California and the U.S.

The latest news and analysis covering water issues in Caliornia and the rest of the United States.

Stanislaus, Merced County Opponents Gear For Water Rally At Capitol On Monday

Opponents of a state “water grab” are taking their political battle to the steps of the state Capitol building in Sacramento on Monday. From 500 to 1,000 people are expected at a rally to protest a state water board plan to double the amount of water taken from the Tuolumne River to improve water quality […]

OPINION: The Twin Tunnels Are Best Water Fix For California

Let’s start with this: California WaterFix, Gov. Brown’s $17 billion twin-tunnels project, is the best and most affordable long-term solution to our great state’s water woes. If we’re going to call it a time machine, we should acknowledge it will transport us to a brighter future, where there’s clean, reliable water for generations to come. […]

OPINION: Sacramento’s New Way To Tax The Water You Drink

Another new tax is headed for your water bill, as if it wasn’t high enough already. Gov. Jerry Brown has been trying to push through a statewide tax on drinking water, the first ever in California history, and as you might imagine, it has been a challenge for him. People are fed up with new […]

Tax On California Water Revived To Clean Up Drinking Water – But It’s Voluntary

Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers are rebooting an effort to pass a new tax to attack unsafe drinking water in California. But there’s a twist: The proposed tax on water bills would be voluntary, increasing its chances of success among skittish lawmakers in an election year. After calling off a plan in June to […]

Desalination Plant in Santa Barbara Now Supplying 30% of City’s Needs; Hosting Public Tours

Some ocean water on Santa Barbara County’s coastline is soon going to undergo a transformation. Roughly three million gallons of salt water is turned into drinking water a day at the City of Santa Barbara’s Charles E. Meyer Desalination plant. The plant, which is just a few blocks from the ocean between West Beach and […]

Delta Tunnels Cost Soars to Nearly $20 Billion When Accounting For Inflation

The estimated cost of the Delta tunnels project, Gov. Jerry Brown’s controversial plan to re-engineer the troubled hub of California’s water network, has jumped to nearly $20 billion when accounting for inflation. Tunnels backers say the higher cost reflects the impact from inflation over 16 years, not cost over-runs or design changes, and isn’t expected […]