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OPINION: In California, Prop. 3 Is a Billion-Dollar Fix for Stubborn Water Woes

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Jerry Meral

In 2012, the California Legislature passed a law stating that it is a human right to have safe drinking water. But it provided only meager funds for that purpose. Proposition 3, a water bond on the November ballot, includes $750 million for safe drinking water and safe wastewater disposal in disadvantaged communities, and to eliminate lead from water fountains in schools. This is just one of many things Proposition 3 would accomplish by issuing $8.9 billion in revenue bonds to fund water projects in the state.

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OPINION: Farms, Food Producers Taking Strides To Save Water – And The Climate

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Kirsten James

Water and agriculture go hand in hand. Growing food for the planet’s people consumes 70 percent of its freshwater sources. Therefore, water is not only life-giving, it is life-sustaining. Yet with climate change, population growth and development on watersheds, an estimated 2 billion people globally face limited access to clean water. And demand for water is expected to grow by 30 percent globally by 2050.

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For Next California Governor, There’s Plenty Of Advice On Water Issues

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Douglas E. Beeman

There’s going to be a new governor in California next year – and a host of challenges, both old and new, involving the state’s most vital natural resource, water. So what should the next governor’s water priorities be? That was one of the questions put to more than 150 participants during a wrap-up session at the end of the Water Education Foundation’s Sept. 20 Water Summit in Sacramento.

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OPINION: Figuring On Climate Change: Model Outputs Vary, But Worries Are Real

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Tom Philp

The state of California recently released its Fourth Climate Change Assessment. Among the technical reports was a deep dive into the future of the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project. It was over my head. It was calling my name. And in climate change’s frenzied media cycle, the whole assessment soon faded. That’s too bad. This assessment of the state’s two largest water projects provides an important but foggy glimpse into what all of our water successors come 2060 will likely be fighting about. The fog is due to how there is no single prediction from what today’s best science, collectively, is trying to tell us.

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In Colorado, Water Bosses Begin To Accept Climate Change Impacts

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Brent Gardner-Smith

The phrase “climate change” did not appear on the agenda of a recent three-day meeting of the Colorado Water Congress, but the topic was often front and center at the conference, as it increasingly is at water meetings around the state and the region. Amy Haas, the new executive director of the Upper Colorado River Commission, told the Water Congress audience of about 300 water managers, irrigators, engineers and lawyers that “hydrology is changing more rapidly than we once thought” and that “it is primarily due to climate change.”

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Deeply Talks: Drought on the Colorado – Can We Adapt to Changing Runoff?

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Matt Weiser

Snowmelt is shrinking and runoff is coming earlier on the Upper Colorado River, the source of 90 percent of water for 40 million people in the West. This is leading to vegetation changes, water quality issues and other concerns. But it may be possible to operate reservoirs differently to ease some of these effects. In September’s episode of Deeply Talks, we spoke with two experts about the consequences and opportunities of these changes on the river.

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Is Groundwater Recharge A ‘Beneficial Use’? California Law Says No.

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Matt Weiser

State law does not currently allow surface water to be used for groundwater recharge if the goal is managing pollution, reversing subsidence or controlling salinity. That could be a problem as local agencies begin trying to make their groundwater use more sustainable. Groundwater depletion is a big problem in parts of California. But it is not the only groundwater problem. The state also has many areas of polluted groundwater, and some places where groundwater overdraft has caused the land to subside, damaging roads, canals and other infrastructure. Near the coast, heavy groundwater pumping has caused contamination by pulling seawater underground from the ocean.

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California’s Largest New Reservoir Likely To Face Water-Access Limits

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Matt Weiser

Sites Reservoir, the largest new water storage proposal in California, recently won a commitment of $816 million in state funds to help with construction. It promises to deliver enough water every year, on average, to serve 1 million homes. But regulatory realities looming in the background may mean the project has substantially less water at its disposal. The project would inundate an oak-studded valley 8 miles west of Maxwell, a town on Interstate-5 about a 90-minute drive north of Sacramento. For a total construction cost of $5.1 billion, the shallow Sites Reservoir could store 1.8million acre-feet of water.

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OPINION: Long Road Still Ahead To Fund New California Water Storage Projects

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Jay Lund

The California Water Commission recently allocated $2.7 billion from Proposition 1 bonds for eight water storage projects. Proposition 1 was passed in 2014 to fund a range of projects, including the “public purposes” of water storage projects, such as for ecosystem support, flood risk reduction, water quality, recreation and emergency response. Among its many funding provisions, both surface and underground water storage projects were eligible, nonstorage projects were not eligible and Proposition 1 could fund no more than 50 percent of storage project costs. Proposition 1’s storage provisions were driven by the still common notion that expanding surface storage is the major way to end water problems.

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Congress Must Move to Renew Federal Fund Vital For Watershed Protection

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Jay Ziegler

FOR MORE THAN 50 years, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has protected national parks and open spaces in every corner of the United States. In many ways, it is the most important conservation and recreation program in the U.S. But it will expire at the end of this month, unless Congress acts to reauthorize it prior to that. We need the LWCF to protect iconic outdoor places, increase public access to public lands for hunting, fishing, hiking and other outdoor activities, and create parks for our communities.

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