San Joaquin County Local News: Water

01/26/2024
The Mazapeta, a 1940s-era military tugboat, is on the way to its final port of call. The city of Stockton coordinated with Lind Marine, which barged the vessel to Mare Island, where it will eventually be dismantled for salvage.

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.

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.

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.

01/16/2024
The removal entered a critical phase with the lowering of dammed reservoirs on the Klamath River. “This is historic and life-changing,” tribal attorney Amy Cordalis said. “And it means that the Yurok people have a future.”

01/14/2024
In the Little Potato Slough of the San Joaquin Delta, a cluster of old ships, which stand tall on the horizon amid miles of crops, was topped with a 10-story crane.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

12/27/2023
The year rang in with rains so heavy that Stockton flooded, and ended with state approval of a Delta Tunnel that may deplete our region’s water. In between was a year as remarkable for what didn’t happen as what did.

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.

12/21/2023
The California Department of Water Resources has approved building a tunnel between the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The approval could signal a new wave of legal challenges to the long-running and controversial project.

12/21/2023
The Hoopa Valley Tribe announced it is acquiring about 10,000 acres of land in Northern California for $14.1 million. As part of this, the tribe will remove dams along the Klamath River and restore salmon runs.

12/19/2023
Suppliers now have detailed steps to create a new source of drinking water. But it’s not really “toilet-to-tap.” Due to the cost, it’ll likely be only large suppliers.

12/17/2023
Salmon populations in the Scott and Shasta rivers have crashed, so state officials are about to restrict irrigation again. And the controversial rules may even become permanent.

12/17/2023
As soon as this winter, the Lower Elkhorn Basin project area will become a larger overflow area for the Sacramento River when it rises. Crews pushed seven miles of levee back around 1,500 feet, expanding the capacity of the existing Sacramento and Yolo bypass areas.