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San Benito County Water Overview



California Local Pin Marker Get To Know A Group

“Strengthening humanity through the restoration of native habitat and wilderness,” Wildfarmers invites the public to spend a day in the country.

California Local Pin Marker Local Water Digest

Ghostly Tulare Lake Will Be Revived This Year

03/14/2023

California was once home to the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River, but Tulare Lake disappeared as water was diverted to irrigate crops. This year, however, the lake will once again re-emerge.

California Salmon Fishery to be Shut Down This Year

03/14/2023

The salmon industry, worth about half a billion dollars, is devastated. The culprits: Drought and decades of water diversions and development.

California Local Pin Marker Recent Articles

Benito Link logo LOCAL NEWS
County waives fees to help property flood victims

The San Benito County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted March 14 to waive permit fees up to $75,000 for reconstruction work to assist North County residents affected by the winter storms. The fees include building permits, public works, environmental health, …

Image caption: Detail from a photo tweeted by the city of Watsonville warning residents about the impending atmospheric river storm.
Behind the Levee Breach

On March 10, the Pajaro River flooded the small agricultural town on its banks. Professor Dustin Mulvaney traces the turbulent history of the Central Coast’s second largest watershed.

Image caption: DWR’s report on groundwater sustainability plans was illustrated with this photograph of a wheat field irrigated by groundwater in the southern San Joaquin Valley.
DWR Flushes Six Groundwater Plans

The San Joaquin Valley plans, serving low-income Latino communities, were deemed inadequate for preventing dry wells and sinking land.

Image caption: The snow-lined South Fork of the American River on March 3, 2023.
Too Much, Too Early

When warm storms melt snowpack early, reservoir managers must release water to prevent flooding—which sends this precious resource into the ocean.

Benito Link logo LOCAL NEWS
Changes underway at the St. Francis Retreat

The often-dry lake that greets visitors at San Juan Bautista’s St. Francis Retreat is now filled with water and recently appointed executive director Ben Combs plans to keep it that way from now on. Water will be pumped up from …

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: Kevin McCarthy (CA-20) is the new House Speaker, but his constituents remain badly short of water.
CNN: Kevin McCarthy AWOL on Central Valley Water Crisis

Kevin McCarthy has reached the top position in the U.S. House, but has still fallen short in addressing the ongoing water crisis in his owndistrict, a new CNN.com report says.

Image caption: Sean de Guzman of the California Department of Water Resources conducts the first snow survey of the 2023 season at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Jan. 3.
Is California’s Drought Over?

A dozen days of wet and wild weather haven’t ended the drought, and won't cure the driest period in the West in the past 1,200 years.

Image caption: Lake Oroville, one of California's largest reservoirs, is only 59% of capacity as of Dec. 12 — despite recent rains and snow. The reservoir is shown here in May 2022.
Is California’s Drought Over? Water Providers Predict Shortages

Despite December storms, water supplies remain low in many areas. Some managers expect to impose severe restrictions on their customers.

Image caption: Increasing water recycling is one way to increase the state's water supply, a new report says.
Newsom’s New Drought Strategy: Create More Water

Gov. Newsom's calls to reduce water consumption to combat the ongoing drought have fallen short. His new approach? Add more water to the California's supply. A new state report details how to achieve that.

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