Creeks and rivers topped their banks, hundreds of homes were evacuated and several thousand people found themselves trapped in a rural hamlet as Northern California emerged Tuesday from yet another winter storm. The atmospheric river of moisture that has saturated drought-parched ground with a series of drenching storms in recent weeks returned with a vengeance […]
The San Francisco Bay area can take a load off. There are four months left in what meteorologists call the “water year,” but already the city of ferryboats and suspension bridges has received more rain than in an entire normal year. Overachievers. We weather nerds made up the water year because the rainy season tends […]
The state water board has egg—or should I say mud—all over its collective face. Earlier this month, board members refused to lift the drought restrictions on Californians. By keeping them in place until the traditional review time in April, they ignored pleas from water agencies to eliminate the restrictions now. Board members refused to lift […]
The water level behind the troubled dam at Lake Oroville is rising for the first time since authorities ordered an emergency evacuation more than a week ago. But officials said Tuesday that the lake still has plenty of room to take in heavy recent rainfall. Department of Water Resources Director Bill Croyle says the water […]
Just because nature allows a delay of many years while officials dither over a catastrophe in the making doesn’t make that disaster any easier to handle when it finally strikes. This is one major lesson of the Oroville Dam spillway crisis that saw the sudden evacuation of almost 200,000 people from their homes due to […]
Late last month, a list of infrastructure projects purportedly prioritized by the Trump administration sparked headlines across the country. Several of the projects aim to swell water supplies in the West, including a controversial plan to capture groundwater beneath California’s Cadiz Valley, a venture to pipe water out of an aquifer in New Mexico, and […]
Evacuations, Levee Break In Drenched Northern California
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /CBS NewsCreeks and rivers topped their banks, hundreds of homes were evacuated and several thousand people found themselves trapped in a rural hamlet as Northern California emerged Tuesday from yet another winter storm. The atmospheric river of moisture that has saturated drought-parched ground with a series of drenching storms in recent weeks returned with a vengeance […]
With 4 Months Left In The ‘Water Year,’ San Francisco Has Already Surpassed Its Rain Quota
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Washington Postby Angela FritzThe San Francisco Bay area can take a load off. There are four months left in what meteorologists call the “water year,” but already the city of ferryboats and suspension bridges has received more rain than in an entire normal year. Overachievers. We weather nerds made up the water year because the rainy season tends […]
BLOG: The State Water Board Missed The Mark
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Pleasamton Weeklyby Tim HuntThe state water board has egg—or should I say mud—all over its collective face. Earlier this month, board members refused to lift the drought restrictions on Californians. By keeping them in place until the traditional review time in April, they ignored pleas from water agencies to eliminate the restrictions now. Board members refused to lift […]
Rain Swells California’s Troubled Lake Oroville
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Associated Press (As published by U.S. News)The water level behind the troubled dam at Lake Oroville is rising for the first time since authorities ordered an emergency evacuation more than a week ago. But officials said Tuesday that the lake still has plenty of room to take in heavy recent rainfall. Department of Water Resources Director Bill Croyle says the water […]
OPINION: Ignored Oroville Warning Raises Other Big Questions
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Chico Enteriprise Recordby Thomas EliasJust because nature allows a delay of many years while officials dither over a catastrophe in the making doesn’t make that disaster any easier to handle when it finally strikes. This is one major lesson of the Oroville Dam spillway crisis that saw the sudden evacuation of almost 200,000 people from their homes due to […]
Why Desalination Alone Won’t Water The West
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Journal (Cortez, Colo.)by Emily BensonLate last month, a list of infrastructure projects purportedly prioritized by the Trump administration sparked headlines across the country. Several of the projects aim to swell water supplies in the West, including a controversial plan to capture groundwater beneath California’s Cadiz Valley, a venture to pipe water out of an aquifer in New Mexico, and […]