The California North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board has approved a groundbreaking order to regulate waste discharge in commercial vineyards, aiming to protect waterways and aquatic species. June 17, 2025 The California North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board voted to approve a first-of-its-kind order to protect waterways, groundwater and aquatic species by regulating waste […]
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TYLER SILVY THE PRESS DEMOCRAT January 22, 2021, 4:51PM Hundreds of California wineries will for the first time be governed by statewide wastewater processing rules, a change from the long-held, regional approach that could increase production costs for wineries and protections for waterways while providing consistency for vintners across the state. The move toward a […]
Read MoreMichael Larrick · September 21, 2018 Image: A concrete lined irrigation ditch runs between grape vines in South Africa’s Western Cape. Flickr user Jason Jones, Creative Commons. In discussions about water shortage, the topic of the human right to water seems to be a key topic of debate. Different countries approach the question of whether individuals should […]
Read MoreTo All, Here is one of those serious issues that has not been adequately addressed due to the power of money in politics as well as being an invisible threat. It is past time that the issue of pesticides gets exposed, creates public outrage and forces the invisible poisons into containment. What’s on those vines? […]
Read MoreUtility PG&E’s Potter Valley Project includes two dams on the Eel River that are up for relicensing. Water diversions into the Russian River for power generation are in jeopardy as salmon and steelhead remain at risk of extinction. Written by Matt Weiser Published on Jan. 29, 2018 Read time Approx. 6 minutes Few people outside Northern California have heard of the […]
Read MoreNapa Valley tree-removal ballot proposal brings wine business, environmentalist clash CYNTHIA SWEENEY NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL | January 29, 2018, 9:29AM As new vineyards spread from the crowded Napa Valley floor to the hillsides, environmentalists have succeeded in getting enough votes to qualify for the June 5 ballot that aims to protect the county’s watershed and oak […]
Read MoreTo All, Paso Robles has been dealing with heavy water issues also as many of you know. National Geographic is filming a great story of their area right now. Financiers/vulture capitalists have been buying up vineyards for the water rights, wine grapes are just the window dressing, and selling it back to the residents. The […]
Read MoreBy Alastair Bland Tyler Heck remembers the summer days that often sent him down the hill from his family’s home off Erland Road and into the cool waters of Van Buren Creek for relief. He remembers diving into the water and swimming, even in July and August. It was the 1980s. Heck, now 32, says […]
Read Moreby Will Parrish, June 10, 2015 Let’s begin with some Q&A. In the 1990s, runaway cultivation of a mind-altering cash crop led to a spate of illegal surface water diversions from the streams and springs that feed the Russian River, as well as directly from the river itself. The Russian was home to more illegal […]
Read Moreby Stett Holbrook December 07, 2016 Sonoma and Napa counties respond differently to new groundwater law Call it a tale of two counties. A new state law requires that local governments regulate groundwater for the first time. Sonoma County has begun a lengthy process to create long-term sustainable groundwater management plans for its at-risk water […]
Read MoreTo All, This Lawsuit Has Put Big Ag On The Defensive In A Major Way A pending Iowa case could set a new national precedent for water pollution stemming from farms. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/des-moines-water-iowa-farm-lawsuit_us_579a4957e4b0d3568f867e28?section= Three highly agricultural counties — Buena Vista, Calhoun and Sac — named in a controversial lawsuit brought by the Des Moines Water Works. […]
Read Morevommag July 31, 2015 Vol.1 Issue 2 Story: David Bolling Photos: Steven Krause Winemaking is a kind of alchemy because, at a fundamental level, it involves turning water into wine. A lot of water. UC Davis professor Larry Williams studied a test plot of chardonnay grapes in Carneros and calculated that irrigated vines required a […]
Read MoreNew vineyards and resorts rising above the Napa Valley threaten the region’s water BY STETT HOLBROOK This story was produced in collaboration with the Food and Environment Reporting Network, a non-profit investigative news organization. In the winter of 2015, a Hong Kong real estate conglomerate purchased the Calistoga Hills Resort, at the northern end of […]
Read MoreThe story of the imperiled California Tiger salamander is a story of incremental and relentless destruction. Californians going about their daily lives may not often think about the destruction of recharge areas necessary to store groundwater, or the loss of floodplains and wetlands that purify and slow rushing waters, but it is happening and the […]
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