Texas struggled through its driest year in history in 2011. Four years later was its wettest ever. The Mississippi River rose to all-time-high flood levels in 2011. In 2012, its second-lowest. After a six-year drought that made agricultural irrigation a political hot potato, Northern California experienced nearly double the normal rainfall this year, beating the old mark set in 1983. As the […]
The price of almost everything is on the rise, but we tend to shrug off inflation in goods and services we can cut back or do without. Not water, the rising cost of which is looming as a defining economic problem in coming years. In California and across the nation, concern about water affordability has […]
The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled on whether Indian tribes hold special rights to the groundwater beneath their reservations, and the court will now have a chance to settle the question in a case that could redraw the lines in water disputes across the country. The case revolves around whether the Agua Caliente Band […]
A few weeks ago, the governor and other state politicians ran victory laps proclaiming their passage of California’s new record budget. The behemoth budget — the largest spending plan in our state’s history — provides $183 billion to fund many diverse programs and projects deemed necessary to the people and government of California. Their speeches forgot, however, […]
Evelyn Rios wept in 2014 when the well went dry at her home of 46 years – the home where she and husband Joe raised five children on farm-worker wages.They cannot afford another well, so they do without. Her angst only grew as California’s five-year drought dragged on. Finally, after one of the wettest winters on […]
Sen. Kamala Harris took time out during the congressional recess this month for a listening tour through California. On Wednesday, she visited the Central Valley, where the freshman senator toured a citrus-packing facility on the outskirts of Fresno. After sampling a mandarin orange and proclaiming it “delicious,” Harris sat down with two dozen people connected with the Central Valley’s multibillion-dollar […]
Weather Gets Weird As Record Rainfall Follows Record Drought
/in California and the U.S. /by Andrea Mora /Bloomberg (New York)by Brian K. SullivanTexas struggled through its driest year in history in 2011. Four years later was its wettest ever. The Mississippi River rose to all-time-high flood levels in 2011. In 2012, its second-lowest. After a six-year drought that made agricultural irrigation a political hot potato, Northern California experienced nearly double the normal rainfall this year, beating the old mark set in 1983. As the […]
The Next Crisis For California Will Be The Affordability Of Water
/in California and the U.S. /by Andrea Mora /Los Angeles Timesby Michael HiltzikThe price of almost everything is on the rise, but we tend to shrug off inflation in goods and services we can cut back or do without. Not water, the rising cost of which is looming as a defining economic problem in coming years. In California and across the nation, concern about water affordability has […]
Do Tribes Have Special Groundwater Rights? Water Agencies Appeal To Supreme Court In Landmark Case
/in California and the U.S. /by Andrea Mora /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Zoe Meyers and Jay CalderonThe U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled on whether Indian tribes hold special rights to the groundwater beneath their reservations, and the court will now have a chance to settle the question in a case that could redraw the lines in water disputes across the country. The case revolves around whether the Agua Caliente Band […]
Like Drought Never Happened: Budget Omits Funds for Water
/in California and the U.S. /by Andrea Mora /Fox & Hounds Dailyby Aubrey BettencourtA few weeks ago, the governor and other state politicians ran victory laps proclaiming their passage of California’s new record budget. The behemoth budget — the largest spending plan in our state’s history — provides $183 billion to fund many diverse programs and projects deemed necessary to the people and government of California. Their speeches forgot, however, […]
The California Drought Isn’t Over, It Just Went Underground
/in California and the U.S. /by Andrea Mora /High Country News (Lander, Wyo.)by Mark GrossiEvelyn Rios wept in 2014 when the well went dry at her home of 46 years – the home where she and husband Joe raised five children on farm-worker wages.They cannot afford another well, so they do without. Her angst only grew as California’s five-year drought dragged on. Finally, after one of the wettest winters on […]
Sen. Kamala Harris Talks Water With California Farmers
/in California and the U.S. /by Andrea Mora /KQED (San Francisco)by Vanessa RancanoSen. Kamala Harris took time out during the congressional recess this month for a listening tour through California. On Wednesday, she visited the Central Valley, where the freshman senator toured a citrus-packing facility on the outskirts of Fresno. After sampling a mandarin orange and proclaiming it “delicious,” Harris sat down with two dozen people connected with the Central Valley’s multibillion-dollar […]