Water

CalMatters has won four more journalism awards, this time in the Best of the West contest recognizing work in 14 states. The contest was founded in 1987 to reward journalistic excellence and promote freedom of information.

The salmon population crash of 2008 felt like an anomaly in an otherwise productive fishery in California. Fifteen years later, the West Coast is right back where it started. Have we learned nothing in 15 years?

Salmon population forecasts are down for this year, prompting fishery managers to cancel the fishing season. The decision is unfortunate but necessary, state leaders say, and part of several actions being taken to restore the population.

The record rain and snow falling on California since late last year may have relieved the drought that plagued the state for the last three years, but the battles over water management will continue.

From CalMatters criminal justice reporter Nigel Duara: California’s first-in-the-nation program to take guns away from people prohibited by courts from owning them continues to tread water: A backlog of cases numbering between 23,000 and 24,000 people has stubbornly persisted, even as Attorney General Rob Bonta insisted on Monday that the program is making progress.  “That’s […]

When the entire food supply chain is considered, it's clear that humans are the biggest water user, not necessarily farms, argues an agriculture industry advocate.

The governor eliminated $40 million for restoring floodplains, halting projects that help protect vulnerable, disadvantaged communities like Stockton. San Joaquin Valley legislators are pushing back.

The benefits of a long-sought and controversial project to replumb the Delta and send more water south are speculative at best, argue elected leaders from Yolo and Sacramento counties.

In some ways, there are two Californias.  Depending on your values and political views, the state is either a bastion of diversity and inclusion, or a treacherous place for minorities and marginalized groups. On one side, many in California embrace its diversity with open arms. Today, advocates and lawmakers will kick off the Transgender Week […]

California ended its voluntary statewide target, triggering concerns from experts that many water supplies remain depleted. Other drought measures remain in place.