As Gov. Jerry Brown noted in his recent State of the State address, water is a fundamental good in California, but not something we can take for granted. With a booming population and economy, we have to make the most of every drop. Our rivers and aquifers simply can’t support water waste, and wise use […]
The Brown administration has pulled the plug on the 5-year-old plan to build twin 35-mile tunnels to move water from the north end of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to points farther south — sort of. Bowing to reality that the beneficiary water agencies were not going to pay $17 billion for what the state calls WaterFix, […]
Every day, people flock to Daniel Swain’s social media platforms to find out the latest news and insight about California’s notoriously unpredictable weather. Swain, a climate scientist at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA, famously coined the term “Ridiculously Resilient Ridge” in December 2013 to describe the large, formidable high-pressure mass that was parked […]
Delta “isolated conveyance” proposals — be it a canal, tunnels, whatever — have generally gotten less ambitious over the years, at least in terms of capacity. But they don’t seem to be any less controversial, if the reaction to the state’s latest announcement is any indication. Just for perspective: 1970s/80s Peripheral Canal: 22,000 cubic feet per second […]
California officials tried to smooth the way for the Delta tunnels project by slicing it in half. Instead they’re facing more pushback and the possibility of additional delays. One day after Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration downsized the Delta tunnels project, a host of project opponents tried Thursday to halt a state regulatory hearing that’s crucial to getting […]
As relentless sunshine continued to pound California on Thursday, the Sierra Nevada hit a reckoning point: There’s less snowpack now than on the same date three years ago, when the winter went down as the driest in recorded history and sent shudders through cities, farmlands and the state Capitol. The troubling lack of snow during the […]
OPINION: The Drought Is Back. Here’s How California Needs To Start Saving Water Now
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Laura FriedmanAs Gov. Jerry Brown noted in his recent State of the State address, water is a fundamental good in California, but not something we can take for granted. With a booming population and economy, we have to make the most of every drop. Our rivers and aquifers simply can’t support water waste, and wise use […]
OPINION: 1 Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta tunnel Is No Better Than 2
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /San Francisco ChronicleThe Brown administration has pulled the plug on the 5-year-old plan to build twin 35-mile tunnels to move water from the north end of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to points farther south — sort of. Bowing to reality that the beneficiary water agencies were not going to pay $17 billion for what the state calls WaterFix, […]
BLOG: ‘Ridiculously Resilient Ridge’, Climate Change And The Future Of California’s Water
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water Education Foundation (Sacramento)by Gary PitzerEvery day, people flock to Daniel Swain’s social media platforms to find out the latest news and insight about California’s notoriously unpredictable weather. Swain, a climate scientist at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA, famously coined the term “Ridiculously Resilient Ridge” in December 2013 to describe the large, formidable high-pressure mass that was parked […]
BLOG: The Incredible Shrinking Delta Conveyance: A Timeline
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Record (Stockton)by Alex BreitlerDelta “isolated conveyance” proposals — be it a canal, tunnels, whatever — have generally gotten less ambitious over the years, at least in terms of capacity. But they don’t seem to be any less controversial, if the reaction to the state’s latest announcement is any indication. Just for perspective: 1970s/80s Peripheral Canal: 22,000 cubic feet per second […]
Brown Tried To Smooth The Way For Delta Project. All He Got Was More Friction
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Dale KaslerCalifornia officials tried to smooth the way for the Delta tunnels project by slicing it in half. Instead they’re facing more pushback and the possibility of additional delays. One day after Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration downsized the Delta tunnels project, a host of project opponents tried Thursday to halt a state regulatory hearing that’s crucial to getting […]
How Dry Is This Winter? Sierra Snowpack On Pace To Shatter Record Low Of 2015
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis AlexanderAs relentless sunshine continued to pound California on Thursday, the Sierra Nevada hit a reckoning point: There’s less snowpack now than on the same date three years ago, when the winter went down as the driest in recorded history and sent shudders through cities, farmlands and the state Capitol. The troubling lack of snow during the […]