Why No One Won in This Year’s Water Wars
EVERY DROP COUNTS: California had (is still having, amazingly) a really good water year. But all the rain and snow is doing almost nothing to lubricate the state’s perpetual conflicts between fish and farms.
Tag Archive for: Agriculture
Opinion: California Should Look to Ocean for Municipal Water, Not Our Pastures
Colorado and other Upper Basin states must pay particular attention to recently published scientific studies detailing the improved water budget on the Colorado River Basin. On April 4, 2024, The Colorado Sun published a story with the headline “Cherish that hamburger. It cost a quarter of the Colorado River, according to researchers.”
As California Cracks Down on Groundwater, What Will Happen to Fallowed Farmland?
A couple of weeks ago, the California Water Resources Control Board put five agricultural water agencies in Kings County on probation for failing to adequately manage underground water supplies in the Tulare Lake Basin that have been seriously depleted due to overpumping.
California Farmers and Residents to Receive an Increase in Water Supply From DWR
The California Department of Water Resources announced an increase in the State Water Project water supply allocation forecast for 2024.
San Diego Farmers Practice Climate-resilient Agriculture to Curb Climate Change
San Diego County’s agriculture is a rich tapestry of over 5,000 mini-farms seamlessly blended into expanding urban landscapes. Most are family-owned organic farms producing high-value crops on just a few acres of land to turn a profit in this water-scarce, highly urbanized region.
California Farmers Depleted Groundwater In This County. Now A State Crackdown Could Rein Them In
For the first time in California history, state officials are poised to crack down on overpumping of groundwater in the agricultural heartland.
The State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday will weigh whether to put Kings County groundwater agencies on probation for failing to rein in growers’ overdrafting of the underground water supply.
‘Invisible’ Water Losses in California’s Agricultural Heartland Now Match Volume of Giant Reservoir: Study
The impacts of climate change in central California’s agriculture hub are causing such drastic increases in irrigation demands that annual water use over the past decade now matches the volume of the region’s biggest reservoir, a new study has found.
California Farms Dried Up a River for Months. Nobody Stopped Them.
During California’s most recent drought, officials went to great lengths to safeguard water supplies, issuing emergency regulations to curb use by thousands of farms, utilities and irrigation districts.
How America’s Diet Is Feeding the Groundwater Crisis
America’s striking dietary shift in recent decades, toward far more chicken and cheese, has not only contributed to concerns about American health but has taken a major, undocumented toll on underground water supplies.
In California’s Central Valley, One Nonprofit Has a Unique Approach to Help Solve the State’s Water Crisis
The land of the Central Valley works hard. Here in the heart of California, in the most productive farming region in the United States, almost every square inch of land has been razed, planted, and shaped to support large-scale agriculture. The valley produces almonds, walnuts, pistachios, olives, cherries, beans, eggs, milk, beef, melons, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and garlic.
