The last three years of drought were the most severe that California has experienced in at least 1,200 years, according to a new scientific study published Thursday. The study provides the state with breathtaking new historical context for its low reservoirs and sinking water tables, even as California celebrated its first good soaking of the
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed environmentalists to challenge the government’s renewal of 41 long-term contracts for irrigation water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, in a lawsuit seeking greater protection for the endangered delta smelt. Water districts had asked the justices to review a ruling in April by a federal appeals court in San
Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California on Thursday pulled the plug on secret, high-stakes negotiations over a water bill for her drought-plagued state, saying she and fellow lawmakers will try again next year. Feinstein’s unexpected move ends, for now, what had become an increasingly contentious fight over ambitious drought-fighting legislation whose details few people have
Farm water officials worked years on the $7.5 billion state water bond that passed Tuesday, offering the possibility of partly bankrolling a new reservoir near Fresno. Now it’s time for round two – actually getting funding for Temperance Flat and other projects. At the Fresno Irrigation District Thursday, farm water officials joined the California Latino
California farmers are often mischaracterized as using 80 percent of the state’s water supply, but that’s simply not true, based on numbers published by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR). According to the DWR figures, farms account for 40.8 percent of California’s water demand according to the California Water Plan. The largest water user
Rare changes in wind patterns this fall have caused the Pacific Ocean off California and the West Coast to warm to historic levels, drawing in a bizarre menagerie of warm-water species. The mysterious phenomena are surprising fishermen and giving marine biologists an aquatic Christmas in November. Temperatures off the California coast are currently 5 to
Future droughts in California are likely to bite deeper and last longer than the one now gripping the state, according to new research into the potential effects of climate change. Scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the U.S. Geological Survey used computer climate modeling tools to estimate the effects of warmer temperatures in
California voters have approved Proposition 1 - the 2014 California Water Bond. The ultimate value and effectiveness of the bond will depend on how it is implemented and how the funds are spent. Here are some key issues to watch, things to understand about the new water bond, and recommendations: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-h-gleick/the-california-water-bond_b_6104908.html
After a couple hours of lively debate and passionate objections, Stanislaus County’s Water Advisory Committee endorsed an expanded groundwater ordinance Wednesday. The 10-6 vote was merely a recommendation. Stanislaus’ Board of Supervisors will have the final say on the new water rules, and it’s expected to take up the controversial topic next month. The technically
East San Joaquin Valley growers are suing state water authorities over drought decisions, claiming east-side communities and farms got no federal water after the state illegally denied deliveries to a separate group of landowners with senior water rights. The Friant Water Authority, representing 15,000 growers who buy water from Millerton Lake and irrigate 1 million