California and the U.S.
The latest news and analysis covering water issues in Caliornia and the rest of the United States.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
Water management is a wicked problem, but not an unsolvable one
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Christian Science Monitorby Christa BrelsfordLast summer, it was hard to miss news about California’s drought, caused by the four driest years in the state’s history. Its impact on California’s economy in 2015 alone was estimated at $2.7 billion dollars and 21,000 jobs lost. Thanks to El Niño, this drought has eased some, but 42 percent of the state is […]
Denham’s ‘Save Our Salmon’ Act Passes Through Congress
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Oakdale LeaderThe U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R. 4582, the Save Our Salmon (SOS) Act, introduced by area Congressman Jeff Denham (R-Turlock). Denham’s bill would remove the fish doubling provision in the 1992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) for non-native, predatory striped bass, thereby protecting native salmon and steelhead and reducing nonessential water usage. […]
Low Sierra snow seen as piece of alarming climate picture
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /SFGate (San Francisco)by Kurtis AlexanderA fifth year of disappointing snow in the Sierra is part of a much larger predicament of record-low snow across the Northern Hemisphere, a setback that scientists identified Wednesday as another reminder of the alarming pace of human-caused global warming. A panel of climate experts organized by SEARCH, or the Study of Environmental Arctic Change, […]
House sets stage for post-election showdown over California water
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Michael DoyleControversial efforts to steer more water toward California farms advanced Wednesday in the House of Representatives, setting up yet another post-election showdown. Amid frustration and finger-pointing from all sides, the Republican-controlled House rejected Northern California Democrats’ efforts to strip the California water provisions from a fiscal 2017 funding bill. The House’s actions, following debate Tuesday […]
OPINION: Brown calls on Bruce Babbitt, as time runs short for water fix
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Dan MorainWorking from a bland, windowless office on the 13th floor of the Resources Building, one of California’s newest state employees focuses on the one issue from which all else flows, water. Bruce Babbitt has signed on to help Jerry Brown fix what the governor calls the California WaterFix. They are of a type, Westerners, who […]
OPINION: What You Should Know About the Sustainable Groundwater
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Appeal Democrat (Marysville)by Mary FaheyThe Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, known as SGMA, is comprehensive statewide groundwater legislation that went into effect Jan. 1, 2015. SGMA requires for the first time sustainable groundwater management throughout California. The legislation allows local agencies to develop Groundwater Sustainability Plans specific to local conditions, however, if local agencies cannot or will not manage groundwater […]