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House Passes Water Resources Development Act; Final Bill Expected to Become Law This Year

/in , /by /Lake County Newsby Elizabeth Larson

On Tuesday, Congressman John Garamendi, a senior member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure whose district includes 200 miles of the Sacramento River and is adjacent to several major ports, secured key provisions in the “Water Resources Development Act of 2020” for the California Delta and Central Valley. The legislation passed the House Tuesday and is expected to pass the Senate with strong bipartisan support and become law this year.

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Conservationists Challenge ‘Destructive’ Central California Dam Project

/in , , /by /Courthouse News Serviceby Martin Macias Jr

A proposed dam in California’s Central Valley is billed as a vital agricultural resource. But conservationists say it would also flood important cultural and recreational sites for surrounding communities and destroy wildlife habitat.

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Kern Farmers Tapped for $14 million to Study Delta Tunnel

/in , , /by /SJV Water (San Joaquin Valley)by Lois Henry

Kern County farmers on Wednesday agreed to chip in $14 million over the next two years to kick off another attempt to move water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta via tunnel.

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Is Ecosystem Change in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Outpacing the Ability of Science to Keep Up?

/in , , /by /Western Water News (Water Education Foundation)by Gary Pitzer

Radically transformed from its ancient origin as a vast tidal-influenced freshwater marsh, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem is in constant flux, influenced by factors within the estuary itself and the massive watersheds that drain though it into the Pacific Ocean. Lately, however, scientists say the rate of change has kicked into overdrive, fueled in part by climate change, and is limiting the ability of science and Delta water managers to keep up. The rapid pace of upheaval demands a new way of conducting science and managing water in the troubled estuary that is central to California’s water conveyance system.

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Opinion: It’s Time to Re-Envision the California Water System

/in , , /by /AgAlertby Justin Fredrickson (California Farm Bureau Federation)

Recent years have brought a taste of extreme weather and the destructive power in nature that’s always just around the corner here in California. At the same time, numerous crises have highlighted our many vulnerabilities: drought, new groundwater restrictions, endless stumbling blocks in the way of system repairs and upgrades, regulatory restrictions to protect declining fish, and elusive voluntary agreements in lieu of  “unimpaired flow” standards for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta from the state water board that would be ineffective and would cripple regional economies.

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Drought and the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, 2012–2016: Environmental Review and Lessons

/in , , /by /California Water Blog (UC Davis Water Sciences)by Jay Lund

Droughts are common in California. The drought of 2012-2016 had no less precipitation and was no longer than previous historical droughts (Figure 1), but came with record high temperatures (Figure 2) and low snowpack (Figure 3), which worsened many drought impacts. Water supplies for agriculture and urban users statewide struggled to meet water demands. Conservation and rationing, increased groundwater pumping and a diversified economy helped keep California’s economy robust in most sectors. The drought degraded environmental conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as the region became saltier and warmer, invasive weeds spread, and iconic fishes like salmon and Delta smelt had strong declines.

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Even in Dry Year, Valley Farmers See a Bump in Water Allocation

/in , , /by /The San Joaquin Valley Sunby Alex Tavlian

Farmers south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta received some welcome news on Tuesday.

After a set of spring storms in April, water allocations from the Central Valley Project are increasing almost across the board at a rate of 5 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced.

Water users on the westside of the San Joaquin Valley will see a five percent increase in water allocation – from 15 to 20 percent of their contracted amount.

Municipal and industrial users, similarly, saw a five percent bump to 70 percent of their contracted amount of water.

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Judge Throws Water on California Bid to Slow Delta Pumping

/in , , /by /Courthouse News Serviceby Nick Cahill

In California’s eternal water wars, Trump’s push to send the liquid gold from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to farmers in the south was contested by the state and environmentalists in federal court Thursday.

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Lawsuits Fly Amid State, Federal Changes in California Water Delivery and Use

/in , , /by /Engineering News-Recordby Mary B. Powers

California Environmental groups on April 29 challenged in court the state Dept. of Water Resources decision not to include a proposed 40-mile tunnel in its most recent environmental assessment needed to reauthorize long-term operation of the State Water Project—a 700-mile system of dams and aqueducts that moves water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to areas in the south.

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Bernhardt: Newsom’s Water Gambit “Potentially Unlawful”

/in , , /by /The Sunby Alex Tavlian

U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt isn’t shying away from reminding Californians who reigns supreme in its water wars. In a letter issued Tuesday, Bernhardt reminded California leaders that its ability to act unilaterally in enacting restrictive rules governing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is limited and could violate the law.

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