These are desperate days for the Colorado River. The pulsing lifeblood of the U.S. southwest is increasingly parched. To avert catastrophe, the U.S. government will, within weeks, propose historic cuts in water access. It’s a frantic move to protect a river that provides so much: drinking water for tens of millions of people, electricity and […]
There’s a water contradiction in the West with serious long-term water scarcity in low reservoirs and depleting groundwater tables, while California is in the middle of an extremely wet and snowy winter. As water levels in dangerously depleted Lake Mead and Lake Powell drop to record lows, California has experienced one of the wettest winters on […]
Welp, here we go again. After a long period (a full season, really) of different kinds of exceptional weather conditions all around California, there’s yet one more big storm to come in the immediate future (discussed below). But what has transpired in the past, oh, 48 hours or so?
More than 9,000 California residents were under evacuation orders Friday as a new atmospheric river brought heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong winds, swelling rivers and creeks and flooding several major highways and small rural communities. In Santa Cruz County, a creek bloated by rain destroyed a portion of Main Street in Soquel, a town of […]
When the nation’s largest desalination plant opened in Carlsbad, California, in 2015, people across the country were watching to see how it increased water supplies as groundwater dwindled, reservoirs dried up, and drought ravaged the Golden State. Nearly 10 years later, the plant has demonstrated how seawater desalination can play a pivotal role in achieving […]
Two winters’ worth of snow has already fallen in the Sierra Nevada since Christmas, pulling California from the depths of extreme drought into one of its wettest winters in memory. But as a series of tropical storms slams the state, that bounty has become a flood risk as warm rains fall on the state’s record snowpack, causing […]
An American Water Crisis
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /CBC Newsby Alexander PanettaThese are desperate days for the Colorado River. The pulsing lifeblood of the U.S. southwest is increasingly parched. To avert catastrophe, the U.S. government will, within weeks, propose historic cuts in water access. It’s a frantic move to protect a river that provides so much: drinking water for tens of millions of people, electricity and […]
Opinion: The West’s Weather Whiplash Should Not Influence Long-Term Water Management
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Hillby Thomas PiechotaThere’s a water contradiction in the West with serious long-term water scarcity in low reservoirs and depleting groundwater tables, while California is in the middle of an extremely wet and snowy winter. As water levels in dangerously depleted Lake Mead and Lake Powell drop to record lows, California has experienced one of the wettest winters on […]
Another Strong Storm May Bring Even More Substantial and Widespread Flooding & Wind-Related Impacts Late Mon-Tue
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Weather Westby Daniel SwainWelp, here we go again. After a long period (a full season, really) of different kinds of exceptional weather conditions all around California, there’s yet one more big storm to come in the immediate future (discussed below). But what has transpired in the past, oh, 48 hours or so?
Atmospheric River Floods California Towns, Brings Rain, Snow
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /APby Martha Mendoza and Olga R. RodriguezMore than 9,000 California residents were under evacuation orders Friday as a new atmospheric river brought heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong winds, swelling rivers and creeks and flooding several major highways and small rural communities. In Santa Cruz County, a creek bloated by rain destroyed a portion of Main Street in Soquel, a town of […]
Thirst for Water: How the Nation’s Largest Desalination Plant is Generating Change
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /Water Onlineby Vic Bianes and Jeremy Crutchfield Mentioned: San Diego County Water AuthorityWhen the nation’s largest desalination plant opened in Carlsbad, California, in 2015, people across the country were watching to see how it increased water supplies as groundwater dwindled, reservoirs dried up, and drought ravaged the Golden State. Nearly 10 years later, the plant has demonstrated how seawater desalination can play a pivotal role in achieving […]
California Storms Create Paradox: Too Much Water in Reservoirs, Too Soon
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /CalMattersby Alastair BlandTwo winters’ worth of snow has already fallen in the Sierra Nevada since Christmas, pulling California from the depths of extreme drought into one of its wettest winters in memory. But as a series of tropical storms slams the state, that bounty has become a flood risk as warm rains fall on the state’s record snowpack, causing […]