News

Sep 03, 2010
An Update On La Nina
much drier, warmer-than-normal weather in the Southwest

Sep 02, 2010
Irrigation Decisions Often Influenced By Outside Factors
irrigation decisions - when and how much water to apply to a crop - are largely influenced by factors outside of the control of the farmer.

Sep 02, 2010
ACWA Bill Goes To Governor
SB 1284 (Ducheny), sponsored by ACWA, addresses high penalties for water agencies and others for failing to report there was no wastewater discharge

Sep 01, 2010
Farm Bureau Calls For Careful Study Of Klamath Dams
The project to remove the four dams--three in California and one in Oregon--would begin in 2020

Aug 31, 2010
No, This Is Not A Westlands Lawsuit
They are definitely west siders, but they are not in Westlands.

Aug 29, 2010
Schwarzenegger Signs Bill To Delay Water Bond
In contrast with usual plethora of press releases, photos and video clips that the Governor’s Office sends to media outlets whenever he signs a bill

Aug 29, 2010
He Needs To Read 'Atlas Shrugged'
To make the elementary statement that agricultural water costs 55 dollars an acre foot and compare that to urban users at 250 dollars shows an absolute lack of understanding of our water supply and infrastructue in California.

Aug 28, 2010
Suit Targets Effects Of San Joaquin River Restoration
claiming the replenished flows are damaging 13,000 prime acres, buildings and crops.

Aug 27, 2010
Watchdog Agency Recommends Changes In Water Supply Oversight
The country's largest state-owned water-delivery project should be removed from the California agency that runs it

Aug 26, 2010
Editorial; DWR Showing Its True Colors
This is the kind of agency we're dealing with: The same water that costs us $1.2 million is worth half that much to them.

Aug 26, 2010
Phase Out Summer Grazing, Say Researchers
By the end of a five-year phase-out period, summer cattle grazing should be restricted to areas below 1,500m elevation

Aug 26, 2010
The Salmon Wars, Continued
The obvious effect of the agency's separating the populations was to make each new subpopulation more likely to be listed

Aug 25, 2010
The White Sturgeon's Numbers Are Dwindling In The Delta
The same issues that have caused a decline in populations for salmon and Delta Smelt — poor water quality and engineering obstructions — are also killing these denizens of the deep

Aug 25, 2010
National Law Firm Provides Support In Farm Bureau Case
the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) has reinterpreted a statute governing notification requirements for diversions of water.

Aug 24, 2010
No Quick Fix For State's Water Woes
On fish v. farmers, Coolidge said environmental laws in the early 1970s have given the fish a "legal voice" that they didn't have in the 1950s

Aug 24, 2010
Sacramento Wastewater Report
So should Sacramento be required to incur the cost for more advanced treatment? I don't know

Aug 24, 2010
Cost To Clean Up Wastewater Plant $94.4-Million Per Year
Sacramento's treatment plant dumps up to 181 million gallons of wastewater each day into the Sacramento River, which flows to the heart of the Delta.

Aug 23, 2010
Don Curlee: Ag Statistics Fill The Glass Half Way
They reason that a greater reduction in crop value would have made a stronger case for increased water storage

Aug 22, 2010
Ninth Circuit Upholds Steelhead Listing
The issue in the case was whether NMFS had the authority to treat Central Valley steelhead as distinct from rainbow trout in deciding whether the steelhead merited ESA protection

Aug 21, 2010
Delta Flow Criteria Represent A Productive Step Forward
SBX7_1 makes clear that California remains committed to “the two coequal goals of providing a more reliable water supply for California and protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Delta ecosystem”

Aug 21, 2010
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Protection For California's Wild Steelhead
The Court’s ruling represents the latest rejection of attempts by big agricultural interests to take more water out of the San Francisco Bay-Delta

Aug 20, 2010
Measure To Streamline Regulations For Salmon Restoration
“This measure balances the goals of restoring salmon runs to the river without imposing hurdles for water users to comply.

Aug 19, 2010
Is Siskiyou County's Hardline Position On Scott River Valley Groundwater Justified?
it would be a notable change if the court decides to extend the public trust doctrine to include interconnected groundwater.

Aug 19, 2010
Federal And State Partners Plan Public Meeting To Focus On California Bay-Delta
Bringing together the State and federal partners shows the value the Administration places on collaboration.

Aug 19, 2010
Three Delta Council Appointees Win Senate Rules OK
The seven-member council was created as part of a package of water bills passed by the Legislature last year

Aug 18, 2010
Science Finds Exports Are Harming Delta
Any long-term solution must provide reliable water supplies for people while protecting salmon and other native fish

Aug 18, 2010
California And The International Green Energy Racket
California environmentalists don’t see the irony in British Columbia damming rivers to provide power to California, while in California, environmentalists fight to demolish dams

Aug 18, 2010
Something's Not Right About This California Water Deal
The lawsuit was filed by a group of water agencies and environmental groups contending that the transaction was essentially a gift of public property to private interests and therefore violates the state constitution.

Aug 17, 2010
No On 18 Chairs Are Optimistic After Water Bond Delayed
The No on Proposition 18 legislative co-chairs, Senator Lois Wolk (D) and Assemblymember Bill Berryhill (R), portrayed the delay as a victory

Aug 17, 2010
Shrinking Mead
In the past decade, the surface of the reservoir has dropped 100 feet. Last year Mead hit its lowest point since 1965

Aug 16, 2010
Chowchilla Water District Protests High-Speed Rail
In this time of economic challenge, California cannot afford to waste valuable public resources on a poorly planned

Aug 16, 2010
Mexico, U.S. Talking About Colorado River Water
Talks on the topic began in early 2008, but the 7.2 magnitude quake April 4 near Mexicali added urgency

Aug 14, 2010
Fat Won't Make Water Bond Float
Other legislators wanted a piece of the pie for projects in their districts -- museums, visitor centers, nature trails

Aug 13, 2010
Bond: When A Loss Is Still A Victory
But many media sources also noted "organized opposition to the bond" as one rationale behind the Governor's decision

Aug 13, 2010
Editorial: Water Bond Bloat
But the measure remains larded with pork spending that has little to do with pressing water needs

Aug 12, 2010
Environmental Architect Says State Is Having Regulatory Drought
He called what’s being done to protect the delta smelt “pseudoscience.”

Aug 12, 2010
Strange Politics Coalesce Around Water Bond's Delay
So perhaps it was only fitting that a simple procedural vote to delay a vote on the state’s $11 billion water bond was embroiled in political fights

Aug 11, 2010
Editorial: Sinking The Water Bond
Yet California is in dire need of a plan to break a 40-year-old deadlock on water planning and policy

Aug 11, 2010
Editorial: Good Idea To Delay Water Bond Vote
It is particularly galling that a worthy and necessary water bond measure must be delayed while efforts continue to try to spend $10 billion of approved bond money to begin work on an all-but-certain-to-fail, high-speed rail system.

Aug 11, 2010
Madera County Crop Values Decline
Kings County's values tumbled 25%, Tulare County's fell by 19%, and Fresno's crop values dropped 4.5%.

Aug 09, 2010
Bumping The Bond
Today is the deadline for the voter guide, with the Secretary of State's office sticking to a 5 p.m. deadline for changing language before it's shipped off to the printer

Aug 08, 2010
Editorial: Compromise Needed On Water Policy To Protect Delta, Economy
Compromises on water usage, cost, storage and delivery are going to have to be made.

Aug 07, 2010
The Clock Is Ticking For Prop 18
In other words, even if the proposition appeared on the ballot and citizens cast votes for it, as long as the Legislature voted to move the proposition to the 2012 ballot before Nov. 2, none of the votes cast would be counted.

Aug 07, 2010
Fiorina Blasts Boxer On Water
said Boxer has "refused to lift a finger to protect an adequate and reliable water supply" for valley ag

Aug 07, 2010
Legislation Takes Shape To Delay Water Bond To 2012 Ballot
Monday is the deadline for making changes to the state's official Voter Information Guide, which is mailed to 10 million voter households

Aug 06, 2010
Despite Dam-Building, Enviros Pump Money Into Governor's Water Bond
Part of the money – directly and indirectly – came from environmentalist groups that aren't troubled by more dam-building in California.

Aug 06, 2010
Senate Hearing Next Week On Delta Water Report
It’s the first hearing by lawmakers since the State Water Control Board adopted a staff report on water flows in the Delta

Aug 04, 2010
Study: Cut In Delta Water Use Needed For Fish
Right now, about 50 percent of the state's runoff flows through the delta all the way to the ocean

Aug 03, 2010
San Mateo County Cities Weigh High-Speed Rail Opposition
The most common complaint is that raised structures will lead to the demolition of homes and businesses along the tracks, including downtowns

Aug 03, 2010
Elite Science Panel Wades Into California Water War
State officials have taken the federal study in stride, saying it will add more information and likely confirm what they already know.

Aug 03, 2010
Early Winter Outlook: La Nina Growing Stronger
This means warmer and much drier-than-normal conditions in the Southwest

Aug 01, 2010
Investors Shy From California Rail Plan
If the money doesn't come, the state and federal governments risk sinking billions of dollars into a rail line that never gets finished.

Aug 01, 2010
Pushing Back Against BDCP
In other words: How can a canal or tunnel divert water while still restoring the estuary?

Aug 01, 2010
Clarksburg Grapegrowers Fear Water Proposals
Proposed routes for a Delta Peripheral Canal and an alternative underground pipeline would go through the vineyards

Jul 31, 2010
Schwarzenetter Names NRDC Staffer To Delta Panel
The seven-member panel, created as part of the 2009 water policy package, is tasked with crafting and implementing a plan for the future management of Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Jul 30, 2010
Central Valley Water Connection Gets $14.6-Million
‘This project has been stuck in a bureaucratic backlog for six years’

Jul 29, 2010
Conservation Leads To Higher Rates
So congratulations, everyone, for conserving water. Your reward? A rate increase to make up for the reduced revenue

Jul 29, 2010
Water Exchange Would Help Replenish Diamond Valley Lake
In other words, Westlands has only so much time to get whatever benefit it can from that extra water before the year ends, or lose it all.

Jul 28, 2010
Westlands-Met Deal Stands Alone In Water World
There's never been a farm-big city program like this between the federal and state projects

Jul 28, 2010
How Can NASA Help California Farmers?
The photos will show farmers which of their crops are in need of water, and which aren’t,

Jul 27, 2010
Hollywood Stars Slam Schwarzenegger's Water Bond
The controversial bond remains on this November's ballot, in spite of attempts by Schwarzenegger and Steinberg to delay the bond until 2012

Jul 27, 2010
The Once And Future Delta
Understanding what the Delta was and how it got into so much trouble is the starting point for envisioning a better future for it.

