Tag Archive for: department of water resources

Opinion: California Needs Comprehensive Groundwater Management

/in , /by /CalMattersby Jeanette Howard, Melissa M. Rohde and Barton H. Thompson

While California’s landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act promised comprehensive protection of the state’s groundwater, significant gaps remain in its coverage. The Department of Water Resources now has an opportunity to reduce or eliminate those gaps and should seize the moment. We know all Californians will experience another year of water shortages and warmer, drier conditions that will require conservation and which are likely to fuel destructive wildfires in our forests and around our communities.

Full Story

California Water Officials Tell Communities To Prepare For Potential Water Shortages

/in , , /by /CBS Sacramentoby Anna Giles

An extra dry summer with potential for water shortages – that’s what state and federal officials are telling Californians to prepare for.

Predictions for 2021 are bleak. Lake levels are low and the Sacramento region is not getting the spring showers many hoped for.

Full Story

Late-Winter Pacific Storm Brings Rain and Snow to California

/in , , /by /AP News

A cold, late-winter Pacific storm brought rain and snow to California on Tuesday. Winter storm warnings were posted or scheduled to take effect during the day in mountains from the Oregon border south to the U.S-Mexico border. Mountain travel was discouraged due to the potential for major delays, chain controls and near-whiteout conditions, the National Weather Service said. The San Francisco Bay Area weather office warned of possible hail, thunderstorms and downpours that could make driving risky.

Full Story

Valley Groundwater May Get (Small) Slice of State’s $15 Billion Surplus

/in , , /by /SJV Waterby Lois Henry

The Governor’s proposal for how to spend California’s $15 billion surplus includes $60 million in direct grants to help replenish groundwater in the valley’s most depleted basins.

The measure specifies the money is to be used in “critically over-drafted basins,” which lie mostly in the San Joaquin Valley.

Full Story

Newsom Vetoes Friant-Kern Canal Fix Bill

/in , , /by /The Central Valley Sunby Daniel Gligich

California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have provided funding to fix the ever-sinking Friant-Kern Canal.  State Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) introduced the bill back in 2018 and had strong bipartisan support, especially among her fellow Valley lawmakers.  SB 559 would have required the Department of Water Resources to report to the legislature by March 31, 2021, on federal funding approved by the federal government for the Friant Water Authority or any other government agency to restore the capacity of the Friant-Kern Canal.

Full Story

California’s Delta Tunnel Project Inches Forward – and Just Got a $15.9 Billion Price Tag

/in , , /by /Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

When Gov. Gavin Newsom downsized the Delta tunnels water project last year, the idea was to save money and try to appease at least some of the project’s critics. Yet the project remains controversial — and still figures to be costly. After months of relative quiet, Newsom’s administration released a preliminary cost estimate for the scaled-back project Friday: $15.9 billion for a single tunnel running beneath the estuary just south of Sacramento.

Full Story

State Awards $15 Million for San Diego Regional Water Projects

/in , , /by /The Clairemont Times

 The California Department of Water Resources has awarded more than $15 million in grant funds to advance several regional water projects in San Diego County, ranging from water recycling and reuse to water conservation.

Full Story

Water Resilience Projects Receive Nearly $84 Million from DWR

/in , , /by /AgNet Westby Brian German

The California Department of Water Resources has announced the latest funding awards for several water resilience projects throughout the state. A total of $83.9 million grant funding has been issued to communities in San Diego, San Joaquin, Sacramento, Sierra and Central Coast regions. The funding is aimed at supporting projects to address infrastructure needs, depleted groundwater levels, flood control issues, and other water issues of critical importance.

Full Story

Sierra Snowpack Withering in California’s Dry Winter. New Satellite Image Shows the Bad News

/in , , /by /The Sacramento Bee by Dale Kasler

The image is disturbing and leaves little doubt about California’s growing predicament: The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is a sad whisper of it was a year ago, a withering testament to the lack of precipitation in the state’s increasingly dry winter.

The National Weather Service tweeted satellite images of the Sierra on Tuesday, showing the stark difference between this year and the above-average snowfall from 2019. The mountain snowpack — a crucial element in the state’s annual water supply — is 53 percent of normal for this time of year, according to the Department of Water Resources.

Full Story

Local Agencies File Management Plans for Aquifers

/in , /by /Ag Alert (Sacramento) by Christine Souza

The deadline passed at the end of January for local agencies representing 19 of the state’s most stressed groundwater basins to submit plans for how the basins will reach sustainability during the next 20 years. It’s a milestone in implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

Speaking during the annual California Irrigation Institute conference in Sacramento last week, Tim Godwin of the California Department of Water Resources said the department is now reviewing the submitted plans. DWR will ultimately grade the plans as adequate; incomplete, which gives agencies 180 days to submit clarifying information; or inadequate, which requires DWR to consult with the State Water Resources Control Board on next steps.

Full Story