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State Water Contractors Pick Sides in Lawsuit over Trump’s Water Boost

/in , /by /The Sunby Alex Tavlian

The State Water Contractors, an association of water agencies drawing water from California’s State Water Project, is wading into the newest showdown in the Golden State’s Water Wars.

Tuesday, the association filed a motion to intervene as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Defenders of Wildlife, along with a handful of other environmental nonprofits.

The suit, launched in mid-December, is companion litigation to a suit launched by California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Xavier Becerra last month.

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Opinion: California’s Inner-Struggle for Common Sense on Water

/in , , /by /The Sun by Wayne Western Jr.

As you have probably heard, initial 2020 water allocations have been announced by the Bureau of Reclamation for Central Valley Project contractors.

For agriculture, north-of-Delta is currently allocated 50 percent of their contract while south-of-Delta ag users will receive is 15 percent.

Friant Class 1 users initial allocation is 20 percent while Class 2 is zero. Wildlife refuges will receive 100% while the San Joaquin Restoration Program will receive just under 71,000 acre-feet of water.

Other allocations cover senior water right holders and municipal and industrial uses.

It’s critical to note that reservoir levels and snowpack are not great but are also nowhere near the terrible levels of 2014 and 2015.

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As Wildfires Worsen, U.S. Forest Service Seeks 1,500 Temporary Workers In California

/in , /by /The Sunby Steve Scauzillo

With temperatures rising due to global climate change and millions of forest trees dying from heat and pest infestations every year, the potential for more wildfires is real.

To combat this growing threat, the U.S. Forest Service on Monday, Sept. 16, began accepting applications for 1,500 temporary jobs to work in the 18 national forests across the state next spring and summer, said Brenda Kendrix, a USFS spokesperson for the Pacific Region in Vallejo.

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OPINION: A Listening California Should Consult The Real Experts On Water

/in , , /by /The Sun by Wayne Western, JR.

The Natural Resources Agency, California EPA, and California Department of Food and Agriculture want the public’s input on how best to manage and deal with an uncertain water supply in the future.

It seems every new administration in Sacramento must deal with water issues in California that never seem to get fixed.

Under the last administration, water rationing, increasing flows to the ocean, higher rates to customers, multi-billion dollar bonds, increased regulations, and a declaration of the human right to water obviously didn’t do the trick.

 

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OPINION: Reject Latest Effort To Undermine Needed Local Water Projects

/in , /by /The Sun (San Bernardino, Calif.)by Steven Figueroa

Infrastructure projects that secure California’s future are being pursued every day in our great state. For better or worse, California is known to have the toughest environmental review laws in the nation with its CEQA framework that can impact these projects. CEQA has been roundly criticized over the years given the extent of its requirements and the legal challenges it allows — killing or delaying good projects that could create well-paying jobs and needed affordable resources for working families. In recent years, the Legislature, recognizing the impediment CEQA can be to needed infrastructure, has moved bills that try to reform CEQA or that grant exemptions from it.

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Time-Lapse Map Shows How Winter Rains Have Washed Away California’s Drought

/in , /by /The Sun (San Bernardino, Calif.)by Nikie Johnson

What a difference a winter can make. On Jan. 1, three-quarters of California was in drought. Just eight weeks later, however, a succession of storms have washed drought conditions away from all but a splotch at the far north edge of the state, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Some of Southern California is still considered abnormally dry, which means there are some lingering water deficits. Considering what the state has been through in recent years, this is good news.

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Rains Cause Canyon Lake Dam To Overflow, Sending Welcomed Water To Lake Elsinore

/in , /by /The Sun (San Bernardino)by Martin Wisckol

While this week’s rains forced mandatory evacuations for parts of the city of Lake Elsinore, it’s also brought good news for the lake itself. Canyon Lake dam upstream of Lake Elsinore is overflowing for the first time in two years, sending healthful water to Southern California’s largest natural freshwater lake. The lake periodically experiences dead fish on its shores and closures to people because of high levels of bacteria and algae as well as low oxygen levels in the water.

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