Two weeks after Butte County asked for the federal government’s intervention on the Lake Oroville problem, the state got around to filing a response. The five pages in the state’s response can be summarized in three words: Go pound sand. It’s exactly the type of response we’d expect from the state Department of Water Resources. […]
Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday declared a state of emergency and requested federal aid for parts of California hard hit by winter storms. The emergency declaration applies to 53 of California’s 58 counties, including all in the Bay Area. The order mobilizes the state’s Office of Emergency Services to the affected areas and directs the […]
This picture from NASA’s Earth Observatory shows how much land in California’s Central Valley is sinking, due primarily to the drawing of groundwater during periods of drought. Heavy rains have fallen on many parts of the state this winter, but the image above is a reminder of the lingering effects of drought, even in wetter […]
Fueled by a parade of “Pineapple Express” storms, California is in the midst of its wettest water year in 122 years of record-keeping, according to federal scientists. Between October 2016 and February 2017, California averaged 27.81 inches of precipitation, the highest average since such records began being kept in 1895, according to data released Wednesday by […]
The water level at Lake Oroville is rising to its highest level in nearly three weeks. The gates to the reservoir’s main spillway were closed back on February 27th so that crews could work on removing a massive pile of debris at its base. On Wednesday evening, the lake neared 860 feet — a level […]
The dramatic spillway failure at Oroville Dam sparked a national conversation around the status of dams throughout the West. But dams are just one small part of the “gray” infrastructure designed to control flows, hem in rivers and transport water around the state. California’s flood and water-management system needs an overhaul to address everything from […]
OPINION: State Needs To Work On Oroville Emergency Plans
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Chico Enteriprise RecordTwo weeks after Butte County asked for the federal government’s intervention on the Lake Oroville problem, the state got around to filing a response. The five pages in the state’s response can be summarized in three words: Go pound sand. It’s exactly the type of response we’d expect from the state Department of Water Resources. […]
Governor Declares State of Emergency For Storm-Wrenched California
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /SFGate (San Francisco)by Kurtis AlexanderGov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday declared a state of emergency and requested federal aid for parts of California hard hit by winter storms. The emergency declaration applies to 53 of California’s 58 counties, including all in the Bay Area. The order mobilizes the state’s Office of Emergency Services to the affected areas and directs the […]
This Picture Shows How Much California Is Sinking
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /CNBCby Robert FerrisThis picture from NASA’s Earth Observatory shows how much land in California’s Central Valley is sinking, due primarily to the drawing of groundwater during periods of drought. Heavy rains have fallen on many parts of the state this winter, but the image above is a reminder of the lingering effects of drought, even in wetter […]
California Storms: Wettest Water Year, So Far, In 122 Years Of Records
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Mark GomezFueled by a parade of “Pineapple Express” storms, California is in the midst of its wettest water year in 122 years of record-keeping, according to federal scientists. Between October 2016 and February 2017, California averaged 27.81 inches of precipitation, the highest average since such records began being kept in 1895, according to data released Wednesday by […]
Lake Oroville At Highest Level In Nearly 3 Weeks, Spillway Work Continues
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Capital Public Radio (Sacramento)by Randol WhiteThe water level at Lake Oroville is rising to its highest level in nearly three weeks. The gates to the reservoir’s main spillway were closed back on February 27th so that crews could work on removing a massive pile of debris at its base. On Wednesday evening, the lake neared 860 feet — a level […]
OPINION: Overhaul California’s Water System With 21st Century Flood Solutions
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Jacob Katz and Brian StrankoThe dramatic spillway failure at Oroville Dam sparked a national conversation around the status of dams throughout the West. But dams are just one small part of the “gray” infrastructure designed to control flows, hem in rivers and transport water around the state. California’s flood and water-management system needs an overhaul to address everything from […]