An investigation into last winter’s near catastrophe at Oroville Dam uncovered a litany of problems with how the dam was built and maintained, but one of them stands out: Even as workers built the dam, they were raising alarms about the eroded, crumbling rock on which they were directed to lay concrete for the 3,000-foot-long […]
California’s sweeping effort to regulate groundwater extraction is still in its infancy. But many community groups are already concerned that too little is being done to involve low-income and disadvantaged residents in managing aquifers dominated by agriculture.
Controversy is swelling over the February 2017 spillway collapse at the Oroville Dam in Northern California, after local officials last week filed a scathing lawsuit alleging corruption at the state’s main water agency and lawmakers called for FERC to delay the facility’s relicensing. “Decades of mismanagement and intentional lack of maintenance” by the California Department of […]
Trends of warmer winter temperature in the Sierra Nevada are predicted to reduce local snowpack — western Nevada County’s most important source of water. In the future, precipitation increasingly will fall as rain instead of snow, scientists forecast. The impact of that shift on local water supply is dramatic. Nevada Irrigation District’s system for collecting […]
A winter storm swept into Northern California on Friday and dumped nearly a foot of much-needed snow in higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada. More snow was expected in the region before the system moved out. Moderate to occasionally heavy snow was forecast through afternoon, when the storm was expected to shift course to the […]
Oroville Dam Spillway Built on Crumbling Rock, Warned Contractor That Built It
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento BeeAn investigation into last winter’s near catastrophe at Oroville Dam uncovered a litany of problems with how the dam was built and maintained, but one of them stands out: Even as workers built the dam, they were raising alarms about the eroded, crumbling rock on which they were directed to lay concrete for the 3,000-foot-long […]
As California Groundwater Regulation Unfolds, Some Feel Left Out
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)California’s sweeping effort to regulate groundwater extraction is still in its infancy. But many community groups are already concerned that too little is being done to involve low-income and disadvantaged residents in managing aquifers dominated by agriculture.
Oroville Dam Faces Lawsuit, Relicensing Threat
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /RTO Insiderby Jason FordneyControversy is swelling over the February 2017 spillway collapse at the Oroville Dam in Northern California, after local officials last week filed a scathing lawsuit alleging corruption at the state’s main water agency and lawmakers called for FERC to delay the facility’s relicensing. “Decades of mismanagement and intentional lack of maintenance” by the California Department of […]
The Science of Warmer Winters: Sierra Temps Rising Faster, Greater Impact on Snowpack
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Union (Grass Valley)Trends of warmer winter temperature in the Sierra Nevada are predicted to reduce local snowpack — western Nevada County’s most important source of water. In the future, precipitation increasingly will fall as rain instead of snow, scientists forecast. The impact of that shift on local water supply is dramatic. Nevada Irrigation District’s system for collecting […]
Storm Brings Needed Snow to Sierra Nevadas
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Associated Press (As published by The Daily Journal, San Mateo)A winter storm swept into Northern California on Friday and dumped nearly a foot of much-needed snow in higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada. More snow was expected in the region before the system moved out. Moderate to occasionally heavy snow was forecast through afternoon, when the storm was expected to shift course to the […]
Nevada Researchers Warn of More ‘Snow Droughts,’ Even in Wet Years
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Las Vegas Review-JournalThere’s a term for what’s going on right now in the Sierra Nevada and the mountains that feed the Colorado River. It’s called a “snow drought,” and Nevada climate scientists warn that Westerners had better get used to the phenomenon. https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/science-and-technology/nevada-researchers-warn-of-more-snow-droughts-even-in-wet-years/Periods of below-average snowpack have become increasingly common in some Western mountain ranges, and more […]