Groundwater management is as diverse and complex as the 515 distinct basins and sub-basins in California. For that reason, Farm Bureau believes groundwater must be managed locally or regionally, while protecting overlying property rights. To their credit, most of the pending measures do provide for local management, but working out the details is certainly a
As California slips into summer amid the worst drought in a generation, state residents, as a whole, have done relatively little to cut their water use, falling well short of the 20 percent target set in Gov. Jerry Brown’s emergency drought declaration in January. Between January and May of this year, California as a whole cut
Competing interests on the Tuolumne River came into view at a cordial early-stage hearing. http://www.modbee.com/2014/06/18/3397924/views-diverge-on-tuolumne-river.html?sp=/99/1571/&ihp=1
Here is what 30 years of conservation without new storage has given us: Severe water shortages after one very dry year on the back of two below-normal years; productive orchards bulldozed in the Central Valley; hundreds of thousands of acres of food-producing land left idle; thousands jobless; a projected $1.7 billion economic loss in the
California's drought conditions have worsened over the past week with the percentage of the state suffering from the highest category increasing, the National Weather Service said Thursday. "Exceptional" drought conditions have spread in Central California since a week ago, weather officials said. Areas in Northern California have also moved into this category since last week,
Pacific Institute recycles its 2009 recycling study — commentary: California water issues have always been contentious and likely always will be. In a crisis, it is easy for politicians to fall back on tired, old solutions that no longer work. But this is theater, not reality. Reality is acknowledging that California’s water is not unlimited,
Records from the Bay Area's largest water agencies, reviewed by The Chronicle, show customers across the region are conserving in only modest amounts, if at all. Long showers continue to be the norm, cars still get hosed down, and sprinklers still soak green lawns despite pleas by local water officials to cut back. In San Jose,
A small, abandoned reservoir near Hilmar could become a means of conserving water for the Turlock Irrigation District. Its board on Tuesday will consider spending $2.34 million to fix up the reservoir, part of a former water treatment plant, so it could catch canal water that otherwise would run into the Merced River. The project
Merced Irrigation District officials say growers in the district will receive additional surface water, after action taken Tuesday by MID’s board of directors. The increased water supply is the direct result of regulatory relief MID received from the state after months of planning a multibenefit water management action for the Merced River, according to a
Roseville residents will soon be paying a few more dollars on their water bill, a direct result of the state’s drought. The city’s water utility announced Monday it would be implementing a so-called “drought surcharge” starting June 15. The temporary fee would be equivalent to 15 percent of the monthly water use charge and would