Across the mountains of the West, the landscape of winter is changing. Deep snowpacks that held fast through winter, then melted in a torrent each spring, are instead seeping away earlier in the year. The period of winter weather is shrinking, too, with autumn lasting longer and spring starting earlier. The findings by Amato Evan, […]
Recent droughts across the West have belted drinking-water supplies, withered crops and fanned deadly wildfires. They’ve also squeezed hydroelectric facilities, with the less obvious side effect of hampering efforts to reduce greenhouse gas pollution. A new study out of Stanford University finds that 10 percent of the total carbon dioxide spewed from California, Oregon, Washington […]
In a state where dead trees in the Sierra Nevada still stand as a testament to a severe seven-year stretch of dry weather that ended in 2017, some nervously wonder whether the state may slide back into a drought. In the eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator, ocean temperatures are pretty stable. That means there’s […]
Over the past three years, the State Water Resources Control Board has conducted a public process to increase the water flowing to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Rivers Delta with the intent of improving declining fish populations. However, an increase in river flow means a reduction in supplies for Californians, who are dependent on them for their […]
California’s State Water Project and federal Central Valley Project span several northern watersheds, converging in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, where their pumping stations operate a stone’s throw away from one another. They coordinate their operations on a daily basis and have done so for decades. Earlier this month, the California Department of Water Resources signed […]
The Trump administration’s proposal to limit the Clean Water Act’s reach over wetlands and waterways would likely complicate efforts to protect and manage the parched West’s most important and imperiled source of water. At risk: the Colorado River — water provider for 40 million people and vast swaths of cropland — which is already reeling […]
Winter Is Shrinking, Scripps Study Finds, Posing New Fire, Water Risks
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Deborah Sullivan BrennanAcross the mountains of the West, the landscape of winter is changing. Deep snowpacks that held fast through winter, then melted in a torrent each spring, are instead seeping away earlier in the year. The period of winter weather is shrinking, too, with autumn lasting longer and spring starting earlier. The findings by Amato Evan, […]
California’s Droughts Hurt Fight Against Climate Change. Study Tells Us Why
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis AlexanderRecent droughts across the West have belted drinking-water supplies, withered crops and fanned deadly wildfires. They’ve also squeezed hydroelectric facilities, with the less obvious side effect of hampering efforts to reduce greenhouse gas pollution. A new study out of Stanford University finds that 10 percent of the total carbon dioxide spewed from California, Oregon, Washington […]
Is Valley Drought Back? 2018 Ends As A Drier-Than-Normal Year
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Fresno Beeby Tim SheehanIn a state where dead trees in the Sierra Nevada still stand as a testament to a severe seven-year stretch of dry weather that ended in 2017, some nervously wonder whether the state may slide back into a drought. In the eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator, ocean temperatures are pretty stable. That means there’s […]
OPINION: State’s New Voluntary Water Agreements Are A Good Deal For Delta Fish, Valley Farms
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Fresno Beeby Thomas Birmingham and Jason PhillipsOver the past three years, the State Water Resources Control Board has conducted a public process to increase the water flowing to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Rivers Delta with the intent of improving declining fish populations. However, an increase in river flow means a reduction in supplies for Californians, who are dependent on them for their […]
OPINION: What New Water Deals Mean And What Work Is Left To Be Done
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Karla NemethCalifornia’s State Water Project and federal Central Valley Project span several northern watersheds, converging in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, where their pumping stations operate a stone’s throw away from one another. They coordinate their operations on a daily basis and have done so for decades. Earlier this month, the California Department of Water Resources signed […]
Trump’s Rule A Wild Card For Western Water Supplies
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /E&E News (DC)by Ariel Wittenberg and Jeremy P. JacobsThe Trump administration’s proposal to limit the Clean Water Act’s reach over wetlands and waterways would likely complicate efforts to protect and manage the parched West’s most important and imperiled source of water. At risk: the Colorado River — water provider for 40 million people and vast swaths of cropland — which is already reeling […]