Jul 26, 2010
New Yuba River Fish Study Ordered
The death of uncounted numbers of fish due to the operation of the dams violates the Endangered Species Act, the environmental groups claim.

Jul 24, 2010
State Water Contractors Statement In Response To Draft Flow Criteria
However, it must be recognized that, if the draft recommendations were adopted, it would empty our reservoirs of cool waters required for salmon migration

Jul 24, 2010
Local Officials Slam New Delta Water Report
The report raised the hackles of Dan Nelson, executive director of the San Luis & Delta Mendota Water Authority

Jul 23, 2010
The Next Delta Report, And Inevitable Spin
Without considering anything outside the delta -- such as how water is used by people -- find out what fresh water flows it will take to fix the damaged delta.

Jul 23, 2010
Chronicle Editorial - California's Ailing Water Supply Needs Help
The outcome doesn't need to be a harsh cutoff but a gradual and determined shift in water use through conservation, technology and better planning.

Jul 23, 2010
Stop Draining Delta To Save It, Says Report
But the report also points out that the fish, from salmon to smelt, are also threatened by other factors that also have to be addressed.

Jul 22, 2010
Anti-Dam Group Questions Hetch Hetchy Water
Restore Hetch Hetchy, as its name suggests, aims to return that valley to its natural state by demolishing the dam and releasing the billions of gallons of water that lie behind it

Jul 21, 2010
The BDCP Project Purpose And The Wisdom Of Yogi Berry
One of the primary reasons for this confusion is the BDCP’s “project purpose”, which states that it is the goal of the BDCP to “restore and protect the ability of the SWP and CVP to deliver up to full contract amounts.”

Jul 20, 2010
City Council To Consider 50% Water Rate Hike
Chambers attributes the "sharp spike" this year to a drop in water use.

Jul 20, 2010
Lester Snow: Delay Water Bond, But Don't Rewrite It
While there has been strong support for delaying the water bond until 2012, The Bee and a few others have taken the opportunity to pick apart the bond

Jul 19, 2010
Keeping California Under Water
Consumers get soaked as state agencies try to balance conservation with revenue generation.

Jul 18, 2010
Western Water-Resource Collection Moves To Southern California
UC Riverside and Cal State San Bernardino will manage the collection collaboratively

Jul 16, 2010
Andy Vidak Picking Up Prominent Farmer Support
Exhibit A: Coalinga rancher John Harris. John and Carole Harris donated a total of $4,800 to Vidak on June 23

Jul 16, 2010
Dept. Of Water Resources Says Economic Impact Study Costs $450,000
I am truly stunned by this $450,000 annual cost for economic impact studies of a very small number of proposed transfers

Jul 16, 2010
Meg Whitman Tours Delta, Offers Plan
•The construction of additional storage facilities, above and below-ground, to ensure enough reserves in times of inadequate rainfall and runoff.

Jul 15, 2010
NAS Update: Glibert's Work Called 'Ecologically Naiee'
Her paper says wastewater releases contain ammonium, which changes nutrient levels in the Delta and disrupts the food chain.

Jul 15, 2010
Proposed Law Making It Harder To Sell Valley Water Rights Gets New Life
The ripples are still being felt from a Kings County farmer's decision last year to sell $73.2 million in water rights to a Southern California water agency.

Jul 14, 2010
Statewide Groundwater Regulation?
However, the local districts are not sitting idly by while their users mine the water underneath

Jul 14, 2010
Editorial: Diggging A Deeper Hole
This bypass wouldn't add a drop of water to the system statewide. Not a drop.

Jul 13, 2010
Removed Committee Member To Make Presentation To NAS
Note the 2:45 p.m. presentation by Patricia Glibert, who was removed from the committee after publicly releasing research

Jul 13, 2010
Editorial: Pare Down Water Bond, Start Over
Proposition 18, for all the good it can and should do, is full of pork.

Jul 12, 2010
Drills To Test Idea Of Delta Tunnel
Some of the latest drilling is proposed on properties whose owners refuse to allow the state access.

Jul 10, 2010
Who Pays For 'Co-Equal' Goals?
Let’s face it, honestly parsing these questions would lead to a twenty-two, not a two-party system.

Jul 10, 2010
Thoughts On 'Beneficiary Pays'
But I don’t think that “beneficiaries pay” should be so accepted that it is assumed to be the default.

Jul 10, 2010
Anna Caballero: Valley Must Bridge North/South Water Divide
Now, we must do everything we can to preserve this year's historic water deal, including agreeing to delay this vote

Jul 09, 2010
Sen. Denham Submits 'No On 18' Ballot Argument
A so-called "water bond" that doesn't even guarantee to build water facilities or increase water supply?

Jul 09, 2010
One Person's Pork
IRWM is California’s water policy right now, and these editorials tell me that people don’t really know what it is.

Jul 09, 2010
Repeal Water Bond Legislation
Given the national backlash against self-serving "earmarks," it is stunning that lawmakers and the governor thought they could get away with this

Jul 08, 2010
Lawsuit Over Kern Water Bank Worth Watching
The suit says the 1 million acre-foot Kern Water Bank was built with taxpayer money and cannot be given away

Jul 08, 2010
LA River Designated As A 'Navigable' Waterway
affirming the river's tributaries qualify for Clean Water Act protections and settling a long-running dispute over its status.

Jul 08, 2010
Sink The Bloated State Water Bond
The $11.1 billion water bond is so larded up with pork, the best thing to do is slaughter the pig.

Jul 06, 2010
The False Promise Of Hoover Dam
Since that dedication year, the population of California and the six other states of the basin has swelled by some 45 million people.

Jul 05, 2010
What's Next For The Water Bond?
As written now, the bond measure is a typical product of legislative deal-making, which means it forgoes logic and equity in favor of political expediency.

Jul 03, 2010
Farm Interests Support Pushing Back Water Bond
The California Farm Bureau Federation called the development "disappointing but understandable."

Jul 03, 2010
Environmentalists Sue To Stop Water Banking
The lawsuits seek to stop all banking operations, have the bank revert to state ownership and have all the money ever earned by the bank given back to the state

Jul 02, 2010
East Side Water At Risk If Water Bond Pulled From Ballot
He said it was a “miracle” that the Legislature came together to approve the measure to begin with, a consensus that could not have been reached without the support of the Latino caucus.

Jul 01, 2010
You Reap What You Sow, Governor
I’m interested in how we’re going to fulfill the rest of the water legislation without money from the bond behind it

Jul 01, 2010
Editorial: No Real Option But To Delay Water Vote
While delaying this bond is a setback, it is much better than seeing it defeated in November when voters are in a sour mood because of the economy

Jul 01, 2010
Should Water Bond Be Taken Off Ballot?
We need these bond measures, especially water bond measures, pulled until they are project-specific

Jun 30, 2010
Elena Kagan and the Delta Smelt
so it is only through litigation, like PLF's delta smelt case, that we will see the Commerce Clause restored to its original meaning.

Jun 29, 2010
Should The Public Trust Doctrine Be Extended To Groundwater?
If the public trust doctrine extends to supportive non-navigable streams, then should it also extend to supportive groundwater?

Jun 29, 2010
What Do The Gulf Of Mexico, The American Economy And The Bay-Delta Have In Common?
An effective enforcement program would increase the incentives to discourage illegal water diversions.

Jun 29, 2010
Hearing Set On Delta Water Changes
‘A blatant attempt to rewrite the California water code’

Jun 27, 2010
Experts Vary On Stan River Predation Estimates
No one knows for sure, not even the experts, how many big fish are eating little fish. But the range of even the experts is startling

Jun 27, 2010
Editorial: Tell The Truth About The Drought
Could all these agencies be keeping quiet about the abundance of rain, the healthy snowpack and the rising levels of water in the state's reservoirs because they're trying to sell the public the $11.1 billion water bond

Jun 26, 2010
Water Woes Aren't Over: Save What We Still Have
But the survey also confirmed our suspicions that more needs to be done to educate Californians about actions they can take to save water

Jun 24, 2010
Crop Totals Testify To Farmers' Endurance
Thank goodness we haven't let all of our farms go overseas. Otherwise, we'd be looking at more unemployment

Jun 23, 2010
Stanislaus River Needs Balanced Management
It is important to remember that virtually everything we enjoy today in California is the result of man shifting great amounts of water from areas of the state where it is plentiful to areas where it isn’t.

Jun 23, 2010
No On Water Bond Coalition Slams AB 2775
“California is facing a crushing $19 billion budget deficit, $83.5 billion in long-term bond debt, and legislative gridlock, yet our politicians hatched this massive, fundamentally flawed, $11 billion water bond

Jun 22, 2010
U.S. Supreme Court Rules On Takings Clause In Florida Case
This is a very important issue in California and other states, particularly in the field of water rights regulation.

Jun 21, 2010
Rapid Runoff
What is causing the change? One possibility is the large amount of dust in the snowpack.

Jun 20, 2010
A Plan To Kill The Stanislaus River
That solution is a so-called "biological opinion". It would require draining much of the New Melones

Jun 20, 2010
Drought May Be Over, But Restrictions Remain
While most farmers in the Central Valley will get their full federal water allotment this year, the hard-hit west side of the San Joaquin Valley is still facing cuts

Jun 19, 2010
ACWA Reports On Status Of Significant Legislation
Following the June 5 deadline for bills to move out of their house of origin, ACWA has prepared a mid-session report on the status of significant legislation

Jun 17, 2010
Bill McEwen: Mendota Isn't Place For Senate Debate
If Boxer accepts, Fiorina would have a stage to portray the senator as favoring fish over people.

Jun 16, 2010
Kings County Crop Value Drops 25%
Fresno County -- the state's leading agricultural producer -- will release its annual crop report next Tuesday

Jun 15, 2010
Andy Vidak Says Jim Costa's Hypocricy On Water Grows Faster Than Valley Crops
But, true to form, Jim Costa was quick to take credit, claiming that somehow he should be praised for the Bureau’s action,

Jun 15, 2010
Costa Announces New Water Increase For Valley
We took on Valley outsiders who tried to cut off our water. We also took on the Washington bureaucracy

Jun 14, 2010
5% More On The Westside - What Does It Mean In June?
Farmers in Westlands Water District and other west-side locations are long past making plans for planting.

Jun 13, 2010
Time To Get Real About Water
That's why state and local governments have gotten together in a program to encourage Californians to make water conservation a way of life

Jun 12, 2010
California's Water Plan
One thing that is certain about California's water future is that there is a lot of uncertainty due to population

Jun 12, 2010
No Federal Water Micromanagement
Unfortunately, a push is on to use the cause of clean water as an excuse to unbalance our federal system and undermine our liberties by concentrating regulation of land use in Washington, D.C.

