It has all the earmarks of a “Miracle March” — heavy dousings of rain, intense flurries of snow in the Sierra and roadway havoc — but the showy display of stormy weather across California this week isn’t fooling the experts. Despite encouraging signs, including a Sierra snowpack that has risen to respectability from record-breakingly meager depths […]
Inclusion of money for raising Shasta Dam got the most attention in a recently released federal budget proposal, but the same package also includes money for Sites Reservoir. The Department of Interior is recommending spending $33.3 million under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, which was signed into law in December 2016. The […]
The multipurpose aspect of many reservoir projects adds an extra layer of regulation to those projects–and gives government agencies and advocacy organizations additional opportunities to seek more water and other concessions from reservoir operators. That scenario is playing out in attempts to relicense California hydroelectric projects that also provide water supplies to farms, ranches and […]
/in California and the U.S./by Mike Lee /The Week Magazine (New York)by Catherine Garcia Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority
If you don’t live near the fading banks of the Salton Sea, it’s easy to forget it exists — that is, until the winds pick up. Depending on which way they are blowing, gusts carry tiny, toxic particulates — and sometimes the stench of decaying fish and sulfur dioxide — from the Colorado Desert to […]
A warm, wet storm known as a “pineapple express” chugged into the San Francisco Bay Area Tuesday, with the first rain falling in the early morning in the South Bay. The system driven by an atmospheric river that’s pulling moisture from the subtropics is centered in Central and Southern California, but its northern edge is […]
Democrats in Congress have stalled an attempt to jump start an expansion of Shasta Dam, California’s largest reservoir and a major water source for the Central Valley. Their objections blocked a Republican gambit to allow the $1.3 billion project to move forward without full up-front funding and despite objections from Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration. A […]
Yep, It’s Nice Rain — But It’s No ‘Miracle March,’ Experts Say
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /San Francisco Chronicleby Peter FimriteIt has all the earmarks of a “Miracle March” — heavy dousings of rain, intense flurries of snow in the Sierra and roadway havoc — but the showy display of stormy weather across California this week isn’t fooling the experts. Despite encouraging signs, including a Sierra snowpack that has risen to respectability from record-breakingly meager depths […]
Federal Budget Proposal Include Sites Reservoir Study Funding
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Oroville Mercury-Registerby Steve SchoonoverInclusion of money for raising Shasta Dam got the most attention in a recently released federal budget proposal, but the same package also includes money for Sites Reservoir. The Department of Interior is recommending spending $33.3 million under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, which was signed into law in December 2016. The […]
Relicensing: Hydro Projects Face Hurdles From Agencies Says California Farm Bureau Federation – Don Pedro Hydroelectric Project
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Sierra Sun TImes (Mariposa)by Christine SouzaThe multipurpose aspect of many reservoir projects adds an extra layer of regulation to those projects–and gives government agencies and advocacy organizations additional opportunities to seek more water and other concessions from reservoir operators. That scenario is playing out in attempts to relicense California hydroelectric projects that also provide water supplies to farms, ranches and […]
Can The Salton Sea Be Saved?
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Week Magazine (New York)by Catherine Garcia Mentioned: San Diego County Water AuthorityIf you don’t live near the fading banks of the Salton Sea, it’s easy to forget it exists — that is, until the winds pick up. Depending on which way they are blowing, gusts carry tiny, toxic particulates — and sometimes the stench of decaying fish and sulfur dioxide — from the Colorado Desert to […]
‘Pineapple Express’ Forecast To Deliver Three Days Of Rain To Bay Area
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /SF Gateby Amy GraffA warm, wet storm known as a “pineapple express” chugged into the San Francisco Bay Area Tuesday, with the first rain falling in the early morning in the South Bay. The system driven by an atmospheric river that’s pulling moisture from the subtropics is centered in Central and Southern California, but its northern edge is […]
Water Wars: Democrats Block GOP Bid To Speed Shasta Dam Enlargement
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /McClatchy DC Bureauby Emily Cadei and Dale KaslerDemocrats in Congress have stalled an attempt to jump start an expansion of Shasta Dam, California’s largest reservoir and a major water source for the Central Valley. Their objections blocked a Republican gambit to allow the $1.3 billion project to move forward without full up-front funding and despite objections from Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration. A […]