El Dorado County Local News: Water


All Local Water News articles contributed by our local media allies and other local newsrooms.

Image caption: Since the Gold Rush era, land reclamation has cost California 90 percent of its wetlands.
How Land Reclamation Hurts California’s Environment

Since the Gold Rush era, land reclamation projects have helped to build California, but they are also damaging the state’s environment for people, plants and animals by eliminating essential wetlands.

Image caption: How California reclamation districts turned millions of acres of wetlands into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush.
Reclamation Districts: Turning ‘Swamps’ Into Farmland

California has used reclamation districts to turn millions of acres of unusable swamps into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush. Here’s how it happened.

Image caption: From nitrates to arsenic to “forever chemicals,” California’s water supply faces a serious pollution threat.
Dirty Water: California Faces a Water Contamination Crisis

Almost one million California residents are forced to drink from contaminated water supplies, or pay for bottled water. Economic inequality makes the crisis worse. What is the state doing to fix it?

Image caption: Just because record rains have been falling, the state’s water crisis remains.
What Is Drought? Probably Not What You Think

2023’s torrential rainstorms have eased California's drought conditions. But there’s a lot more to drought than the amount of rain, and this drought isn't over yet.

Image caption: There are more than 300 community service districts in California.
Community Services Districts, Explained

Community service districts can do most anything a city government can do. Here’s how they work and how to start one.

Image caption: RCDs look after the land, whether it’s used for grazing, growing, or getting out into nature.
California Dirt

What do resource conservation districts protect? Pretty much everything that’s worth saving.

Image caption: Water is a human right under California law, but it doesn’t always work out that way.
Agriculture and Water Shortages in the State’s Breadbasket, Explained

Residential wells are drying up in the state’s main agricultural region at the same time that agricultural businesses consume almost 90 percent of the water there.

Folsom Times logo From Folsom Times...

02/04/2025
Image for display with article titled County Ratifies Local Emergency Status Involving East Sacramento Levee

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors has ratified a Proclamation of Emergency in response to what is being cited as significant uncontrolled levee erosion along a stretch of levee east of Dillard Road and south of Highway 16 in east Sacramento County. The proclamation is in response to Reclamation District 800 proclaiming an emergency on Monday.

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo From Tahoe Daily Tribune...

02/04/2025
Image for display with article titled TRPA Sends Barton a Cease-and-Desist During Weekend Storm

After a winter storm dumped more rain into the Basin after a relatively dry winter, Barton Hospital's new site on Highway 50 had increased stormwater runoff—a major concern for both those in the nearby neighborhood and the health of the lake.

California Local Pin Marker From Local News Matters...

02/03/2025
Snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, which supplies about one-third of California’s water needs, was far lower than average for the end of January at one of the state’s measurement points on January 31.

California Local Pin Marker From Stocktonia...

02/01/2025
Read on to learn more about the Trump-ordered "emergency" release of water from two San Joaquin Valley reservoirs and how it is literally going down the drain (and not to preserve LA from fires as claimed).

California Local Pin Marker From Mountain Democrat...

01/31/2025
Read on for a report about the January 20 meeting of the El Dorado Irrigation District, and learn why one board member expressed concern about "the deterioration of the system infrastructure."

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/22/2025
It would be impossible to overstate the complexity of water supply management in California.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/21/2025
Trump apparently wants to override new Biden-Newsom rules that have widespread support among Southern California cities and some Central Valley farmers.

California Local Pin Marker From San Joaquin Valley Sun...

01/17/2025
Read on for the latest progress in the B.F. Sisk Dam Raise and Reservoir Expansion Project to raise the dam at the San Luis Reservoir to add storage capacity.

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo From Tahoe Daily Tribune...

01/12/2025
Image for display with article titled 2024 Highlights From Your Water and Sewer District

The South Tahoe Public Utility District works around the clock to provide our mountain community with safe, clean drinking water, water for firefighting and reliable wastewater services to protect Lake Tahoe.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/08/2025
President-elect Donald Trump faulted California water policies for the devastating wildfires that are burning in Los Angeles County. The fires started because of fierce winds and extremely dry conditions.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/07/2025
Some Northern California cities have been soaked with almost twice their average rainfall, while southern cities are bone-dry. This season’s huge — possibly unprecedented — disparity works in favor of the state’s water supplies.

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo From Tahoe Daily Tribune...

01/03/2025
Image for display with article titled Snowpack Near Normal Levels in Tahoe Basin

The Tahoe basin snowpack is near normal levels for this time of year, but a drier forecast looms that may challenge that following Friday's storm.

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo From Tahoe Daily Tribune...

12/25/2024
Image for display with article titled New Book Delves Into Tahoe Geology

A new book by award-winning author and 50-year Lake Tahoe resident David C. Antonucci brings the reader comprehensive and understandable coverage of Tahoe's ancient, diverse, and complex geology. 

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

12/20/2024
New operating rules for massive Delta systems will increase water deliveries to Southern California cities and some growers. Salmon numbers could drop, especially in dry years.

California Local Pin Marker From The Mercury News...

12/10/2024
In a December 10 press conference, Governor Newsom urged lawmakers to press forward in building the Sites Reservoir in Colusa County. Read on to learn more about the project, the largest new reservoirs to be built in California in the last 50 years.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

12/04/2024
Each December there’s a new version of an old guessing game about how much water will be provided to agricultural and municipal users in the year ahead.

California Local Pin Marker From South Tahoe Now...

12/02/2024
Learn more about the CalTrans plan to replace the Meeks Creek Bridge on State Route 89 and give your feedback during the comment period which closes on December 27.

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo From Tahoe Daily Tribune...

11/26/2024
Image for display with article titled Lead Lines and Faucet Fixes: STPUD Sends Out Notice to Residents After Annual Report

While the water delivered to those living in South Lake Tahoe is guaranteed to contain no lead in it, the lines bringing H2O to your home could be leaching lead into it anyway. South Lake Tahoe Public Utility District recently put out a notice for residents to find and check their lines to ensure they're not made of either lead or galvanized metal, which could put people at risk for lead consumption.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

11/25/2024
Most ships discharging ballast water into California waters are inspected, but state officials have tested the water of only 16 ships. Experts say invaders like mussels are inevitable under current rules and enforcement.

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo From Tahoe Daily Tribune...

11/22/2024
Image for display with article titled Lead-Sheathed Telecommunication Cables Successfully Removed From Lake Tahoe

In a major milestone for efforts to Keep Tahoe Blue, the League to Save Lake Tahoe announced that the removal of lead-sheathed telecommunication cables from below Lake Tahoe's waters is complete.