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A Warmer, Drier West: A Detailed History and Possible Future of Water Use in the West

/in , , /by /KCETby Kim Stringfellow

On October 13, 1893, Major John Wesley Powell, celebrated explorer, geologist and Civil War veteran, addressed delegates of the Second Irrigation Congress in Los Angeles, declaring to the capitalists, politicians and boosters attending (and whose main agenda was to develop the arid West), “What matters it whether I am popular or unpopular? I tell you, gentlemen, you are piling up a heritage of conflict and litigation over water rights, for there is not sufficient water to supply these lands.” Powell’s blunt prophetic statement did not win support. The delegates booed him off the stage.

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Restoring the River with the Yurok, Hupa, and Karuk

/in , /by /KCET

For the past two centuries, California has relied heavily on the natural resources of the North Coast region, exploiting its pristine watersheds for agriculture and its forests for timber. But today, the environmental costs of timber extraction and damming have reached a tipping point.

Now the Yurok are working with local and state organizations to revitalize the forests, rivers and wildlife, a comprehensive feat requiring collaboration among community leaders up and down the Klamath and Trinity Rivers.

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Unquenchable Thirst: Groundwater Bill Could Shift State’s Water Management Approach

/in , , /by /KCET by Char Miller

The latest salvo is California’s long-running water wars, SB307, has the potential to emerge as one of the most important pieces of water regulation in recent years. Although its target was narrow — it was designed to undercut the capacity of Cadiz, Inc. to pump annually upwards of 16 billion gallons of groundwater in eastern San Bernardino County and sell it to ever-thirsty Southern California — the legislation may prove to be far-reaching in its consequences.

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Five Most Fascinating L.A. Dams, Where Disasters Struck And Catastrophes Were Averted

/in , /by /KCETby Sandi Hemmerlein

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there was one surefire way for man to conquer nature in Southern California. Build a dam. With dams, water agencies could control the flow of raging rivers, stockpile emergency water supplies and even create giant lakes out of natural dry (or mildly soggy) basins. But the water that was supposed to be held and controlled sometimes overcame some of these great civil engineering feats. And so, many of the stories of the Los Angeles Basin’s tragedy and triumph can be told through the histories of its dams – those that still exist and those that have been lost to failure.

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Shadow Of Drought: Southern California’s Looming Water Crisis

/in , /by /KCET (Burbank, Calif.)

While California recovers from the worst drought in state history, a myriad of impacts resulting from climate change threaten Southern California’s imported water supply. As a shadow of drought hangs over the region, this documentary explores the dire consequences of inaction that lie ahead.

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