The Trump administration on Friday awarded a permanent water delivery contract to the country’s largest agricultural district, brushing aside environmentalists’ concerns about California’s uncertain water future in the face of climate change. At issue is irrigation water that flows through the Bureau of Reclamation’s Central Valley Project to the Westlands Water District, a Rhode Island-sized […]
February has been amazingly dry in California, if anyone hasn’t noticed. No precipitation at all in February, a dry forecast, about 51% of seasonal Sacramento Valley precipitation (a bit less for the San Joaquin and Tulare basins), and only about half (45-57%) of normal snowpack for this time of year. Unless March is wet, this […]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Bureau of Reclamation executed congressionally-mandated contract conversions last Friday, with Central Valley Project contractors pursuant to the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act. These contracts provide water to families, farms and communities in the respective California contractors’ service areas. Today’s contract conversions are the first group of more than 75 […]
Australia’s summers have lengthened by as much as a month or more in the past half century, exposing people to greater fire and heat extremes and placing ecosystems and farm crops at risk. Researchers from The Australia Institute analysed data from 70 of the Bureau of Meteorology’s weather stations across southern and sub-tropical Australia, where […]
Some communities in California just experienced the driest February ever, and there’s around an 80 percent chance the state will enter a full-blown drought this year. If that happens, it could be the third-driest year in over a century, according to modeling by the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis. But even though around […]
The Interior Department on Friday awarded the nation’s largest farm water district a permanent entitlement to annual irrigation deliveries that amount to roughly twice as much water as the nearly 4 million residents of Los Angeles use in a year. Gaining a permanent contract for so much cheap Central Valley Project water represents a major milestone […]
Feds Ink Deal with Water District Tied to Bernhardt
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /E&E News by Jeremy P. JacobsThe Trump administration on Friday awarded a permanent water delivery contract to the country’s largest agricultural district, brushing aside environmentalists’ concerns about California’s uncertain water future in the face of climate change. At issue is irrigation water that flows through the Bureau of Reclamation’s Central Valley Project to the Westlands Water District, a Rhode Island-sized […]
California’s Driest February and Coming Drought?
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /California WaterBlog (UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences)by Jay LundFebruary has been amazingly dry in California, if anyone hasn’t noticed. No precipitation at all in February, a dry forecast, about 51% of seasonal Sacramento Valley precipitation (a bit less for the San Joaquin and Tulare basins), and only about half (45-57%) of normal snowpack for this time of year. Unless March is wet, this […]
Bureau of Reclamation Completes First Group of Congressionally-Mandated California Central Valley Project Contract Conversions
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Sierra Sun TimesSACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Bureau of Reclamation executed congressionally-mandated contract conversions last Friday, with Central Valley Project contractors pursuant to the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act. These contracts provide water to families, farms and communities in the respective California contractors’ service areas. Today’s contract conversions are the first group of more than 75 […]
Summers Are Starting Earlier, Finishing Later and Winter is in Retreat
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Sydney Morning Heraldby Peter HannamAustralia’s summers have lengthened by as much as a month or more in the past half century, exposing people to greater fire and heat extremes and placing ecosystems and farm crops at risk. Researchers from The Australia Institute analysed data from 70 of the Bureau of Meteorology’s weather stations across southern and sub-tropical Australia, where […]
Drought In California Seems Inevitable. But Experts Say Don’t Panic
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Capital Public Radioby David Ezra RomeroSome communities in California just experienced the driest February ever, and there’s around an 80 percent chance the state will enter a full-blown drought this year. If that happens, it could be the third-driest year in over a century, according to modeling by the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis. But even though around […]
Westlands Water District Gets Permanent U.S. Contract for Massive Irrigation Deliveries
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Los Angeles Timesby Bettina BoxallThe Interior Department on Friday awarded the nation’s largest farm water district a permanent entitlement to annual irrigation deliveries that amount to roughly twice as much water as the nearly 4 million residents of Los Angeles use in a year. Gaining a permanent contract for so much cheap Central Valley Project water represents a major milestone […]