The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has dramatically increased the amount of water flowing from two dams in Tulare County, sending massive flows down river channels toward farmlands in the San Joaquin Valley. Federal records show that water releases from Terminus Dam at Lake Kaweah and Schafer Dam at Lake Success jumped early Friday morning.
I wrote several months ago about San Diego’s role in the sudden downfall of the Metropolitan Water District’s general manager, Adel Hagekhalil. A workplace discrimination complaint brought him down and, among many other points, that complaint, from the then CFO, referenced his deference to San Diego board members as fiscally reckless.
Los Angeles will take most or all of its allotment of water from Mono Lake through March, disappointing local environmentalists and conservation experts after raising hopes that more water would be left in the iconic alpine lake. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power had indicated last spring that it might, in a rare move, substantially reduce the amount taken from Mono Lake.
With so much water in the eastern U.S., why can’t the region pipe some of it to its drought-prone neighbors in the West? This perennial question nags climate journalists and western water managers alike. We break down why building a pipeline is unrealistic right now for the Colorado River.
The California winter snowpack, which typically supplies a third of the state’s water, has declined to 65% of normal after a dry January. The state Department of Water Resources announced the new level on Friday following its second official snow survey of the season. At the first survey on Jan. 1, the snowpack was at 108%.
As downpours soak Northern California, Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered state officials to capture and store more stormwater in San Joaquin Valley reservoirs for farmers and towns, and to “remove or minimize” any obstacles that stand in the way. If that sounds familiar, it is: The governor issued similar orders two years ago, when he waived environmental laws to store more water as storms drenched the state and caused disastrous flooding.
President Donald Trump’s obsession with California’s water comes from an often overlooked source — Golden State farmers.
Brian Caldwell has been leading photo tours on Lake Hodges for years, with many spectators drawn in by wildlife. But after an inspection in 2022, the state mandated the water level be dropped, and Caldwell noticed a change in the wildlife population.
Allocations from California’s State Water Project continue to slowly trend upwards this winter, with water managers announcing a 5 percent increase in requested deliveries compared to last month.
Southern California’s biggest water supplier replaced its general manager on Wednesday after the completion of an investigation into claims of harassment and a toxic workplace.
