Last week I was a guest on an “inspection” trip of the Colorado River Aqueduct, the engineering marvel that delivers up to 1 billion gallons (3.8 billion liters) of water daily to Southern California from the Colorado River hundreds of miles to the east. Organized by the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California, these inspections […]
With the reservoir and all water district canals brimming, there is a great effort to move water into underground aquifer recharge ponds, said David Nixon, general manager of the Arvin-Edison Water Storage District in Kern County. “Absolutely, we tried to get every acre foot of water in this district we possibly can,” he said. “With […]
For the second day in a row, a torrent of water on Sunday flowed over the Anderson Reservoir spillway, marking a phenomenon that hadn’t happened for 11 years until this weekend. The Morgan Hill reservoir hovered around 101.4 percent of its maximum capacity as of Sunday afternoon, but that number could rise as an impending […]
California Department of Water Resources officials reached their goal of getting water levels in Lake Oroville 50 feet below the dam crest Monday.The reservoir reached 50 feet below capacity as of 6 a.m. Monday. The 850-foot mark is important because it gives ground crews more flexibility for water flowing into the lake during this week’s […]
By now we have all seen the spectacular images of volumes of water crashing down the Oroville Dam spillway in California and blasting upward into the air as they hit an enormous crater in the spillway floor, flooding down the adjacent hillside, threatening people in towns below. Those images reveal a big mistake: failure to […]
Earlier this week, while areas downstream of Oroville Dam were still under an evacuation order, California’s State Water Resources Control Board released a draft resolution for a comprehensive response to climate change. It resolves that the agency will embed climate science into all its existing work, both to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and to build […]
How Food Companies Can Help Drive Agricultural Water Conservation
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)by Kirsten JamesLast week I was a guest on an “inspection” trip of the Colorado River Aqueduct, the engineering marvel that delivers up to 1 billion gallons (3.8 billion liters) of water daily to Southern California from the Colorado River hundreds of miles to the east. Organized by the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California, these inspections […]
Water Districts Recharging Aquifer
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /California AG Todayby Patrick CavanaughWith the reservoir and all water district canals brimming, there is a great effort to move water into underground aquifer recharge ponds, said David Nixon, general manager of the Arvin-Edison Water Storage District in Kern County. “Absolutely, we tried to get every acre foot of water in this district we possibly can,” he said. “With […]
Anderson Reservoir Continues To Spill, Nearby Residents Warned About Flooding Risk
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /NBC San Diegoby Rick BooneFor the second day in a row, a torrent of water on Sunday flowed over the Anderson Reservoir spillway, marking a phenomenon that hadn’t happened for 11 years until this weekend. The Morgan Hill reservoir hovered around 101.4 percent of its maximum capacity as of Sunday afternoon, but that number could rise as an impending […]
Lake Oroville Reaches Goal; 11 Sickened At Shelter
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Record Searchlight (Redding)California Department of Water Resources officials reached their goal of getting water levels in Lake Oroville 50 feet below the dam crest Monday.The reservoir reached 50 feet below capacity as of 6 a.m. Monday. The 850-foot mark is important because it gives ground crews more flexibility for water flowing into the lake during this week’s […]
California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Scientific American (Armonk, NY)by Jane Braxton LittleBy now we have all seen the spectacular images of volumes of water crashing down the Oroville Dam spillway in California and blasting upward into the air as they hit an enormous crater in the spillway floor, flooding down the adjacent hillside, threatening people in towns below. Those images reveal a big mistake: failure to […]
BLOG: Learning from Oroville: Water Board Proposes Climate Change Resolution
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)by Juliet Christian-SmithEarlier this week, while areas downstream of Oroville Dam were still under an evacuation order, California’s State Water Resources Control Board released a draft resolution for a comprehensive response to climate change. It resolves that the agency will embed climate science into all its existing work, both to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and to build […]