Brett Baker is a sixth-generation pear farmer on Sutter Island in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. His orchards are surrounded by levees, and water from the Sacramento River regularly percolates inward and upward through the soil. “We actually have to pump out water that creeps through our levees back into the river – we have to fight to […]
President Donald Trump’s administration tapped an Arizonan to lead the agency whose water projects shaped the western United States. If confirmed, Brenda Burman will serve as commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, a division of the Department of the Interior. The more than 100-year-old agency is responsible for projects such as the Hoover Dam, power plants, water conservation […]
Drought and over-allocation are a persistent threat to the Colorado River’s water supply, the source of much of Southern Arizona’s water, and “water banking” is one way managers work to buffer the state against shortages. The method of storing water underground in natural aquifers for future use has been a crucial component of Arizona’s water […]
When it comes to Oroville Dam, the state Department of Water Resources has been anything but forthcoming in response to California Public Records Act requests. Chico-based advocacy nonprofit AquAlliance sued DWR for documentation relating to asbestos that may have been uncovered during a break in the main spillway (see “Dam records sought,” Downstroke, June 15). Meanwhile, […]
Facing a crisis after a huge crater formed in the main flood-control spillway at Oroville Dam, officials at the California Department of Water Resources called in an old hand to help: David Gutierrez, a nationally known engineer who had just retired as chief of the agency’s dam-safety division. He seemed like an obvious choice for […]
Swimsuit. Sunscreen. Skis. You’re ready: Celebrate your independence by schussing the slopes during the longest snow season in California history. While the rest of America has moved on to lawn parties and backyard barbecues, happy skiers are still carving turns through the sweet, sticky pockets of lingering snow in the Sierra Nevada — where weekend […]
California Faces Its First Big Deadline For Groundwater Law
/in California and the U.S. /by Andrea Mora /Water Deeply (New York)by Alastair BlandBrett Baker is a sixth-generation pear farmer on Sutter Island in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. His orchards are surrounded by levees, and water from the Sacramento River regularly percolates inward and upward through the soil. “We actually have to pump out water that creeps through our levees back into the river – we have to fight to […]
Arizonan Tapped To Lead Bureau Of Reclamation
/in California and the U.S. /by Andrea Mora /KJZZ (Pheonix, Ariz.)by Mariana DalePresident Donald Trump’s administration tapped an Arizonan to lead the agency whose water projects shaped the western United States. If confirmed, Brenda Burman will serve as commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, a division of the Department of the Interior. The more than 100-year-old agency is responsible for projects such as the Hoover Dam, power plants, water conservation […]
Raising Awareness About ‘Water Banking,’ Mainstay Of Arizona Water Strategy
/in California and the U.S. /by Andrea Mora /AZPM News (Tuscon, Ariz.)by Vanessa BarchfieldDrought and over-allocation are a persistent threat to the Colorado River’s water supply, the source of much of Southern Arizona’s water, and “water banking” is one way managers work to buffer the state against shortages. The method of storing water underground in natural aquifers for future use has been a crucial component of Arizona’s water […]
OPINION: For The Record: Support Bill That Gives Teeth To Law On Public Documents
/in California and the U.S. /by Andrea Mora /News & Review (Chico)by Chico News & Review Editorial Board)When it comes to Oroville Dam, the state Department of Water Resources has been anything but forthcoming in response to California Public Records Act requests. Chico-based advocacy nonprofit AquAlliance sued DWR for documentation relating to asbestos that may have been uncovered during a break in the main spillway (see “Dam records sought,” Downstroke, June 15). Meanwhile, […]
He Oversaw Dam Safety As Problems Lurked At Oroville. Should He Be Advising State?
/in California and the U.S. /by Andrea Mora /The Sacramento Beeby Ryan Sabalow and Dale KaslerFacing a crisis after a huge crater formed in the main flood-control spillway at Oroville Dam, officials at the California Department of Water Resources called in an old hand to help: David Gutierrez, a nationally known engineer who had just retired as chief of the agency’s dam-safety division. He seemed like an obvious choice for […]
California In July: It’s Time To Hit The Slopes
/in California and the U.S. /by Andrea Mora /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Lisa M. KriegerSwimsuit. Sunscreen. Skis. You’re ready: Celebrate your independence by schussing the slopes during the longest snow season in California history. While the rest of America has moved on to lawn parties and backyard barbecues, happy skiers are still carving turns through the sweet, sticky pockets of lingering snow in the Sierra Nevada — where weekend […]