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.
Warming Winters And Dwindling Sierra Nevada Snowpack Will Squeeze Water Resources In Parts Of California, NOAA Reports
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Sierra Sun Timesby Michon ScottSnowmelt from the Sierra Nevada Mountains provides roughly 75 percent of California’s agricultural water, and 60 percent of Southern California’s water resources. Warm winters can cause snow droughts in the Sierra Nevada, both by nudging precipitation in the direction of rainfall rather than snowfall, and by melting snow sooner. A new study by researchers at the University […]
Democrats’ House Takeover Could mean Big changes For California Water Policy
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Los Angeles Timesby Sarah D. WireAmong the changes ahead when Democrats take control of the House in January, add this one: The switch will upend the balance of power in California’s water wars. In the two years since Republicans’ 2016 election triumphs, party members from the Central Valley led by the current House majority leader, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, […]
As Colorado River Stakeholders Draft A Drought Plan, The Margin For Error In Managing Water Supplies Narrows
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Water Education Foundation (Sacramento)by Gary PitzerAs stakeholders labor to nail down effective and durable drought contingency plans for the Colorado River Basin, they face a stark reality: Scientific research is increasingly pointing to even drier, more challenging times ahead. The latest sobering assessment landed the day after Thanksgiving, when U.S. Global Change Research Program’s Fourth National Climate Assessment concluded that Earth’s climate […]
How Best To Share The Disappearing Colorado River
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /High Country News (Paonia, Colo.)by Paige BlankenbuehlerAs early as 2020, hydrologists forecast that the level of Lake Mead, the largest reservoir on the Colorado River, could drop low enough to trigger the first water shortages in its downstream states of Arizona, Nevada and California. The three states in the river’s Lower Basin have long feared shortages. But the continued decline of […]
Deal Could Avoid Shutdown, But California Wildfire And Water Measures Have To Wait
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Emily CadeiCongressional leaders reached a short-term spending deal Wednesday that effectively punts most of the contentious funding decisions into the new year. That includes the question of whether to extend a federal law designed to deliver more Northern California water south, which has become a factor in the Delta water-sharing agreement reached earlier this month. Congressional aides said […]
OPINION: Peace In California’s Water Wars Is Within Grasp
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Jeffrey Mount and Ellen HanakDare we say it? The outlines of a truce in California’s unending water battles began to come into focus last week, though not everyone is willing to sign the treaty. The State Water Board adopted the first phase of a far-reaching revision to the Water Quality Control Plan for the Sacramento‒San Joaquin Delta and its […]