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. […]
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What a difference 11 atmospheric rivers make. Metropolitan, as recently as January facing a 574,000-acre deficit, is now anticipating putting 119,000 acre-feet or more into storage this year, the first time since 2019. Metropolitan staff delivered the good news at the One Water Committee meeting on March 14. The big change is attributed to the […]
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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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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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On April 6th, the Supreme Court reversed a 9th Circuit decision that limited the ability of states to protect rivers from the harmful effects of hydropower dams under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. The rules adopted by the prior administration limited information available to the states, the time for review, and the scope of conditions that states can require in the licensing of […]
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Rooted in Roman law, the public trust doctrine recognizes the public right to many natural resources including “the air, running water, the sea and its shore.”
The public trust doctrine requires the sovereign, or state, to hold in trust designated resources for the benefit of the people. Traditionally, the public trust applied to commerce and fishing in navigable waters, but its uses were expanded in California in 1971 to include fish, wildlife, habitat and recreation. […]
Read MoreRyan Burns / Wednesday, May 13 @ 11:10 a.m. / News In a major development for both water rights and the environment on the North Coast, an unlikely coalition of five regional entities today filed a plan with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to take over the Potter Valley Project, a hydroelectric facility that […]
Read MoreAugust 6, 2019 Robert Shibatani Guest blogger By Robert Shibatani Whether you are a water utility manager, elected official, or homeowner, future water availability is a concern. There are several factors fostering that concern and one of them is climate change. In fact, these days, climate change is a rapidly growing global hot topic (no […]
Read MorePosted: January 11, 2018 To address future climate change effects on water resources, scientists at five UC campuses, and Lawrence Livermore and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories will study California’s water systems, from the headwaters in the Sierra Nevada, through rivers, reservoirs and groundwater in the Central Valley. The goal is to provide information to optimize water […]
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 MoreTo All, Are our streams and rivers healthy? Below is a link to a government site that gives general and specific information on this subject with links to specific databases on California’s streams. http://www.mywaterquality.ca.gov/eco_health/streams/index.html Larry
Read MoreBACKGROUND ON CLEAN WATER RULE The 2015 Clean Water Rule outlined which bodies of water would be automatically protected by the Clean Water Act. Large bodies like lakes and rivers were listed, but the rule also included streams, ponds and other, smaller features that have important effects on these bigger, “navigable” waterways. Thanks to this rule, […]
Read MoreSample Editorial Board Memo To: [INSERT NAME OF PUBLICATION] Date: June 1, 2017 From: [YOUR NAME] [TITLE] [ORGANIZATION] Re: Request for editorial – Repealing the Clean Water Rule puts the drinking water sources for more than 117 million Americans and [NUMBER] of [STATE-IANS] at greater risk of pollution and destruction. The Trump Administration recently began […]
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. […]
Read MoreLA Times, April 2017 Rong-Gong Lin II and Paige St. John California’s climate has long been dominated by cycles of intense dry conditions followed by heavy rain and snow. But never before in recorded history has the state seen such an extreme drought-to-deluge swing. Experts and state water officials say California is seeing more of […]
Read MoreThis tranquil ranching valley lies 15 miles west of the Sacramento River. A one-lane bridge spans a dried-up creek at the valley entrance. But when Jeff Sutton stands there, he imagines water, lots of it. Never mind that talk of flooding the Antelope Valley north of Sacramento and turning it into a reservoir is older […]
Read MoreTo All, There are many facets that must be considered if were are to find solution(s) to our water supply and drought issues. Of course, bottom line, we all must conserve. That means every person, business, or industry. Agriculture is not living up to their responsibility in the area of conservation. Agriculture, via the California […]
