Think of the snow that falls each winter in the Sierra Nevada as something like a paycheck for California’s water supply. The mountain snow melts and flows into downstream reservoirs, helping pay the “bills” for the state’s agricultural, urban and environmental water supply needs through the hot, dry summer and fall. A drought, then, like […]
Last week, the San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors declared an end to drought conditions in the region and asked California Governor Jerry Brown to rescind the statewide drought emergency regulations for regions with sufficient supplies. Owing to wet winter conditions and recent heavy rainfall, as of January 23, San Diego’s official rainfall […]
The ponderosa pine had taken root decades before the Revolutionary War, making a stately stand on this western Sierra Nevada slope for some 300 years, Nate Stephenson figures. Then came the beetle blitzkrieg. Now the tree is a dab in the gray and rusty death stain smeared across the mountain range. At the base of its massive […]
The arrival of rains with the new year have tempered one of California’s most severe ongoing drought periods on record, which officially entered its sixth year in October 2016. The question remains whether California, and Orange County specifically, can see light at the end of the dry tunnel. The historic drought has caused local, regional […]
Northern California and Oregon farmers who lost irrigation water in 2001 for the sake of fish are plunging into a climactic courtroom battle for tens of millions of dollars in compensation. Years in the making, the trial set to start Monday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims near the White House involves a lot […]
Entering February 2017, the Sierra snowpack is 177 percent of normal. That’s a big difference from a few years ago – the snowpack was 25 percent of normal in 2015. This series of satellite images shows the snow accumulation from space at roughly the same time of year for the past five years.
One Month Of Storms Erases Big Chunk Of California’s Snow-Water Deficit
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Ryan SabalowThink of the snow that falls each winter in the Sierra Nevada as something like a paycheck for California’s water supply. The mountain snow melts and flows into downstream reservoirs, helping pay the “bills” for the state’s agricultural, urban and environmental water supply needs through the hot, dry summer and fall. A drought, then, like […]
WaterWorld Weekly NewsCast, January 30, 2017
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /WaterWorldby Angela Godwin Quoted: Mark MuirLast week, the San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors declared an end to drought conditions in the region and asked California Governor Jerry Brown to rescind the statewide drought emergency regulations for regions with sufficient supplies. Owing to wet winter conditions and recent heavy rainfall, as of January 23, San Diego’s official rainfall […]
What All Those Dead Trees Mean For The Sierra Nevada
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Los Angeles Timesby Bettina BoxallThe ponderosa pine had taken root decades before the Revolutionary War, making a stately stand on this western Sierra Nevada slope for some 300 years, Nate Stephenson figures. Then came the beetle blitzkrieg. Now the tree is a dab in the gray and rusty death stain smeared across the mountain range. At the base of its massive […]
Don’t Let The Rain Dampen Our Conservation Efforts
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Orange County Registerby Joone LopezThe arrival of rains with the new year have tempered one of California’s most severe ongoing drought periods on record, which officially entered its sixth year in October 2016. The question remains whether California, and Orange County specifically, can see light at the end of the dry tunnel. The historic drought has caused local, regional […]
California, Oregon Farmers Lost Water In 2001; Now They Want To Be Paid
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Daily Herald (Washington)by Michael DoyleNorthern California and Oregon farmers who lost irrigation water in 2001 for the sake of fish are plunging into a climactic courtroom battle for tens of millions of dollars in compensation. Years in the making, the trial set to start Monday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims near the White House involves a lot […]
VIDEO: Watch Five Years Of Sierra Snow From Space
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento BeeEntering February 2017, the Sierra snowpack is 177 percent of normal. That’s a big difference from a few years ago – the snowpack was 25 percent of normal in 2015. This series of satellite images shows the snow accumulation from space at roughly the same time of year for the past five years.