Jun 11, 2010
District Could Lose Water Rights Over Fee Vote
Ed Steffani, who heads the North San Joaquin district, said it was a mistake to put Measure C on the primary election ballot, where it was doomed in part by low turnout

Jun 11, 2010
Valley Congressmen Demand Probe Of Delta Pollution
They add that they find it odd that the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board seems to have given a pass to requiring tough sewage treatment standards

Jun 10, 2010
Carly Fiorina V. The Sainted Delta Smelt
and it turns out that the stupid fish aren’t even in (alleged) danger from agricultural needs; they’re in (alleged) danger from Sacramento sewage.

Jun 10, 2010
SRCSD Withdraws Treatment Plant Capacity Request
“We believe withdrawing the capacity increase request is the right thing to do at this time, but of course we will closely monitor any possible conditions that could alter our needs,”

Jun 10, 2010
Will Jerry Brown Take A Position On Water Bond, Peripheral Canal?
With such broad opposition to the water bond and peripheral canal building across the state, many believe that it's time for Jerry Brown to take a stand against the bond and canal

Jun 08, 2010
Uncertainity And The Latest Wanger Decision
Just as a scientist may not be able to definitively say that reduced pumping in a given period will help fish stocks recover, I am confident that no social scientist could definitively say that increased water pumping will

Jun 07, 2010
Will Sacramento Pin Water Bill On North?
Are salmon declines due primarily to dams? To water pumps? Or to insufficiently treated human waste discharged by Sacramento County?

Jun 05, 2010
Kern Water Bank Misguided Lawsuit
No State funds were used in the land purchase and development of the Kern Water Bank

Jun 03, 2010
Sacramento Delta Water Wars Continue
A new study suggests that some of the Delta’s problems are due to ammonium discharges from sewage treatment plants which in turn affect the type of fish that can live there

Jun 03, 2010
Ratepayers, Farmers and Conservationists File Suit To Block Southern Ag Water Deal
The lawsuit, the latest salvo in an increasingly chaotic and bitter statewide fight over Delta water, also seeks to force Kern County landowners to return a giant underground reservoir

Jun 02, 2010
Can California Afford The $11.1 Billion Water Bond?
Until California's fiscal house is put in order or at least a fiscally-sound budget passes, the prudent course may be to avoid taking on new debt

Jun 02, 2010
Farm Bureau Endorses Water Bond On Measure On November Ballot
If we don't make this investment now, the price tag for improving our water system will only go up

Jun 01, 2010
Passing The Point Of Peak Water Means Paying More For H2O
Those places include the Great Plains in the southern and central U.S., California's Central Valley, northern China,

Jun 01, 2010
When Saving Water Is Not What It Seems
Lining a canal, for example, may seem like “saving” water, but not if the leakage is replenishing a stressed aquifer.

May 31, 2010
Of Fish And Foul In California
I have read that some people seem to think that our committee will now discount Glibert's research. That is not true at all

May 31, 2010
Legislature Rejects Study Of Peripheral Canal Alternative
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California - which relies on Delta water to serve cities as far south as San Diego - was opposed to the $750,000 Delta Corridors study, to be paid for with previously approved bond funds.

May 28, 2010
Favorable Ruling In Delta Smelt Case
Bottom line, however, is that the cutbacks are illegal, but the court is not yet prepared to order immediate relief.

May 28, 2010
Fresno Bee News Blog: Sorry For The Spin, But I'm Still Chilled About The Delta Research
I do not want to see a promising NAS process take this turn. I do not want to see any scientist take a premature position and get fired.

May 28, 2010
Valley Water Cop's Marriage To Lobbyist A Conflict Of Interest
Hart's position would appear to be a conflict of interest if ever there was one, the very definition of government in bed with special interests.

May 28, 2010
The Water Lawyers Are Coming
More than 200 landowners have rejected the state’s attempt to access their land to survey for a possible peripheral canal

May 27, 2010
Lake Shasta At 99% Capacity
But the Bureau of Reclamation won’t let the lake hit 100 percent, instead keeping a cushion for coming rainstorms

May 27, 2010
Tide Turns For Victims Of Regulatory Drought
As the brief explains, the delta smelt water cutbacks are an unfortunate example of federal officials ignoring the Constitution

May 26, 2010
Editorial: Wanger Decision Paves Way For Fairer Water Permits In California
He said that the federal government did not adequately analyze the "draconian" impact that the new restrictions would have on the state's water supply and those who depended on it.

May 26, 2010
Salmon Protections Eased At Request Of Water Agencies
"It's another piece of growing evidence that there's a lot of flaws in these biological opinions," said Dan Nelson, executive director of the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority

May 25, 2010
Judge Lifts Delta Pumping Restrictions
In real-world terms, he added, it will mean an additional 75,000 acres of farmland could be put back into production -- and with it more people put to work.

May 25, 2010
Why Is UC Abandoning Its Water Library?
More than 50 years ago, the Legislature founded this library to collect, preserve and disseminate rare and unique water information to support instructional and research programs

May 25, 2010
Big Fines For Unreported Water Use
Landowners and businesses that pump water from California streams now face hundreds of dollars in fines if the use of that water isn't recorded.

May 24, 2010
Sacramento Wrangling Over Water Bond Money
"They have allowed the Department of Water Resources to take away much of (the council's) decision-making power," said Wolk, one of the most vocal opponents of the bond measure.

May 23, 2010
So How Do Californians Feel About The 2010 Water Bond?
Why do these polls vary so much? Well, it's all in how you ask the questions…

May 22, 2010
The Economist - Special Report On Water
Water, it is said, is the new oil: a resource long squandered, now growing expensive and soon to be overwhelmed by insatiable demand.

May 22, 2010
Bee Editorial: Compromise Needed On Tough Water Issues
We support a balanced approach that protects the environment, while increasing water deliveries to agriculture

May 22, 2010
Scientist Forced To Resign From Delta Panel Following Controversial Research
"Given the fixed points of view of many of the remaining committee members and the stilling of an important alternative voice on the committee, I do not see

May 21, 2010
Berryhill: Water Bond Does Many Things, Except Make Sense
Both Republican candidates for governor have blasted the pork in the bond, and they're right

May 21, 2010
California Water Shortage Exposes Big Gov't Run Amok
Now we’re left waiting and wondering what the next ruling will be.

May 21, 2010
Last of 1.3-Million Salmon Trucked To Bay
Whether the trucking also improves the number of salmon returning to the hatchery won’t be known until this fall

May 21, 2010
PPIC Poll: Rains Don't Diminish Importance Of Water Bond
Among likely voters, 48% say water supply is a big problem, and 28% say it’s somewhat of a problem.

May 21, 2010
Alan Autry Goes Ballistic
It's sad to see Alan so bitter about things, especially since he's not ever said a bad public word about Patterson until now - over 10 years after the fact.

May 20, 2010
Pharmaceuticals In So Cal Water Supplies
“The detection of CECs at very low levels in our water supplies is an emerging issue,”

May 20, 2010
Farmers Hail Ruling
Farm interests see the ruling as a validation of arguments that irrigators have been making for months

May 20, 2010
Notes From Judge Wanger's Court
The addition of New Don Pedro, New Melones, New Bullards Bar, New Exchequer and Los Vaqueros all influenced inflows to the Delta

May 20, 2010
Must It Always Be War In The Delta?
No doubt, Sacramento is the largest generator of ammonia to the Delta.

May 19, 2010
Fresno Bee Endorses Patterson
While our politics are much more in the political center, the 19th is a conservative district, and Patterson’s philosophy is a good match for his constituents

May 19, 2010
The Massive $11-Billion Water Bond Is Heading For A November Massacre
I suspect that you will see more and more "realistic assessments" of the lack of political viability of this massive, bloated, so-called water bond as we get past the June election.

May 18, 2010
Nutrient Study Shows Need For Multi-Stressor Approach
However, management strategies to date have not reversed fish declines because they have not addressed the ultimate cause

May 18, 2010
Drought Label Stays And Some Blame Politics
The ability to say the state is in a drought helps the bond campaign immensely, said Jim Ross, a veteran San Francisco political consultant.

May 18, 2010
Denham, Patterson Spar In Debate
But a debate Monday at the Tower Theatre in Fresno was civil and collegial -- until the end.

May 17, 2010
Turning Water Into Gold
"Regulatory arbitrage" can instantly change the value of water, by changing the definition of who can use it and for what.

May 17, 2010
Paul Rodriguez: No Laughing Matter
The wake up call came two years ago, when the water supply to his mother's new farm, plus a number of other small family farms in the very same valley, was cut off

May 17, 2010
Water Adds New Constraint To Power
But there is a growing awareness in California and throughout the United States that the use of water for energy generation may be reaching its limits.

May 15, 2010
Solving The Problem Of Nitrate Contamination
One option would require farmers to install mandatory groundwater-monitoring wells on each farm and report back to the state

May 15, 2010
No Joke: Comedian Does Not Get Water Appointment
But at the last minute the governor chose someone else: Joe Del Bosque, a farmer from Los Banos.

May 14, 2010
Water Suit Sets New Law Of The Land
“There is a water war going on in California, and this ruling is completely going to change things.”

May 14, 2010
Drought Not Over
Is an increase from 30 percent to 40 percent a gain, or is it 60 percent less than the contract calls for?

May 14, 2010
Growing Support For Water Bond
The coalition in support of the November 2010 water bond announced Wednesday that more than 125 organizations have formally endorsed the measure

May 13, 2010
Water Bond Campaign Splits The Berryhills
How divisive is the $11 billion water bond on November's ballot? It's split one political family in two.

May 13, 2010
After The Toilet Flushes
About 800,000 people live in San Francisco. That's 800,000 people eating two or three meals a day. Or, as the USDA reports, more than 4.5 pounds of food per person.

May 13, 2010
Storms Boost Lake Shasta To 98% Capacity
Though storage has improved for both the state and federal water projects, deliveries are expected to be well below normal for water users in the Central Valley

May 13, 2010
Supervisors Talk Dam Removal At Meeting
?I came away with the conclusion that (dams removal) is a predetermined position and they?re working backwards,?

May 12, 2010
Congresswoman Supports Water Bond But Thinks It Will Fail
Napolitano, who is a leader in the water world and heads the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power, said Monday she thinks the water bond going before voters in November will fail.

May 12, 2010
Feds Fine Grape Grower For Salmon Kill
Grape growers from Forestville to Ukiah who have historically drawn water from the Russian River watershed now face increased regulation

May 11, 2010
Water Resources Center Archives Are At Risk
It?s a great library on the UC Berkeley campus dedicated to water resources, and it features an extensive collection filled with all sorts of fascinating material pertaining to water that you would not find at any other library.

