Water

The state is the first in the world to require monitoring for tiny pieces of plastic, which contaminate people and wildlife globally.

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.

As tens of thousands of low-income Californians struggle to pay their water bills, the Legislature approved a bill offering assistance. But the program has no funding.

We propose an approach to water management that treats the environment as a priority rather than a constraint on operations.

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.

Assembly Bill 2201 only creates more confusion in the already complicated process for sustainable management of groundwater basins. Sacramento needs to entrust groundwater management to local experts.

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.

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.