Placer County Water Digest

At the Water Education Foundation annual water summit in Sacramento, Eric Oppenheimer, chief deputy director of the California State Water Resources Control Board, discussed what he described as the state’s “antiquated” water rights system.

Wet weather and planned cuts by California, Arizona and Nevada averted declines that could have threatened water deliveries and power production—but long-term threats to the Colorado River remain.

Hundreds of wells in Tulare Lake aquifer are at risk of going dry. Today's recommendation is the first time that state officials have moved to crack down on local plans that fail to stop excessive groundwater pumping.

Water providers say rebates for residential areas are costly and residents may refuse to remove their lawns. The rules aim to save enough water for more than a million households a year.

The PCWA states that this consolidation means Weimar’s 550-plus customers will benefit from improved water supply reliability and more stable water rates.

The irrigation bill, which aims to force businesses and institutions to remove their lawns, now goes to the governor.

This funding will help maintain the current streamflow on the Lower American River, a designated Wild & Scenic River, by strategically shifting water supply diversions to the much larger Sacramento River.

A Trump administration plan for delivering more water to Central Valley farmers—bottled up in court by opponents for almost four years—could be returned from legal limbo this summer by House Republicans.

One hundred fifty years of physical and ecological impacts associated with natural resource use, development of major infrastructure and land development, Donner Lake and the larger Middle Truckee River Watershed have actually been listed as impaired for sediment under the Federal Clean Water Act for many years.

Clean Up the Lake, known for its 72-mile cleanup project around the shores of Lake Tahoe, has opened its Environmental Dive Center at Lake Tahoe.

There’s a possible rise of four invasive animals in California—another consequence from downpours last winter and spring. The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services warned about a potential population surge due to storm-related flooding.

Raising Shasta Dam to increase its capacity would provide 634,000 more acre-feet of water per year, legislators say. But that assumes there will always be enough precipitation, and the move risks flooding sacred Native American lands and harming local habitats.

The city of South Lake Tahoe is building stormwater drains to address localized flooding and reduce runoff pollution on Barton and Helen avenues and 2nd Street. To accommodate this project, South Tahoe Public Utility District will be moving waterlines, which will result in some water shutdowns in the neighborhood.

In the magazine Nature, a team of scientists reports that they have detected changes in ocean color that cannot be explained by natural, year-to-year variability alone. These color shifts have occurred over 56 percent of the world’s oceans.

The environmental costs of ending water diversions from Mono Lake to Los Angeles would be mixed: It might help a shore bird habitat but would require changes that increase carbon emissions.

In an effort to improve lake clarity and reduce sediment loading from roadway runoff to protect the natural beauty of Lake Tahoe, Placer County is moving forward with construction of the transformative Lower Secline Water Quality project in Kings Beach.

Small fragments of fibers from clothing, packaging and other plastic residue have invaded freshwater lakes and watersheds globally and in alarming quantities, according to new research.

The two rafting companies that offer the rafting trip between Tahoe City and River Ranch will most likely not be able to open their operations this summer, and it’s all wrapped up in the complicated agreements that have for many decades regulated how much water flows in the Truckee River.

Indigenous leaders and environmental groups gathered at California’s Capitol July 5 to rally for better access to clean water. Advocates support a trio of bills that would revamp the state’s approach to water rights given before 1914, often referred to as senior water rights.

The General Fund operating budget is $214 million while the remaining $570 million in funding is primarily dedicated to the electric, water, wastewater and waste services utilities.

U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) announced $3.1 million in funding she secured for Lake Tahoe in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to prevent and combat the spread of aquatic invasive species in the lake through the Lake Tahoe Aquatic Invasive Species Program.

D.L. Bliss State Park, on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe, will be closed for the summer to replace the aging main waterline, which will impact hiking on the Rubicon Trail.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is highlighting native species protection programs and legal and safety requirements below ahead of boating season to improve safety and protect Lake Tahoe’s environment and native ecosystem.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Montana ruled the U.S. Forest Service can continue to use aerial fire retardant to fight wildfires while waiting on a Clean Water Act permit.

The Olympic Valley Public Service District Board of Directors discussed changes to the district's water conservation and drought standards.

The inaugural Lake Tahoe Litter Summit, hosted by nonprofit Clean Up the Lake, brought together 50 of Lake Tahoe's agency leaders and citizens fighting litter in the basin.

The Placer County Water Agency Board of Directors awarded four grants totaling $173,400 to four public water purveyors in Placer County.

The unseasonably warm temperatures at Lake Tahoe have prompted officials to issue a flood warning for a rapidly melting snowpack.

The North Tahoe Public Utility District announced the addition of Kim Harris as the District's new human resources manager.  Harris comes to the NTPUD from the town of Truckee.

The North Tahoe Public Utility District announced the addition of Kim Harris as the district's new human resources manager.  Harris comes to the NTPUD from the town of Truckee.

Fort Bragg is embarking on an innovative pilot project to desalt ocean water for the Mendocino Coast community using carbon-free wave action to power an energy-intensive process that in other cases generates climate changing greenhouse gases.

Driftwood, which can be damaging to watercraft, has compiled in the north and south forks of the American River and is now flowing into Folsom Lake.