The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board or Board) has posted a revised notice of availability and opportunity for public comment, hearing, and staff workshops on the draft Staff Report in support of possible Sacramento River and Delta updates to the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary (Bay-Delta Plan) to its […]
Read MoreCategory: Water Conservation Issue
California orders bottled water company to stop ‘unauthorized’ piping from springs
By Ian JamesSept. 9, 2023 A spokesperson for BlueTriton Brands said in an email that the company and its predecessors “have collected water from Arrowhead Springs in Strawberry Canyon in an environmentally responsible and sustainable way for more than 125 years.” BlueTriton, based in Stamford, Conn., took over the operation when Nestlé Waters North America was […]
Read MoreUPWARD project: Bringing California water rights data into the digital domain
In January 2022, the State Water Resources Control Board launched a new project called Updating Water Rights Data for California (UPWARD California) to improve how the state collects and manages its water rights data and information. […]
Read MoreHow California Could Save Up Its Rain To Ease Future Droughts
By Andrew Fisher, Resilience. January 15, 2023 Instead of watching epic atmospheric river rainfall drain into the Pacific. California has seen so much rain over the past few weeks that farm fields are inundated and normally dry creeks and drainage ditches have become torrents of water racing toward the ocean. Yet, most of the state remains in severe drought. […]
Read MoreNew Report Shows Continued Water Conservation Is Key to Enabling Suppliers to Meet Demand
As directed by 2018 legislation, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) today submitted a first report to the State Water Resources Control Board summarizing how urban water districts assess the adequacy of their supplies […]
Read MoreCalifornia’s drought means less water to go around. Who is winning the pursuit for water — and who is losing?
After three years of drought, the massive state and federal water projects that serve California’s cities and farms have less water to distribute, forcing water managers to increasingly ration supplies. This year, squeezed extra tight by the prolonged drought conditions, both the state and federal […]
Read MoreCalifornia curtails Russian River water rights as Lake Mendocino level drops
In the hopes of having at least 20,000 acre-feet of water remaining in Lake Mendocino by Oct. 1, the California State Water Resources Board this week ordered about 1,500 water rights holders to stop diverting water from the Russian River.
However, if the current rate of outflow from the reservoir continues, the lake could reach 20,000 acre-feet by Aug. 23, said Elizabeth Salomone, general manager of the Russian River Flood Control […]
Water board expands authority to curtail Delta water rights
08/04/21 By Brad Hooker The State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday approved a regulation granting it new authority to curtail senior water rights and ramp up enforcement for illegal diverters. The action is in response to one of the driest periods on record for California and the entire western U.S. The order targets more than 5,000 water right […]
Read MoreEditorial: The California salmon wipeout is even worse than you think
By The Times Editorial BoardJuly 26, 2021 The news reports about the California salmon wipeout got a good chunk of the story right: Record-breaking heat waves made Northern California rivers too warm to sustain migrating chinook salmon, and virtually all of the salmon in the Sacramento River this summer have died, or will die, before reproducing. Any eggs that were […]
Read MoreDrought is real and California is now facing water restrictions
Kurtis AlexanderMarch 23, 2021 State and federal water officials have delivered their most dire warning yet of California’s deepening drought, announcing that water supply shortages are imminent and calling for quick conservation. Among a handful of drastic actions this week, the powerful State Water Board on Monday began sending notices to California’s 40,000 water users, […]
Read MoreCalifornia Water Futures Begin Trading Amid Fear of Scarcity
By Kim Chipman – December 6, 2020. Water joined gold, oil and other commodities traded on Wall Street, highlighting worries that the life-sustaining natural resource may become scarce across more of the world. Farmers, hedge funds and municipalities alike are now able to hedge against — or bet on — future water availability in California, the biggest U.S. agriculture market and world’s fifth-largest economy. […]
Read MoreAppellate Court Upholds State Water Board’s Drought Emergency Regulations and Curtailment Orders Issued for Deer Creek
June 23, 2020 | Written by Michelle E. Chester On June 18, 2020, the Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the lower court’s determination that the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) lawfully adopted emergency regulations and curtailment orders during the State’s most recent drought emergency. The regulations and orders at the center […]
Read MoreCourt of Appeal Rejects Water Users’ Legal Challenge to Board’s Emergency Regulations, Temporary Curtailment Orders
California Appellate Court Upholds Water Board’s Broad Drought Response Authority California’s Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District recently upheld the State Water Resources Control Board’s temporary emergency drought response regulations–enacted in 2014-15–as well as related curtailment orders the Board issued to specific water users to implement those regulations. In doing so, the Water […]
Read MoreThe Environmental Downside of Cannabis Cultivation
Wide-scale cannabis cultivation is causing environmental damage. Federal regulations could change this. By Jodi Helmer Thanks to the legalization of recreational cannabis in 10 states and the District of Columbia, sparking up a joint in these areas is as easy as ordering a glass of wine. Spending on legal cannabis, which includes 33 states and the […]
Read MoreStop the Dirty Water Rule
If Trump’s Dirty Water Rule is finalized it will leave millions of acres of wetlands without clear Clean Water Act safeguards, along with streams throughout the nation. This will jeopardize the sources of drinking water and create uncertainty for the communities and businesses that rely on access to clean water and the protections that wetlands […]
Read MoreCalifornia Court Finds Public Trust Doctrine Applies to State Groundwater Resources
Court Rejects Claim That SGMA “Displaces” Public Trust’s Application to California Groundwater RICHARD FRANK, August 29, 2018 The California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District has issued an important decision declaring that California’s powerful public trust doctrine applies to at least some of the state’s overtaxed groundwater resources. The court’s opinion also rejects […]
Read MoreAction to Protect Land and Water Conservation Fund
What has been described as “America’s most-important conservation program” is set to expire Sept. 30. Established in 1964, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has provided—at no cost to U.S. taxpayers—millions of dollars for conservation, land acquisition, park access, infrastructure improvements, and much more. But in December 2015 Congress struck a deal to reauthorize the LWCF […]
Read MoreAn End to the Land and Water Conservation Fund?
