California and the U.S.

The latest news and analysis covering water issues in Caliornia and the rest of the United States.

Rain and Snow Return to California, Just in Time to Complicate Your Thanksgiving Travels

A major winter storm, the first of the season, is forecasted to drench California this week, just in time to make Thanksgiving travels all the more difficult, especially if you have to cross the mountain pass on the way to Thanksgiving dinner. The storm is expected to arrive Tuesday afternoon or evening, and will bring […]

El Nino Swings More Violently in the Industrial Age, Compelling Hard Evidence Says

El Ninos have become more intense in the industrial age, which stands to worsen storms, drought, and coral bleaching in El Nino years. A new study has found compelling evidence in the Pacific Ocean that the stronger El Ninos are part of a climate pattern that is new and strange.  

100-Year-Old Shasta County Dam Creating Conditions of ‘Extreme Peril’

With winter rains on their way, officials worry a dam that creates a small lake 17 miles west of Redding could collapse, inundating downstream homes with up to 20 feet of water if sediment and debris clogging two outlet pipes is not cleared. Two 30-inch outlet pipes at Misselbeck Dam have been clogged with silt […]

Opinion: California Rejects Federal Water Proposal, Lays Out its Vision for Protecting Endangered Species and Meeting State Water Needs

California’s water policy can be complex, and—let’s be honest—often polarizing. Water decisions frequently get distilled into unhelpful narratives of fish versus farms, north versus south, or urban versus rural. Climate change-driven droughts and flooding threats, as well as our divided political climate, compound these challenges. We must rise above these historic conflicts by finding ways […]

California Gov. Newsom Makes Move to Halt Trump Water Grab

California’s water wars escalated Thursday, as state leaders vowed to fight the Trump administration over plans to ship more water to Central Valley farms. Gov. Gavin Newsom and members of his administration announced that they were preparing a lawsuit against the federal government to prevent California’s rivers and wildlife from being cheated out of vital […]

Can a New Approach to Managing California Reservoirs Save Water and Still Protect Against Floods?

Many of California’s watersheds are notoriously flashy – swerving from below-average flows to jarring flood conditions in quick order. The state needs all the water it can get from storms, but current flood management guidelines require reservoirs to dump water each winter to make space for flood flows that may not come. However, new tools […]