Californians are doing an outstanding job conserving water, reducing urban water use by nearly 26 percent during the last seven months of 2015, compared with the same period in 2013, exceeding Gov. Jerry Brown’s 25 percent reduction mandate. California’s investor-owned water utilities, together serving approximately 6 million people, are partnering with their customers to achieve […]
The California think-tank Pacific Institute released a report—Impacts of California’s Drought: Hydroelectric Generation 2015 Update—earlier this month that contains significant false and misleading information that could negatively impact California rivers and delay the transition away from dirty energy. First, the report and the news stories surrounding it repeatedly say that hydroelectric power is “less expensive” […]
On a hot summer afternoon, California farmer Chris Hurd barrels down a country road through the Central Valley city of Firebaugh, his dog Frank riding in the truck bed. He lurches to a stop in front of Oro Loma Elementary School, which was built in the 1950s to accommodate an influx of farmers’ and farmworkers’ […]
Last Sunday, I had a column that asked what I thought was a simple question: How much more development can our water supplies sustain? I figured planners must be looking at this issue considering the drought and new groundwater legislation that requires a holistic attitude toward our basin as opposed to the “I got my […]
“You can’t always get what you want but if you try sometimes you just might find You get what you need,” Rolling Stones (1969, Let It Bleed album) The ongoing California drought has many lessons for water managers and policy-makers. Perhaps the greatest lesson is how unimportant a drought can be if we manage water […]
Fed by gushing runoff, some area reservoirs are filling fast: Lake Spaulding, which provides much of the water for the Auburn area is at 173 percent of normal, and Folsom Lake is at 118 percent. Given rising levels, water leaders in Placer County rescinded an emergency drought status on Thursday. The Placer County Water Agency […]
OPINION: Drought-Emergency Plan Exit Plan Needed by State
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Daily Democrat (Woodland)by Jack HawksCalifornians are doing an outstanding job conserving water, reducing urban water use by nearly 26 percent during the last seven months of 2015, compared with the same period in 2013, exceeding Gov. Jerry Brown’s 25 percent reduction mandate. California’s investor-owned water utilities, together serving approximately 6 million people, are partnering with their customers to achieve […]
BLOG: Why Hydropower is Not ‘Cheap’ or ‘Clean’
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /EcoWatch (Cleveland, Ohio)by Gary WocknerThe California think-tank Pacific Institute released a report—Impacts of California’s Drought: Hydroelectric Generation 2015 Update—earlier this month that contains significant false and misleading information that could negatively impact California rivers and delay the transition away from dirty energy. First, the report and the news stories surrounding it repeatedly say that hydroelectric power is “less expensive” […]
A Dry Future Weighs Heavy on California Agriculture
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /High Country News (Paonia, Colo.)by By Sena ChristianOn a hot summer afternoon, California farmer Chris Hurd barrels down a country road through the Central Valley city of Firebaugh, his dog Frank riding in the truck bed. He lurches to a stop in front of Oro Loma Elementary School, which was built in the 1950s to accommodate an influx of farmers’ and farmworkers’ […]
OPINION: Water, growth and a little history
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Bakersfield Californianby Lois HenryLast Sunday, I had a column that asked what I thought was a simple question: How much more development can our water supplies sustain? I figured planners must be looking at this issue considering the drought and new groundwater legislation that requires a holistic attitude toward our basin as opposed to the “I got my […]
You Can’t Always Get What You Want – A Mick Jagger Theory of Drought Management
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /California WaterBlog (Davis)by Jay Lund“You can’t always get what you want but if you try sometimes you just might find You get what you need,” Rolling Stones (1969, Let It Bleed album) The ongoing California drought has many lessons for water managers and policy-makers. Perhaps the greatest lesson is how unimportant a drought can be if we manage water […]
Spaulding, Folsom Lakes Well Above Normal
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Auburn Journalby Michael MottFed by gushing runoff, some area reservoirs are filling fast: Lake Spaulding, which provides much of the water for the Auburn area is at 173 percent of normal, and Folsom Lake is at 118 percent. Given rising levels, water leaders in Placer County rescinded an emergency drought status on Thursday. The Placer County Water Agency […]