May 11, 2010
Multiple studies underway on Klamath River dam removal question
The KHSA states that the secretary must determine ?whether facilities removal will advance restoration of the salmonid fisheries of the Klamath Basin and is in the public interest

May 11, 2010
Former Bush Officials Find Work At Westlands
Westlands is ground zero in the conflict between water supplies and the needs of the Delta ecosystem because when water is cut, Westlands farmers often take the first hit.

May 10, 2010
End The Environmental Extremism
Let me tell you something about what is really stressing the Delta and is being ignored

May 09, 2010
Prospect Of Comic On Water Board Worries Environmentalists
Latino farm workers played a prominent role in the march, but the head of the United Farm Workers union said they were only pawns in the growers? game.

May 09, 2010
More Unreasonable Water-Power Strictures From Sacramento
Sacramento regulators are doing what they do best: restricting California?s energy choices in the name of environmental purity

May 08, 2010
Westlands Hires Ex-Bush Official
Manson worked in the Bush Interior Department from 2002-05 and pushed some policies that were harshly criticized by environmentalists

May 07, 2010
Lake Oroville About 100 Feet From Crest, Still Rising
What that means is that the lake could hold about 2.5 million acre-feet of water at that level, with the reservoir at about 70 percent of capacity.

May 07, 2010
Stimulus Funds Bypass Communities With Dirty Water
In fact, although stimulus funds were intended to clean up drinking water, most of the money bypassed communities with the most contaminated water

May 07, 2010
Crowd Pleased By GOP Hopefuls
About 125 people crowded into the Eichel Building in central Modesto to hear from the men vying in the June 8 GOP primary in the 19th

May 06, 2010
California Lawmakers Request Audit Of Water Bond Expenditures
California legislators are seeking stronger oversight and accountability in the state's management of billions of dollars in water bond funds.

May 06, 2010
Opinion: Farmers Use Less Water Than People Think
It is time to stop blaming farmers for California?s water crisis.

May 06, 2010
Are Lawmakers Peeling Off From Water Bond Support?
"The list of supporters of the ? water bond is shorter now by five legislators than it was last month," the release says.

May 05, 2010
Growers Oppose Navigable Waters Change
"In California, our primary concerns gets to those areas that would be gray areas if the word (navigable) is removed."

May 05, 2010
Water Forecast Boosted For West Valley Farmers
Yet some view the new forecast, instead, as a 60 percent cut.

May 04, 2010
Comedian Says Gov Will Pick Him For Powerful Water Panel
The appointment "should be done by one of these days, that is what I was led to believe," said Rodriguez, a strong supporter of dams.

May 04, 2010
Feds Declare Kalmath Drought Disaster
Drought and the needs of protect fish have left the region's federal irrigation project expecting only a third of normal water deliveries.

May 04, 2010
Paul Rodriguez Claims Appointment To Cal Water Commission, But Gov Says No
The administration also confirmed that the commission is "currently inactive," with no actual members or budget

May 04, 2010
Water, Tax Cuts Tops In 19th Race
Two are experienced lawmakers from the Northern San Joaquin Valley. The others are former or present members of the Fresno City Council.

May 03, 2010
Why Is Lake Mead Dropping?
Of course Lake Mead has dropped because of ?drought?, right? No.

May 03, 2010
Does This Signal An End To The Drought?
State and federal officials may have to address the question soon

May 01, 2010
Heavy California Snowpack Could Boost Water Delivery
Department director Mark Cowin said the latest measurements could allow the department to increase that allocation.

May 01, 2010
April Rain Pushes Snowpack To 143% Of Normal
The state is still pumping only 30 percent of the water allotments requested by agricultural users and water agencies

Apr 30, 2010
Higher Water Prices Needed Globally, OECD Says
A report from 30 of the richest countries in the world says raising water rates will help protect and maintain the precious resource for the future.

Apr 30, 2010
Fishermen Send Feinstein Letter Re Her Letter To Secretary Locke
This biological opinion is currently the only thing that stands between struggling salmon runs and extinction.

Apr 29, 2010
Reps. Costa and Cardoza Take Aim At NMFS Biological Opinion
?The biological opinions restricting the flow of water to the Valley are flawed and must be reformed,? said Costa.

Apr 29, 2010
Federal Salmon Plans Unveiled In Fresno
Officials said the goal between 2012 and 2025 is to have 25,000 adult fish in the spring-run.

Apr 28, 2010
Huber's Delta Canal Bill Goes Down Quietly
But as it turned out, there wasn?t even a vote.

Apr 27, 2010
McEwen - Rain May Hurt State Water Bond
As cruel as it might sound, backers of the much-needed $11 billion state water bond on the November ballot needed another bone-dry year to win over voters.

Apr 27, 2010
Michael Der Manouel Jr. - Supports Jim Patterson
The key issue we need to decide for ourselves is: who do we believe the most to be committed t returning the GOP to the Party of Reagan?

Apr 26, 2010
Delta conveyance vote will be tough fight, lawmaker says
Critics say that by creating the council the Legislature abandoned its authority to make key decisions such as whether to build a canal

Apr 26, 2010
California Spends $16.7M On 'Crappy' Trout Projects
The problem, even some conservationists say, is that there is little evidence construction efforts since the 1980s have done anything except absorb taxpayer dollars.

Apr 26, 2010
Floyd Dominy, The Colossus of Dams, Dies At 100
Floyd Dominy, who made it his mission to improve nature by, among other things, damming the Colorado River at Glen Canyon and creating the more user-friendly Lake Powell

Apr 25, 2010
California Lawmaker Wants Hurdle To Canal Around Delta
Building a canal around the delta has been discussed for decades but is an issue fraught with political peril, leading most politicians to avoid it.

Apr 25, 2010
Restore The Delta Files Complaint With The State Attorney General
regarding the appointment of Gloria D. Gray and Richard Roos-Collins to the Delta Stewardship Council

Apr 25, 2010
New Water Fight In Congress
"In the past year the federal government has taken control over our banks, cars and health care. Now they are seeking to gain control over every drop of water

Apr 24, 2010
America's Thirstiest Cities
The Golden State is in desperate need of solutions--it has the unfortunate distinction of holding four spots on Forbes' list of the Top 10 Thirstiest Cities

Apr 22, 2010
Environmentalists Question Merced Irrigation District's Water Transfer
But instead of letting that water flow to the sea unused, the district is in the process of brokering a water transfer deal in which that flow will go to Westside farmers

Apr 22, 2010
Some See Canal's Fingerprints On Disputes With Contra Costa County
Meanwhile, the county supervisor representing the Bethel Island area said he was behind the stepped up code enforcement, and it had nothing to do with the canal.

Apr 21, 2010
Fine Tuning The Restoration Flow
On April 13, officials backed the flow down to 1,250 cfs.

Apr 20, 2010
ABC30/Survey USA Election Poll
In the Republican primary, state senator Jeff Denham and former Fresno mayor Jim Patterson are even

Apr 20, 2010
The Growing Water Crisis
The United States uses about 400 billion gallons of water a day, about half of which goes to energy production

Apr 20, 2010
Another Central Valley Fish May Be Declared Endangered
The status of the Sacramento splittail fish is soon to be determined and that decision could impact water deliveries from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to the Central Valley.

Apr 19, 2010
The Greens Ground Zero
Democrats have faint hope of winning the conservative 19th, so the action is in the June 8 GOP primary, where Mr. Pombo is running against three competitors, including state Sen. Jeff Denham and former Fresno Mayor Jim Patterson

Apr 18, 2010
Bountiful Snowfall May Not Provide Drought Relief
A recent op-ed in the Wall St. Journal contended that the state?s water shortage is a man-made issue, and then went on to lay the problem at the feet of environmentalists

Apr 18, 2010
Valley Conservatives Focus On Water
"The environmentalist goal is to put us out of businesses and let the land go back to desert," said Fred Starrh, a Kern County farmer

Apr 17, 2010
19th Congressional Race Heats Up Over Radio Ads
By attacking Denham, the ads would likely benefit Tracy Republican Richard Pombo

Apr 17, 2010
Radanovich - We Need To Avoid Past Mistakes
There are however, some assertions being made on behalf of Mr. Pombo that need clarification

Apr 17, 2010
Water Supply Depends On Bond, Supporters Say
The debate over the measure is expected to grow contentious

Apr 16, 2010
California Stripers: Good Or Evil?
The same refrain that has been heard for salmon: water diversions ? the State Water Project and The Federal Central Valley Project,

Apr 16, 2010
Salmon Fishing Will Return To West Coast
The vote effectively breaks the two-year moratorium on salmon fishing that proved damaging enough to West Coast fishing communities that the federal government paid boat owners,

Apr 16, 2010
Costa And Cardoza Respond To Increased Water
The Interior Department?s latest announcement is an increase from its initial announcement of 5 percent to agricultural contractors south of the Delta

Apr 16, 2010
Westside Water Allocation Up To 30%
"This announcement is proof that we are winning our fight for water," Costa said.

Apr 14, 2010
End Of Drought A Judgment Call
Chief hydrologist Maury Roos said there is no formula for determining when California is in and out of drought

Apr 13, 2010
'Rolling Stumping' Could Be In Future For Avacado Trees
Facing 30 percent water cutbacks two years ago, many avocado farmers cut back their trees?a process known as "stumping"?to reduce their groves' water needs.

Apr 13, 2010
Fish Protection Drives 15% MWD Rate Hike
The board members blamed pumping restrictions on the California Delta meant to avoid harming troubled fish species, including the threatened delta smelt.

Apr 13, 2010
Officials Cautious About West Coast Salmon Season
California's commercial salmon season could resume for a few days, despite worries that it might endanger already-low salmon runs.

Apr 13, 2010
Nunes Defends Pombo
Nunes said there is a bit of political payback in Rove's book. He said there is long-standing friction between Rove and Pombo

Apr 13, 2010
Legal Community Says Poizner Off Base In Wanger Criticism
Now the legal community says the current state Insurance Commissioner doesn't know what he's talking about.

Apr 13, 2010
Valley's 'Buy Local' results difficult to quantify
A year after it began, a "Buy Local" ad campaign remains in high gear, with billboards popping up all over the Valley urging shoppers to spend their money close to home.

Apr 12, 2010
Don Curlee: Farmers Leading Fiscal Comeback
Expect it to record nearly $40 billion when the 2009 figures are released in a month or two.

Apr 11, 2010
Analysis Ups The Cost Of Desal Water
could be about $7,000 to $7,900 per acre-foot. Project proponents have estimated the cost at about $4,000 per acre-foot.

