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By Eric Johnson
Published Mar 13, 2023
Image credit: Photo by Michael Vi, Shutterstock
03-13-23: Deluge and Drought
“I am a chronicler of menace, as all California writers eventually come to be, but in all my years writing about this place, I had never heard of such a thing.”
Mark Arax, the brilliant Fresno-based journalist and author, is talking here about the “bomb cyclone”—a phrase he'd heard for the first time back in December, when the first wave of this winter’s megastorms was headed for California. Writing for The New York Times on Jan. 23, Arax was responding to national coverage of the apparent disaster that had struck California, in a piece titled: “My State Is 1,000 Miles Long, and Not Everyone Living in It Hates the Rain.”
“The great deluge of 2023 has come and gone and left us Californians wondering what to make of it all,” Arax writes (albeit optimistically). “Do we shake our fists at the sky or thank the heavens? How to apprehend the loss of life and property alongside the gift of rain and snow that might break a decade’s drought?”
A former LA Times senior writer, Arax is our most articulate expert on California drought. His latest book, 2019’s The Dreamt Land: Chasing Water and Dust Across California, explains where we are, how we got here, and how this particular menace threatens our state.
This week on California Local, our own Jonathan Vankin tells you everything you need to know about drought in a classic Explainer. (Explanatory journalism—that's Jon's thing). When we assigned the story, we were still in the midst of a decades-long drought—possibly the driest period to afflict the North American West in 1,200 years. Then the skies opened up.
And so today I find myself writing about drought while watching rain come down in torrents—at the tail end of the wettest winter we’ve seen in decades. That might seem ironic, or paradoxical, or stupid, but as the stories here show, it’s a little bit weirder than that.
Less Rain + More Demand = Drought
There are two sides to the drought equation. The climate crisis has driven the supply side down—but why does the demand side keep increasing?
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.
Here's How Recent Storms Might Result in Less Water
The floodgates are open (literally) at California's biggest reservoirs, as managers prepare for atmospheric rivers and accellerated snowmelt. Let's hope this works out.
When warm storms melt snowpack early, reservoir managers must release water to prevent flooding—which sends this precious resource into the ocean.
As Groundwater Dries Up, Big Ag Keeps Pumping
The State of California does not regulate farmers' use of groundwater to irrigate their crops. Here's how that works.
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.
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From Our Media Allies |
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Pajaro Levee Repairs Underway, Floodwaters Rising |
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The state’s emergency contractors are on site prepping to shore up the 120-foot breach in the Pajaro River Levee with boulders. |
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Will the Levee Ever be Replaced? |
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The news that the Pájaro River overflowed its levee is really nothing new. This isn’t the first time the river has run amok, inundating the town of Pájaro and causing flooding and damage. |
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Pajaro River Levee Breaches |
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A breach in the Pajaro River Levee the size of a train car has sent floodwaters into the community of Pajaro, forcing the evacuation of roughly 1,700 residents and causing as-yet untold damage. |
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Vouchers Help House Hundreds, But High Demand Remains |
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A voucher program helped more than 400 unhoused people in Santa Cruz County in recent months. Plus, tips for housing seekers. |
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Ripple Effects of Salesforce Cutbacks |
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As Silicon Valley’s post-pandemic pullback continues, Salesforce has canceled its contract with Scotts Valley’s 1440 Multiversity retreat center. |
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Atmospheric River Slams Central Coast—Again |
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A chaotic whirlwind of flooded roads and freeways hits Santa Cruz County as heavy rains persists. |
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Group Seeks Removal of Santa Cruz County Fair Board President |
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In the latest chapter in the drawn-out saga, a local group has created an online petition to remove Board President Don Dietrich, saying he puts “mid-level Sacramento bureaucrats” over the local community. |
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Brookdale Bluegrass Festival Begins March 24 |
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Eric Burman, Bruce Bellochio and Michael Hofer make up the team putting on the grassroots gathering that got its start 23 years ago at Brookdale Lodge. |
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Human Composting is Coming to California |
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Uncovering the transformative and sustainable potential of human composting in green burials. |
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Santa Cruz Mountains Residents Frustrated by FEMA |
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The federal agency has not made recovery easy for many affected by January’s atmospheric storms. |
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Aid Recipients to See Less Money, More Paperwork |
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As pandemic rules expire, safety-net gaps widen for Santa Cruz County residents receiving CalFresh and Medi-Cal benefits. |
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Recent News |
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• Storm-Fueled Road Collapse Cuts Off Hundreds in Soquel
A swollen Bates Creek took out a section of North Main Street, leaving residents stranded on March 10 as Santa Cruz County officials scrambled to bridge the storm-driven waterway.
(March 10, 2023, midnight) → Read the full Lookout Local report• ‘First True Success Story’ for Safe Parking Program
The RV safe-parking program, hosted in the parking lot of the National Guard Armory in DeLaveaga Park, is operated by nonprofit organization The Free Guide and funded through June 30 by the city of Santa Cruz.
(March 10, 2023, midnight) → Santa Cruz Sentinel• Q&A: Researcher Chris Wilmers on the Hwy 17 Animal Crossing
UCSC professor Chris Wilmers, who researches mountain lions living in the Santa Cruz Mountains, helped the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County develop the wildlife crossing. He shares his thoughts on how to protect mountain lions from encroaching development.
(March 9, 2023, midnight) → Read the full Lookout Local report• Santa Cruz County Gets First Medical Residency Program
Dominican Hospital is planning to train an inaugural class of eight residents in a program lasting three years.
(March 9, 2023, midnight) → Santa Cruz Sentinel• Potential Supervisor Vacancies Stir Ambitions for 2024
November 2024 is still a ways out, but a list of names of potential candidates among the three supervisor seats up for election in Santa Cruz County has already begun to emerge.
(March 8, 2023, midnight) → Read the full Lookout Local report• State Sen. John Laird Launches Reelection Bid
Says Laird, who was first elected to the state Senate in 2020, “It has been an amazingly successful couple of years so far.”
(March 7, 2023, midnight) → Santa Cruz Sentinel|
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Upcoming Government Meetings |
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