Four years before the era of reclamation districts began, the city of Sacramento saw the Great Flood of 1862.
This month, for the first time since the launch of California Local, we expanded our digital footprint into new territory, moving west of Sacramento into Yolo County. From the new Yolo County overview page you can find links to information about Yolo’s traffic and weather, its county and city governments, and its community groups. We also list some of the county’s biggest special districts—government entities like the Knights Landing Community Services District and the Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District, which exist to provide specific functions to residents.
When researching Yolo County, we became interested in reclamation districts, which are the oldest type of special district in California. These districts, created to “reclaim” wetlands and turn the acreage into arable—and monetizable—land, are a fixture in the Delta and the Central Valley. Reclamation districts made possible California’s second Gold Rush, enriching immigrants who got here early enough to benefit from this land grab. (To see the breadth of land managed by these districts, check out this detailed map.)
Draining the Swamps
In his most recent series, California Local’s Jonathan Vankin digs into the history and machinations of reclamation districts and the changes they’ve wrought to the natural environment. As he notes, it took about 70 years, but reclamation transformed the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta into one of California’s most fertile agricultural regions, with 1,100 miles of levees creating islands of farmland amid the tidal marshes.
But is there a downside to decimating one of nature’s most biological productive ecosystems? In short, naturally.
Raging Waters
We’ve got four months still to go on the 2023 calendar, but already it’s been a wild ride. The year began with storms propulsed by atmospheric rivers that ultimately took back some of the land that humans tried to reclaim—specifically along the Pajaro River, on the border of Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, and across agricultural land that’s now covered with a resurgent Tulare Lake in Kings County. And this month came Hilary, an almost unprecedented tropical storm that blew further north due to warming ocean temperatures. Vankin takes a look at whether the levee systems will hold as large-scale rainstorms get more frequent.
Get to Know a Group
Big Brother Big Sisters provides children facing adversity with strong, enduring, professionally supported mentorship. The organization believes that all children can achieve success when given the proper tools and resources—and volunteer mentors are among the most important of those resources.
→ Learn more
• Chinese Government Interested in Valley Water
The government of China is interested in buying water from Valley Water and selling it to other customers, according to CEO Rick Callender. A local developer contacted Callender and said he could secure the funding for a controversial expansion of Pacheco Reservoir.
(08/25/2023) → Daily Post
• Beaver Makes First Reappearance in Palo Alto Baylands
A young beaver was spotted in the Palo Alto Baylands this week, marking perhaps the beginning of the return of the aquatic herbivores after more than 160 years.
(08/25/2023) → Palo Alto Online
• California Considers Permanent Ban on Watering Grass at Businesses, Even in Non-Drought Years
Office parks, corporate campuses, strip malls would have to remove grass, or face fines of up to $500 a day.
(08/23/2023) → Monterey Herald
• Silicon Valley Transit Agency Spends Millions to Prepare for the Worst
A new contract aimed at beefing up VTA’s emergency preparedness is getting attention among some officials for its large price tag. Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez said with such a significant dollar amount, the contract’s services should be tracked closely.
(08/23/2023) → San Jose Spotlight
• Rental Housing Committee Looks to Make Utility Billing More Transparent
Mountain View’s rent control measures may have hit its limit with a utility billing system that tenants argue has left them in the dark trying to figure out what they owe the landlord each month.
(08/23/2023) → Mountain View Voice
• Santa Clara County Fire Prevention Aided by AI
The use of artificial intelligence has spread like wildfire into the world of fire prevention in Santa Clara County. County officials are implementing AI sensors to analyze air temperature and particles in the air to locate fires and prevent larger ones from igniting.
(08/23/2023) → San Jose Spotlight
Four years before the era of reclamation districts began, the city of Sacramento saw the Great Flood of 1862.