Apr 11, 2010
Water: Conservation, Recession Cause A Wave Of Rate Hikes
Metropolitan Water District, Southern California's biggest water wholesaler, will consider a proposal to raise rates up to 12.4 percent at its Tuesday board meeting

Apr 11, 2010
Taking New Tack In Hetch Hetchy Battle
But San Francisco is hooked: how do you tear down a dam and remove a reservoir that helps deliver 85 percent of a city?s water?

Apr 10, 2010
In Hughson, Fiorina Promises Farm Water, Eased Taxes
Fiorina said she would work to reverse the severe irrigation cutbacks imposed by the federal government in parts of the west and south valley.

Apr 10, 2010
San Joaquin River Restoration And Way Forward
The fight over the San Joaquin was heated ? easily as fierce as the current battle over the Delta and the Sacramento River?s salmon fisheries.

Apr 09, 2010
Green Governor Or Fish Terminator
But Riverkeeper's announcement has reignited criticism of the governor's environmental record by activists and journalists who paint a picture of corruption, inaction and political posturing.

Apr 08, 2010
Groups Urge Passage Of Water Bond
Comedian Paul Rodriguez joined other speakers in urging passage of the $11 billion water bond measure on the November ballot

Apr 07, 2010
Feinstein Outlines Approaches to Deal With Water Losses
The senator presented farmers with a series of about 10 short-term adjustments being considered, which could lead to water deliveries as high as 40 percent on CVP contracts that now stand at 25 percent

Apr 07, 2010
Delta Panel Must Be Conflict Free
How can she represent a Southern California water district that depends on the Delta for its supplies and also enforce the co-equal goal of protecting the Delta?

Apr 06, 2010
Economist says salmon closure cost 1,800 their jobs, not 23,000
Job losses in the salmon fishing industry are not as severe as fishers claim, says a University of the Pacific economist

Apr 06, 2010
Jim Costa To Fellow Democrat: "It's On"
"If he wants to fight with the Latino community and valley farmworkers whose futures depend on water allocations, we'll give him a fight," Costa said of Miller

Apr 05, 2010
Use Less Water, Pay More For It
As residents and businesses use less water, water agencies get less income. At the same time, in many areas the cost of buying water to deliver to residents is going up.

Apr 05, 2010
Water Plan Maps Out Strategies For State
Among the hot topics are water use efficiency, integrated water management, flood management and the need to fund improvements, according to the preface by Secretary of Natural Resources Lester Snow.

Apr 04, 2010
Flushed Away
Wastewater from homes gets treated at sewage plants, but it's never possible to remove every trace of drugs.

Apr 03, 2010
Economist: Both Sides Of Water Debate Inflate Claims
salmon fishery closures have led to 1,823 jobs lost -- not the estimated 23,000 claimed in recent report

Apr 03, 2010
Delta Smelt In Peril
On Friday, in response to a petition from environmental groups, the service ruled that the smelt's plight has worsened and it is now in danger of becoming extinct

Apr 02, 2010
Fish V. Farm War Boils - Salmon Fishermen Want More Water
Participants at a ?Salmon Summit? in San Francisco ? largely sport and commercial salmon fishermen ? on Thursday called for better management of water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to rebuild strong salmon runs.

Apr 02, 2010
Delta Stewardwhip Council Convenes For Its First Meeting
In other words, the path forward dictated by the Legislature requires that multiple state agencies, including the new Stewardship Council, work in succession (and to some extent, together) to produce a complex plan to manage a resource that has been badly

Apr 01, 2010
Agreement To Remove Mothball Fleet Outlined
The cleanup will be significant to endangered species such as chinook salmon and Delta smelt

Apr 01, 2010
Permission Before Pumping
the state would likely require that the pumping be replenished by surface water recharge. That could mean individual limits on landowners' ability to pump.

Apr 01, 2010
Moving Beyond Myth In California Water
Unfortunately, myths about California?s water abound in this area, hindering the development of effective policies to manage this important resource.

Mar 31, 2010
Cash For Grass
The calculus behind this sort of bribery is that it is cheaper for a Western water authority to pay homeowners to remove turf and replace it with a drought tolerant garden rather than for the city to vie with competitors for ever more water from an ever s

Mar 31, 2010
State Publishes California Water Plan Update 2009
The five-volume report is the newest, most comprehensive reference document on California water conditions, challenges and water resource management.

Mar 31, 2010
Big Sierra Snowpack Won't Slake California's Thirst
State officials will announce snowpack numbers Thursday, which is considered the end of the snow season.

Mar 30, 2010
Reasonableness From NRDC
But in Friday's post, NRDC instead contends that, although water exports are a problem, they're likely not the only cause, and that a "holistic" approach to reversing the Delta's declining ecosystem is essential.

Mar 28, 2010
Kings County Water Imports Drying Up
And with water a jealously guarded and increasingly limited resource, and every region seeking to hold on to what it has, the result is predictable

Mar 26, 2010
DWR Chief: Drought Continues Despite Wet Winter
"Any reports that the drought is over I think are premature at this point," Cowin said. "The last couple dry weeks have not helped us."

Mar 26, 2010
Meg Whitman Answers Questions On Delta
There is probably $2 to $3 billion worth of pork in that bill, but I think it's an important step toward solving the long-term water crisis.

Mar 26, 2010
Delta Dying A Death Of Unyielding Spin
Increasingly, however, this vast estuary resembles a gigantic spin machine ? a whirlpool of hype and misinformation.

Mar 25, 2010
Editorial: Water Worries Can't Evaporate
Lake Oroville, the cornerstone of the State Water Project, is about 163 feet from the top. It's less than half full. Last year at this time, Oroville was 132 feet down.

Mar 25, 2010
Deal If You Must, Valley Reps, But Deal With Us Honestly
So, did the congressmen do something worthy of outrage? Or, are complaints about their votes merely an attempt to stoke the fires

Mar 25, 2010
We're Saving Whales, Why Not Jobs?
There's no guarantee these stringent regulations will work ? but there is a guarantee we will lose jobs

Mar 24, 2010
Lake Oroville's Up, But It's Still Down
As of Tuesday, the lake level was at 736.91 feet. Full would be 900 feet.

Mar 24, 2010
New Light For Westlands?
The 47 square-miles of land proposed for the Westlands Solar Park in remote Kings and Fresno counties is just one of dozens of unfinished solar projects in California

Mar 23, 2010
Field Poll Of Top Issues In Governor's Race
Jobs/the economy and the state budget deficit top the list

Mar 23, 2010
AB 32 Cap-And-Trade Auction Tax
A California winery would pay $2.6 million a year for these AB 32 Auction Taxes or more than $26 million over ten years.

Mar 23, 2010
Passion Is Productive/Nunes Rhetoric Is Not
In recent days, Nunes said the passage of the health-care bill will cause the "total destruction of the country,"

Mar 22, 2010
KFSN-TV/Survey USA 19th Congressional District Poll
In the Republican primary, state senator Jeff Denham and former Fresno mayor Jim Patterson each take 1 in 4 votes and finish even;

Mar 22, 2010
Water Pollution Regulator Failed To Disclose Husband's Ties
It alleges she failed to disclose her husband's ties to wastewater dischargers, and failed to recuse herself properly from board actions

Mar 21, 2010
Farmers Delta Politics Backfires
The farm spin aside, the report is not going to do what farm groups and politicians had demanded, that is ease regulatory restrictions

Mar 20, 2010
Governor Appoints Four Members To Delta Stewardship Council
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced the appointments of Francis Randall ?Randy? Fiorini, Philip Isenberg, Henry ?Hank? Nordhoff and Richard Roos-Collins

Mar 20, 2010
NAS Study: Data Lacking
These include urban wastewater discharges, predatory and invasive species, pesticide runoff and others factors.

Mar 19, 2010
Costa and Cardoza Feel The Heat Of Health Care Reform
As many as 40,000 calls an hour have swamped the House of Representatives' switchboard, coinciding with talk show host Rush Limbaugh's pleas

Mar 19, 2010
Secretary Salazar's Statement on National Academy of Science Review
We are committed to having our policy decisions driven by the best science available to us. I am directing our team to review carefully the report

Mar 18, 2010
Westside Gets 25% of Water
"I can't wait until these environmentalists and the government tell us how much water we're going to get,"

Mar 18, 2010
Large Increase In CVP Water Supplies
The increases announced this week are a result of additional precipitation, improved snowpack, and improved storage at Shasta Reservoir and the federal share of San Luis Reservoir

Mar 17, 2010
CFBF Leaders Seek Water Solutions In Washington
The report due this week would be the first of two from the NAS. The reports came at the request of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., at the urging of California agricultural leaders who questioned the adequacy

Mar 17, 2010
Drought Still Here
However, several other key reservoirs are still low, including Lake Oroville, Trinity Lake and Folsom Lake

Mar 17, 2010
Farmers Get More Water
That may not sound good on the surface, but it is better than the 5 percent the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation was planning to give them

Mar 16, 2010
How Much Water Does The Delta Need? State Board Set To Hold Hearing
Twenty-four parties submitted testimony to the SWRCB and will participate in the hearing, including state and federal agencies, cities, water districts and environmental groups.

Mar 16, 2010
More Salmon Coming Back: Good News For Fish And Farms?
If farm pumps were not the the proximate cause of the fishery collapse - will the pumps be turned back on?

Mar 16, 2010
California's Pipedream
If built, the Peripheral Canal would be the latest link in a Rube Goldberg system of pumps, pipes, dams, tunnels, and canals constructed over the past century

Mar 15, 2010
House Water And Power Subcommittee: Tom McClintock
While additional hydroelectric dams and reservoirs have been placed on a slow-track to nowhere, the fast-track has been reserved for dam destruction.

Mar 15, 2010
Water Meetings Inspire Farmers, 'others' Activism
Farmers in the Central Valley are frustrated by:

Mar 13, 2010
Changes Needed To Rules Governing Delta Smelt
Since Jan. 1, the State Water Project has lost nearly 370,000 acre-feet of water, enough to serve the residential needs of San Jose for nearly three years."

Mar 12, 2010
Water Issues Divide For California Lawmakers
The lawmakers from across the political spectrum voiced continued frustration with the Obama administration's handling of the state's water problems during a budget hearing that was convened as a routine oversight session.

Mar 12, 2010
More Water To Pour From Friant Dam To River
Releases from the dam will peak at 1,445 cubic feet per second next month. That amounts to about 2,800 acre-feet of water daily. Each acre-foot contains a year's supply of water for an average San Joaquin Valley family.

Mar 11, 2010
Pointing Out The Obvious
But even I can see that for our water problems to be solved, there must be compromises. Some legislators and lawyers need to get out of the way for the good of the state

Mar 11, 2010
Who's Running Delta Stewardship Council?
But what really seemed to irk Assembly member Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, was the appearance that the Delta Stewardship Council is already ?off and running? despite the fact that it lacks actual council members.

