Contractors of the State Water Project learned today that their water allocation has been raised to 30% due to late precipitation and snow in March, up from 15% in December. The State Water Project, operated by the Department of Water Resources, provides water for more than 27 million Californians and approximately 750,000 acres of California […]
Invasive Species in the Delta: +1?
Invasive Species in California’s Delta: Nutria Another invasive species is threatening to invade California’s Delta. Joining a long list of non-native & invasive species damaging ecosystems, degrading infrastructure, and hurting wildlife, Nutria have been found near the ailing Delta. [edsanimate_start entry_animation_type= “tada” entry_delay= “0” entry_duration= “0.5” entry_timing= “linear” exit_animation_type= “” exit_delay= “” exit_duration= “” exit_timing= […]
A Bold New Approach to Ecosystem Management
A Bold New Approach to Ecosystem Management For decades, California’s water policy has been based on a false choice – choose healthy ecosystems with abundant fish and wildlife or choose water for people, farms and other purposes. And for decades the policies based on this choice have utterly failed all water users. Fish continue to decline; […]
Salmon numbers down but there’s hope in the floodplain
Salmon numbers down but there’s hope in the floodplain There have been valid concerns for years about the declining fish populations in California. While the immediate forecasts for the year aren’t much improved, there is reason for hope. Projects now underway are showing great promise in helping to turn around declining salmon numbers. The Nigiri […]
The System is Broken
Over the past 25 years there has been considerable controversy over allocation of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Central Valley Project (CVP) water supplies. Allocation amounts vary wildly with one routinely getting 100% while others receive dramatically less. Water project opponents say that’s the result of our water rights system but those rights haven’t changed and […]
Nutria- Another danger to California’s water
Nutria are back in California Nutria, an introduced rodent once thought eliminated from California, is the latest of a string of dangerous invasive species wreaking havoc in California’s critically-important Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The nutria, like many other destructive non-native species (large-mouth and striped bass, Asian clam, Chinese Mitten crab, Quagga mussels and Nerodia water snakes, […]
Water: Time for a Fresh Look at What Works, What Doesn’t and What to Do About It
Water: Time for a Fresh Look at What Works, What Doesn’t and What to Do About It For decades, California has been stuck in a Groundhog-Day-like water debate that pits fish and the environment against humans, farms and other water needs. Presented as a zero-sum game, we are told it is necessary for one set […]
No Chicken Little, the Sky is Not Falling
No Chicken Little, the Sky is Not Falling A quick scan of California news over the last few weeks could lead the casual reader to conclude that smelt, salmon and other species are days from extinction and the only thing that will save them is taking water from people, farms and other environmental uses and […]
Smart Policy- Real Solutions
California’s way of life is sustained by our flowing water. From farm fields and grocery store shelves, to city streets- moving water affects us all. Modern water management in the State focuses on two principles- moving water from places and times of abundance to places and times of need efficiently, and balancing the needs of […]
A deep dive into the shallow end
California Magazine, the publication of the UC Berkeley Alumni Association, recently published an article by Glen Martin on California water issues. Titled, A Deep Dive Into California’s Recurring Drought Problem, the article contains a number of recommendations that, if implemented, would devastate large parts of California’s economy, without a significant improvement in California’s available water […]