Last week, President Trump’s Department of the Interior decided to exempt itself and the California State Water Project from rules protecting threatened native fish and their critical habitat in the Bay-Delta estuary. These rules are called “Fall X2,” and they require maintaining freshwater habitat in the Delta further west in wet years like 2017, when […]
The Bay Area imports most of its water and relies on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and its tributaries for about 70 percent of its supply. Those supplies face an uncertain future as a changing climate shrinks the Sierra snowpack and raises sea levels, and a declining ecosystem results in further restrictions — all while […]
Dam builders from President Franklin Roosevelt’s administration wanted to bring water to the parched eastern half of the San Joaquin Valley, but first they had to deal with a cluster of landowners whose ancestors had been there since the 1800s. The deal they cut in 1939 paved the way for much of the Central Valley […]
California’s biggest water project in decades appears to be in limbo after a key irrigation district voted not to help underwrite Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to build two giant tunnels that would re-engineer water transport in the state. The no-vote at the Fresno-based Westlands Water District — the largest agricultural water supplier in the U.S. […]
Four environmental groups on Friday, September 22, filed a lawsuit challenging the Brown administration’s permit to kill endangered salmon and smelt in the proposed Delta Tunnels project. The Center for Biological Diversity, Bay Institute, Natural Resources Defense Council and San Francisco Baykeeper filed the suit in California Superior Court in Sacramento, represented by the nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice. On July 28, the California […]
It was a year of plenty for parched California. State figures released at the end of the water year, which resets each Oct. 1, tell the story: The northern Sierra Nevada had its wettest year, 95 inches of precipitation, since record-keeping began in 1895. IN the central Sierra, it was the wettest in more than […]
BLOG: The San Francisco Bay-Delta Gets Trumped
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Natural Resources Defense Council (New York)by Kate PooleLast week, President Trump’s Department of the Interior decided to exempt itself and the California State Water Project from rules protecting threatened native fish and their critical habitat in the Bay-Delta estuary. These rules are called “Fall X2,” and they require maintaining freshwater habitat in the Delta further west in wet years like 2017, when […]
OPINION: California is Obligated to Fix Delta Water Delivery System
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /San Francisco Chronicleby John LairdThe Bay Area imports most of its water and relies on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and its tributaries for about 70 percent of its supply. Those supplies face an uncertain future as a changing climate shrinks the Sierra snowpack and raises sea levels, and a declining ecosystem results in further restrictions — all while […]
In 1939, the Feds Made a Central Valley Water Deal. It May Doom the Delta Tunnels.
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler and Ryan SabalowDam builders from President Franklin Roosevelt’s administration wanted to bring water to the parched eastern half of the San Joaquin Valley, but first they had to deal with a cluster of landowners whose ancestors had been there since the 1800s. The deal they cut in 1939 paved the way for much of the Central Valley […]
Future of Huge California Water Project May Hang on the Next Few Weeks
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /KQED (San Francisco)by KQED ScienceCalifornia’s biggest water project in decades appears to be in limbo after a key irrigation district voted not to help underwrite Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to build two giant tunnels that would re-engineer water transport in the state. The no-vote at the Fresno-based Westlands Water District — the largest agricultural water supplier in the U.S. […]
Groups Sue Brown Administration Over Permit To Kill Endangered Salmon, Smelt In Delta Tunnels
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Elk Grove Newsby Dan BacherFour environmental groups on Friday, September 22, filed a lawsuit challenging the Brown administration’s permit to kill endangered salmon and smelt in the proposed Delta Tunnels project. The Center for Biological Diversity, Bay Institute, Natural Resources Defense Council and San Francisco Baykeeper filed the suit in California Superior Court in Sacramento, represented by the nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice. On July 28, the California […]
Handicapping the Rainy Season
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The New York TimesIt was a year of plenty for parched California. State figures released at the end of the water year, which resets each Oct. 1, tell the story: The northern Sierra Nevada had its wettest year, 95 inches of precipitation, since record-keeping began in 1895. IN the central Sierra, it was the wettest in more than […]