California and the U.S.

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

Chance of Rain Monday as Temperatures Drop From Record-Setting Holiday Period

After a record-hot Thanksgiving weekend, a one-day cold front is expected to move into Southern California on Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters gave about a 30 to 40 percent chance that rain falling in the Central Coast area Sunday night would extend into Southern California on Monday morning. If precipitation does arrive, […]

Multibillion-Dollar Water Measures Heading To State Ballot

With a five-year drought and then a winter of floods having exposed the limits of California’s vast network of reservoirs, dams and canals, voters are likely to have the chance next year to decide whether to pay for major upgrades to the state’s waterworks.  Two multibillion-dollar bonds are expected to go before voters that promise […]

Rising Reservoirs: Less Room for Error This Winter on San Joaquin River

It was our saving grace: Last winter, a mostly empty New Melones Lake swallowed up torrents of water that otherwise would have had to be dumped into a lower watershed that already was flooding. Without all of that room at New Melones, the damage along the lower San Joaquin River and in the Delta could […]

Where Westerners Agree And Disagree On Key Water Issues

What do westerners think about water issues? What worries them? What policies do they support? Where is there consensus and division? To answer these questions, the Water Foundation recently commissioned a wide-ranging public opinion survey of voters in 12 Western states. The poll covered diverse topics, including general awareness of water issues, opinions on policy measures, perceptions about the […]

Some Southern California Cities Record Hottest Thanksgiving Day Ever

Thursday, Nov. 23 was the hottest Thanksgiving Day ever in Los Angeles and Newport Beach. The noon temperature in downtown L.A. hit 91 degrees at the official station, at USC. The previous record, 90, was set on Nov. 23, 1903, National Weather Service meteorologist Rich Thompson said. In Orange County, one NWS weather gauge at […]

Understanding the Impact of Climate Change on Water Recharge

A study published in October set out to answer a question of special importance to dry regions like Southern Arizona: How will climate change affect what happens to water recharge in Western states? The short answer, according to University of Arizona researchers, is that in the future there will be about the same or more […]