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First California Snowpack Measurement of 2020 is Boosted by Recent Storms

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hannah Fry

After a slow start to California’s wet winter season, a series of storms that hammered the state at the tail end of 2019 dumped enough snow on the Sierra Nevada to kick off the new year with a solid snowpack.

Surveyors with the California Department of Water Resources trudged through a snow-covered field Thursday at the department’s Phillips station — fresh powder crunching beneath their snowshoes —and plunged a hollow pole into the snowpack for the first monthly measurement that serves as an important marker for the state’s water supply.

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Sierra Nevada Snowpack Begins 2020 in Good Shape, a Hopeful Sign for California Water Outlook

/in , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Paul Rogers

After a dry start to California’s winter rainy season, a series of big storms that began around Thanksgiving delivered enough snow for the Sierra Nevada to begin 2020 in relatively good shape.

As of Dec. 31, the statewide Sierra Nevada snowpack — a major source of California’s water supply — stood at 94% of its historical average.

That’s the highest total in four years, when it came in at 106% on Dec. 31, 2015.

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Opinion: What Have Decades of Water Lawsuits in California Accomplished?

/in , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.)

We are stunned by the suggestion that yet another water lawsuit will help anyone. Conflict has dominated California water policy at least as far back as the coining of the phrase “whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting.”

And what have decades of endless lawsuits accomplished?

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California’s New Laws Cover Wildfires, Energy, Animal Cruelty

/in , /by /Bloomberg Environment (Arlington, Va.)by Emily C. Dooley

California’s legislature and new governor were busy last year and a slew of environment and energy laws have just taken effect, from trying to reduce wildfire risks to banning fur trapping.

The measures also touch on a frequent California theme: taking aim at disagreements with the Trump administration and attempts to roll back or weaken environmental protections.

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2019 Started and Ended Wet in San Diego; Heat Was Less Persistent

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Robert Krier

Last year came in and went out like a wet lion in San Diego County. In between, it was a relatively tranquil, although not uneventful weather year.

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California Department of Water Resources to Conduct First Snow Survey of 2020

/in , /by /23 ABC News Bakersfieldby News Staff

The California Department of Water Resources is set to conduct the first snow survey of 2020 on Thursday.

The DWR snow survey is a chance for officials to measure the water content in the snowpack. Data collected from the monthly snow surveys will help determine the amount of water that will melt and run off to state reservoirs during warmer months. The information is critical to the water managers who allocate California’s natural water resources to regions downstream.

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December Has Been Wet in California, But a Predicted Dry Winter Means Wildfire Danger Could Return Early

/in , /by /KTLA 5 Los Angelesby Erika Martin

Southern California’s wettest December in nearly a decade quashed any danger lingering from destructive wildfires in fall, but experts warn that red flag conditions could return as early as April.

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Enough Rain? Sufficient Snow? Here’s How Wet California, and Sacramento, Got in 2019

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby California Department of Water Resources

It’s a new year, and a time to take stock in California’s most precious commodity: water.

While October marks the start of the new water year, state hydrology leaders opened the new year with the first measure of snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, east of Sacramento.

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Balancing Water Supply for All is 2020 Priority, California Farm Bureau Federation Says

/in , /by /Sierra Sun Timesby Christine Souza

California water policy leaders say balancing the supply of groundwater by implementing the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA, and addressing policies related to water supply and water quality, will continue to be priority issues in 2020.

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Vanderlaan Selected as LAFCO Vice-Chair

/in , /by /Fallbrook Village Newsby Joe Naiman Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Bonsall resident Andy Vanderlaan will be the vice-chair of San Diego County’s Local Agency Formation Commission for the 2020 LAFCO board meetings.

Vanderlaan, who is the public member on the LAFCO board, was chosen as the LAFCO vice-chair Dec. 2. County Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who was LAFCO’s vice-chair for 2019, will be the 2020 chair.

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