Recently, Bloomberg reported that investors in massive data centers are making water availability a critical measurement in their decisions — especially in drought-ridden California. Data centers, giant buildings packed with servers that power our virtual world, generate tremendous amounts of intolerable heat. Traditionally, the centers have large cooling systems that require millions of gallons of […]
Paskenta population 112, is an out-of-the-way place where rustic ranches grace grass-covered hills rolling west toward Mendocino Pass. Since the lumber mill closed in 1992, the Tehama County community 130 miles (210km) north of Sacramento has been settling into bucolic tranquility. A water crisis has triggered a rude awakening. Thomes Creek, the sole source of […]
Amid punishing drought, federal water managers projected Tuesday that — by a very narrow margin— the crucial Lake Mead reservoir on the Colorado River won’t have enough water to make full deliveries to Nevada and Arizona in 2018. A federal report shows the surface level of the lake behind Hoover Dam is expected to remain […]
Sacramento has issued an edict to roll back greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels within four years. One of the quickest ways to reach that goal is to not build the Twin Tunnels as proposed by Gov. Brown who wants greenhouse emissions reduced even further. The reason is simple. Electricity generation accounts for 20 percent […]
/in California and the U.S./by Mike Lee /California WaterBlog (Davis)by Josué Medellín-Azuara, Duncan MacEwan, Richard E. Howitt, Daniel A. Sumner, and Jay R. Lund
The drought continues for California’s agriculture in 2016, but with much less severe and widespread impacts than in the two previous drought years, 2014 and 2015. Winter and spring were wetter in the Sacramento Valley, to the extent of several reservoirs being required to spill water for flood control, but south of the Delta was […]
One of the shocking truths to emerge from California’s continuing drought is this: the state has no idea how much water it has. Nor do its leaders have a clear idea how much water is actually diverted by users, what it is used for and how much is left over. “It’s kind of surprising how […]
OPINION: Investors Call on Tech to be Smart About Water
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Columbian (Vancouver, Wash.)by Don BrunellRecently, Bloomberg reported that investors in massive data centers are making water availability a critical measurement in their decisions — especially in drought-ridden California. Data centers, giant buildings packed with servers that power our virtual world, generate tremendous amounts of intolerable heat. Traditionally, the centers have large cooling systems that require millions of gallons of […]
BLOG: Northern California Towns Are Running Out of Water
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)by Jane Braxton LittlePaskenta population 112, is an out-of-the-way place where rustic ranches grace grass-covered hills rolling west toward Mendocino Pass. Since the lumber mill closed in 1992, the Tehama County community 130 miles (210km) north of Sacramento has been settling into bucolic tranquility. A water crisis has triggered a rude awakening. Thomes Creek, the sole source of […]
Close Call: Feds See 2018 Shortage in Lake Mead Water Supply
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /SFGate (San Francisco)by Ken RitterAmid punishing drought, federal water managers projected Tuesday that — by a very narrow margin— the crucial Lake Mead reservoir on the Colorado River won’t have enough water to make full deliveries to Nevada and Arizona in 2018. A federal report shows the surface level of the lake behind Hoover Dam is expected to remain […]
California Needs Even Bigger Twin Tunnels Plan
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Manteca Bulletinby Dennis WyattSacramento has issued an edict to roll back greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels within four years. One of the quickest ways to reach that goal is to not build the Twin Tunnels as proposed by Gov. Brown who wants greenhouse emissions reduced even further. The reason is simple. Electricity generation accounts for 20 percent […]
BLOG: Economic Analysis of the 2016 California Drought for Agriculture
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /California WaterBlog (Davis)by Josué Medellín-Azuara, Duncan MacEwan, Richard E. Howitt, Daniel A. Sumner, and Jay R. LundThe drought continues for California’s agriculture in 2016, but with much less severe and widespread impacts than in the two previous drought years, 2014 and 2015. Winter and spring were wetter in the Sacramento Valley, to the extent of several reservoirs being required to spill water for flood control, but south of the Delta was […]
BLOG: Water Accounting: A New Frontier for California
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)by Matt WeiserOne of the shocking truths to emerge from California’s continuing drought is this: the state has no idea how much water it has. Nor do its leaders have a clear idea how much water is actually diverted by users, what it is used for and how much is left over. “It’s kind of surprising how […]