El Dorado County Local Water News Articles and Digest

Water History

About Dam Time; A Century-Plus of the Tahoe Dam

02/18/2024
Image for display with article titled The Century-Plus History of the Tahoe Dam

Rain and snowmelt flow down 63 tributaries into Lake Tahoe, but just one river runs out of the alpine lake—the Truckee River. And 400 feet downstream sits the Tahoe Dam, a 110-year old concrete structure in Tahoe City.

From Moonshine Ink...

Environment Water

Frosty Flakes

02/07/2024
Gary Ellrod, retired NOAA Meteorologist and current senior meteorologist at Weather Extreme, explains the basics of frost, and how it forms.

From Los Angeles Times...

Public Safety Environment Water Resilience

The Terrifying Forces That Created a California Monster Storm

02/05/2024
The storm fed off of unusually warm waters as it grew. It also reached “bomb cyclone” status as it neared California.

From Los Angeles Times...

Public Safety Water Resilience

L.A.’s Flood-Control System Survived Epic Storm. But It’s Losing the Battle With Climate Change

02/05/2024
Los Angeles County flood control network withstands punishing rains—for now.

From CalMatters...

Water Animals Sustainability State of California

Saving Salmon: Newsom Unveils Blueprint for Ending Decades-Long Decline

01/30/2024
Chinook and other salmon runs are collapsing. Conservation groups call it too little, too late. Plan includes dam removals and restoring river flows.

From SF Gate...

Environment Water

Scientists Debunk California Biblical-Storm Hysteria Swirling on Internet

01/29/2024
What is an ARkStorm and why is everyone talking about it on social media right now?

From CapPublicRadio...

Environment Water Sustainability

‘Hot Droughts’ Are Becoming More Common in the Arid West, New Study Finds

01/28/2024
Take a period of limited rainfall. Add heat. And you have what scientists call a “hot drought”—dry conditions made more intense by the evaporative power of hotter temperatures.

From Los Angeles Times...

Water Agriculture, Food & Gardening

Groundwater Levels Are Falling in Parts of California and Food-Growing Regions Worldwide

01/24/2024
Groundwater depletion is worsening in many of the world’s farming regions. But a global study also found that some efforts are helping to boost aquifers.

From CalMatters...

Water Agriculture, Food & Gardening

California Ranks High Worldwide for Rapidly Depleted Groundwater

01/24/2024
In a sign of the ongoing threats to its precious groundwater stores, half a dozen regions in California rank among the world’s most rapidly declining aquifers.

From CapPublicRadio...

Water Government State of California

California Court Ruling Could Threaten Key Source of Funding for Disputed Delta Water Tunnel Project

01/19/2024
A California judge says a nearly 65-year-old law does not give the state permission to borrow the billions of dollars it would need to build a large water project.

From YubaNet...

Water Animals Sustainability

New Year Brings Protections for Deep-Sea Corals and Ocean Fishing Opportunities

01/08/2024
New rules took effect Jan. 1 permanently protecting the most fragile deep sea corals off Southern California. Simultaneously, more than 4,500 square miles of ocean waters are now reopened to fishing after more than 20 years of closures.

From Monterey Herald...

Land Use & Development Water Sustainability

Homeowners Who Sued to Build a Seawall Could Reshape California’s Coast

01/07/2024
Raging storms brought major damage to California’s coastline last winter. But in Half Moon Bay, a different kind of coastal upheaval is gaining momentum—one that could decide the fate of billions of dollars of property and affect hundreds of public beaches.

California Local Pin Marker From California Local...

Business, Economy & Jobs Environment Water Agriculture, Food & Gardening Government

California’s New Water-Saving Regs Lack 'Compelling Justifications'

01/05/2024
Image for display with article titled California’s New Water-Saving Regs Lack 'Compelling Justifications' in Many Cases, Say Legislative Analysts

Benefits of the state's new, strict water conservation rules may not outweigh the costs, analysts say.

From Los Angeles Times...

Public Safety Environment Water

WWII-Era Dump Site Found Off LA Coast

01/05/2024
Munition boxes, depth charges and smoke floats have been found 3,000 feet underwater off the coast of Los Angeles. More than 100 square miles of ocean might be contaminated.

From KQED...

Environment Water

Climate Change Might Lessen Bay Area Fog

01/05/2024
The Bay Area’s fog is iconic. But the latest episode of KQED podcast “Bay Curious” looks at how climate change could reduce the number of foggy days in the area.

From Tahoe Daily Tribune...

Environment Water Sustainability

First Dive Survey of Lake Tahoe’s Lakebed Finds High Amounts of Plastic, Other Litter

01/04/2024
Image for display with article titled First Dive Survey of Lake Tahoe Finds High Amounts of Plastic

In one of the first studies to utilize scuba divers to collect litter from a lakebed, 673 plastic items were counted from just a small fraction of the lake.

From LAist...

Environment Water Agriculture, Food & Gardening

Bright Blue Waves Return to Southern California

01/03/2024
Bright blue waves have been spotted in Long Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Seal Beach. The bioluminescence is caused by organisms known as dinoflagellates and can impact fish populations.

From Sacramento Bee...

Environment Water

Sierra Snowpack at 25% of Usual Levels

01/02/2024
The California Department of Water Resources has found that the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains is at just 25% of normal levels for this time of year. This could potentially impact water supply and wildfire protection.

From Village Life...

Water El Dorado Irrigation District

EID Rate Hikes Approved

12/29/2023
El Dorado Irrigation District Directors Alan Day and Lori Anzini tried for a motion to hike water rates 8 percent, but lost on a 2-3 vote.

From San Joaquin Valley Sun...

Water Resilience

Bureau of Reclamation Names New Leader for California Region

12/21/2023
The Bureau of Reclamation, which manages federal water such as the Central Valley Project, has a new regional director for the California-Great Basin Region.

El Dorado County Local News: Water