Water
Blog
Read about CA's war on suburbs
To reduce costs, California also needs to build new suburbs
The three myths that have led to this predicament are the following: Nuclear power and natural gas power causes unacceptable harm to the environment; reservoirs and desalination plants cause unacceptable harm to the environment; and single-family homes nestled in sprawling suburbs cause unacceptable harm to the environment. These are myths. ...
Agriculture
Colorado River ‘plan’ staves off federal interference, keeps water coming
The Colorado River supplies 4.4-million-acre feet of water to California every year with about 80 percent of that allocation being delivered to farms in the Imperial Valley. (An acre-foot is enough water to cover one acre of land with one foot of water or 326,000 gallons.) Earlier this week, California, ...
Agriculture
Part of WOTUS struck down in victory for private property owners
The ruling changes how “waters of the United States” can be applied by leaving wetlands that are not directly flowing into a body of water that meets the definition of “rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water that flow across or form a part of State boundaries” out of the ...
Agriculture
Pam Lewison – How This Year’s Record Rains are Impacting California Farmers
PRI fellow in agriculture policy Pam Lewison joins us for a discussion of how this year’s record rainfall has been both a blessing and a major challenge for California’s farmers. She also discusses federal and state policy debates and pending legal rulings that could significantly impact state water policy and ...
Agriculture
Read blog on California's water challenges
Water, water everywhere …
California is enduring the embodiment of “it never rains but it pours.” After more than two years of drought, the state is being deluged with more water than can be collected. Long, severe droughts have four distinct stages that affect everything from soil moisture to the socioeconomic structure of society. ...
Agriculture
Read about effort to stop new green mandate
Congress votes to stay WOTUS rules until the SCOTUS rules
The broadening and narrowing of the scope of WOTUS and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to use its authority against farmers and other private landowners based on the political leanings of the White House has been an on-going challenge. The current administration was hasty in its decision to issue ...
Agriculture
Water fines for farmers will not keep the wells from running dry
When a profoundly important resource like water is no longer abundant, prioritizing where water goes becomes challenging. The California Assembly is considering legislation that would punish people for over-using water during droughts. The bill, however, does not differentiate between water “needs” and water “wants.” Specifically, food producers and municipalities would ...
Agriculture
Despite recent rains and record snowpack, California’s drought is far from over
The Department of Water Resources announced an increase in allocations from 5 percent to 30 percent of requested water. For agriculture, the increased allocations mean approximately 10 million acre feet of water for the nearly 10 million acres of irrigated farmland in the state or enough water to cover every ...
Agriculture
Klamath Project Could Hurt Generational Farmers and Ranchers
Governor Newsom issued a press release stating, “Today we celebrate a historic victory for the health of the Klamath River and the well-being of all the communities, livelihoods and ecosystems that depend on this vital waterway” while posing in a picture with Oregon Governor Kate Brown, US Secretary of the ...
Agriculture
Hope for WOTUS changes after Supreme Court hearing
Imagine every highway speed limit in the United States changing every few years to a government official’s determination of a “safe” speed. In some ways the interpretation of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule is similar. When the federal administration changes, the interpretation of the WOTUS changes to ...
Read about CA's war on suburbs
To reduce costs, California also needs to build new suburbs
The three myths that have led to this predicament are the following: Nuclear power and natural gas power causes unacceptable harm to the environment; reservoirs and desalination plants cause unacceptable harm to the environment; and single-family homes nestled in sprawling suburbs cause unacceptable harm to the environment. These are myths. ...
Colorado River ‘plan’ staves off federal interference, keeps water coming
The Colorado River supplies 4.4-million-acre feet of water to California every year with about 80 percent of that allocation being delivered to farms in the Imperial Valley. (An acre-foot is enough water to cover one acre of land with one foot of water or 326,000 gallons.) Earlier this week, California, ...
Part of WOTUS struck down in victory for private property owners
The ruling changes how “waters of the United States” can be applied by leaving wetlands that are not directly flowing into a body of water that meets the definition of “rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water that flow across or form a part of State boundaries” out of the ...
Pam Lewison – How This Year’s Record Rains are Impacting California Farmers
PRI fellow in agriculture policy Pam Lewison joins us for a discussion of how this year’s record rainfall has been both a blessing and a major challenge for California’s farmers. She also discusses federal and state policy debates and pending legal rulings that could significantly impact state water policy and ...
Read blog on California's water challenges
Water, water everywhere …
California is enduring the embodiment of “it never rains but it pours.” After more than two years of drought, the state is being deluged with more water than can be collected. Long, severe droughts have four distinct stages that affect everything from soil moisture to the socioeconomic structure of society. ...
Read about effort to stop new green mandate
Congress votes to stay WOTUS rules until the SCOTUS rules
The broadening and narrowing of the scope of WOTUS and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to use its authority against farmers and other private landowners based on the political leanings of the White House has been an on-going challenge. The current administration was hasty in its decision to issue ...
Water fines for farmers will not keep the wells from running dry
When a profoundly important resource like water is no longer abundant, prioritizing where water goes becomes challenging. The California Assembly is considering legislation that would punish people for over-using water during droughts. The bill, however, does not differentiate between water “needs” and water “wants.” Specifically, food producers and municipalities would ...
Despite recent rains and record snowpack, California’s drought is far from over
The Department of Water Resources announced an increase in allocations from 5 percent to 30 percent of requested water. For agriculture, the increased allocations mean approximately 10 million acre feet of water for the nearly 10 million acres of irrigated farmland in the state or enough water to cover every ...
Klamath Project Could Hurt Generational Farmers and Ranchers
Governor Newsom issued a press release stating, “Today we celebrate a historic victory for the health of the Klamath River and the well-being of all the communities, livelihoods and ecosystems that depend on this vital waterway” while posing in a picture with Oregon Governor Kate Brown, US Secretary of the ...
Hope for WOTUS changes after Supreme Court hearing
Imagine every highway speed limit in the United States changing every few years to a government official’s determination of a “safe” speed. In some ways the interpretation of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule is similar. When the federal administration changes, the interpretation of the WOTUS changes to ...
