Posts Tagged: dwr

Recent News

As drought persists, crucial groundwater supplies dwindle

The cap of a well used to monitor groundwater samples in Gilroy. (Photo: Matthew Corley, via Shutterstock)

More than 60% of  California’s groundwater wells are operating at below-normal levels, endangering much of the Golden State’s population that relies on the precious resource. Although relatively unknown to many Californians, who see water supply in terms of rivers, streams and reservoirs, groundwater is a hugely vital source that is largely invisible.

News

Obituary: Former lawmaker Tom Hannigan

Tom Hannigan and his daughter Erin, a Solano County supervisor. (Photo: Erin Hannigan Facebook page)

Tom Hannigan, formerly a major legislative leader, director of California’s Department of Water Resources and an avid marathon runner, has died of natural causes. He was 78. Hannigan, a Marine Corps veteran who fought in the Vietnam war, is the father of Solano County Supervisor Erin Hannigan, who announced his death on her Facebook page.

News

Independent governance eyed for State Water Project

The California Aqueduct, part of the State Water Project, flows by an almond orchard in the Central Valley. (Photo: Alabn, via Shutterstock)

The State Water Project comprises 700 miles of tunnels, pipelines, aqueducts and siphons that transport water from California’s north to its more arid south, serving 26 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland along the way. It’s a huge project with a lot of infrastructure, and it’s most of what DWR does. But more than 60 years later, there is a move under way to take control of the project out of the hands of DWR and place it in an independent commission.

News

Amid rains, drought fears loom

A rain storm floats over California. (Photo: Serkan Senturk, via Shutterstock)

After a historically wet season last year, relatively little precipitation has fallen this year in California during two of the three historically wettest months. Officials are urging stricter water conservation and caution drier months ahead. After last week’s rains, the Sierra snowpack — a critical factor in water availability — climbed to just 39 percent of normal. More rain is coming, but the question remains: Will it be enough to block the impacts of a resumption of the drought?

Opinion

Drought: Tearing up lawns is short-sighted

A view of the California drought from Marine One during President Obama's visit earlier this year. (Photo: White House)

OPINION: There is an Armenian proverb: “On a rainy day many offer to water the chickens.” And in a very dry year there are many who want to follow the call to tear out their lawns. The call is coming from the Department of Water Resources and others for urban homeowners to start tearing out their lawns, with financial incentives for doing so.

News

Negotiations under way on 2014 water bond

Nearly two years before voters go to the polls to decide the fate of a long-delayed plan to borrow $11.1 billion for water projects, the clock is ticking on negotiations over the potential proceeds and the size of the borrowing.

 

“This bond will have many of the elements of the measure certified more than

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