Read MoreDavid Rabbitt, Chair Sonoma County Board of Supervisors 575 Administration Way, Room 100 A Santa Rosa, CA 95403 November 23, 2014 Subject: Proposed Riparian Corridors (RC) Ordinance and Zoning Code Changes The Sonoma County Water Coalition (SCWC) comprises 31 organizations, representing more than 24,000 concerned citizens. SCWC is especially concerned about the preservation of a […]
Read MoreThe Sonoma County Water Coalition (SCWC) comprises 31 organizations, representing more than 24,000 concerned citizens. SCWC is especially concerned about the preservation of a safe, economical and reliable water supply for all living things. SCWC also works to preserve healthy ecosystems, supports watershed restoration and protection and careful oversight of all public trust resources, including […]
Read MoreTo All, Don McEnhill, Executive Director of Russian Riverkeeper is a featured interview in: THE RUSSIAN RIVER: ALL RIVERS – THE VALUE OF AN AMERICAN WATERSHED “The time of using greed to justify degrading our environment is over.” “We need to get very honest with the amount of water we have in the worst year. […]
Read MoreThis reporter doesn’t seem to understand that reservoirs lose water through evaporation, particularly when they get low (and thus warmer). Other problems include methane production, due to decaying vegetation that is always being supplied by the streams flowing into them and by contributions from the reservoir margins. They trap nutrients that otherwise would support coastal […]
Read MoreBy Robert Green For Southern Californians, the current record-breaking drought means letting the lawn fade to a trendy golden brown and making sure the hose doesn’t water the asphalt while you’re washing your car. It does not mean wondering whether anything will come out of the faucet and, unlike in the drought of 1977, it […]
Read MoreJ. Leslie/NYTimes THAYER SCUDDER, the world’s leading authority on the impact of dams on poor people, has changed his mind about dams. A frequent consultant on large dam projects, Mr. Scudder held out hope through most of his 58-year career that the poverty relief delivered by a properly constructed and managed dam would outweigh the […]
Read MoreTop Story: Drought Operations Plan for Coming Dry Months Presented by Federal, State Water Managers Framework for Water Delivery Potential, Environmental Protections, and Conserving Water Through 2015 April 9, 2014 SACRAMENTO – Managing California’s scarce water resources in order to protect the state’s economy and environment during one of the worst droughts on record, the […]
Read MoreDrought, Resilience, & the North Coast River Lodge Conference Center 1800 Riverwalk Drive Fortuna, CA 95540 March 7, 2014, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm The 2014 Eel River Symposium; Drought, Resilience & the North Coast is focused on our current drought and how people can live with increasing climate extremes in ways that leave room […]
Read MoreTo All: As I’m sure most if not all of you are aware, Governor Brown recently made his drought emergency declaration. While there are many positive aspects of the declaration – raising awareness of the drought, added pressure for reduced water usage, release of funds to address the drought, etc. – there are also some […]
Read MoreJohn Laird December 24, 2013 Sea levels off the California coast will rise up to 2 feet by 2050 and up to 5.5 feet by 2100, scientific research suggests. Already, sea levels have risen in San Francisco by 8 inches over the past century. The highest tides of the year – dubbed King Tides – […]
Read MorePeter Fimrite November 10, 2013 Thirsty California may get a smidgen of rain this coming week, but it is not likely to change what, so far, has been the driest calendar year in recorded history. No rain at all fell in San Francisco in October and only 3.95 inches has fallen since Jan. 1, the […]
Read MoreTo All, Here is the latest. Also, there is a new grassroots listserv you or anyone in your network interested in this issue can join. Info below – but simply email me if you want to join. Feel free to share this info widely. Dalal Aboulhosn <dalal.aboulhosn@sierraclub.org> WE NEED YOUR HELP TO TAKE ACTION! We […]
Read MoreTo All, Here is the latest. Also, there is a new grassroots listserv you or anyone in your network interested in this issue can join. Info below – but simply email me if you want to join. Feel free to share this info widely. Dalal Aboulhosn <dalal.aboulhosn@sierraclub.org> WE NEED YOUR HELP TO TAKE ACTION! We […]
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