The current U.S. Drought Monitor period was dry through much of the Midwest and Plains states. Dryness also dominated much of Idaho, the interior regions of Washington and Oregon, much of California and Nevada, and the Southeast. A slow-moving system brought with it soaking rains from eastern Illinois into the Mid-Atlantic. Some areas of the […]
There were high hopes for a new era in California water. Environmental groups, agriculture, the state, the feds and big urban districts like Metropolitan all signed on the dotted line. They all agreed to plan for a new and comprehensive way to manage the water system and ecosystem of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The effort was […]
California agriculture, which had been plowing ahead in the face of a major drought, finally had an off year in 2015, according to data released recently by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The state’s farms brought in cash receipts of an estimated $47.1 billion (this will be revised in the months and years to come), down from […]
Californians continued to backslide on water conservation during the hottest summer on record, worrying regulators and frustrating environmentalists critical of a new policy enacted this spring that allows most urban water districts to avoid mandatory cuts in water use. On Wednesday, the State Water Resources Control Board announced that conservation in urban California in August […]
Why does Jerry Brown desire to send Northern California water south? The governor has a seriously poor sense of direction. Sacramento bureaucrats have no right to assume the power to re-direct river water from Northern California farmland, demanding to send the water to the Delta strictly for the survival of fish and, ultimately, out to […]
Yet another hazard to migratory salmon will disappear soon, when local, state, and federal officials finish building a permanent, fish-friendly weir in the Yolo Bypass.The Wallace Weir Fish Rescue project, located four miles northwest of Woodland and near Knights Landing, will help prevent adult Sacramento River salmon from swimming into a drainage ditch that leads […]
California and National Drought Summary for October 4, 2016
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Sierra Sun TimesThe current U.S. Drought Monitor period was dry through much of the Midwest and Plains states. Dryness also dominated much of Idaho, the interior regions of Washington and Oregon, much of California and Nevada, and the Southeast. A slow-moving system brought with it soaking rains from eastern Illinois into the Mid-Atlantic. Some areas of the […]
Happy 10th Birthday to California’s Most Ambitious Water Project
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)by Tom PhilpThere were high hopes for a new era in California water. Environmental groups, agriculture, the state, the feds and big urban districts like Metropolitan all signed on the dotted line. They all agreed to plan for a new and comprehensive way to manage the water system and ecosystem of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The effort was […]
California Keeps On Farming, With or Without Water
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Bloomberg View Columnestby Justin FoxCalifornia agriculture, which had been plowing ahead in the face of a major drought, finally had an off year in 2015, according to data released recently by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The state’s farms brought in cash receipts of an estimated $47.1 billion (this will be revised in the months and years to come), down from […]
With standards relaxed, water use on the rise throughout California
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Ryan Sabalow, Dale Kasler and Phillip ReeseCalifornians continued to backslide on water conservation during the hottest summer on record, worrying regulators and frustrating environmentalists critical of a new policy enacted this spring that allows most urban water districts to avoid mandatory cuts in water use. On Wednesday, the State Water Resources Control Board announced that conservation in urban California in August […]
OPINION: Flora Not Blinded By Tunnel Vision, Would Protect Our Water
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Modesto Beeby Kenneth Groves, Jr.Why does Jerry Brown desire to send Northern California water south? The governor has a seriously poor sense of direction. Sacramento bureaucrats have no right to assume the power to re-direct river water from Northern California farmland, demanding to send the water to the Delta strictly for the survival of fish and, ultimately, out to […]
Project Underway To Prevent Straying Of Adult Sacramento River Salmon
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Daily Democrat (Woodland)Yet another hazard to migratory salmon will disappear soon, when local, state, and federal officials finish building a permanent, fish-friendly weir in the Yolo Bypass.The Wallace Weir Fish Rescue project, located four miles northwest of Woodland and near Knights Landing, will help prevent adult Sacramento River salmon from swimming into a drainage ditch that leads […]