Water/Drought

Brown’s water tunnels plan still alive, but obstacles are many

With a seeming vote of confidence from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California – the giant agency that supplies water to about half the state’s 38 million residents – Gov. Jerry Brown appears set to soldier ahead with his $17 billion

Emergency water restrictions will extend beyond end of California drought

Steven Greenhut April 25, 2017

SACRAMENTO – Former White House chief of staff and current Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s most quotable words are frequently cited as the apogee of cynicism, but they simply point to reality in the political system: “You never let a serious

CA GOP cheers federal support for new water bills

James Poulos March 9, 2017

Central California residents, long hoping for federal water reform, have begun to see some movement from Washington. Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., has rolled out language designed to “build on last year’s legislation that was loved by farmers and loathed by

Wet winter upends California water politics

James Poulos February 8, 2017

Drought-busting levels of rain and snow have put pressure to lift emergency restrictions on usage, but California regulators declined to ease up on the longstanding curbs. “Amid the ongoing succession of storms, water managers up and down the state are urging regulators

Scientists rebuke Coastal Commission over desalination

Steven Greenhut January 10, 2017

SACRAMENTO – The Coastal Commission’s stated concern that a proposed Huntington Beach desalination plant’s intake pipes pose a threat to small and microscopic plankton has been rebutted in a letter from three prominent California marine biologists. Anthony Koslow, Eric Miller

Gov. Brown struggles to build support for water project

Chris Reed December 29, 2016

Gov. Jerry Brown’s aides treated the release last week of a massive environmental review that marshaled evidence in support of his $15.7 billion plan to build two 35-mile-long tunnels in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as an exciting step toward construction

CA water policy: Will House GOP demand more change?

Chris Reed December 20, 2016

The California water compromise reached by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-San Francisco, and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, and inserted into the massive infrastructure bill that was signed into law last week was trumpeted as a hard-fought victory for Central

CA farmers finally win on federal water bill

James Poulos December 12, 2016

California’s beleaguered farmers had their hopes for a better 2017 rekindled as landmark water legislation delayed for years finally passed Congress. But the political cost to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a key supporter, has been high, with outgoing Sen. Barbara Boxer digging

Directly drinking treated wastewater could be in Californians’ future

James Poulos September 19, 2016

For the first time, California regulators have warmed to the idea of directly serving up treated sewer water to residents, underscoring the difficulty officials have had in uniting around alternative means of setting the state’s water policy on stable

CA Supreme Court removes obstacle to Delta tunnel project

James Poulos July 20, 2016

The California Supreme Court cleared a big obstacle to Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to tunnel more Delta water out of Northern California, allowing the Southland’s Metropolitan Water District to proceed with the purchase of estuary islands that would be key to speeding