The California Water Commission got a look in December at all 11 projects vying for water storage bond money, including Sites Reservoir. Proponents of Sites, an off-stream reservoir proposed for a valley west of Maxwell, are seeking $1.7 billion from Proposition 1, a $7.5 billion bond measure approved by voters in November 2014. Proposition 1 included […]
The giddiness California water resources officials felt last winter as storms dropped record amounts of rain and snow has faded under a relentless barrage of blue sky and sun, but this week’s promise of stormy weather is giving them hope. Snow surveyors measured only 3 inches of water in the Sierra snowpack Wednesday, a dismal […]
It’s been almost a year since Los Angeles residents felt any real rain, and precious little snow is in the Sierras, but water managers say it’s too early for fears that California is sliding back into drought as abruptly as the state fell out of it. Water officials carry out the first of their regular […]
Until California’s latest drought really took hold in around 2012, few residents of the Golden State had ever heard of the State Water Resources Control Board. But it very quickly became a major force in their lives. As the five-year drought worsened, the board would go on to order water use limits on every water agency […]
The Lake Oroville spillway crisis and evacuation last February might have only lasted a few days for Yuba-Sutter residents, but the ordeal left many with unanswered questions and a newfound fear of the unknowns of living downstream from an aging water storage facility and system. Questions about who is to blame for the spillway’s failure, […]
This year’s Nobel Prize in Economics went to Richard Thaler, who pioneered “nudging” to help people volunteer to make more personally and socially beneficial decisions. As an example, having employees automatically enrolled for retirement contributions and then allowing them to lower their contributions results in considerably more retirement savings than having them “opt-in” to retirement […]
Projects Battling For Proposition 1 Water Bond Funding
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Chico Enterprise-Recordby Steve SchoonoverThe California Water Commission got a look in December at all 11 projects vying for water storage bond money, including Sites Reservoir. Proponents of Sites, an off-stream reservoir proposed for a valley west of Maxwell, are seeking $1.7 billion from Proposition 1, a $7.5 billion bond measure approved by voters in November 2014. Proposition 1 included […]
There’s Almost No Snow In The Sierra, But Water Officials Aren’t Panicking
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /San Francisco Chronicleby Peter FimriteThe giddiness California water resources officials felt last winter as storms dropped record amounts of rain and snow has faded under a relentless barrage of blue sky and sun, but this week’s promise of stormy weather is giving them hope. Snow surveyors measured only 3 inches of water in the Sierra snowpack Wednesday, a dismal […]
Dry Spell Raises Fears of Drought’s Return in California
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Associated Press (As published by ABC News)It’s been almost a year since Los Angeles residents felt any real rain, and precious little snow is in the Sierras, but water managers say it’s too early for fears that California is sliding back into drought as abruptly as the state fell out of it. Water officials carry out the first of their regular […]
California’s New Water Boss: States Must Set Own Course on Resources
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)Until California’s latest drought really took hold in around 2012, few residents of the Golden State had ever heard of the State Water Resources Control Board. But it very quickly became a major force in their lives. As the five-year drought worsened, the board would go on to order water use limits on every water agency […]
Impacts, Lessons from Oroville Spillway Crisis
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Appeal-Democrat (Marysville)The Lake Oroville spillway crisis and evacuation last February might have only lasted a few days for Yuba-Sutter residents, but the ordeal left many with unanswered questions and a newfound fear of the unknowns of living downstream from an aging water storage facility and system. Questions about who is to blame for the spillway’s failure, […]
Nudging Progress on Funding for Safe Drinking Water
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)This year’s Nobel Prize in Economics went to Richard Thaler, who pioneered “nudging” to help people volunteer to make more personally and socially beneficial decisions. As an example, having employees automatically enrolled for retirement contributions and then allowing them to lower their contributions results in considerably more retirement savings than having them “opt-in” to retirement […]