Category: Blog Round-Up

Has California seen its agricultural ‘heyday?’ Todd Fitchette writes, ” … Like the recent solar eclipse which cast a shadow across North America, water restrictions and regulatory constraints continue to darken success among the state’s agricultural sector, according to two well-known and respected California farmers.  A.G. Kawamura, the former Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) under […]

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Trusting the tunnels: For many, it just got harder:  Alex Brietler writes, ““Beneficiary pays.” It is one of the bedrock promises of the Delta tunnels plan, one which I have seen repeated time and again at public meetings, in interviews and in boatloads of documents over the past 11 years.  “Those who would benefit from the tunnels would pay for […]

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California Water Fix: Cost, choices, and critics:  Jeffrey Kightlinger writes, “When it comes to water, differing views come with the territory. California WaterFix, one of the biggest and most important projects we’ve seen in decades, is no exception. One of the current debates centers on the cost allocation among water agencies, and what happens if some water agencies choose not to […]

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We hold our convenient truths to be self evident – Dangerous ideas in California water:  Jay Lund writes, “Success in water management requires broad agreement and coalitions. But people often seem to group themselves into communities of interests and ideology, which see complex water problems differently. Each group tends to hold different truths to be self-evident, as outlined below.  These […]

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A more nuanced message on the Delta tunnels:  “Delta tunnels proponents really want you to read the latest blog post by fish experts Peter Moyle and James Hobbs. The project’s official Twitter account, @CAWaterFix, has tweeted links to the post six times over the past day.  “Dr. Moyle & Dr. Hobbs explain why they are optimistic about #CAWaterFix from a […]

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California Water Fix and the Delta smelt:  Peter Moyle and James Hobbs write, “The delta smelt is on a trajectory towards extinction in the wild. Heading into 2017, the spawning adult population was at an all-time low although this past wet winter has apparently seen a small resurgence. However, increasingly warm summer temperatures in the Delta may dampen any upswing. […]

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Bringing order to groundwater management: Alvar Escriva-Bou and Jelena Jezdimirovic write, “California’s water management is a complex stew with many cooks. At the local level, hundreds of irrigation districts and urban water agencies and a few thousand small drinking water suppliers are responsible for a wide variety of water-related issues. And it just got more complex: as of June 30, […]

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Litigation trepidation. Alex Breitler has it:  Alex Brietler writes, “With Lawsuit-Palooza Episode II expected in theaters on or before Aug. 21, I can’t help but wonder how impossible it’ll be to keep tabs on all of this.  We’re talking Delta tunnels litigation now, and as former San Joaquin County Supervisor Larry Ruhstaller used to say, this will be like playing three-dimensional […]

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Water wasted to sea?  “If we farmed the Central Valley or managed water supplies for San Francisco, San Jose or Los Angeles, we might think that fresh water flowing from the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers through the Delta to San Francisco Bay is “wasted” because it ends up in the Pacific Ocean as an unused resource. However, different perspectives […]

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How Devin Nunes shortchanges his constituents:  On the Public Record writes, “Representative Devin Nunes is a stalwart change denier, calling global warming “nonsense“.  He jokes about the dangers that climate change poses to Californians in a blog post today.  This poses two problems.  One is that he is asking his fellow ideologues to join him in a joke that denies […]

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