Mar 11, 2010
Choice For Delta Water Council Scrutinized
an appointment made by former Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, is being questioned by key Assembly Democrats who say her pick might not be suited to serve.

Mar 10, 2010
Endocrine Distuptors In Drinking Water
Phthalates cause lower testosterone levels, decreased sperm counts and lower sperm quality in animals.

Mar 10, 2010
U.S. Aid Sought For California Drought
Though the amendment does not specify California as a recipient, the state is expected to receive a high percentage of the specialty-crop funding

Mar 10, 2010
Water Policy Should Be Comprehensive
When water needs are addressed in one part of the state, the action affects other parts. When a single interest ? urban, environmental or agriculture ? achieves its goal for water, the other interests are also affected.

Mar 09, 2010
Legislature Should Audit DWR's Bond Spending
The general public may not realize that Department of Water Resources has already been on the receiving end of over $15 billion in bond funds over the past decade.

Mar 09, 2010
19th Congressional District Rivals In Fund-Raising Fever
"I suspect this is going to be over a $2 million campaign, maybe even $3 million," Denham's campaign consultant Dave Gilliard said

Mar 09, 2010
Another Water Project Could Divide The State
Backed by the Schwarzenegger administration and Central Valley farm interests, the $3.3-billion dam and reservoir at Temperance Flat would be the biggest water storage project in California in more than three decades.

Mar 08, 2010
Feinstein and Westlands - Who's Running Whom?
Jenkins reports that Diane Feinstein ? a politician who has always been eager to do the bidding of Westlands and its generous campaign donors

Mar 07, 2010
Solar Energy Park In Westlands?
Westlands is located along major power line crossroads coming from the Coast inland and north/south on Pathway 15 next to Highway 5.

Mar 07, 2010
Feinstein Says She's No Westlands 'Shill'
Feinstein provides cover for vulnerable Dems, such as U.S. Reps. Jim Costa and Dennis Cardoza and U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer.

Mar 06, 2010
New Vision For The Delta: A National Park?
One of the water bills signed last year by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger charged the Delta Protection Commission with applying to Congress for the designation.

Mar 05, 2010
Uncertainty Worsens Woes
That 5 percent is what's on paper, and it doesn't guarantee the water supply that banks feel comfortable with.

Mar 05, 2010
Water Bill Threatens California Prosperity
We have no idea today how many, if any, of the myriad of proposed statewide water projects in the Comprehensive Water Package have any physical or economic feasibility

Mar 05, 2010
California's Need For Water Will Not Evaporate
By promising farmers 5 percent, far short of 40 percent, the bureau seems to have provided Feinstein with adequate political cover to hold her powder for now.

Mar 04, 2010
Water Supply: So Far, Snow Good
Despite this bounty, the California Department of Water Resources is reluctant to declare an end to the state's three-year drought.

Mar 03, 2010
Water Allocations Bring Frustration
What makes it worse is that, unlike previous years, these low allocations come at a time when snowpack levels stand near average and our reservoirs are refilling

Mar 03, 2010
Strides In Ag Water Conservation
Mounting evidence of the effectiveness of farm water conservation and efficiency strategies is good news for policymakers and water managers

Mar 02, 2010
Quickest Way To Save Salmon
Predation by non-native species such as striped bass is a leading threat to our native salmon populations. Radio tracking tags on young salmon released into the San Joaquin River demonstrate that most end up in the stomachs of non-native predators.

Mar 02, 2010
Bill Aims To Stop Farmers From Selling Water Pacts
It has happened only a few times in the last couple of decades. But one time is too many for a Valley lawmaker

Mar 01, 2010
Truce In The Water Wars?
A wet winter that's filling rivers and reservoirs will let Washington dole out extra supplies for cities, farms and wildlife and cap a political rebellion

Feb 27, 2010
West-side Water Allotments Set
But farmers said they were not convinced officials would provide any more than the federal Central Valley Project delivered last year.

Feb 27, 2010
Westlands Asks For 50% Exceedance
The livelihoods of farmers, farm workers and farm communities in the Central Valley hang in the balance.

Feb 26, 2010
Fresno County Farm Bureau Issues Statement On Water Supply
it?s especially disheartening and discouraging to learn that farmers on Fresno County?s west side will only receive five percent of their federal water allocation

Feb 26, 2010
Nunes: Dust Bowl Democrats
My answer is that thanks to the hard work of Congressional leaders, the federal government is now poised to provide a 5% water allocation to the San Joaquin Valley. That?s right, 5%

Feb 26, 2010
Fate Of Feinstein Water Plan Uncertain
The focus now is on the Bureau of Reclamation's initial water allocation to farmers that have contracts to receive federally pumped delta water

Feb 26, 2010
Lawmakers Don't Like Water Bill
Increased storage capacity is a necessity for the state's long-term water plans, but the bond's language makes the prospects for new storage uncertain, Berryhill said.

Feb 26, 2010
Meg Whitman Backs Water Bond
It is not a perfect bill by any stretch of the imagination. There is probably $2 to $3 billion in unnecessary expenses in that bill.

Feb 25, 2010
'Area of Origin' Lawsuit Unlikely To Help
There are plenty of city people out there who think farmers get too much water, that century-old laws must be rewritten,

Feb 25, 2010
California Senators Invited To Closed Door Meeting On Water
The unusual, closed-door session will occur just as the Interior Department prepares a crucial water allocation decision.

Feb 24, 2010
Sparse Supply Raises Groundwater Regulation
Anybody want to regulate groundwater pumping? That was the sensitive topic brought up at Monday night's Kings County Water Commission meeting

Feb 24, 2010
Westlands Quits ACWA
ACWA is the nation's largest coalition of public water agencies, representing about 90 percent of all the water delivered to California cities and farms

Feb 24, 2010
Trying To Put Teeth in "area of origin" Protections
The claim? That the bureau has systematically ignored decades-old laws that guarantee full supplies of water to the "area of origin"

Feb 24, 2010
Water Supply Reliability Through Innovation
The creative ways local water agencies are diversifying their water supplies are the focus of the latest segment of the ?California?s Water? series for public television, produced by Huell Howser

Feb 23, 2010
United Farmworkers Against Water Bond
The $800 million per year in annual bond payments required under the new water bond is more than California spends on health care for farmworkers and their children, more than the entire worker-safety budget

Feb 23, 2010
Feinstein Water Plan Crucial To Farmers
ederal law and court decisions have led to thousands of acres of farmland being taken out of production, caused economic devastation

Feb 23, 2010
Salmon Would Be Elevated To Official State Fish
The bill does not specify how the fish population would be increased. But the decline has been blamed in part on the pumping of water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

Feb 22, 2010
Pombo Embarks On Fresh Path
When former Rep. Richard Pombo was soundly defeated in his 2006 re-election bid after serving seven terms, many environmentalists hoped they had seen the last of one of their biggest foes

Feb 21, 2010
Easy To Blame Farmers For Delta's Woes
As political strategies go, his is an iron-clad winner. He turned restoration into a class war, pinned the bad guys label on folks a couple hundred miles from his district

Feb 21, 2010
Feinstein Water Transfer Bill Criticized
Sen. Dianne Feinstein has proposed legislation to make it easier to transfer water to San Joaquin Valley farmers from other areas of the state,

Feb 20, 2010
Salmon Job Loss Exagerations
Yesterday, a group of Democratic Congressional Representatives claimed 23,000 lost jobs from the salmon fishery closure in a letter to Diane Feinstein.

Feb 20, 2010
A Dam Deal
The Klamath also became a poster-child for willy-nilly water politics, putting it squarely in the crosshairs of decisionmakers. In 2001, the Interior Department cut off water to farmers to protect salmon,

Feb 19, 2010
Poll: $11.4 Billion Water Bond May Be In Trouble
More than half of those surveyed by Tulchin Research, 55 percent, described themselves as opposing the bond and, of those, about 32 percent said they would "definitely" vote against the proposal.

Feb 19, 2010
North State Lawsuit A Major A Major Onslaught In War Over Water
Those guarantees, known as "area of origin" laws, say that water-rich areas of the state would not end up water poor when the projects started shipping water elsewhere.

Feb 19, 2010
Feinstein May Drop Water Plan
Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Thursday that she might drop her controversial bid to direct more water to San Joaquin Valley farmers if the Interior Department takes action on its own.

Feb 18, 2010
Judge Wanger Speaks At Water Meeting
Wanger faced a polite crowd, and his talk apparently persuaded some audience members to reconsider who they blame for the Valley's water shortage.

Feb 18, 2010
Merced Sun-Star: Our View
Feinstein Could Spoil Years Of Work

Feb 18, 2010
Cardoza: Editorial Flat Out Wrong
I worked closely with Sen. Feinstein on this amendment, which serves as a temporary stopgap measure until the National Academies of Science releases its recommendations on solutions to challenges in the delta.

Feb 17, 2010
A Chance For Some Relief From The Regulatory Drought Of California
Well-intentioned legislation like the Endangered Species Act has proven to be inflexible and has caused harm to our state's economic well-being that is not sustainable.

Feb 17, 2010
Endangered Species Act Blamed for Water Woes of California Agriculture
Rather, the water woes of the nation?s No. 1 agricultural state are the result of public policy gone wrong, especially where the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) is concerned.

Feb 17, 2010
LA Times Editorial
Cities, farmers, fishermen and environmentalists have been waging an exhausting tug of war over water for decades in California, but last fall something unusual happened

Feb 16, 2010
California Water Debate Is More Than Merely Fish V. People
The Fresno Bee's editorial board has long pushed for a balanced solution to the water problem that acknowledges the need to protect the environment and provides water for agriculture and urban uses

Feb 15, 2010
Chronicle Editorial
Sen. Dianne Feinstein should drop her end-run bid to ship delta water south for farming. Her plan defies court rulings

Feb 14, 2010
Saving Delta Fish Doesn't Save Valley Farms
The more it rains, the more water we lose. It sounds crazy, but that's what these federal restrictions on our water supplies mean for us in California.

Feb 14, 2010
Change Rules To Water Farms
In the court's own words, the damage from these federal restrictions on our water supplies includes "job losses, dislocation of farmworkers and other residents, lowering of the tax base, and prejudice to community services and schools

Feb 14, 2010
'Carpetbagger' Losing Steam As Campaign Strategy
Increased political polarization coupled with a highly mobile society, big media markets and sprawling districts are diluting the importance of residency for California congressional candidates.

Feb 13, 2010
The Westlands Water War
The next political move is up to Feinstein, not facing re-election this year and thus arguably the most powerful politician in the state.

