The Trump administration said Friday it will look at revving up water deliveries to farmers from California’s Central Valley Project, the largest federal water project in the United States, in what environmental groups called a threat to protections for struggling native salmon and other endangered species. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation formally served notice it […]
Three years ago, California voters passed Proposition 1, a bond that provided $7.12 billion for water projects and reallocated another $425 million. The funds had to be split among seven categories: safe drinking water, water storage, flood management, water recycling, drought preparedness, ecosystem and watershed protection and groundwater sustainability. Ellen Hanak and Jelena Jezdimirovic at the […]
At Rainbow Grocery, a cooperative in this city’s Mission District, one brand of water is so popular that it’s often out of stock. But one recent evening, there was a glittering rack of it: glass orbs containing 2.5 gallons of what is billed as “raw water” — unfiltered, untreated, unsterilized spring water, $36.99 each and […]
What a difference a year makes. The winter of 2017-18 is off to a slow start in the Sierra Nevada, a stark contrast from the record-busting snow totals last year. The contrast from last year is particularly evident in the Lake Tahoe Basin where winter is off to its third-driest start since 1980-81. Snow survey […]
When you’ve held on to something valuable for a long time, it can be hard to choose to give it up. When that something is water, it’s even harder — especially in the desert southwest. But that’s the reality facing water managers in the lower stretches of the Colorado River, a lifeline for farms and […]
The average American is using a lot less water on a daily basis. Six gallons less, to be exact. The US Geological Survey’s National Water Use Science Project has estimated water use in the United States every five years since 1950. In its most recent estimate published this fall, the USGS found that American daily […]
Trump Considers Sending More Water to California farmers
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Associated Press (As published by Visalia Times-Delta)The Trump administration said Friday it will look at revving up water deliveries to farmers from California’s Central Valley Project, the largest federal water project in the United States, in what environmental groups called a threat to protections for struggling native salmon and other endangered species. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation formally served notice it […]
Three Years on, How California Is Spending Its $7.5 Billion Water Bond
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)Three years ago, California voters passed Proposition 1, a bond that provided $7.12 billion for water projects and reallocated another $425 million. The funds had to be split among seven categories: safe drinking water, water storage, flood management, water recycling, drought preparedness, ecosystem and watershed protection and groundwater sustainability. Ellen Hanak and Jelena Jezdimirovic at the […]
Unfiltered Fervor: The Rush to Get Off the Water Grid
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The New York TimesAt Rainbow Grocery, a cooperative in this city’s Mission District, one brand of water is so popular that it’s often out of stock. But one recent evening, there was a glittering rack of it: glass orbs containing 2.5 gallons of what is billed as “raw water” — unfiltered, untreated, unsterilized spring water, $36.99 each and […]
Tahoe Snowpack Third-Lightest Since 1981
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Reno Gazette JournalWhat a difference a year makes. The winter of 2017-18 is off to a slow start in the Sierra Nevada, a stark contrast from the record-busting snow totals last year. The contrast from last year is particularly evident in the Lake Tahoe Basin where winter is off to its third-driest start since 1980-81. Snow survey […]
An Elusive Colorado River Drought Plan Fails To Materialize — For Now
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /KUNC (Greeley, Colo.)by Luke RunyonWhen you’ve held on to something valuable for a long time, it can be hard to choose to give it up. When that something is water, it’s even harder — especially in the desert southwest. But that’s the reality facing water managers in the lower stretches of the Colorado River, a lifeline for farms and […]
Why Americans are Using a Lot Less Water
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Christian Science MonitorThe average American is using a lot less water on a daily basis. Six gallons less, to be exact. The US Geological Survey’s National Water Use Science Project has estimated water use in the United States every five years since 1950. In its most recent estimate published this fall, the USGS found that American daily […]