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California Budget To Provide $9.25 Million For Research Into Atmospheric Rivers

/in , , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose)

California’s 2019-20 budget will provide $9.25 million to study atmospheric rivers in an effort to improve flood control. Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, who also represents Yolo County announced the news on Wednesday. He indicated the research should lead to better understanding and forecasts of the weather patterns with the intention of not just better flood control but water retention “in a state grappling with the effects of climate change and chronic drought.”

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Effort To Allow Electricity From Large Dams To Count As Renewable Energy In California Fails To Pass

/in , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

A controversial effort to broaden California’s definition of renewable energy has fizzled out. The proposal would have allowed electricity from a large dam in the Central Valley to count the same as solar and wind. Under a law signed last year by former Gov. Jerry Brown aimed at reducing smog and greenhouse gas emissions, utilities in California are required to produce 60 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

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California Cold: Record-Breaking Chilly And Wet Weather Settles In, Along With A Hefty Snowpack

/in , /by /The Mercury Newsby Mike Branom

Any Californian who has simply had it with May’s gray, soggy chill had to hate the Memorial Day weekend. Rending asunder holiday plans of grilling at the park, or maybe some beach time, the final days of the month continued a statewide stretch of unseasonably cold, wet weather. On Sunday and Monday, precipitation fell and temperatures dropped, establishing daily records across the southern two-thirds of the state, from Modesto to Death Valley (0.04 inches of rain Monday).

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Seeking More Water, Silicon Valley Eyes Central Valley Farmland

/in , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Paul Rogers

The largest water agency in Silicon Valley has been secretly negotiating to purchase a sprawling cattle ranch in Merced County that sits atop billions of gallons of groundwater, a move that could create a promising new water source — or spark a political battle between the Bay Area and Central Valley farmers. The Santa Clara Valley Water District, based in San Jose, is in talks with the owners of the 4-S Ranch, a 5,257-acre property located about 15 miles northeast of Los Banos, for what would be a multi-million-dollar deal to create a huge underground water reserve.

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Should Big Dams Count As Renewable Energy? California Democrats Divided

/in , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

For motorists driving to Yosemite National Park from the Bay Area, Don Pedro Reservoir is a familiar sight. But the massive lake along Highway 120 just west of Groveland has taken on a new role recently: as a flashpoint in the debate over what should  and shouldn’t  count as renewable energy in California. The outcome of that debate could impact how much solar and wind energy is developed across the state in years to come.

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OPINION: Why California Eliminating Hydropower Makes No Sense

/in , /by /The Mercury Newsby Dan Walters

When California embarked on its quest to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases as a global model to stave off climate change, its first target was the state’s electric power industry. A series of ever-tightening decrees required utilities to shift from coal, natural gas and other carbon.based sources to a “renewable portfolio,” eventually reaching 100 percent non-carbon sources by mid-century.

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Four Years After California’s Largest Dam Removal Project, How Are The Fish Doing?

/in , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Paul Rogers

Four years ago, construction crews with huge jackhammers tore apart a 10-story concrete dam in the wooded canyons of the Carmel River, between the Big Sur hills and the beach front town of Carmel. The destruction of the San Clemente Dam, which had blocked the river since 1921, remains the largest dam removal project in California history. It’s still early, but one of the main goals of the project seems to be on track: The river is becoming wilder, and struggling fish populations are rebounding.

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OPINION: Editorial: Governor Sets Welcome New Course On Delta Water Issues

/in , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose)

Gov. Gavin Newsom set a welcome new course on California water issues Thursday when he officially killed the $19 billion Delta twin tunnels project. What a relief. One of the state’s biggest long-term challenge is securing a reliable source of water for residents, businesses and farmers without destroying the environment. The problem is further exacerbated by the anticipated impacts of climate change. We never understood former Gov. Jerry Brown’s stubborn support of the twin-tunnels effort, which involved digging the equivalent of a 10-lane freeway, 150 feet underground. Nor could we fathom why the Santa Clara Valley Water District board voted to support the project, knowing that the governor had essentially turned the boondoggle over to Southern California’s Metropolitan Water District to run.

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How NASA Is Taking The Guesswork Out Of Measuring California’s Snowpack

/in , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Lisa M. Krieger

To better measure the water in our snow, California is sending sharper eyes up into the sky. Two sensors peer out from a turboprop aircraft, soaring from Mammoth Yosemite Airport over the white Sierra Nevada – collecting data that tells us almost exactly how much water we’ll have this summer. Last week’s findings: 1.1 million acre-feet, or 350 billion gallons of water in the mountain snow of Yosemite’s Tuolumne River basin, which flows into Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and provides water to major Central Valley irrigation districts, San Francisco and several other Bay Area communities.

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Keep Conserving, Officials Say, San Bernardino Valley Groundwater Basins Are ‘Historically Low’

/in , , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Jennifer Iyer

As the Inland area dries out from this winter’s soaking, residents might be tempted to crank up their lawn sprinklers and wash the dust off their driveways, but not so fast, water officials say. All that rain has done little to erase the deficits in local groundwater basins which are at historic lows thanks to two decades of drought, according to the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, which manages water for 700,000 residents from Fontana to Yucaipa. Riverside is also a big user of water from San Bernardino valley basins. “The sky is not falling by any stretch, but the trend is negative,” said Bob Tincher, deputy general manager of resources for the district.

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