The land that Jim Scala and his family have been ranching for three generations is parched and brown as far as he can see. The pond where his cattle used to drink is now a puddle, ringed with cracked mud. In other years, water pumped from the Shasta River would have periodically flooded this land, […]
Rachel Becker/CalMatters
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Delta Tunnel: Salmon at Risk from Massive Water Project, State Report Says
California’s water agency today released a long-awaited environmental report outlining the details and impacts of a controversial proposal to replumb the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and pump more water south. In the report, state officials said the tunnel project could harm endangered and threatened species, including the Delta smelt, winter-run chinook salmon and steelhead trout. To […]
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California Poised to Restrict Bee-killing Pesticides
Widely used insecticides that harm bees and songbirds would face far-reaching restrictions in California under regulations proposed by the state’s pesticide agency. The new limits would be among the nation’s most extensive for agricultural use of neonicotinoids, a class of insecticides used to kill plant-damaging pests like aphids. The highly potent pesticides have been shown […]
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Clean-car Rules: California Unveils Proposed Measure to Ban New Gasoline-fueled Cars
California’s clean-air regulators this week unveiled a far-reaching proposal requiring a ramp-up in sales of zero-emission cars, culminating in a ban on new gasoline-powered cars by 2035. The rules to force Californians to end their dependence on conventional cars are a critical component to California’s goals to tackle climate change and poor air quality. If […]
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Sierra Snowpack Worsens, Falls to Lowest Level in 7 Years
Seven years ago today, during the height of the last drought, California Gov. Jerry Brown stood on the barren slopes of the Sierra Nevada, watching as engineers measured the worst snowpack in state history. Today, snow measurements aren’t quite so bleak. But the snowy scene belies the severity of the drought. The snowpack — which […]
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State Unveils Long-awaited Standard for Drinking Water Contaminant
On Monday, California proposed a long-awaited standard for a cancer-causing contaminant in drinking water that would require costly treatment in cities throughout the state. Traces of hexavalent chromium are widely found in the drinking water of millions of Californians, some naturally occurring and some from industries that work with the heavy metal. The proposed standard […]
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Californians Used More Water as State Braces for Another Dry Year
Californians used 2.6 percent more water in January compared to before the drought emergency was declared, a sign that urban residents are ignoring the state’s pleas to take the drought seriously and cut back. The increased water use in California’s cities and towns came during the second-driest January on record, as the Sierra Nevada snowpack […]
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Snow Falling: Amid Climate Change, Overhauling California Water Projections Gains Urgency
The Sierra Nevada hasn’t provided nearly as much water as predicted. Now the state is struggling to overhaul its snow runoff forecasts. Packed onto the slopes of the Sierra Nevada is a precious source of water for California — a frozen reservoir that climate change is already transforming. As the planet warms, the spring snowpack […]
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No End in Sight: California Drought on Course to Break Another Record
The first two months of 2022 are shaping up to be the driest January and February in California history, prompting state officials to warn of dire water conditions ahead. “There’s no precipitation forecast through the remainder of February. And there’s very little precipitation in the long-range forecast for March,” Erik Ekdahl, a deputy director with […]
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No, California’s Drought Isn’t Over. Here’s Why.
In a clear sign that the drought persists, California this week adopted new emergency regulations aimed at stopping residents from wasting the state’s precious water. The rules ban practices such as hosing down sidewalks and driveways with drinking water, washing cars without a shutoff nozzle on the hose and irrigating lawns and gardens too soon […]
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Newsom Declares Drought Emergency Across California
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday declared a drought emergency for the entire state of California, as conservation efforts continue to fall far short of state targets. Newsom also authorized California’s water regulators to ban wasteful water use, such as spraying down public sidewalks, and directed his Office of Emergency Services to fund drinking water as […]
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Forewarned but Still Not Ready
When James Brumder and his wife Louise Gonzalez moved into their home tucked up against the mountains northeast of Los Angeles, he applied all his know-how to the task of undoing the thirsty garden they inherited. Brumder, who worked for a commercial landscaping company, pulled up their weedy, unkempt lawn in Altadena and replaced it […]