Santa Clara County Local News: Water


All Local Water News articles contributed by our local media allies and other local newsrooms.

Image caption: Since the Gold Rush era, land reclamation has cost California 90 percent of its wetlands.
How Land Reclamation Hurts California’s Environment

Since the Gold Rush era, land reclamation projects have helped to build California, but they are also damaging the state’s environment for people, plants and animals by eliminating essential wetlands.

Image caption: How California reclamation districts turned millions of acres of wetlands into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush.
Reclamation Districts: Turning ‘Swamps’ Into Farmland

California has used reclamation districts to turn millions of acres of unusable swamps into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush. Here’s how it happened.

Image caption: From nitrates to arsenic to “forever chemicals,” California’s water supply faces a serious pollution threat.
Dirty Water: California Faces a Water Contamination Crisis

Almost one million California residents are forced to drink from contaminated water supplies, or pay for bottled water. Economic inequality makes the crisis worse. What is the state doing to fix it?

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: There are more than 300 community service districts in California.
Community Services Districts, Explained

Community service districts can do most anything a city government can do. Here’s how they work and how to start one.

Image caption: RCDs look after the land, whether it’s used for grazing, growing, or getting out into nature.
California Dirt

What do resource conservation districts protect? Pretty much everything that’s worth saving.

Image caption: Water is a human right under California law, but it doesn’t always work out that way.
Agriculture and Water Shortages in the State’s Breadbasket, Explained

Residential wells are drying up in the state’s main agricultural region at the same time that agricultural businesses consume almost 90 percent of the water there.

Hilltromper Silicon Valley logo From Hilltromper Silicon Valley...

04/16/2024
Image for display with article titled Peak Whale Watching in Northern California Can Be Now

Humpback whales return to our waters just in time for Earth Day and WhaleFest in Pacifica, while whale watchers in Monterey Bay are seeing cetaceans in droves.

San Jose Spotlight logo From San Jose Spotlight...

04/16/2024
Image for display with article titled Silicon Valley Water Supplier Plans Rate Hikes

Santa Clara County residents could see higher water bills in the upcoming year, as one water agency looks for ways to cover costs.

San Jose Spotlight logo From San Jose Spotlight...

04/03/2024
Image for display with article titled Silicon Valley Water District Sues One of Its Directors

The region’s largest taxpayer-funded water supplier is suing one of its own board directors weeks after they censured her.

California Local Pin Marker From The Mercury News...

03/29/2024
As winter conditions wind down, the beginning of April is always the most important time for California's water managers to take stock of how much snow has fallen in the Sierra Nevada. This year, something unusual happened.

California Local Pin Marker From The Mercury News...

03/21/2024
San Jose Water is proposing hike rates of 20 percent or more over the next three years to cover inflation and higher operating costs.

San Jose Spotlight logo From San Jose Spotlight...

03/17/2024
Image for display with article titled San Jose Water Proposed Increases Rankle Residents

Roughly 1 million people in and around San Jose are facing significant increases to their water bills starting next year, if state regulators approve a local company’s plan.

California Local Pin Marker From The Mercury News...

03/17/2024
Last weekend, President Biden signed a package of bills that included $205 million in construction funding for Sites Reservoir, a proposed $4.5 billion project planned for the rolling ranchlands  west of the town of Maxwell, about 70 miles north of Sacramento.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/06/2024
California, Arizona and Nevada would cut their allocations about 20% when reservoir levels drop. But other states have their own more aggressive plan. Now the federal government has to decide how to manage the drought-plagued river.

California Local Pin Marker From Los Angeles Times...

02/20/2024
A temporary lake in Death Valley National Park doubled after recent rains and is now deep enough to launch a kayak. Prior to August, ghostly Lake Manly hadn’t appeared in 19 years.

California Local Pin Marker From San Jose Spotlight...

02/19/2024
Santa Clara Valley Water District employees presented updates and fielded questions about the controversial Pacheco Dam expansion—including questions about costs.

Morgan Hill Times logo From Morgan Hill Times...

02/16/2024
Image for display with article titled Wet Weather ‘a Big Boost’ for District’s Reservoir Levels

Santa Clara Valley Water District’s 10 reservoirs are collectively about 130% of their normal water levels for this time of year, spokesperson Matt Keller said.

San Jose Inside logo From San Jose Inside...

02/09/2024
Image for display with article titled Valley Water CEO Seeks Police Investigation of Director Eisenberg for Document Theft

Valley Water CEO Rick Callender said videos confirmed that Director Rebecca Eisenberg illegally took a report on allegations that she had discriminated against male Valley Water staff and insulted water district officials.

California Local Pin Marker From Los Angeles Times...

02/05/2024
The storm fed off of unusually warm waters as it grew. It also reached “bomb cyclone” status as it neared California.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/30/2024
Chinook and other salmon runs are collapsing. Conservation groups call it too little, too late. Plan includes dam removals and restoring river flows.

California Local Pin Marker From SF Gate...

01/29/2024
What is an ARkStorm and why is everyone talking about it on social media right now?

California Local Pin Marker From CapPublicRadio...

01/28/2024
Take a period of limited rainfall. Add heat. And you have what scientists call a “hot drought”—dry conditions made more intense by the evaporative power of hotter temperatures.

California Local Pin Marker From Los Angeles Times...

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.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

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.

California Local Pin Marker From CapPublicRadio...

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.
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