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 Given rising levels, water leaders in Placer County rescinded an emergency drought status on Thursday.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 […]
The return of rain and snow to California “could be helpful” to prospects for bringing federal water to farms this year, but officials could still be a couple of weeks from making that determination, a spokesman says. The Central Valley Project typically makes its initial allocations to cities, farms and other entities in late February, […]
Warning that a drought-driven surge in well drilling is causing the earth to sag and imperiling long-term water supplies, a California senator wants to place more stringent limits on new wells. In an effort sure to inflame ever-sensitive disputes over water rights, Senate Bill 1317, by Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, would have people hoping to […]
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 […]
Feds Consider Initial CVP Water Allocation for Farms, Cities
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Capital Press (Salem, Ore.)by Tim HeardenThe return of rain and snow to California “could be helpful” to prospects for bringing federal water to farms this year, but officials could still be a couple of weeks from making that determination, a spokesman says. The Central Valley Project typically makes its initial allocations to cities, farms and other entities in late February, […]
New Limits on California Well-Drilling Sought
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Jeremy B. WhiteWarning that a drought-driven surge in well drilling is causing the earth to sag and imperiling long-term water supplies, a California senator wants to place more stringent limits on new wells. In an effort sure to inflame ever-sensitive disputes over water rights, Senate Bill 1317, by Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, would have people hoping to […]