Drought

After its driest three-year stretch on record, California braces for another year with below-average snow and rain. Conditions are shaping up to be a “recipe for drought."

Today, California’s power grid is poised to face its biggest test of the summer so far as a record-setting heat wave continues to boil the drought-parched, fire-stricken state. As residents crank up their air conditioners to deal with yet another day of triple-digit temperatures, peak demand could shoot past 51,000 megawatts — surpassing the record […]

The governor’s new water plan is timely and much needed, but making it happen will require unprecedented compromises from California’s powerful environmentalist lobby.

During one of the driest years on record, California legislators didn't approve laws to protect depleted groundwater or boost water supplies.

As climate change intensifies California’s drought, the Department of Water Resources needs to step up both roles of regulator and coach. If the state approves local groundwater management plans that aren’t sustainable, more wells will go dry, people will lose water, wetlands will wither, and animals will die.

A standoff over shutting down ranchers’ pumps signals a flareup of water wars as California is gripped by seemingly endless drought. “To hell with it. We’re starting the pumps,” one Siskiyou County rancher said.

Two other states – but not California – face cuts to Colorado River water in 2023 as the federal government escalates its drought response. But a deal remains out of reach.

In some ways, the suspense file that state lawmakers churned through on Thursday — a lengthy list of hundreds of bills that they either silently sent to their death or let survive another day — didn’t live up to its reputation. That’s because the secretive, twice-annual process — which allows legislators to shelve bills they […]

Warning that the supply will shrink by 10% due to climate change, Newsom sets targets for recycled water and increased storage. But deadlines are distant, details are scant and there is no conservation mandate.

Careful planning, research and development, and incentives can help San Joaquin Valley residents avoid the worst consequences of land fallowing — and perhaps even bring benefits to a region in transition.