern Texas, which have already suffered widespread flooding this year, will continue to be at risk of flooding through June, according to the newly released spring outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The report also said that communities along the Mississippi and Missouri River basins and parts of the southeastern U.S. from Alabama to North Carolina are at risk of minor to moderate spring flooding, too.

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Drought eases in Northern California but still severe down south, says NOAA

/in /by /Southern California Public Radio (Pasadena)by Sanden Totten

It comes as no surprise to anyone living in Southern California that the drought is still going strong in the region, and forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that will likely continue through the spring and summer.

NOAA’s annual spring outlook predicts above average precipitation in parts of California, like the Central Valley, but not in the south. Overall, temperatures are expected to be warmer than average as El Niño’s effects wane.

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California lawmakers again headed to Australia

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby By Jeremy B. White

The first stretch of the legislative year is over, and lawmakers are going down under. Seeking to impart lessons from Australia’s 15-year “millennium drought,” the nonprofit California Foundation on the Environment and the Economy is paying for a handful of lawmakers to fly across the world during the Legislature’s spring recess next week. They’ll be joined by various interest group representatives.

The organization sponsored a drought-focused Australia trip last year as well. This year’s participants are Sen. Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, and Assemblymen Rob Bonta, Jim Cooper, Jimmy Gomez, Christopher Holden, Evan Low and Rudy Salas.

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State Water Project Estimates Most Deliveries Since Drought’s Start

/in /by /Valley Public Radio (San Joaquin Valley)by By Amy Quinton

Cities and farmers who rely on the State Water Project will receive the most water they’ve received since 2012. The California Department of Water Resources announced today that it plans to meet 45 percent of requests for deliveries.

It’s a major increase from December, when the state planned to fulfill only 10 percent of requests. Paul Wenger with the California Farm Bureau says it is welcome news. But he and other farmers are hoping the federal Central Valley Project will be able to meet requests.

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OPINION: Here’s How to Protect Fish and Deliver Water to Central Valley Farmers

/in /by /The Fresno Beeby By John Laird

California’s rivers are running higher now than they have in years, and Central Valley farmers are upset that water project pumping in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is not rising in tandem with the rivers. Water managers work in real time to maximize water supply from the Delta. Rather than bicker about project operations, it’s time to fix the projects for the long term. That’s what Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing with California WaterFix.

 

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California farms added 30,000 jobs in 2015 despite drought

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby By Phillip Reese and Dale Kasler

California’s farm industry kept growing in 2015 despite a fourth year of drought, adding 30,000 jobs even as farmers idled huge swaths of land because of water shortages.

Preliminary estimates from the state Employment Development Department show farm employment increased by an average 7 percent from 2014.

One economist said the figures call into question agriculture’s claims that it hasn’t been getting its fair share of California’s water supply. Others said the growth in employment is a natural consequence of a shift to more labor-intensive permanent crops such as almonds.

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Study Highlights Environmental and Health Benefits of Recycled Water

/in /by /Water Technology (Birmingham, Ala.)

More widespread use of recycled water in California would bring benefits for the environment and human health, according to a new study published online in the American Journal of Public Health.

Researchers at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health compared California’s current water conservation efforts with two other options: banning landscape irrigation and expanding the use of alternative water sources, such as desalination and recycled water.

 

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State Water Project deliveries jump to 45 percent

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby By Dale Kasler

In a further sign of the easing of California’s drought, farms and cities that rely on the State Water Project learned Thursday that they will receive an estimated 45 percent of what they requested this year.

Just three weeks ago, the SWP’s estimated allocation for 2016 was 30 percent. The allocation for 2015 was 20 percent. The state Department of Water Resources said the increased allocation reflects the healthy winter rains and snow, which have raised the project’s largest reservoir, at Oroville, to 5 percent above its historic average level for this time of year. Other key reservoirs, including San Luis Reservoir in Merced County, are still woefully low.

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EPA, US Bureau of Reclamation and Western water districts collaborate on ICP

/in /by /Energy Global (Farnham, England)

Three of the West’s largest municipal water agencies have partnered with federal agencies to kick off the latest round of an expanded competitive grant programme aimed at discovering the next generation of water saving devices and technologies.

For the first time, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is participating with the US Bureau of Reclamation, as well as the Central Arizona Project, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and Southern Nevada Water Authority in the Innovative Conservation Programme (ICP).

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State Water Project Deliveries Jump to 45 Percent

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby By Dale Kasler

In a further sign of the easing of California’s drought, farms and cities that rely on the State Water Project learned Thursday that they will receive an estimated 45 percent of what they requested this year.

Just three weeks ago, the SWP’s estimated allocation for 2016 was 30 percent. The allocation for 2015 was 20 percent. The state Department of Water Resources said the increased allocation reflects the healthy winter rains and snow, which have raised the project’s largest reservoir, at Oroville, to 5 percent above its historic average level for this time of year.

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