Feb 13, 2010
Cardoza On Board With Feinstein
For those skeptics who question whether or not we have a "regulatory drought," there is no further evidence needed: the Endangered Species Act is running our state's water system -- a system that once was the pride of the West

Feb 13, 2010
Lowest Delta-Rivers Salmon Run Ever In 2009
A study last year by federal, state and academic scientists blamed most of the collapse on poor conditions in the ocean.

Feb 12, 2010
Dams In Doubt
The pressure on Western dams is mounting. Age and delayed maintenance have led to worries about structural deterioration and catastrophic failure. Environmental activists have focused negative attention on dams as barriers to the migration

Feb 12, 2010
Feinstein Seeks To Ease Curbs On Water Delivery
A bill to waive the protections and increase pumping was introduced last year by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare). And Feinstein persuaded the Obama administration to establish a National Academy of Sciences panel to review

Feb 12, 2010
Feinstein Proposes Central Valley Water Plan
Sen. Dianne Feinstein ignited a firestorm among fellow California Democrats on Thursday as word spread of her proposal to divert Northern California water to Central Valley farmers.

Feb 11, 2010
Judge Denies TRO In Delta Smelt Case
"So, the net-net of the water user suits is that they have produced greater flow restrictions than they would have had had they 'restrained' themselves."

Feb 11, 2010
Death At The Pumps, Less Water
Late today, the State Water Contractors announced that Wanger?s decision would cost the state and federal projects a combined 90,000 acre-feet of water over the next seven days.

Feb 11, 2010
Poizner: Getting The Facts Straight On Water
In my plan, I called for more flexible application of the Endangered Species Act and committed to doing everything I can as governor to get water to Valley farmers and ranchers.

Feb 10, 2010
Pumps On, Pumps Off, Pumps On, Pumps Off
It?s like watching tennis.

Feb 10, 2010
Duel Over The Delta
If voters approve the bond next November, the bills promise to restore and maintain the delta while simultaneously sending needed water south. Follow-up federal legislation would smooth the way for water transfers within California

Feb 10, 2010
Pumping to be Reduced to Protect Delta Smelt
The federal government said Tuesday that it will reduce pumping in the delta this week because a threatened fish could be killed by the equipment, a decision that follows two years of limited delivery that left fallowed fields across the Central Valley.

Feb 09, 2010
New Law Changes Reporting For Surface Water Diversions
One piece of the package, Senate Bill 8 by Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, requires all surface water diversions to be reported, with a few exceptions

Feb 09, 2010
Fight To Re-Fill Kern River Heats Up
It is a water fight that could take a new turn next week as the city of Bakersfield is fighting to re-fill the Kern River. It's been several years since the river flowed through the heart of town

Feb 08, 2010
Even If You're Careful, Drugs Can End Up In Water
The federal government advises throwing most unused or expired medications into the trash instead of down the drain, but they can end up in the water anyway, a study from Maine suggests.

Feb 08, 2010
$1000 Acre Foot Water in Mojave
Shaheen and Slater declined to say how much revenue they expect the water to generate. Cadiz probably will be able to sell the water for at least $1,000 an acre-foot, or a total of $50 million a year

Feb 08, 2010
UC Davis Hosts Science Panel
Members of the National Research Council will release a preliminary review in mid-March. They will look at the current water regulations and possibly create alternative solutions. "The second charge for the panel is very long and broad - I call it '

Feb 07, 2010
Water and Foreign Avacados
In what surely will shock fans around the nation, this Super Bowl Sunday, America's biggest sporting day, will be dominated by foreign guacamole. .

Feb 07, 2010
Judge Wanger's Order and the Salmon Fisheries
Here are some facts concerning Judge Wanger's ruling that has put a temporary hold on the management plan for endangered salmon.

Feb 07, 2010
Hannity Shed Light on Green Agenda
"Famously hypertensive." That's how Matt Jenkins of High County News describes Sean Hannity, who blamed the San Joaquin Valley water shortages on the Endangered Species Act

Feb 06, 2010
The Greens Are All Wet
How do you make green groups turn red with fury ? or shame? Shine some light on the damage caused by their extremist environmental agenda. Case in point: The indignant reaction of many environmentalists to news coverage of federal regulations that are

Feb 06, 2010
Storage V. Conservation
If there's one issue that virtually everybody agrees on in Sacramento, it's that California has water problems. Three years of drought, endangered species restrictions on pumping, a growing population,

Feb 05, 2010
Federal Court Orders More Water For Valley
In a major ruling, a federal court in Fresno has ordered the federal government to stop depriving the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California of water under the June 2009 National Marine Fisheries Service salmon biological opinion. Water is desperately

Feb 05, 2010
Fish Screen Stimulus
Today, the House Resources Committee held another hearing on the California water crisis. Predictably, the Democratic leadership blocked consideration of any legislation that would actually make a difference.

Feb 05, 2010
Open All Fronts on the War on Drought
Pasadena Star-News - YOU can guess what the water experts are saying about the relationship between recent rainfall totals and the protracted drought. One year of rain is not enough. The drought is not over. There are systemic problems that need fixin

Feb 05, 2010
Water Pump Wars Continue on Capital Hill
NY Times - Partisan bickering resumed yesterday over water pumping restrictions in California's Central Valley, as Republicans attacked a Democratic bill meant to shore up area farmers.

Feb 04, 2010
Household Pesticides Finding Its Way Into California Rivers
Scientists have found traces of a household pesticide in California?s American River. Pyrethroids, a common home pesticide, have been found in California rivers at levels toxic to some stream-dwellers, according to a new study.

Feb 04, 2010
Rivals for Radanovich Seat Go To D.C.
This week, Denham and former Fresno Mayor Jim Patterson both are working the Capitol Hill angles. Both are meeting with political professionals and conservative groups

Feb 03, 2010
Devin Nunes: Obama's Budget Does Little for Water
President Barack Obama's proposed $3.8 trillion budget for the next fiscal year largely "ignores" the long-standing water troubles in the San Joaquin Valley, said Rep. Devin Nunes.

Feb 03, 2010
As Water Flows To The Ocean, Delta Disputes Continue
As a panel of leading scientists convened last week to examine information used to restrict water transfers from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta on behalf of protected fish, the state's water supply situation took on new complexities.

Feb 03, 2010
Friant Dam Releases More Water
Federal officials again began additional water releases from Friant Dam this week in the effort to reconnect the San Joaquin River with the Pacific Ocean.

Feb 02, 2010
Fresno City Council Votes "No" To More Dumping in the Delta
It's unanimous! The Fresno City Council voted seven to nothing Thursday night to strongly object to a Sacramento County request to dump more waste water into the delta.

Feb 02, 2010
More Details Emerge About Cargill Water Transfer Plan
Drinking water could flow to a huge proposed housing development on the Redwood City salt flats under a complex series of series of agreements between water agencies stretching from Kern County to the Peninsula, an environmental consultant told the city c

Feb 02, 2010
Water Agencies Head to Court for Relief
The state's biggest water players are asking a judge today to ease new Delta pumping limits that are allowing the recent storm waters to escape out to sea instead of being stored inland for use this summer.

Jan 31, 2010
Tapping Into Anger
On Sept. 17, the famously hypertensive Fox News commentator Sean Hannity rolled into the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, satellite truck in tow. Months earlier, the federal government had announced that it was slashing water deliveries to local farme

Jan 31, 2010
The Agony of the Central Valley - Tom McClintock
For many months, the Republicans on the Water and Power Sub-Committee of the House Natural Resources Committee have implored the majority Democrats to hold a hearing in the Central Valley of California

Jan 30, 2010
Playing the Numbers Game with Groundwater
Warning: What follows is a "numbers column," one of those periodic attempts made here to make sense of the world around us. It starts with some data that came out in December from the U.S. Geological Survey,

Jan 30, 2010
Westlands Asks to Ease Pumping Limits
Westlands Water District is asking a federal court to temporarily suspend pumping restrictions that have limited water deliveries from the Sacramento

Jan 29, 2010
Rain Notwithstanding, Drought Isn't Over
The question now gurgles up from every storm drain and creek in California: Is the drought over? The simple answer is no. The reasons why are not so simple.

Jan 29, 2010
Pombo Bolsters War Chest In D.C.
Former San Joaquin Valley Rep. Richard Pombo returned to his Capitol Hill haunts this week, raising money for a race he thought he would never enter.

Jan 28, 2010
Despite Storms, Water Supply Could Be Like Last Year
Last year, water agencies across California resorted to rationing, fallowing crops and tapping reserves to endure the third year of drought, and that could continue despite recent storms.

Jan 28, 2010
Costa, Cardoza Voice Frustration with White House
A well-delivered presidential speech cannot heal the growing conflict between San Joaquin Valley congressional Democrats and the Obama administration.

Jan 27, 2010
Westlands Water Districts Response to Secretary Salazar's Statement
Today Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced "additional actions to assist water users in California, particularly farmers on the West Side of the San Joaquin Valley".

Jan 21, 2010
ESA ruling threatens California ag
Judging from the varied reactions of viewers watching the 60 Minutes television segment, ?California: Running Dry?, the state?s three-year-drought is more complicated

Jan 21, 2010
Water Woes Are Headed Eastward
Mark Twain famously said that, in California, water flows uphill toward money. But political machinations, such as the water grab that enabled the metropolis of Los Angeles to sprout in a land of little rain, aren't uniquely Californian.

Jan 20, 2010
Why We're Sucked Dry
I am writing in response to the Associated Press article titled "California's groundwater much lower than expected," from the Dec. 15 issue of The Californian. The article's page-one "teaser," "Sucked dry: Farm drawdowns taking big toll on stat

Jan 19, 2010
America's Agricultural Angst
In this high-tech information age few look to the most basic industries as sources of national economic power. Yet no sector in America is better positioned for the future than agriculture--if we allow it to reach its potential.

Jan 19, 2010
Saving Delta Is At Core Of New California Water Policy
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) ? It was just five years ago that fishing guide Bob Sparre had all the salmon he could handle. He brought beaming clients back to shore loaded with prized Chinook salmon after a morning trolling the rivers and channels

Jan 17, 2010
Interior Is Committed To Water Solutions
The Fresno Bee's opinion page got it wrong. It claimed that the Two Gates project would have provided additional water deliveries to the west side, but that the Interior Department "abruptly ... pulled the plug" on the project.

Jan 16, 2010
Is Obama Administration Trying to Embarrass Valley Democrats?
If I were Reps. Jim Costa and Dennis Cardoza, I'd be reconsidering my support for President Obama's political agenda. That's probably the only leverage Costa and Cardoza have

Jan 14, 2010
Salazar Blocks Two Gates
Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar has offered more evidence that he?s not really serious about solving the water shortages on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley: His agency has abruptly blocked the ?Two Gates? project

Jan 14, 2010
Will Drilling More Wells In California Help or Hurt?
A $40 million federal stimulus project to drill up to 50 new wells in California moves forward despite drying aquifers and community complaints.

