California and the U.S.
The latest news and analysis covering water issues in Caliornia and the rest of the United States.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
What Caused Nearly 20,000 Quakes At Oroville Dam? Scientists Weigh In On Mystery
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis AlexanderThe earthquakes hit just days after last year’s near-catastrophe at Oroville Dam, when the spillway cracked amid heavy rains and 188,000 people fled in fear of flooding. The timing of the two small tremors about 75 miles north of Sacramento was curious, and frightening. Were the quakes part of a seismic hot spot that caused the […]
OPINION: Arizona Has No Choice But To Act On The Drought Contingency Plan
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Arizona Republic (Phoenix)U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman has issued an edict to Arizona and the two other lower Colorado basin states: Come up with a drought contingency plan by Jan. 31 or she will step in and do it for us. Burman is right to throw down the gauntlet. The Colorado River is in trouble. A nearly two-decade […]
40 Million Americans Depend On The Colorado River. It’s Drying Up.
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Mother Jones (San Francisco)by Eric HolthausPrompted by years of drought and mismanagement, a series of urgent multi-state meetings are currently underway in Las Vegas to renegotiate the use of the Colorado River. Seven states and the federal government are close to a deal, with a powerful group of farmers in Arizona being the lone holdouts. The stakes are almost impossibly high: The Colorado River […]
Water Shortages Ahead? Sierra Nevada Snow Pack On Track To Shrink 79 Percent, New Study Finds
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Paul RogersEvery year, like a giant frozen reservoir, snow that falls across the Sierra Nevada mountain range slowly melts in spring and summer months, providing roughly one-third of the water supply for California’s cities and farms, from the Bay Area to Los Angeles. But at the current rate at which the climate is warming, the amount […]
OPINION: Gov. Brown Working To Save His Tunnels
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /San Francisco ChronicleIn the world of water politics, where change occurs at a glacial pace, the past few weeks have seen enormous swings in how our state’s most precious resource is managed and delivered. The discussions behind these changes are not easily known and even less easy to understand what they ultimately will mean for cities, farms […]
OPINION: Sites Proponents Have Years Of Advocacy Ahead Of Them To Get the 500,000 acre-foot lake finally under construction
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Appeal Democrat (Marysville, California)Sites Reservoir proponents are happy with what’s happened this year … they’ve collected commitments for some serious coinage – state and federal. They can stay grounded, however, by the fact that they’ve got several billion dollars still to go. There’s a lot of work ahead. The off-stream reservoir adds a sizable storage capacity to Northern […]