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. […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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 […]
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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 […]
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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, […]
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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. […]
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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 MoreCalifornia 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 MoreWide-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 MoreIf 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 MoreCourt 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 MoreWhat 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 MoreWhat 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 MoreAB 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 MoreTo 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 MoreNew 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 MoreTo 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 MoreSix 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 MoreTo 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 MoreCalifornia’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 MoreTo 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 MoreTo 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 Moreby 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 MoreTo 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 MoreDear 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 […]
Read MoreIt is notoriously difficult to access and interpret information on water rights. Water Sage, a new web-based service now offered in California, aims to take the sting out of this task for individuals and institutions alike. Written by Matt Weiser Published on Apr. 11, 2017 Who owns the water? And how much do they use? These are simple questions. […]
Read MoreCelebrating the end of the drought will be short-lived, as state officials stressed that California continue along its course to improve conservation and efficiency to prepare for future droughts. Written by Tara Lohan Published on Apr. 9, 2017 As Northern California inched closer on Friday to breaking the record for the wettest water year in California’s recorded history, Gov. […]
Read MoreWHO: Speakers will include Heather Govern from the National Environmental Law Center and Whitey Markle from the Suwannee/St. Johns Sierra Club Group. WHAT: An educational webinar on how to use the Clean Water Act to file and win a citizen lawsuit! WHEN: Tentative date is Tuesday, 6/27. Time will be confirmed at a later date. […]
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