Sacramento County Local Water News Articles and Digest

Environment Water Agriculture, Food & Gardening Government

12/08/2023
The California Department of Water Resources released an environmental impact report for a tunnel that the state would like to build through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The report identifies potential impacts to farmland, tribal remains and endangered species of fish.

From CapPublicRadio...

Water Sustainability Resilience State of California

As Atmospheric Rivers Become More Frequent, California Expands Research to Prepare

12/05/2023
A new law expanding California’s atmospheric river research program goes into effect next year. It connects flood and reservoir control operations with new technologies and strategies that can help operators accurately predict the arrival of these storms.

From Inside Climate News...

Water Agriculture, Food & Gardening Government

Monterey Farmers Try Novel Approach to Replenish Groundwater

11/29/2023
Water managers in Pajaro Valley are paying farmers for water they get back into the ground. The move comes as California has grappled with water shortages in recent years.

From Voice of San Diego...

Water

SoCal Water District Faces $300M Budget Shortfall

11/21/2023
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is getting a $100 million loan to help cover a shortfall more than three times as large. The district also may change how it charges its more than 19 million customers for water.

From CalMatters...

Environment Water

As Storms Hit California, Reservoirs are Healthy. But Water Forecast Remains Unclear

11/16/2023
Unlike a year ago, water storage is above average. Whether the year is wet or dry, though, remains uncertain despite El Niño conditions.

From Sacramento Bee...

Water Resilience

‘Super El Niño’ is Heading for California This Winter

11/13/2023
Much of California could get hit by extreme weather conditions this winter. A major storm is due to hit Northern California this week.

From ProPublica...

Business, Economy & Jobs Water Agriculture, Food & Gardening

A California Ranch Gets Nearly as Much Water as the Arizona City of Scottsdale

11/09/2023
The Elmore Desert Ranch gets 22.5 billion gallons of water from the Colorado River, almost as much as is cleared for Scottsdale, Ariz. And that’s just a fraction of the 386.5 billion gallons from the river going to 19 other families in Imperial Valley.

From Los Angeles Times...

Water Sustainability

California’s Drought Is Over—at Least for Now

11/07/2023
Intense rains have California out of a drought less than a year after most of the state faced water shortages. A climatologist is urging wise water usage ahead of California’s next drought.

From San Joaquin Valley Sun...

Water State of California

Preempting Enviro Blitz, Newsom OKs Streamlining Approvals for Sites Reservoir

11/07/2023
The first reservoir in California in nearly 50 years is now on the fast track for completion.

From Daily Democrat...

Water State of California

Summit Tackles Water Challenges Facing California

11/02/2023
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.

From The Sacramento Bee...

Water Sustainability

Three California Dams Could be Expanded to Boost Water Storage

10/26/2023
Three dam expansion projects could increase water storage for use in the Central Valley by a whopping 304,000 acre feet. Each of the projects—located in Merced, Madera and Fresno counties—would raise existing dams, not build new ones.

From CalMatters...

Environment Water Government

Western States’ Water Cuts Should Hold Off Colorado River Crisis—For Now

10/25/2023
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.

From Sacramento News and Review...

Water Sustainability State of California

Final Environmental Impact Report on Delta Tunnel Slated for Release in ‘Late 2023’

10/13/2023
Image for display with article titled Final EIR on Delta Tunnel Slated for Release in ‘Late 2023’

The California Department of Water Resources said that it is “still on track” to issue a issue a final environmental impact report for its embattled Delta Conveyance Project.

From CalMatters...

Environment Water Agriculture, Food & Gardening Government

San Joaquin Valley Groundwater Pumpers Need to Slow Down or Face Fines, State Says

10/12/2023
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.

From CalMatters...

Water Agriculture, Food & Gardening Government

To Make Water Conservation a ‘California Way of Life,’ the Price Tag is $13 Billion

10/04/2023
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.

From CapPublicRadio...

Water City of Sacramento

Sacramento Set to Activate Its Biggest Groundwater Plant

09/28/2023
The city of Sacramento aims to activate the new groundwater treatment facility by mid-October. Once it begins producing up to 4 million gallons of drinking water a day, people living in the Shasta neighborhood could notice their tap water change.

From CalMatters...

Environment Land Use & Development Water Government

Your Lawn May be Gone. New Bill Bans Irrigation of ‘Ornamental’ Lawns

09/13/2023
The irrigation bill, which aims to force businesses and institutions to remove their lawns, now goes to the governor.

California Local Pin Marker From California Local...

Public Safety Water Agriculture, Food & Gardening Resilience Government Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District

Fighting West Nile Virus With Science

09/08/2023
Image for display with article titled Fighting West Nile Virus in Sacramento and Yolo Counties with Science

A rainy Labor Day weekend followed by a week of temperatures in the 80s and 90s created perfect breeding conditions for mosquitoes in a season when their population was already exploding. Meanwhile, the record number of insects and birds testing positive for the West Nile Virus continues to spike.

From CapPublicRadio...

Land Use & Development Parks & Recreation Water Sustainability

Chumash Tribe’s Vision for a Marine Sanctuary Could be Coming True

08/13/2023
Some 7,000 square miles of ocean on California’s Central Coast could soon become the largest national marine sanctuary in the continental U.S. It could also make history as one of the first federal sanctuaries to be spearheaded by a Native American tribe.

From Folsom Telegraph...

Water Resilience

Federal Agencies Tackle 2 Folsom Dam Projects at Once

08/09/2023
Image for display with article titled Federal Agencies Tackle Two Folsom Dam Projects at Once

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation have partnered to work on the perimeter of Folsom Dam and the spillway.

Sacramento County Local News: Water