Sacramento | Reuters — Rain-soaked Californians took advantage of a break in a weeks-long deluge to haul away dead trees, restore downed power lines and prepare new stacks of sandbags before another series of storms hits the state beginning Friday. In Monterey County along the state’s central coast, communities near the still-rising Salinas River were […] Read more
California picks up debris from latest storm, braces for next
Also: Why all this rain won't end California's drought
Another ‘atmospheric river’ storm renews flood threat in California
Sacramento | Reuters — Emergency crews braced for the next bout of high winds and torrential rains forecast to sweep California starting on Wednesday, renewing the threat of power outages and flooding that struck parts of the state over the New Year’s weekend. The latest “atmospheric river” — an airborne current of dense moisture flowing […] Read more
California to limit pollutants from diesel exhaust to cow gas
Reuters — California on Monday moved to restrict air pollutants from sources as diverse as diesel trucks and cow flatulence, the latest of several efforts in the most populous U.S. state to reduce emissions leading to climate change. Under a bill signed Monday by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, the state will cut emissions of methane […] Read more
California communities beg for relief from drought restrictions
Sacramento | Reuters — California communities where a wet winter has filled reservoirs and begun ameliorating the state’s catastrophic four-year drought begged water regulators on Wednesday to reduce or eliminate emergency conservation measures imposed last year. Facing pushback from aggravated consumers under the ongoing rules, water utilities say they will have little credibility asking for […] Read more
California rules led to near 25 per cent cut in water use
Sacramento | Reuters –– Residents and businesses in drought-stricken California cut back water use by nearly 25 per cent from June 2015 through the end of February 2016 — enough to supply nearly six million people for a year, officials said Monday. The state’s first ever mandatory cutbacks in water use were imposed by Democratic […] Read more
Deep snow in California mountains offers hope in drought
Reuters — A cold, wet start to California’s winter has dumped nearly five feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains, state water experts said Wednesday, fuelling hope that 2016 will bring enough precipitation to help offset four years of drought. Snow surveyors headed to the mountains in Phillips near Lake Tahoe on Wednesday for […] Read more
Farmers would pay more for water from proposed California tunnel
Sacramento | Reuters –– California farmers would pay more to irrigate their crops under a proposal to build tunnels under the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta to funnel water to the state’s agricultural breadbasket, officials said Friday. The analysis released by state Treasurer Bill Lockyer said regional water suppliers and the farmers who purchase water from […] Read more
California may step up enforcement of water restrictions amid drought
Sacramento | Reuters — California may ratchet up enforcement of drought-related pumping restrictions in slow-moving creeks and lakes under new rules being considered on Tuesday, prompting worry among farmers as the state enters the dry summer season. The widely anticipated move by the State Water Resources Control Board comes during worsening drought conditions and political […] Read more
California drought will cost thousands of farm jobs, study says
Sacramento | Reuters — California’s drought will cause thousands of workers to lose their jobs and cost farmers in the state’s Central Valley breadbasket US$1.7 billion, researchers said in the first economic study of what may be the state’s driest year on record. The most populous U.S. state is in its third year of what […] Read more
Rain soaks California causing floods, but won’t end drought
Sacramento | Reuters — A large winter storm brought much-needed relief to parched California on Friday, boosting its reservoirs and dropping snow on the Sierra Nevada mountains, but the precipitation will not be enough to counter years of drought, officials said. California is in its third year of a drought that may break all records […] Read more
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