The skies were gray, snow was falling and it was bitterly cold when state snow survey chief Frank Gehrke made his monthly march out to a deep pillow of snow in the Sierra Nevada town of Phillips on Thursday morning. He plodded across the white mounds, plunged his metallic pole into the powder beneath him, […]
Republicans from arid Western states have set their sights on making dam-building easier. Led by California Representative Tom McClintock, lawmakers from Wyoming, North Dakota, Arizona, and Colorado introduced a bill last week that would try to force federal agencies to complete complex environmental studies for dam-building plans within a year. But many water scientists, river […]
The biggest blizzards are over. But as state water officials head into the Sierra Nevada on Thursday for the annual April 1 snowpack reading — the most important of the year for planning summer water supplies — California still has a huge amount of snow covering its highest mountain peaks, an avalanche that has buried the state’s […]
After millions of dollars of flood damage and mass evacuations this year, California is grappling with how to update its aging flood infrastructure. Some say a natural approach might be part of the answer. All the water that poured down spillways at the Oroville Dam in northern California did a lot of damage to the […]
The Coachella Valley’s largest water agencies will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to settle the question of whether the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians has a federally established right to groundwater beneath the tribe’s reservation. The Coachella Valley Water District and the Desert Water Agency announced Wednesday that they plan to submit their […]
After the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced a 65% initial allocation for those growing operations south of the Delta in the Central Valley of California, Western Growers’ President and CEO Tom Nassif declared the allocation “defies logic.” Particularly since the announcement follows another notice that other parts of the Central Valley would receive100% initial allocations. The […]
California Snowpack Is One Of The Biggest Ever Recorded, And Now Poses A Flooding Risk
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Los Angeles Timesby Joseph SernaThe skies were gray, snow was falling and it was bitterly cold when state snow survey chief Frank Gehrke made his monthly march out to a deep pillow of snow in the Sierra Nevada town of Phillips on Thursday morning. He plodded across the white mounds, plunged his metallic pole into the powder beneath him, […]
Congress Eyes A Bill To Speed Up Dam Construction
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Pacific Standard (Santa Barbara)by Bob BerwynRepublicans from arid Western states have set their sights on making dam-building easier. Led by California Representative Tom McClintock, lawmakers from Wyoming, North Dakota, Arizona, and Colorado introduced a bill last week that would try to force federal agencies to complete complex environmental studies for dam-building plans within a year. But many water scientists, river […]
What Drought? Sierra Nevada Snowpack At 164 Percent Of Normal
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Mercury Newsby Paul RogersThe biggest blizzards are over. But as state water officials head into the Sierra Nevada on Thursday for the annual April 1 snowpack reading — the most important of the year for planning summer water supplies — California still has a huge amount of snow covering its highest mountain peaks, an avalanche that has buried the state’s […]
Where Levees Fail In California, Nature Can Step In To Nurture Rivers
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /NPRby Lauren SommerAfter millions of dollars of flood damage and mass evacuations this year, California is grappling with how to update its aging flood infrastructure. Some say a natural approach might be part of the answer. All the water that poured down spillways at the Oroville Dam in northern California did a lot of damage to the […]
Desert Water Agencies Will Appeal To Supreme Court In Tribe’s Landmark Groundwater Case
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Ian JamesThe Coachella Valley’s largest water agencies will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to settle the question of whether the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians has a federally established right to groundwater beneath the tribe’s reservation. The Coachella Valley Water District and the Desert Water Agency announced Wednesday that they plan to submit their […]
Water Allocations in California Deemed Unfair
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Growing Produce (Willoughby, Ohio)by Carol MillerAfter the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced a 65% initial allocation for those growing operations south of the Delta in the Central Valley of California, Western Growers’ President and CEO Tom Nassif declared the allocation “defies logic.” Particularly since the announcement follows another notice that other parts of the Central Valley would receive100% initial allocations. The […]