So Much Snow in California, Scientists Don’t Have Tools to Measure It
The unusually heavy rain this season has contributed to record levels of snow in California. In particular the Sierra Nevada Mountains received so much snowpack that scientists could not measure the depth of the snow. Hydrologists had some trouble reaching the ground below the snowpack with an aluminum pole, which is more than 16 feet
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Floods Impact Communities in San Jose – Some Trapped in Trees
Filled reservoirs and the continued rains has created a state of emergency for many California communities including San Jose, where: San Jose city officials declared a local emergency after streets became flooded as water levels rose along Coyote Creek. San Jose firefighters traversed flooded streets in rafts, rescuing residents trapped in their homes and in trees
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Water Shut Off To Silicon Valley Averted For Now
Lois Henry, with the Bakersfield Californian, has a story on now this past week millions of Californians nearly had their water shut off because a federal agency ran out of water. “The Federal Bureau of Reclamation ran out of water in the San Luis Reservoir and sent shutoff alerts (giving three days notice) to 26
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Plans To Help Fish Will Diminish Summer Water Supply During Drought
Ryan Sabalow, Dale Kasler and Phillip Reese, Sacramento Bee write: This year was supposed to be different. With Northern California’s reservoirs finally brimming and cities liberated from stringent conservation rules, farmers were expecting more water for their crops. The worst of the drought seemed over. Or maybe not. Despite a winter of fairly abundant rain
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California Delta Smelt Near Extinction
When surveys began in 2002, biologist estimated a Delta Smelt population around 112,000 and this year that population has dropped to 13,000. To many in the environmental community, the Smelt are viewed as a species indicative of the overall health of the Delta and this has made it a point of contention between various groups
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School Fountain Water Shut Down for 2 Years
The Cabinet Report Has Corrected Their Story… Correction: This story has been updated to correct a reporting error in the original lede stating that contamined water forced some schools in the Fresno Unified School District to disable drinking fountains. The Orange Center Elementary School, according to previous news reports, stopped using its drinking fountains two
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Study Shows Sea Level Rising Faster Than In Previous 2700 Years
Tim Hume with CNN writes, Scientists have modeled a history of the planet’s sea levels spanning back 3,000 years, and concluded that the rate of increase last century “was extremely likely faster than during any of the 27 previous centuries.” Bob Kopp, a climate scientist at Rutgers University who led the research, said in a
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Without A “March Miracle” Drought Will Continue In Southern California
oseph Serna, with the Los Angeles Times, writes that Southern Californians can expect dry conditions and above-average heat this week as a stubborn high-pressure system continues to block the heavily anticipated El Niño rainstorms that weather officials warned of over the winter. From Monday to Wednesday, coastal temperatures in Los Angeles County will hover in
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High Speed Rail Or Water Storage Programs?
At its peak, the Los Angeles River carries more than 118 billion gallons a day – enough water to supply 800,000 homes year. Yet in drier days, this concrete river carries 98 million gallons a day – water wasted as it drains into the Pacific Ocean. (Lucy Guanuna, “The 98 Million-Gallon ‘Trickle’: Stormwater Conservation
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New Series On El Niño & California Drought
As the rains keep pounding drought stricken California, we are going to look at potential short-term and long-term solutions and its impact on various communities from San Diego to the Oregon border – impact on farmworkers, people on fixed incomes, food producers and the environment.
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