The controversial water infrastructure proposal from California Governor Jerry Brown, billed as a solution to the state’s significant water challenges, has hit some snags in recent weeks. “In a landmark vote closely watched across California, Silicon Valley’s largest water agency on Tuesday rejected Gov. Jerry Brown’s $17 billion plan to build two giant tunnels under […]
Hydrologist Mark Hanna stood on the North Broadway Bridge recently and gazed out on an industrial vista of treated urban runoff flowing down the Los Angeles River channel between graffiti-marred concrete banks and train trestles strewn with broken glass. The forlorn scene is in marked contrast to the vision city officials and environmentalists long imagined […]
It’s only Halloween, but winter is on the way. Two storm systems moving out of the Gulf of Alaska are on track to bring the first substantial snow of the 2017-18 winter season to the Sierra Nevada, starting Friday, and widespread rainfall across the Bay Area over the weekend. Forecasters said Monday that gusty winds […]
At a time when California was suffering from a record-breaking drought, removing a dam would have seemed counterintuitive. But that’s what happened in 2015 on the Carmel River when the 106ft San Clemente Dam was torn down in the name of public safety and for the benefit of an iconic fish. Now, two years later, scientists are […]
Firefighters expect to fully contain the deadly Wine Country wildfires this week, just as a final blow to the burn areas is anticipated from above — in the form of rain. The most vicious blaze to explode across Sonoma and Napa counties three weeks ago, the 36,807-acre Tubbs Fire, was 98 percent contained Sunday, nearing […]
No one knows whether winter will bring pounding storms like those seen last season, but California water officials say Oroville Dam is ready for whatever comes. The nation’s tallest dam became one of the fastest construction projects in modern state history after the dam’s spillway partially collapsed in February amid heavy rain and caused the […]
California Delta Tunnels Project Hits Snags
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water OnlineThe controversial water infrastructure proposal from California Governor Jerry Brown, billed as a solution to the state’s significant water challenges, has hit some snags in recent weeks. “In a landmark vote closely watched across California, Silicon Valley’s largest water agency on Tuesday rejected Gov. Jerry Brown’s $17 billion plan to build two giant tunnels under […]
Inflatable Dams and a Water Wheel: Latest Plan to Revitalize the L.A. River
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Los Angeles TimesHydrologist Mark Hanna stood on the North Broadway Bridge recently and gazed out on an industrial vista of treated urban runoff flowing down the Los Angeles River channel between graffiti-marred concrete banks and train trestles strewn with broken glass. The forlorn scene is in marked contrast to the vision city officials and environmentalists long imagined […]
California’s First Big Winter Snow Storm Headed For Sierra Nevada
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Paul RogersIt’s only Halloween, but winter is on the way. Two storm systems moving out of the Gulf of Alaska are on track to bring the first substantial snow of the 2017-18 winter season to the Sierra Nevada, starting Friday, and widespread rainfall across the Bay Area over the weekend. Forecasters said Monday that gusty winds […]
Two Years After California’s Biggest Dam Removal, Fish Rebound
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)by Enrique GiliAt a time when California was suffering from a record-breaking drought, removing a dam would have seemed counterintuitive. But that’s what happened in 2015 on the Carmel River when the 106ft San Clemente Dam was torn down in the name of public safety and for the benefit of an iconic fish. Now, two years later, scientists are […]
Rain Expected to Douse Wine Country Wildfires
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /SF GateFirefighters expect to fully contain the deadly Wine Country wildfires this week, just as a final blow to the burn areas is anticipated from above — in the form of rain. The most vicious blaze to explode across Sonoma and Napa counties three weeks ago, the 36,807-acre Tubbs Fire, was 98 percent contained Sunday, nearing […]
Oroville Dam, Months After Near Disaster, Ready for Another Winter
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /San Francisco ChronicleNo one knows whether winter will bring pounding storms like those seen last season, but California water officials say Oroville Dam is ready for whatever comes. The nation’s tallest dam became one of the fastest construction projects in modern state history after the dam’s spillway partially collapsed in February amid heavy rain and caused the […]