Water

Californians have largely forgotten the disastrous toll of deadly floods in the state's past, and even larger floods are likely to occur. They will affect all Californians, and require greater investment in flood preparation, insurance and evacuation planning.

A dozen days of wet and wild weather haven’t ended the drought, and won't cure the driest period in the West in the past 1,200 years.

Programming note: Add whatmatters@calmatters.org, our new sender email address, to your safe senders list to ensure WhatMatters does not go to junk email. Here is a quick guide on how you can do this. Now, on to the news:  Rebekah Rohde, 40, and Steven Sorensen, 61, are two of at least 14 people killed by […]

Programming note: I’m Sameea Kamal, politics reporter at CalMatters, and I’ll be in your inbox on Mondays for the next few weeks. You may have seen my bylines covering the Capitol or the 2021 redistricting process. Reply to this email to let me know what’ll make your Monday newsletter the most informative. Please also add […]

The massive, bomb-cyclone-fueled storm set to unleash on California today — dumping more rain and snow across much of the already-soaked state while whipping it with winds as high as 70 mph — illuminates some of the underlying climate and environmental issues confronting state lawmakers, who return to Sacramento today to recommence the 2023 legislative […]

California has improved its water policies around safety, access and affordability in response to a 2012 law establishing a human right to water. There is much to be done in order to keep this promise to disadvantaged and water-strapped communities.

Urgently trying to help an endangered species devastated by drought, biologists hauled 40,000 eggs to the McCloud River this year, then brought the young fish back again to migrate. So far, it's gone well.

The California Air Resources Board is overlooking more effective and sustainable forms of carbon sequestration, such as algae, as officials finalize its scoping plan. The strategy is instead turning to flawed carbon capture technology favored by the fossil fuel industry.

Despite December storms, water supplies remain low in many areas. Some managers expect to impose severe restrictions on their customers.

Three days before California’s new state Legislature is set to be sworn into office — and to convene a special session focused on oil industry profits — it’s still not clear who will occupy two of the seats. As of Thursday evening, Democrat Christy Holstege and Republican Greg Wallis each had 50% of the vote […]