Browsing the "California water wars" Tag

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Delta Tunnel Update: Suggested operations worse for California salmon under single tunnel than under original CAWaterFix

The below Delta Conveyance Update by Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta (RTD), “with the help of friends,” indicates that “the operations conditions for water quality under the proposed are getting worse” under the proposed changes by DWR under the single tunnel than under the twin tunnels — and “the suggested operations are worse for salmon” than under the California […]

August 18th

As farmers pump water for alfalfa, California salmon face extinction

While most California farms and ranches face water regulations to save dwindling water resources and protect fisheries, Siskiyou County’s Scott Valley alfalfa growers continue to pump groundwater with no regulatory oversight. The river is now a series of shrinking puddles full of Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed Coho salmon, according to an August 13 press release […]

August 16th

Karuk Tribe petitions California State Water Board to curtail Scott River water use and stop coho extinction

On July 1, the Karuk Tribe filed a formal petition with the California State Water Resources Control Board demanding that it use its emergency powers to curtail water use in the Scott River to prevent the extinction of the Southern Oregon – Northern California Coho Salmon (Coho). By Dan Bacher “The worst water conditions in history led […]

July 7th

California Drought: Coalition opposes temporary urgency changes for Central Valley Water Project and State Water Project

A coalition of Delta-based groups has sent a formal Petition for Reconsideration to the State Water Board opposing the Board’s June 1 order to relax water quality standards for Delta operations of the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project. The Temporary Urgency Change Order (TUCO) was issued by the Water Board on June 1, […]

June 30th

Change is coming to the mammoth Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s Board of Directors voted on June 8 to formally hire Adel Hagekhalil, a civil and environmental engineer and national water and infrastructure leader, as its next general manager. By Dan Bacher His term will begin on July 6, 2021. Hagekhalil received 16 yes votes and one no vote, with 18 absentions and three directors absent. That’s a […]

June 14th

Despite worst drought since 1977 and risk to endangered salmon, California keeps sending more water to Big Ag

As endangered winter-run Chinook salmon die before spawning below Keswick Dam, a coalition of environmental, fishing, and social justice organizations yesterday filed a formal protest with state and federal water officials against the proposed “Temporary Urgency Change Petition” (TUCP) submitted by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and United States Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation). By […]

June 5th

As massive fish kill continues on Klamath River, Karuk Tribe declares state of climate emergency

The Karuk Tribe in Northern California has declared a state of climate emergency in response to record low precipitation in the Klamath Basin as a massive juvenile salmon kill unfolds on the Klamath River. “This emergency declaration acknowledges the reality that climate change is upon us, and the dangers that it poses to rivers, forests, wildlife […]

June 3rd

California salmon face extinction unless the State Water Board adopts an emergency rescue plan

Below is my brief  testimony yesterday morning to the State Water Resources Control Board in support of the emergency water plan to save California salmon from extinction, submitted by the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, California Water Impact Network and Save California Salmon. By Dan Bacher My name is Dan Bacher, an independent investigative journalist focusing […]

June 2nd

Hearing date scheduled for California state water project’s secret “Monterey Amendments” cases

The 3rd District Court of Appeals will hear arguments for two California Water Impact Network (C-WIN) appeals on July 19, 2021A combined hearing has been set for the “Monterey Plus” and “Kern Water Bank” appeals, aka Central Delta Water Agency v. DWR and Center for Food Safety v. DWR, aka “Central Delta I” and “Central Delta II,” according to […]

May 30th

Klamath fish kill update from California’s Yurok Tribe

Yurok Vice Chairman Frankie Myers joined the Yurok Fisheries Department’s fish disease monitoring team this weekend while they documented the catastrophic juvenile salmon kill on the Klamath River, according to a statement from the Yurok Tribe. By Dan Bacher “When we see our juvenile fish dying, it’s heartbreaking,” said Myers. “It’s heartbreaking because you know it’s […]

May 18th

California water wars: State and Federal Projects exported massive amounts of Sacramento Delta water over the past decade

Here is a revised version of my brief presentation to the State Water Resources Control Board on March 4 regarding the Bureau of Reclamation’s temperature management that will devastate salmon populations on the Central Valley rivers: By Dan Bacher I’m Dan Bacher, an independent journalist that has been covering fish, water and environmental justice issues for over […]

May 12th

Hatchery salmon releases scheduled in San Francisco Bay due to poor river conditions

San Francisco — Responding to requests by the Golden Gate Salmon Association (GSSA), the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced Wednesday that it is trucking all of its hatchery baby salmon to release sites in and around San Francisco Bay this year to minimize drought-related losses exacerbated by the draining of Central Valley Project and State Water Project reservoirs to supply irrigation water […]

May 2nd

Salmon advocates criticize California Governor Newsom for promoting Sites Dam, voluntary agreements during drought

On a dry section of extremely low Lake Mendocino on Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a regional state of emergency for the Russian River Watershed in Mendocino and Sonoma Counties to protect communities and reduce environmental impacts from the drought, but he didn’t issue a statewide drought emergency as many had hoped he would. By Dan Bacher Governor […]

April 23rd