The water year that ended Saturday was the wettest on record for the watersheds feeding the Tuolumne and Stanislaus rivers. The Merced River fell just short. The Tuolumne had about 4.86 million acre-feet of runoff from rain and snowmelt from last October through September, the Turlock Irrigation District reported. That beat the previous high of […]
Construction continues on the Oroville Dam’s main spillway this week. The Department of Water Resources has been working to reconstruct the the main spillway which was damaged in February because of heavy winter rain. Crews with Kiewit Corp., the lead contractor on the job, are working around the clock to rebuild enough of the main […]
Water is the Central Valley’s economic lifeblood — of that, there is no doubt. The drought of the last five years has put tremendous pressure on the state’s water allocation systems and shown that they are not only broken but incapable of adapting to the realities of a sustained drought cycle. But, why should people […]
The value of water as a liquid is obvious. We can drink it, use it to clean ourselves and our things, swim in it to cool off and to play, and build dams across it to harvest its energy. Water as clouds are also essential: they are key for the way they deliver precipitation to […]
A cash crunch for public water utilities is creating an opportunity for the growing for-profit water companies—but it’s one that might drain customers’ wallets. Companies like American Water Works Co. and Aqua America Inc. are finding the time is right to purchase small, troubled water utilities from local governments that are facing political pressure to […]
The water project that north Delta communities fear will end their way of life may have met its own ending, after the plan to finance it collapsed unexpectedly in a Central California boardroom last week. News of the twin tunnels’ setback came September 20, when the Westlands Water District, which serves farms in Fresno and […]
A Crazy Water Year Ended Saturday. So Did We Set Any Records for Rain and Snow?
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Modesto Beeby John HollandThe water year that ended Saturday was the wettest on record for the watersheds feeding the Tuolumne and Stanislaus rivers. The Merced River fell just short. The Tuolumne had about 4.86 million acre-feet of runoff from rain and snowmelt from last October through September, the Turlock Irrigation District reported. That beat the previous high of […]
Work Continues On The Oroville Dam Main Spillway
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Randy VazquezConstruction continues on the Oroville Dam’s main spillway this week. The Department of Water Resources has been working to reconstruct the the main spillway which was damaged in February because of heavy winter rain. Crews with Kiewit Corp., the lead contractor on the job, are working around the clock to rebuild enough of the main […]
OPINION: Water Policy Leaves California Vulnerable
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Orange County Registerby Michael ShiresWater is the Central Valley’s economic lifeblood — of that, there is no doubt. The drought of the last five years has put tremendous pressure on the state’s water allocation systems and shown that they are not only broken but incapable of adapting to the realities of a sustained drought cycle. But, why should people […]
The US Has a Vast, Untapped Supply of Renewable Energy That’s Neither Wind, Solar, or Hydropower
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Quartz (New York)The value of water as a liquid is obvious. We can drink it, use it to clean ourselves and our things, swim in it to cool off and to play, and build dams across it to harvest its energy. Water as clouds are also essential: they are key for the way they deliver precipitation to […]
Private Water Firms Tap Profit From Struggling Public Utilities
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Bloomberg BNAA cash crunch for public water utilities is creating an opportunity for the growing for-profit water companies—but it’s one that might drain customers’ wallets. Companies like American Water Works Co. and Aqua America Inc. are finding the time is right to purchase small, troubled water utilities from local governments that are facing political pressure to […]
Clogged Tunnels? North Delta Towns Stay Guarded After Financial Setback for Twin Tunnels
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Sacramento News & Reviewby Scott Thomas AndersonThe water project that north Delta communities fear will end their way of life may have met its own ending, after the plan to finance it collapsed unexpectedly in a Central California boardroom last week. News of the twin tunnels’ setback came September 20, when the Westlands Water District, which serves farms in Fresno and […]