Jan 14, 2010
Project to Place Fish-Saving Gates in Delta Stalls
FRESNO, Calif.?A plan to place two removable gates in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to keep threatened fish from getting killed by water pumps has been put off?indefinitely.

Jan 14, 2010
Breakdown
'The Cadillac of California irrigation districts' has more than a tiny fish to blame for its troubles

Jan 14, 2010
Stronger Controls Urged On Chemicals In Water
Citing the decline in frogs and rise of "frankenfish," a Bay Area environmental group filed a legal petition Monday for tighter federal standards on pollutants that disrupt the hormones of humans and wildlife.

Jan 12, 2010
Deal Struck To Tear Down Dam
In what could be the largest dam removal project ever completed in California, government officials and a Monterey water company on Monday agreed to tear down the 106-foot-tall San Clemente Dam.

Jan 11, 2010
Standing Their Ground
State water officials are seeking access to 170 Delta properties whose owners are saying no. But this access dispute has less to do with property rights and privacy than with the state's obvious interest in digging a ditch

Jan 08, 2010
A Letter From Jeff Denham
When Congressman George Radanovich called to tell me he would not be seeking reelection and asked if I would consider running for his seat in Congress, my first thoughts were with him and his family and my prayers go out to them.

Jan 08, 2010
A Different Jones May Enter Race
We told you that Bill Jones isn't going to take on ex-Tracy Rep. Richard Pombo et al in the CD-19 race that's drawing national attention, but another member of the Jones family might

Jan 08, 2010
Patterson Early Favorite
In my brief post last night, I indicated that the race for the Republican nomination to succeed retiring Congressman George Radanovich was a complete tossup, given the existence of two strong candidates from just outside the North end of the District

Jan 05, 2010
Tea Party Leaders Join Patterson For Congress
Three prominent Central Valley Tea Party leaders today announced their support for Jim Patterson for Congress.

Dec 31, 2009
First survey of winter shows Sierra snowpack below normal
California's first snow survey of the winter showed the Sierra snowpack below normal Wednesday despite a series of storms that has drenched much of the state and pleased ski resort operators.

Dec 30, 2009
The Oh Decade: Old water policies limit choices for future
We live in a fragile time and place. Californians started out in 1850 grossly abusing our water resources and we've never stopped. The difference now, however, is that we can no longer get away with it.

Dec 30, 2009
State Bond Lets Firms Profit From Water
Private companies could own, operate and profit from reservoirs and other water-storage projects built with billions in taxpayer dollars under a little-noticed provision of the $11.1 billion water bond that was approved by the Legislature and goes before

Dec 14, 2009
Dispelling California's Water Myths
The sweeping package of laws designed to overhaul California's troubled water system demonstrates that the Legislature can address this urgent issue in a difficult fiscal and political environment.

Dec 11, 2009
Another View: Review of Delta science is appropriate
My reason for seeking the study is simple and clear. The Valley is in the midst of a devastating economic crisis, caused in part by a drought that has left hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland fallowed.

Dec 06, 2009
Corporate Farmer Calls Upon Political Allies to Influence Delta Dispute
Resnick asked Feinstein to weigh in on the side of agribusiness in a drought-fueled environmental dispute over the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, this wealthy grower and political donor got quick results

Dec 06, 2009
California Water: Bond Measure
$11.1B bill likely a tough sale with voters. Foes already organizing against centerpiece of state's new package

Nov 13, 2009
The Water Deal: 11 Questions
The recently passed water deal requires serious examination to find the 'devil in the details'...Take a look and make up your own mind.

Nov 10, 2009
Water, pests hot topics at Fresno conference
"I am not going to sugar coat this," Minton said. "Those of you who supported Temperance Flat, you were had."

Nov 09, 2009
Denham Issues Statement Against Water Plan
?It?s a dam shame that the water package doesn?t address the current crisis of breadlines and devastating unemployment. It?s a dam shame the water bond does nothing to guarantee water for next year so that farmers can plant crops and put people back to w

Nov 03, 2009
Distorted Water - Clarifying facts to combat the twisted views of radical environmentalists...
DISTORTION: Agriculture uses 80% of California?s water. FACT: Quite the reverse is true ? 76% of Delta water is used by the environment.

Oct 15, 2009
Endangering people to protect fish
Using claims of questionable veracity and arguing for protection of endangered species, they are, in truth, part of a carefully orchestrated attempt to control the nation's food supply.

Oct 14, 2009
Pyrethroid Pesticides in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: Sources and impacts on Delta waters
OBJECTIVE: To better understand sources of pyrethroid insecticides to the Delta, and to examine their effects on the water bodies in to which they are released.

Oct 14, 2009
California Legislature plans hearings on water bills
Legislative leaders say they intend to hold hearings on controversial water bills next week, a move that should appease complaints that the process has been too secret.

Oct 09, 2009
Sacramento wins water-bill provision
While the rest of California waits on a water deal in the Legislature, it appears Sacramento sewer district officials got what they wanted on Friday.

Oct 09, 2009
Delta bill could drive up Sacramento sewage rates
The last draft of the bill says nothing about Sacramento's treated sewage or even sewage effluent in general. But Sacramento officials worry it could nevertheless trigger a chain of events harmful to ratepayers.

Oct 04, 2009
Water Issue could sink Dems in 2010
A political earthquake is rumbling in the Central Valley over water, and it could cause a real tsunami for the Democrats in the 2010 elections if they don't handle it well.

Oct 03, 2009
EDITORIAL: Time for Action on Water Issues
While we have supported the river settlement, farmers have a point about their water sources being under attack. There would have been no reason for agricultural interests to agree to the river settlement if they were going to lose water deliveries anyway

Oct 02, 2009
Growers Protest Water Releases
?You see those brown hills behind us,? asked Prosperi. ?That?s what the Valley floor will look like. Today?s releases are only the first step if the Westlands model is followed.?

Oct 01, 2009
FPV names new Executive Director
The Board of Directors is pleased to announce that John Broeske has been named as our new Executive Director.

Sep 30, 2009
PRESS RELEASE - First the West Now The East
Valley residents view this effort as both futile and wasteful. Many now predict this action as the first step in bringing the same kind of devastation to the East side that is now occurring on the West side...

Sep 27, 2009
A fishy tale about California water
Unless we cut our population or our appetites, each acre of food we idle in the United States -- just like every barrel of oil we don't pump -- means that we will import what we take for granted from somewhere else.

Sep 26, 2009
Jim Boren: Republicans' role in water crisis
To hear all the shouting over the lack of water for farms on the San Joaquin Valley's Westside, you'd think this problem was created solely by Democrats catering to their environmental friends. But the Republicans also played a major role in diverting f

Sep 02, 2009
California's Man-Made Drought
California has a new endangered species on its hands in the San Joaquin Valley - farmers.

Aug 31, 2009
The Great Delta Toilet Bowl Flier
Why are politicians and water quality enforcement agencies permitting cities to dump one billion gallons of sewer water daily into the Delta/Aquaduct water - polluting the drinking water source for 25 million people downstream?

Aug 27, 2009
Betrayed by their own representatives - the plight of California families
If the Governor does not issue an executive order to restore water supplies immediately, family farms will be wiped out and turned into barren wasteland.

Aug 24, 2009
The truth about the West Side farmers
Lately there has been a lot of purposeful use of the words "conglomerates", "profiteers", "big ag", "corporate ag", and "land barons", when referring to farming families within The Westlands Water District...I would like to tell you about the re

Aug 22, 2009
Can salmon undo Yosemite dam?
But if the goal is to create better habitat for salmon spawning, rearing, and migration to the ocean, I question why environmentalists focused on the San Joaquin and the dam at Friant, instead of the Tuolumne River and the dam at Hetch Hetchy.

Aug 17, 2009
What's Good for the Goose Should Be Good for the Gander
Bay Area politicians have led the way in taking water from the San Joaquin Valley to ostensibly protect fish, while ensuring their own supply remains untouched.

Aug 15, 2009
"Fish Versus Farms" by Rep. Devin Nunes - click here to read article
Despite massive amounts of water diverted to help them, the "protected" smelt, sturgeon and salmon populations have continued to decline. It is hardly unreasonable to ask why farmers should continue to suffer if diverting water hasn't even helped the f

Aug 13, 2009
San Joaquin Valley protesters demand water in Concord - click here to read article
A demand to increase water supplies in a parched region of the San Joaquin Valley descended on Rep. George Miller's offices in Concord on Thursday, as more than 1,000 farmers and farmworkers arrived by bus to shout for more water at several dozen counter

Aug 09, 2009
Opposition to Delta Salmon rules mounts - click here to read article
"There is simply no conclusive evidence that further water delivery cutbacks from the Delta will benefit the fish species," the lawsuit says.

Aug 07, 2009
California Legislators let down farm workers and farmers - click here to read article
...these bills lack any real substance and that?s very disturbing at a time when people are losing their jobs, their homes, their dignity. The Golden State, and all that it has meant to people who are here seeking a better life, is becoming a dead end.

Aug 07, 2009
Bay-Delta Educational Rally at Congressman George Miller's Office - click here to read article
...this rally is a combined effort of the Water For All, Families Protecting The Valley, and the Central Valley Tea Party groups. The focus of all the parties involved is the devastating impact the diversion of water has had on area agriculture and the va

Aug 06, 2009
Fox News to Highlight Westside Water Crisis - click here to read article
...Sean Hannity and Fox News will be highlighting the Westside water crisis again next week. The plan at this time is for a LIVE interview, Tuesday the 11th, from a pushed out almond orchard in Huron.

Aug 06, 2009
Agency faulted for chlorine in creek - click here to read article
...the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board disregarded excessive chlorine being discharged into Woods Creek from a Sonora sewage treatment plant...

Aug 03, 2009
A Message from Families Protecting the Valley's Board of Directors - click here to read article
We commend the efforts of everyone who is engaging in this battle to save our water. Families Protecting the Valley plans to work cooperatively with all of them in achieving victory for our farms and families.

Jul 14, 2009
Sacramento area is Delta's top pesticide source, study finds - click here to read article
"We were just amazed by this data," said Weston. "The American River is not supposed to be toxic. I think it reflects the fact that the river's going through 30 miles of heavy urbanization."

Jul 13, 2009
Kole Upton: Merced water under attack - click here to read article
What is at stake here is whether the good people of Merced County can determine their own future, or have it determined for them by outside groups.

Jul 11, 2009
No water, no future for Valley - click here to read article
The fate of the San Joaquin Valley is "on the line". Water, the principle raw material of the region's $25 billion agricultural economy, is being removed.