Tag Archive for: California

California’s Major Reservoirs Remain Nearly Full Heading Into Summer

This will be the first time in several years that California will enter summer with the majority of its reservoirs at or over 90 percent of total capacity, according to data from the California Department of Water Resources.

As of Saturday, Shasta, Oroville, Folsom, New Bullards Bar, San Luis, Castaic and Cachuma reservoirs are over 90 percent of their total capacity and in the case of Shasta and Oroville are less than 5 percent away from being full.

Map Shows Epic Amounts of Water Gushing Through California’s Rivers

This year’s historic snowpack has meant epic amounts of water flowing through California’s rivers, streams and creeks. … That’s more than the capacity of four standard 40-foot shipping containers rushing by each second. Around 40% of the roughly 500 stream gauges across the state are running above normal, provisional data from the U.S. Geological Survey shows. A few dozen are registering record highs for this time of year, especially along the central and southern Sierra. With peak melt season expected in the coming weeks, this means plentiful amounts of water running into reservoirs, but also dangerously fast flows and the risk for potential flooding.

First Drought, Then Flood. Can the West Learn to Live Between Extremes?

The shadows were long and the wind across the flatlands fierce as trucks and ATVs began pulling into Chepo Gonzales’s yard one afternoon this March. “Did you double up your socks today?” Gonzales teased one of the arrivals, a man who complained about cold feet during the previous night’s patrol. Another man leaned out the window of his truck and offered a more serious status report: “There’s a lot of water out there, but it’s flowing north.”

SoCal Water Officials Hail Tri-State Agreement to Cut Colorado River Usage

Leaders of Southern California’s water wholesaler hailed a three-state agreement announced Monday aimed at dramatically reducing the amount of water pulled from the Colorado River over the next three years.

The proposed deal among California, Nevada, Arizona and the federal government would stave off what could have been far more dramatic cuts imposed by federal regulators had the states not brokered a deal by the end of the month.

Opinion: Colorado River Water Deal Gives California Another Reprieve. For Now

The Colorado River deal announced Monday is more of a temporary reprieve than a solution to plummeting water supplies. The deep water cuts for California, Arizona and Nevada will tide over thirsty residents and farmers only until the end of 2026. The real reckoning comes when operating agreements expire for Lake Mead, which feeds the Colorado’s water to Southern California and the two other lower-basin states, and Lake Powell, which regulates the flow into Lake Mead while serving Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico.

Opinion: California Taxpayers on the Hook to Save Two Unhealthy Western Rivers

The Klamath River begins in Oregon, draining the eastern slope of the Cascade Mountains, and slices through the northwestern corner of California before flowing into the Pacific Ocean. The Colorado River begins in Colorado, draining the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, before meandering southwesterly and emptying into Mexico’s Sea of Cortez – if there’s any water left after California and other states have tapped the river for irrigation and municipal supplies.

City’s Current Water Use Restrictions Will Stay in Place, Despite Recent Record Rains

The City will stay the course and stick with implementation of stricter water conservation measures under Level 2 of its Water Supply Shortage Plan.

This after the City Council on Monday voted against a recommendation that would have eased local watering restrictions.

Tribe Signs Pact With California to Work Together on Efforts to Save Endangered Salmon

A California tribe has signed agreements with state and federal agencies to work together on efforts to return endangered Chinook salmon to their traditional spawning areas upstream of Shasta Dam, a deal that could advance the long-standing goal of tribal leaders to reintroduce fish that were transplanted from California to New Zealand more than a century ago and still thrive there.

California Faces Rapid Snowmelt From Heat Wave; Flood Fears in Yosemite, Elsewhere

After weeks of uncertainty, forecasters say an incoming California heat wave will trigger rapid snowmelt on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada and cause more flooding in portions of the San Joaquin and Owens valleys this week.

Temperatures in Central California are forecast to climb into the high 80s and mid-90s beginning Wednesday and into the weekend, with the potential for some areas to approach daily records.

How El Niño Could Influence Next Winter In California, The West

El Niño is likely next winter and that could play an important role in the weather in parts of storm-weary California and the West.

But there are some important caveats and stubborn myths about this that also need to be addressed.