Over the past two years, scared off by the anticipated costs of storing water there, Valley agricultural irrigation districts have steadily reduced their ownership shares of Sites. The powerful Metropolitan Water District of Southern California … is nearly as big an investor in Sites as all of the Sacramento Valley farm districts combined. Metropolitan agreed Tuesday to contribute another $4.2 million to help plan the project.
The wet weather broke a daily rainfall record in Sacramento, with 1.6 inches of rain recorded at the Sacramento Executive Airport over 24 hours. But the state’s network of flood-control dams and levees appeared to handle the deluge without major problems. The National Weather Service issued a flood warning Wednesday morning for the Sacramento Valley, and it was expected to remain in place until 6 p.m. Thursday as heavy and moderate rainfall was forecast to continue through Thursday.
A section of the museum will also be dedicated to water, teaching visitors how much water it takes to grow crops, how California farmers lead the world in conservation, and how the state’s complicated water storage and delivery system works, said Mike Wade, the executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition. The Coalition is the title sponsor for the exhibits and has drawn on several farming organizations, including Farm Credit, to help build and maintain the exhibits.
The growing leadership of women in water. The Colorado River’s persistent drought and efforts to sign off on a plan to avert worse shortfalls of water from the river. And in California’s Central Valley, promising solutions to vexing water resource challenges.
These were among the topics that Western Water news explored in 2018.
We’re already planning a full slate of stories for 2019. You can sign up here to be alerted when new stories are published. In the meantime, take a look at what we dove into in 2018:
With California in a severe drought, the State Water Resources Control Board ruled last week that some cases of water waste could be treated as criminal infractions. … The Sacramento Bee asked Sacramento utilities director Dave Brent how the city was dealing with the state’s latest ruling.
From The Sacramento Bee, in a commentary by Bruce Maiman:
Growth is returning to Natomas, but a troubling question is going to be ignored or dismissed by those with the power to address it: Is building in a floodplain a good idea?
The American River Parkway is the crown jewel of Sacramento … It is also bone dry, and causing unprecedented headaches for area firefighters this year.
Officials in California are asking people to use less water because of the severe drought. But about a million people in the state live in homes without the best means of water-use management: meters.
The Sacramento Committee of Water for People is featuring “Bowl with Water for People” on Wednesday, June 25, at the Country Club Lanes, 2500 Watt Avenue, Sacramento. Registration is 5:30-6 p.m. Bowling is from 6-8 p.m.
California is mired in a drought, but Sacramento State is getting ready for rain. The city has received a grant to reduce pollutants in stormwater runoff that flows into the adjacent American River.
Late-hour motorists on Interstate 5 should expect long delays between Cottage Grove and Sutherlin tonight while an oversize load carrying a massive [Folsom] dam gate is transported through the area, the state Department of Transportation said Tuesday. …
“The Sacramento region as a whole has made strides to accommodate this year’s severe drought, cutting overall water use 18 percent compared with the past two years, according to the Regional Water Authority.”
“New data from the Regional Water Authority show customers in the Sacramento region reduced their water use by 18 percent from February to May, compared to the previous two years.”
From the California Department of Water Resources (DWR):
“State Capitol lawns are turning brown in response to Governor Brown’s call for a 20 percent reduction in water use. Other landscape changes at the Capitol include replacing inefficient sprinkler heads with drip irrigation and adding mulch to flower beds and tree wells on the grounds of the oldest arboretum west of the Mississippi.”
“Thirty water conservation employees and four other City [of Sacramento] employees patrolled the city this morning [June 13] looking for people or businesses using water. Friday’s are a no-watering day in the city.”
“A major roadblock to completion of critical levee repairs in Sacramento’s Natomas basin was cleared Tuesday when President Barack Obama signed the Water Resources Reform and Development Act into law.”
“Monday’s high temperature of 106 in downtown Sacramento broke the previous record of 103 degrees for June 9, which was set in 1883. … the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is letting water flow out of Folsom Dam this month about twice as fast as it is flowing in from the American River watershed upstream.”
“Last month, after years of delay, Congress approved a bill to finish $1 billion in levee improvements that federal regulators say are needed to make Natomas safe.”
