The plan to remove four hydroelectric dams to improve fish passage and water quality on the Klamath River is proceeding on schedule for a 2020 demolition time, according to plan proponents. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will ultimately have to approve or deny the plan, and the change in administration in Washington, D.C., has led […]
In the late 1980s, a Japanese scientist named Koji Minoura stumbled on a medieval poem that described a tsunami so large it had swept away a castle and killed a thousand people. Intrigued, Minoura and his team began looking for paleontological evidence of the tsunami beneath rice paddies, and discovered not one but three massive, […]
The Kings River’s overflow system in western Fresno County cannot carry as much floodwater as it once did, so there is greater risk of flooding in this wet year, Fresno County supervisors were told on Tuesday. The problems led to approval of an emergency proclamation by supervisors that will allow officials to seek state help […]
The drought-busting snow and rain in the mountains around Lake Tahoe have pushed the lake to its highest level in more than a decade. After five years of drought, the alpine lake atop the Sierra Nevada now has enough water to fill downstream reservoirs and meet the Reno area’s needs for at least two years, […]
Valley farmers like Joe Del Bosque, whose situation was spotlighted recently in the Los Angeles Times, was begging for and buying water during last year’s drought at $1,000 to $1,300 per acre-foot after federal water officials failed to make good on water allocation contracts.These farmers thought themselves lucky to find willing sellers. But now it […]
After flows down Oroville Dam’s fractured main spillway were dialed back to nothing Monday afternoon, heavy equipment operators worked through the night to clear the massive debris pile that has formed at the base of the damaged concrete structure. The efforts to open the channel below the spillway, which will allow engineers to once again […]
Klamath River Dam Removal Plan On Track As Administration Shifts
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Times Standard (Eureka)by Will HoustonThe plan to remove four hydroelectric dams to improve fish passage and water quality on the Klamath River is proceeding on schedule for a 2020 demolition time, according to plan proponents. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will ultimately have to approve or deny the plan, and the change in administration in Washington, D.C., has led […]
Have We Underestimated The West’s Super-Floods?
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /High Country News (Paonia, Colo.)by Krista LangloisIn the late 1980s, a Japanese scientist named Koji Minoura stumbled on a medieval poem that described a tsunami so large it had swept away a castle and killed a thousand people. Intrigued, Minoura and his team began looking for paleontological evidence of the tsunami beneath rice paddies, and discovered not one but three massive, […]
Flooding Threat: Too Much Water Filling A System With Too Little Capacity
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Fresno Beeby Marc BenjaminThe Kings River’s overflow system in western Fresno County cannot carry as much floodwater as it once did, so there is greater risk of flooding in this wet year, Fresno County supervisors were told on Tuesday. The problems led to approval of an emergency proclamation by supervisors that will allow officials to seek state help […]
Drought-Busting Snow Pushes Tahoe To Highest Mark Since 2006
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Associated Press (As Published by The Tribune - San Luis Obispo)The drought-busting snow and rain in the mountains around Lake Tahoe have pushed the lake to its highest level in more than a decade. After five years of drought, the alpine lake atop the Sierra Nevada now has enough water to fill downstream reservoirs and meet the Reno area’s needs for at least two years, […]
OPINION: Trump Should Stop Reclamation From Stealing Farmers’ Water
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Fresno Beeby Erik HansenValley farmers like Joe Del Bosque, whose situation was spotlighted recently in the Los Angeles Times, was begging for and buying water during last year’s drought at $1,000 to $1,300 per acre-foot after federal water officials failed to make good on water allocation contracts.These farmers thought themselves lucky to find willing sellers. But now it […]
Oroville Dam’s Power Plant May Be Operational By Thursday
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Ryan SabalowAfter flows down Oroville Dam’s fractured main spillway were dialed back to nothing Monday afternoon, heavy equipment operators worked through the night to clear the massive debris pile that has formed at the base of the damaged concrete structure. The efforts to open the channel below the spillway, which will allow engineers to once again […]