Splash Course: Learning About California’s Complex Water System
Just as a river’s water sculpts the landscape that it flows through, so too has this vital resource shaped the development of California. The state’s history is Read More…
California water
Tales of Dry Times: Human Effects on Historic Drought Cycles
After an exceptionally dry spring, drought casts its ominous shadow over the western United States. Dry times are not uncommon in this arid region, but a pattern Read More…
Understanding How Fish Deal with Drought
Drought is a frightening word for any creature that lives in water. Aquatic animals in regions like California that have historically experienced frequent droughts have evolved remarkable Read More…
Delta Drought Review: How Did We Do?
The stress of an extreme drought can plunge a freshwater-hungry region into crisis mode. Multiple years of high temperatures plus little rain and snowfall from 2012–2016 drained Read More…
A Miracle March? Not Quite
The year was 1991; California was entering a fifth year of drought, Sierra snowpack was at 18 percent of the historical average at the beginning of March, Read More…
The Winter Water Outlook
California is receiving its first substantial soaking after an unusually dry start to winter. We reported at the beginning of the current water year about the increasing Read More…
Groundwater Recharge: Refilling Lakes Beneath Our Feet
It seems like the ground is always moving in California. Earthquakes really grab your attention, but a slower, sneakier phenomenon with far-reaching impacts is land subsidence, where Read More…
Droughts and Floods: California’s Climate Change Conundrum
It’s almost an understatement to call California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta “complex.” This highly altered ecosystem supports one of the most complicated water-management systems in the world. California Read More…
Hell or High Water: What Floods Mean for Wildlife
Floods have been very much in the news and on the minds of Californians this year, from the mass evacuations downstream of the Oroville Dam to the Read More…
Fish and Money: Consequences of the Oroville Dam Emergency
The Oroville Dam made headlines this winter when Lake Oroville overflowed onto its emergency spillway for the first time in its history, raising safety concerns and prompting Read More…