Water is an economic imperative —yet clean water supplies are diminishing around the world. Every day we hear reports of water crises—from California, to Brazil, to India, and to South Africa. Just last week for example, the UN stated that 23 million farmers are in need of urgent assistance in drought-stricken Southern Africa. NASA satellite […]
The Pajaro Valley, in southern Santa Cruz County close to Monterey Bay, is ground zero for high-value farm crops such as arugula, strawberries and cane berries. The area depends almost entirely on groundwater and is not connected to any intrastate transfers, so it has to rely only on local water resources. The valley’s farms, residents […]
Pushing a wheelbarrow filled with 350,000 petition signatures, concerned Californians gathered outside the capitol Tuesday to urge Gov. Brown and the California Water Resources Control Board to stop the potentially dangerous practice of using wastewater from oil drilling to irrigate California’s crops. The wastewater, sold by Chevron and California Resources Corporation, is now being used […]
Rafaela Tijerina first met la señora at a school in the town of Lost Hills, deep in the farm country of California’s Central Valley. They were both there for a school board meeting, and the superintendent had failed to show up. Tijerina, a 74-year-old former cotton picker and veteran school board member, apologized for the superintendent—he must […]
A judge on Tuesday refused the Oakdale Irrigation District’s request to throw out a lawsuit challenging the district’s stalled fallowing program. Another judge had ruled in May that the district must study how shipping river water elsewhere might affect the groundwater table here, before allowing farmers to idle some land and sell freed-up water to […]
The Widely Used quote, “Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over,” often attributed to Mark Twain, has been used by politicians from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Dianne Feinstein to describe California’s battles over water rights. The quote itself may in fact bebogus, but it does illustrate why water rights are a difficult, but critical, […]
California Water Policy — For The Better?
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Forbesby Christopher P. SkroupaWater is an economic imperative —yet clean water supplies are diminishing around the world. Every day we hear reports of water crises—from California, to Brazil, to India, and to South Africa. Just last week for example, the UN stated that 23 million farmers are in need of urgent assistance in drought-stricken Southern Africa. NASA satellite […]
BLOG: Creative Incentives to Boost Groundwater Recharge
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)by Padma NagappanThe Pajaro Valley, in southern Santa Cruz County close to Monterey Bay, is ground zero for high-value farm crops such as arugula, strawberries and cane berries. The area depends almost entirely on groundwater and is not connected to any intrastate transfers, so it has to rely only on local water resources. The valley’s farms, residents […]
350,000 People Call on Gov. Brown to Stop Irrigating Crops With Oil Wastewater
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /EcoWatch (Cleveland, Ohio)Pushing a wheelbarrow filled with 350,000 petition signatures, concerned Californians gathered outside the capitol Tuesday to urge Gov. Brown and the California Water Resources Control Board to stop the potentially dangerous practice of using wastewater from oil drilling to irrigate California’s crops. The wastewater, sold by Chevron and California Resources Corporation, is now being used […]
Meet the California Couple Who Uses More Water Than Every Home In Los Angeles Combined
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Mother Jones (San Francisco)by John HarkinsonRafaela Tijerina first met la señora at a school in the town of Lost Hills, deep in the farm country of California’s Central Valley. They were both there for a school board meeting, and the superintendent had failed to show up. Tijerina, a 74-year-old former cotton picker and veteran school board member, apologized for the superintendent—he must […]
Fallowing Lawsuit Against OID Remains on Track
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Modesto Beeby Garth StapleyA judge on Tuesday refused the Oakdale Irrigation District’s request to throw out a lawsuit challenging the district’s stalled fallowing program. Another judge had ruled in May that the district must study how shipping river water elsewhere might affect the groundwater table here, before allowing farmers to idle some land and sell freed-up water to […]
BLOG: Eleven Experts to Watch on California Water Rights
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)by Eline GordtsThe Widely Used quote, “Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over,” often attributed to Mark Twain, has been used by politicians from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Dianne Feinstein to describe California’s battles over water rights. The quote itself may in fact bebogus, but it does illustrate why water rights are a difficult, but critical, […]