House Republicans are trying a new approach to divert more water from Northern California. Check that. They’re dusting off a stale and disreputable tactic: attaching a proposal that can’t pass on its own to unrelated legislation that has bipartisan support. In this instance, they’re hitching a ride on Senate-approved energy measures that reached the House floor […]
When California officials announced an end to restrictions on urban water use last week, they cited the recent wet winter as one reason. El Niño, the climate pattern that brought a succession of storms to Northern California, had given the state a reprieve from its water woes, they said. Those storms left a mountain snowpack […]
El Nino couldn’t bail California out of an unprecedented drought. Don’t count on La Nina to do any better. California, in its fifth year of drought, gets most of its water from November to March. The El Nino that’s been in place for about a year helped fill some northern reservoirs but failed to bring much […]
Wading into a longstanding California water war, the House of Representatives Wednesday endorsed a Republican plan to shift more water to San Joaquin Valley farmers and cut the flow for threatened fish and growers in another part of the state. Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., tried to strike that proposal from a spending bill, but lost […]
The House voted 247 to 169 Wednesday to keep to a measure affecting California’s drought in an appropriations bill. Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Stockton) had moved to strip the measure from the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2017. He and other Northern California Democrats argue it would have a […]
Conditions in the Upper Colorado River Basin, particularly in Colorado, are OK for the time being, officials said Wednesday during a “state of the river” address in Rifle. However, the largest of several caveats to that statement falls in the context of the entire Colorado River Basin, specifically the lower basin, where water use continues […]
OPINION: Another Water Grab Surfaces in Congress
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa)House Republicans are trying a new approach to divert more water from Northern California. Check that. They’re dusting off a stale and disreputable tactic: attaching a proposal that can’t pass on its own to unrelated legislation that has bipartisan support. In this instance, they’re hitching a ride on Senate-approved energy measures that reached the House floor […]
Curbs are Lifted, but Water Issues Remain for California
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The New York Timesby Henry FountainWhen California officials announced an end to restrictions on urban water use last week, they cited the recent wet winter as one reason. El Niño, the climate pattern that brought a succession of storms to Northern California, had given the state a reprieve from its water woes, they said. Those storms left a mountain snowpack […]
El Nino Couldn’t Save West From Drought, La Nina May Not Either
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Bloombergby Brian K SullivanEl Nino couldn’t bail California out of an unprecedented drought. Don’t count on La Nina to do any better. California, in its fifth year of drought, gets most of its water from November to March. The El Nino that’s been in place for about a year helped fill some northern reservoirs but failed to bring much […]
House Wading Into California’s Long-Running Water War
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /NBC Bay Areaby Andrew TaylorWading into a longstanding California water war, the House of Representatives Wednesday endorsed a Republican plan to shift more water to San Joaquin Valley farmers and cut the flow for threatened fish and growers in another part of the state. Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., tried to strike that proposal from a spending bill, but lost […]
House rejects bid to strip California water provision from appropriations bill
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Los Angeles Timesby Sarah D. WireThe House voted 247 to 169 Wednesday to keep to a measure affecting California’s drought in an appropriations bill. Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Stockton) had moved to strip the measure from the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2017. He and other Northern California Democrats argue it would have a […]
Good and Bad News for Colo. River Basin
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Post Independent (Glenwood Springs, Colo.)by Ryan HoffmanConditions in the Upper Colorado River Basin, particularly in Colorado, are OK for the time being, officials said Wednesday during a “state of the river” address in Rifle. However, the largest of several caveats to that statement falls in the context of the entire Colorado River Basin, specifically the lower basin, where water use continues […]