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Water & the West

Efforts to preserve California’s groundwater enter a new phase: a season of judgement

Architects of the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act tried to forestall conflict between state regulators and local groundwater users. But judging plans “inadequate” creates hard-to-reconcile differences.Continue readingEfforts to preserve California’s groundwater enter a new phase: a season of judgement

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Water & the West

For Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta farmers, the only certainty is change

Squeezed between sinking farmland and rising seas, Delta residents and farm owners now face approval of the state’s plan to divert water south via tunnels.Continue readingFor Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta farmers, the only certainty is change

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Water & the West

In times of scarcity, California’s best new source of water? Reuse.

While expensive solutions like new reservoirs and seawater desalination grab attention, California communities are quietly building up their capacity to clean stormwater and wastewater for reuse for irrigation, industry and, yes, drinking water too. Continue readingIn times of scarcity, California’s best new source of water? Reuse.

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Water & the West

A simmering revolt against groundwater cutbacks in California

New agencies find making sustainability plans is hard, but easier than persuading growers to accept them.Continue readingA simmering revolt against groundwater cutbacks in California

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Up close Water & the West

Water restrictions close in, sporadically, on the West’s most populous areas

As drought tightens its grip on the West, states are taking different approaches to encouraging water conservation.Continue readingWater restrictions close in, sporadically, on the West’s most populous areas

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Water & the West

Does drought-prone California need another reservoir?

Is California “dammed out?” Or could increasing reservoir capacity help the state ride out the new era of aridification? Continue readingDoes drought-prone California need another reservoir?

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Water & the West

As the Klamath Basin’s water crisis worsens, local journalism explores a way forward

With grant support, a Klamath Falls, Oregon, newspaper sought “kernels of solutions” for a divided community’s problems with drought and resource depletion. The lead reporter reflects on his experiences.Continue readingAs the Klamath Basin’s water crisis worsens, local journalism explores a way forward

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Up close Water & the West

California’s crisis is latest chapter of water flowing to power

In a new feature called “Up Close,” we survey a group of notable recent stories on California’s deep groundwater problems amid an ongoing drought.Continue readingCalifornia’s crisis is latest chapter of water flowing to power

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Water & the West

How Ingenuity and Desperate Measures Kept Urban Water Flowing During the ‘77 Drought

When a historic drought gripped California and the Bay Area, water managers came together to keep drinkable water in the homes of vulnerable areas in Marin and Contra Costa Counties. Two veterans of those efforts describe the dramatic process, and consider lessons it offers for today’s imminent drought.Continue readingHow Ingenuity and Desperate Measures Kept Urban Water Flowing During the ‘77 Drought

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Water & the West

California Water on the Market: Q&A with Barton “Buzz” Thompson

Three months after the first market trades of California water futures, a conversation about economic forces and an essential material for life.Continue readingCalifornia Water on the Market: Q&A with Barton “Buzz” Thompson