Placer County Water Digest

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.

And neither was 1952. The top honor should really go to 1983, which clinched first at 231% of normal, an analysis by the Bay Area News Group found.

The mantra “Keep Tahoe Blue” has become synonymous with the region. But far fewer people know the history of the movement it represents. Here’s a glimpse of the story behind the sticker.

This winter is one for the record books. The exact details of how much and what it means is spelled out in a Moonshine Ink report from Andrew Schwartz of the Central Sierra Snow Lab.

For the last five months of 2022, Lake Tahoe was the clearest it has been since the 1980s. That is due in part to a resurgence of the lake's native zooplankton.

One of the options would override California’s water rights and split the cuts evenly between California, Nevada and Arizona—which would be a big blow to Imperial Valley farmers.

The UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center is sponsoring its third annual circumnavigation of Lake Tahoe, a kayaking journey that takes place June 19-25.

California State Parks’ Division of Boating and Waterways, the Department of Water Resources and Cal Fire are urging the public to be aware of cold-water dangers this spring as record snowpack is causing flow levels not seen in years.

According to a new study, ponderosa pine forests in the Sierra Nevada that were wiped out by western pine beetles won’t recover to pre-drought densities. But there’s less risk of another huge die-off this century because the bark beetles will have fewer host trees.

The Placer County Board of Supervisors approved a funding agreement for a $28 million backbone sewer line connection to the Placer One development project that will include the Sacramento State Placer Center.

The Department of Water Resources conducted the fourth snow survey of the season at Phillips Station near Echo Summit, ecording 126.5 inches of snow depth.

“The Lake of the Sky” is grabbing attention this winter for more than one reason. Emerald Bay froze completely, including the inlet, for the first time in many years.

The California Tahoe Conservancy Board approved a $250,000 grant to Tahoe Resource Conservation District for aquatic invasive plant surveillance and rapid response.

Many people are looking at the snow and water levels and asking that question. The answer depends on where you are in the West and how you define “drought.” A researcher at the Desert Research Institute’s Western Regional Climate Center explains.

The city’s actions are part of a regional strategy to adapt the water system to climate change by storing excess surface water for later use during dry times.

The nonprofit environmental group released the results of two projects: one that uses a beach-cleaning robot to remove trash hidden in the sand, and another designed to measure the 2021 Caldor Fire’s impacts on the Tahoe ecosystem.

What does flipping mean? It means Lake Tahoe’s waters fully mixed vertically from top to bottom. While this is an annual event in shallower lakes, with Tahoe’s 1,640-foot depth, it’s a less common occurrence.

A $4.4 billion project on the Sacramento River to add dams and store more water that will be sent south, the Sites Reservoir is still years away from completion. The final environmental report is expected this year.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe is building a new environment and education center designed around opportunities for the public to learn.

Forty deep-water and “hotspot” trash clean-ups are planned in Lake Tahoe and will be expanded to other lakes and reservoirs in the High Sierra.

Some impacts of fires are well known, and now a new study shows how wildfires combined with midwinter drought conditions accelerate snowmelt

California has given the federal government its own counterproposal for apportioning reductions of Colorado River water, saying a plan offered by six other states would disproportionately burden farms and cities in Southern California.

The Department of Water Resources conducted the first manual snow survey of the season at Phillips Station Jan. 3, recording 55.5 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 17.5 inches, which is 177% of average for the location.

“Urban development, increasing tourism, and climate related disturbances are all growing challenges for Lake Tahoe’s water quality,” says US Environmental Protection Agency press officer Joshua Alexander.

A U.S.-French satellite that will map most of the world's water has rocketed into orbit. The predawn launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base capped a successful year for NASA. The satellite will conduct the first global survey of its kind.

The California Tahoe Conservancy Board approved actions allowing the Conservancy to continue pursuing acquisition of 31.2 acres of environmentally sensitive land along the Upper Truckee River.

Stanford scientists have genetically re-programmed plants to grow roots that change how they gather nutrients or water.

In the fall, rice fields in the Sacramento Valley usually shine golden brown as they await harvesting. This year, however, many fields were left covered with bare dirt.

Drought, human-caused climate change, invasive species and a “legacy” of environmental issues are permanently altering California’s landscape and placing some communities and ecosystems at increasing risk.

A dozen independent fish scientists are calling for urgent changes to sport fishing rules to save California’s largest freshwater fish after an unprecedented red tide this summer left hundreds of them dead.

For eight straight days this summer, farmers in far Northern California drained almost all of the water out of a river in defiance of the state’s drought regulations. The move infuriated environmentalists and salmon-dependent Native American tribes downstream.

Linda and Stewart Resnick have donated $50 million to UC Davis for an agricultural research center—the largest donation in the campus’s history—but the couple’s Wonderful Company is the state’s single biggest water user.