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Decades of planning for dams that could capture storm runoff in parts of Northern California has yet to lead to the building of such structures, a situation a Central California congressman hopes to change with a new bill that would cut through existing legal requirements and environmental regulations. Republican Congressman David Valadao is the bill’s sponsor. His district includes the farms visible along Interstate 5 from Bakersfield north for 160 miles. Those farmers want water, and his new bill, HR 23, is designed to streamline the dam approval process.

The monster storm that has beaten Northern California for the past few days was less fierce in Southern California on Monday. Nonetheless, the early-morning rains sparked freeway accidents, snarled traffic and left a man missing and feared dead after he and a companion were washed away in a flood-control channel in the South Bay. The storm is just the first of three rain events forecast for the area before the end of the week

Rising floodwaters have triggered actions to protect the city of Sacramento. For the first time in a decade, the floodgates of the Sacramento River will be opened Monday morning, releasing a wall of water downstream into the Yolo Bypass. The National Weather Service warned farmers in the river valley region to have livestock and farm equipment moved out of the way. The California Department of Water Resources last opened the gates of the manually operated weir, built in 1916, in 2005.

The San Diego County Water Authority and the City of San Diego recently took a step toward the possibility of helping the region meet its future energy needs through a new pumped storage opportunity at the San Vicente Reservoir site. The potential project would create a new, up to 500-megawatt source of renewable energy that could provide electric grid stability to the region during peak times for energy use or other days when demand for electricity is high and renewable energy supplies are scarce.

The drought no longer exists, at least in parts of California. According to the National Drought Mitigation Center, which releases the Drought Monitor each week, just over 18 percent of the state is no longer in drought. The drought-free area is in Northern California and includes Crescent City, Eureka and Redding. Central and Southern California remain in extreme or exceptional drought, while other areas in the interior portion of the state are in the process of recovery.