What has been described as “America’s most-important conservation program” is set to expire Sept. 30. Established in 1964, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has provided—at no cost to U.S. taxpayers—millions of dollars for conservation, land acquisition, park access, infrastructure improvements, and much more. But in December 2015 Congress struck a deal to reauthorize the LWCF […]
Read MoreHarmful Forestry Bill: AB 2889
AB 2889 I have submitted a letter to the Natural Resources Committee (attached) and added sections from the Forest Practice Act (the proposed leg. language makes the review team (interagency review process noted in the Act and the Forest Practice Rules)) process + plus public comment and Calfire review impossible). After re-reading #5 in the […]
Read MoreMarch 1- Brock Dolman: Conserving and Restoring Watersheds
To All, March 1st, we have a true water wizard joining us: Brock Dolman of OAEC. Brock is a biologist who’s spend decades of his life researching and campaigning for restoring watersheds and beavers across California. He brings a true understanding of water dynamics, and will show how we can protect our watersheds, and restore […]
Read MoreA Billion-Dollar Investment in New York’s Water
New York City’s water system moves over a billion gallons a day, nearly all of it unfiltered. A major investment aims to keep it that way. By WINNIE HU New Yorkers like to brag about their tap water. Not only is it safe to swill, but it has even been called the “champagne of drinking water.” […]
Read MoreRiver Rally Hosted by River Network
To All, April 29 – May 2, 2018 | Olympic Valley, California River Rally, hosted annually by River Network, is a national conference for river and water champions. Unique in its focus on providing practical education, inspiring courage, and celebrating achievements, River Rally brings together hundreds of people from across the United States and the […]
Read MoreBig Unknowns: What Legal Marijuana Means for Water in Western States
Six western states now allow recreational use of marijuana, creating a huge new legal market for cannabis farmers. But the implications for water supplies remain a big unknown. “It looks like a mess right now,” one expert says. Written by Matt Weiser Published on Jan. 3, 2018 Read time Approx. 10 minutes States throughout the West have rushed to legalize […]
Read MoreWebinar on Water in the West by Water Deeply
To All, As California and other Western states begin to measure the (so far slowly) accumulating snowpack, we’re turning our attention to some of the biggest water issues that will be facing the region in 2018. What’s the fate of California WaterFix? Will California decide to allocate money to build its first big dam in […]
Read MoreNew Policy Sets Rules for Marijuana Growers to Protect California Water
California’s State Water Board recently passed new policies that will regulate water impacts from marijuana growing operations. Erin Ragazzi and Scott Couch of the Water Board discuss the challenges. Written by Ian Evans Published on Nov. 7, 2017 On October 17, the California State Water Resources Control Board adopted new environmental policies to regulate how marijuana growing […]
Read MoreJoin Water Deeply in a Conversation on Water Risk
To All (from Water Deeply), When you sit down to eat dinner, it might not be obvious how much water went into making your meal. But our kitchen tables are flooded with hidden water costs. According to the Los Angeles Times, a pound of beef requires more than 1,700 gallons of water to produce and […]
Read MoreDeciphering dueling analyses of clean water regulations
To All, This is a short policy forum piece from Science worth reading to see the arguments fabricated by the Trump administration to overturn the 2015 Waters of the United States rule. This is the rule that addresses the reach of the Clean Water Act. How far does it extend into wetlands, if at all. […]
Read MoreOtPR’s list of dangerous ideas in water management
by onthepublicrecord The California Water Blog recently created a list of “dangerous ideas in California water”. Here are a few additional dangerous ideas in CA water management. That conventional growth predictions are immutable and will pose new demand that we must meet. There are a few predictions for the mid-century that I hear often. The top […]
Read MoreLink to see “Water & Power: A California Heist”
To All, An important film that gives the little known state of California’s water is Water & Power: A California Heist. Here is a link to see it: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6290202/ Larry
Read MoreSierra Club’s Position on the Delta (Twin) Tunnels
Dear Larry, Every so often, I’ll receive a call or email from a Sierra Club member asking what Sierra Club California’s position is on the proposed Delta tunnels. The number of inquiries has increased lately because the tunnels have been in the news more than usual. Let me say at the top: Sierra Club California […]
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