Delta smelt have hovered close to extinction for years, but biologists say they’ve never seen anything like this spring. “There’s nothing between them and extinction, as far as I can tell,” said Peter Moyle, a U.C. Davis biologist who has studied smelt and other Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta fish species for nearly four decades. Last week, the […]
A state appellate court has temporarily blocked the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s $175 million purchase of five islands in the heart of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. On Tuesday, the 3rd District Court of Appeal granted a temporary stay preventing the sale from closing. Last month, a San Joaquin County judge refused to grant a […]
Southern California’s largest water supplier was temporarily blocked from buying sprawling farmland that could be used to help build twin tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a court ruled Tuesday. The state’s 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento granted a temporary restraining order the day before escrow was set to close on Metropolitan […]
Now in the fifth year of an epic drought, Californians have explored ways to save water and wring it out of typical and atypical sources. The search has spanned the gamut from funding research, investing in expensive solutions like desalination plants, toying with the idea of recycling wastewater, imposing water-use restrictions, letting lawns go dry […]
Sure enough, Clinton sprinkled a number of mentions of water into her standard stump speech, promising the crowd that if she’s elected president, “we’re going to get to work on water.” Her proposals were vague. She noted the “water systems here [were] built before our time,” before pledging to invest anew in infrastructure. New water projects […]
Last month, state water officials eased conservation mandates in response to slightly above-average winter rain and snow in much of California, leading many to speculate that the state’s long-running drought has tapered off.If only.The El Niño winter that forecasters said could drench the state with rain and snow veered north instead, striking mostly the Pacific […]
BLOG: Critical Index Finds Smelt Nearly Extinct in Delta
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)by Ryan SabalowDelta smelt have hovered close to extinction for years, but biologists say they’ve never seen anything like this spring. “There’s nothing between them and extinction, as far as I can tell,” said Peter Moyle, a U.C. Davis biologist who has studied smelt and other Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta fish species for nearly four decades. Last week, the […]
Appellate Court Temporarily Blocks Delta Island Sale
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Ryan Sabalow and Dale KaslerA state appellate court has temporarily blocked the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s $175 million purchase of five islands in the heart of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. On Tuesday, the 3rd District Court of Appeal granted a temporary stay preventing the sale from closing. Last month, a San Joaquin County judge refused to grant a […]
Court Suspends Metropolitan Water District’s Massive Delta Land Buy
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Associated Press (As Published by KQED - San Francisco)by Scott SmithSouthern California’s largest water supplier was temporarily blocked from buying sprawling farmland that could be used to help build twin tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a court ruled Tuesday. The state’s 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento granted a temporary restraining order the day before escrow was set to close on Metropolitan […]
BLOG: The Drought Solution That’s Under Our Feet
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)by Padma NagappanNow in the fifth year of an epic drought, Californians have explored ways to save water and wring it out of typical and atypical sources. The search has spanned the gamut from funding research, investing in expensive solutions like desalination plants, toying with the idea of recycling wastewater, imposing water-use restrictions, letting lawns go dry […]
Hillary Clinton in drought-plagued Fresno: ‘We’re going to get to work on water’
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Los Angeles Timesby MELANIE MASONSure enough, Clinton sprinkled a number of mentions of water into her standard stump speech, promising the crowd that if she’s elected president, “we’re going to get to work on water.” Her proposals were vague. She noted the “water systems here [were] built before our time,” before pledging to invest anew in infrastructure. New water projects […]
Thanks to La Niña, drought could get worse this winter
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Orange County Registerby AARON ORLOWSKILast month, state water officials eased conservation mandates in response to slightly above-average winter rain and snow in much of California, leading many to speculate that the state’s long-running drought has tapered off.If only.The El Niño winter that forecasters said could drench the state with rain and snow veered north instead, striking mostly the Pacific […]