When Californians want to buy a car, data on fuel efficiency, safety, performance and virtually every factoid imaginable are just a quick online search away. However, California’s water managers have to do extensive research just to piece together the basic facts. By making California’s existing water data open, transparent and publicly accessible, we could […]
Water wars in the West have existed since gold rush days. Mark Twain said it best: “Water is for fighting. Whiskey is for drinking.” Storage dams, reservoirs, canals, ditches and tunnels have been built all over the West to serve agriculture, mining and domestic water supplies for nearly 175 years. The massive water systems in […]
Endangered salmon blocked for nearly a century from hundreds of miles of the Klamath River in Oregon and California are expected to return en masse under unusual agreements signed Wednesday to tear down four hydroelectric dams. U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, who signed agreements with the governors of both states, said the plan would bring […]
Much of Sacramento’s charm flows from the American and Sacramento rivers. Those rivers also are a threat. The weak El Niño and years of drought notwithstanding, Sacramento remains the most flood-prone U.S. city this side of New Orleans. For all the levee work that has been completed – $2 billion worth since 1990 – more is […]
With Lake Oroville at its highest level in nearly four years, state officials were cautiously optimistic that the reservoir will reach the crest this year. The lake was less than 18 feet from the crest of 900 feet above sea level, as of 5 p.m. Friday. The last time the lake was this high was […]
Drought has been called a slow-moving natural disaster – unlike flood, fire and earthquake. Perhaps the only thing that moves slower is federal law and policy. Even so, with the California drought now in its fifth year, it must be asked: Where are the innovations in federal law that might have helped? Politicians in Washington […]
OPINION: We Can Better Deal With Drought With More Data
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento BeeWhen Californians want to buy a car, data on fuel efficiency, safety, performance and virtually every factoid imaginable are just a quick online search away. However, California’s water managers have to do extensive research just to piece together the basic facts. By making California’s existing water data open, transparent and publicly accessible, we could […]
OPINION: Sites Reservoir Would Serve Key Role in State’s Water System
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Redding Record Searchlight by By Alan HillWater wars in the West have existed since gold rush days. Mark Twain said it best: “Water is for fighting. Whiskey is for drinking.” Storage dams, reservoirs, canals, ditches and tunnels have been built all over the West to serve agriculture, mining and domestic water supplies for nearly 175 years. The massive water systems in […]
Dam Destruction Agreement Will Allow Endangered Salmon to Finally Swim Home
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Associated Press (As Published by AllGov California)by By Jonathan J. CooperEndangered salmon blocked for nearly a century from hundreds of miles of the Klamath River in Oregon and California are expected to return en masse under unusual agreements signed Wednesday to tear down four hydroelectric dams. U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, who signed agreements with the governors of both states, said the plan would bring […]
OPINION: Prepare for a Flood of New Levee Work
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento BeeMuch of Sacramento’s charm flows from the American and Sacramento rivers. Those rivers also are a threat. The weak El Niño and years of drought notwithstanding, Sacramento remains the most flood-prone U.S. city this side of New Orleans. For all the levee work that has been completed – $2 billion worth since 1990 – more is […]
Lake Oroville Within 18 Feet of Crest
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Daily Democrat (Woodland)by By Ryan OlsonWith Lake Oroville at its highest level in nearly four years, state officials were cautiously optimistic that the reservoir will reach the crest this year. The lake was less than 18 feet from the crest of 900 feet above sea level, as of 5 p.m. Friday. The last time the lake was this high was […]
OPINION: Drought Proposals in Congress are so Last Century
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Bee by By Matt WeiserDrought has been called a slow-moving natural disaster – unlike flood, fire and earthquake. Perhaps the only thing that moves slower is federal law and policy. Even so, with the California drought now in its fifth year, it must be asked: Where are the innovations in federal law that might have helped? Politicians in Washington […]