Author Archives: Alastair Bland

Alastair Bland lives in Sonoma County, California. He writes about water, climate, marine research, agriculture and the environment, and his work has appeared at NPR, Time, East Bay Express, Audubon, Hakai, Slate, Smithsonian and other news outlets. He can be reached at alastair@calmatters.org

alastair@calmatters.org

Engineers in the Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Unit begin the measurement phase of the first media snow survey of the season at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Jan. 3, 2023. Photo by Fred Greaves, California Department of Water Resources

Water

State water deliveries to surge — highest in 6 years

by Alastair Bland January 26, 2023January 26, 2023

A field of spinach is irrigated with Colorado River water in Imperial Valley on Dec. 5, 2022. Growers in region are debating how they will cut Colorado River water imports. Photo by Caitlin Ochs, Reuters

Growers brace to give up some Colorado River water

by Alastair Bland January 17, 2023January 17, 2023

Sean de Guzman of the California Department of Water Resources conducts the first snow survey of the 2023 season at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Jan. 3. Photo by Kenneth James, California Department of Water Resources

Is California’s drought over? Here’s what you need to know about rain, snow, reservoirs and drought

by Alastair Bland January 12, 2023January 11, 2023

A car stops on a flooded Lambert Road off Interstate 5 in Sacramento County on Jan. 3, 2023. Northern California was hit by a major rainstorm that caused power outages, landslides and flooding over the New Year's holiday weekend. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Sacramento Valley, already deluged, braces for more floods

by Julie Cart and Alastair Bland January 4, 2023January 5, 2023

Saving salmon: Chinook return to California’s far north — with a lot of human help

by Alastair Bland December 19, 2022December 18, 2022

Oroville, which is one of California's largest reservoirs, is only 59% of capacity as of Dec. 12 after a prolonged drought — despite recent rains and snow. The reservoir is shown here in May 2022. Photo by Andrew Innerarity, California Department of Water Resources

CalMatters en Español

¿Se acabó la sequía en California? Los proveedores de agua aún predicen escasez el próximo año

by Alastair Bland December 13, 2022December 13, 2022

Oroville, which is one of California's largest reservoirs, is only 59% of capacity as of Dec. 12 after a prolonged drought — despite recent rains and snow. The reservoir is shown here in May 2022. Photo by Andrew Innerarity, California Department of Water Resources

California drought: Water providers still predict shortages next year

by Alastair Bland December 13, 2022December 12, 2022

Arial view of Sacramento River and San Joaquin River Delta.

Water is life. It’s also a battle. So what does the future hold for California?

by Alastair Bland February 27, 2020August 4, 2021

Trump plan could bring growers more water. But will it harm California’s rare salmon?

by Alastair Bland October 25, 2019October 26, 2019

Aerial view of a misty morning over the Napa Valley, where vineyards are claiming oak-studded wildlands.

Economy, Environment, Housing

Weakling or bully? The battle over CEQA, the state’s iconic environmental law

by Alastair Bland May 13, 2019June 23, 2020