Water/Drought

Congress still divided on how to address CA drought

California’s leaders have faced sharp criticism over their perceived failure to prepare the state for the current severe drought. But if criticism of the state government is warranted, Congress may deserve some blame as well. House members from the Central

Analysts look to water markets to fight CA drought

James Poulos May 21, 2015

Scrambling for workable models found elsewhere in resources policy, some analysts have begun to argue that California should regulate markets for water. At Bloomberg View, for instance, the editors made a splash with a recommendation drawn from Australia’s approach to limited

Protests erupt at Nestlé bottling plants in Sacramento and L.A.

Josephine Djuhana May 20, 2015

Earlier this week, local California activists and concerned residents led protests against Nestlé at bottling plants located in Los Angeles and Sacramento. A joint press release stated Wednesday: At the protests, in Los Angeles and Sacramento, activists delivered more than 500,000 signatures

Will Brown’s brown lawns cause brownouts for summer 2015?

Wayne Lusvardi May 20, 2015

On April 1, Gov. Jerry Brown ordered mandatory 25 percent cutbacks in urban water usage over the next nine months due to the prolonged water shortage in the state’s surface water reservoirs. In response, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said

CARTOON: CA Bottled Water

CalWatchdog Staff May 19, 2015

CA recycled water scheme a tough sell

James Poulos May 18, 2015

Looking for an edge in coping with California’s drought, officials around the state have embarked on a public relations campaign for recycled drinking water. Proponents of the new push hoped to capitalize on the bad publicity hitting the bottled water industry, where

Big water importers dealt minimal cutbacks

Wayne Lusvardi May 16, 2015

Gov. Jerry Brown has mandated an overall 25 percent reduction in urban water usage over the next nine months – equivalent to 1.3 million acre-feet, or enough to supply 7.8 million people. But does Brown’s plan target where the most

Tiered price ruling rocks CA water districts

James Poulos May 13, 2015

A recent court ruling’s effects on water pricing have upset California’s already tenuous balance between cost and availability. As CalWatchdog.com reported last month, “the 4th District Court of Appeal struck down San Juan Capistrano’s tiered water fee plan because it violated Prop. 218’s restriction

CARTOON: Surf’s up?

CalWatchdog Staff May 10, 2015

Schwarzenegger Calls for 2016 Water Infrastructure Bond

Joel Fox May 1, 2015

“California is short of water, but it’s flooded with headlines about the drought,” former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said kicking off USC’s Schwarzenegger Institute and the Public Policy Institute of California program on the state’s drought. The goal of the program