California and the U.S.

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

UCLA Forecast: Strong California Economy Faces Slowdown By End Of 2020

California’s economy is continuing to outperform the nation as a whole, but thanks to anticipated economic slowing in the United States and globally, the state will likely start seeing some negative impacts by the end of next year, according to a UCLA Anderson Forecast released Wednesday. In his report on the state, UCLA Anderson Forecast Director […]

Washington Farmers Urged To Contact Wildlife Officials Before Turning Off Irrigation Systems To Help Save Fish

Farmers pump water from streams through irrigation canals and fish can also end up in those canals. When the irrigation season is over, fish are often left stranded. Before farmers and other irrigators shut down their irrigation systems this year, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says to call them to ensure fish are […]

EPA Slams California Again, This Time On Raw Sewage Of Homeless

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rapped California for allowing “piles of human feces” and other pollution tied to the state’s “homelessness crisis” to foul nearby waterways, opening a new front in a Trump administration battle with the nation’s most populous state. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler demanded California outline its plans for tackling the problem in a letter […]

Newsom Will Announce New Plans For A Satellite To Track Climate Change

Former Gov. Jerry Brown famously said last year that California would launch its “own damn satellite” to track climate change in defiance of the Trump administration. On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom will announce a new approach and way to pay for it.

A River Runs Through Them

It starts in a valley and ends in the mountains. Water temperatures at its source are warmer than when it meets the Pacific Ocean 257 miles away. It begins as a chemical stew and terminates teeming with life. It is the second largest river in California. And now one of the most controversial. A plan […]

California Farmers Fear ‘Catastrophic’ Water Restrictions. Can They Adapt to Survive?

It was 2015 and, as far as John Konda knew, farming still had a viable future in the San Joaquin Valley. So he expanded. The Tulare County grower planted 75 acres of pistachios, adding to a farm he’s owned since 2003. Two years later, in order to augment his water supply, he drilled two new […]