California is finally embracing its rivers. It may be a choking embrace. We Californians have long celebrated our coastal splendor and beautiful mountains. But our rivers were seen as mere plumbing for our hydration convenience. Now California’s communities, seeking space for environmental restoration and recreation (and some desperately needed housing), are treating rivers and riverfronts […]
In this centennial year of the National Park System, it’s been encouraging to see management of the western components of this remarkable ecological patrimony shifting ever so slowly toward incorporating knowledge of natural cycles of fire in maintaining forest health. For forests in California’s Sierra Nevada, particularly, a dangerous and ecologically disruptive “fire deficit” has […]
Californians hear a lot about the lessons they can learn from other areas that have coped with water scarcity, like Israel’s development of desalination or how Australia handled its Millennial Drought, which lasted more than a decade. But not all water issues come down to scarcity. And that’s why looking north to Canada could also provide […]
Conflict over water allocations from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the most intractable water management problem in California.The sources of contention are many, but three interrelated issues dominate the debate: whether to build two tunnels that divert water from the Sacramento River, how much water to allocate to endangered fish species, and what to do […]
A temporary truce has been called today in an ongoing dispute between Kern County, Bakersfield and the Kern Delta Water District. Six months ago, the city and KDWD announced that they were forming the Kern River Groundwater Sustainability Agency. Afterwards the county filed its own GSA application with the state in order to protect its […]
A city in Denmark is about to become the first in the world to provide most of its citizens with fresh water using only the energy created from household wastewater and sewage. The Marselisborg Wastewater Treatment Plant in Aarhus has undergone improvements that mean it can now generate more than 150 per cent of the […]
OPINION: River Dreams May Drown California
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Ventura County Starby Joe MathewsCalifornia is finally embracing its rivers. It may be a choking embrace. We Californians have long celebrated our coastal splendor and beautiful mountains. But our rivers were seen as mere plumbing for our hydration convenience. Now California’s communities, seeking space for environmental restoration and recreation (and some desperately needed housing), are treating rivers and riverfronts […]
OPINION: Will California Ever Let Sierra Nevada Forests Burn?
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The New York Timesby Andrew C. RevkinIn this centennial year of the National Park System, it’s been encouraging to see management of the western components of this remarkable ecological patrimony shifting ever so slowly toward incorporating knowledge of natural cycles of fire in maintaining forest health. For forests in California’s Sierra Nevada, particularly, a dangerous and ecologically disruptive “fire deficit” has […]
BLOG: What California Can Learn From Canada About Water Technology
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)by Tara LohanCalifornians hear a lot about the lessons they can learn from other areas that have coped with water scarcity, like Israel’s development of desalination or how Australia handled its Millennial Drought, which lasted more than a decade. But not all water issues come down to scarcity. And that’s why looking north to Canada could also provide […]
OPINION: A Grand Compromise For The Delta Outlined
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Ellen Hanak, Jeffrey Mount and Brian GrayConflict over water allocations from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the most intractable water management problem in California.The sources of contention are many, but three interrelated issues dominate the debate: whether to build two tunnels that divert water from the Sacramento River, how much water to allocate to endangered fish species, and what to do […]
City and County Groundwater Sustainability Agencies End Jurisdiction Dispute
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Kern Golden Empire (Bakersfield)A temporary truce has been called today in an ongoing dispute between Kern County, Bakersfield and the Kern Delta Water District. Six months ago, the city and KDWD announced that they were forming the Kern River Groundwater Sustainability Agency. Afterwards the county filed its own GSA application with the state in order to protect its […]
World’s First City To Power Its Water Needs With Sewage Energy
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /NewScientist by Kata KaráthA city in Denmark is about to become the first in the world to provide most of its citizens with fresh water using only the energy created from household wastewater and sewage. The Marselisborg Wastewater Treatment Plant in Aarhus has undergone improvements that mean it can now generate more than 150 per cent of the […]