Drought

A new water year began in California last Saturday on the heels of the state’s fifth consecutive year of drought conditions. The most recent year was marked by “meager precipitation that fell more often as rain than snow” according to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and its recently …

The State Water Resources Control Board is now reporting the identification of a toxic cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) bloom in Grantline Canal and Old River surrounding Fabian Tract in San Joaquin County, near both Tracy and Mountain Horse. Ongoing monitoring has discovered an extensive cyanobacteria bloom of Microcystis occurring in the …

In an effort to seek recommendations on how to make water more affordable to low-income Californians, the State Water Resources Control Board will hold a series of meetings in five locations throughout the state from October 12 to November 9. State law provides that every Californian has the right to …

The city of Delano, in California’s Central Valley, is working in conjunction with the State Water Resources Control Board on a unique pilot plan to remove nitrate from groundwater to be used as a drinking water source. A 2013 report to California’s legislature indicated that more than 680 of 3,037 …

The unrelenting five-year California drought and a growing bark beetle infestation has led the Placer County Board of Supervisors to approve the removal of some 1,800 hazardous trees. If not removed the trees could become a hazard that could damage or destroy the county’s infrastructure. Placer County has been identified …

The battle to aid the endangered Chinook salmon in the Sacramento River has spawned a number of attempts to both protect the existing fish and to provide safe habitats for recently hatched fingerlings from predator fish. Most attempts have provided some benefit for the species but the problem of increasing …