Water/Drought

Legislation to improve CA water storage introduced in House

Improvements to and modernization of water storage capabilities in California and the rest of the U.S. will be made easier thanks to new legislation introduced in the House. Last week, Congressman David Valadao, R-Calif., introduced H.R. 2714, dubbed the “Dam

Trailer bills seek to expand CA Water Board authority

Josephine Djuhana June 17, 2015

Two drafted trailer bill proposals seek to change regulations for water program fees and water systems. Draft Trailer Bill 807 would expand the State Water Resources Control Board’s authority by allowing it to impose operating fees paid by public water

Counties say too much water goes to environmental supply

Josephine Djuhana June 16, 2015

Although water consumption has been on the decline in the state of California, county officials believe these rates can be lowered by cutting supplies to the environment and fisheries. Back in 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown declared a statewide emergency

Wary Palm Springs guards its cheap, plentiful water

Chris Reed June 14, 2015

The California narrative about water is generally a tidy tale about the arid south scrambling to come up with water from the relatively wet north. But plenty of other angles deserve mention, starting with the fact that the state’s best-known

CA water rights hit hard

James Poulos June 14, 2015

After floating the possibility for months, authorities followed through on threatened curtailments on California’s most senior water rights holders. “The action by the State Water Resources Control Board, after weeks of warnings, affects 114 different water-rights holders in the Sacramento and San

Uneven CA water cuts prompt public outcry

James Poulos June 1, 2015

A cascade of new water regulations has brought the drought home to millions of residents across California, cutting into their indoor and outdoor use and, often, prompting an outcry. But the impact of the regulations, handed down at different levels of government,

CA follows NV lead on desert-style lawns

James Poulos May 29, 2015

Nevada, where lush lawns have largely become a thing of the past, has become a landscaping model for California. Buying brown Although it was once unthinkable for Nevadans to give up on green grass, a combination of incentives eventually succeeded in

Cash for Grass rebates jumpstart CA drought-friendly landscaping

Josephine Djuhana May 23, 2015

Californians are finding further incentives to switch out their water-thirsty lawns for more drought-tolerant landscapes. In 2014, Democratic Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez of Los Angeles authored Assembly Bill 2434, a measure designed to “protect owners from being taxed on turf removal rebates.”

CA water cuts hit farmers

James Poulos May 23, 2015

As state policymakers turned their eye on reforming groundwater rules, California’s farmers sought a new deal on water rights, voluntarily proposing to slash their own consumption. An unprecedented offer The latest cascade of cuts underscored fears that current rationing rules just

DOI to invest $50 million in water conservation in CA and other states

Josephine Djuhana May 22, 2015

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced in a press release that the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation “will invest nearly $50 million to improve water efficiency and conservation in California and 11 other western states.” “In a time of exceptional