New California groundwater regulations could reshape water use and agriculture
California’s first attempt at regulating a precious resource — groundwater — begins Friday, and experts expect a rocky start. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), which requires critically overdrafted basins…
Read More...Final Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule unveiled
The final Waters of the U.S. rule unveiled by the Trump administration today eliminates Clean Water Act protections for the majority of the nation’s wetlands and more than 18% of…
Read More...Trump admin fast-tracks Colorado River pipeline
The Trump administration has put one of the largest new water projects on the Colorado River on the fast track, raising concerns among environmentalists. Utah first proposed building a 140-mile…
Read More...Wetlands conservation program marks 30 years, over $6B in grants
The conservation grant program that has helped preserve and restore nearly 30 million acres of wetlands across the continent has turned 30. President George H.W. Bush signed the North American Wetlands Conservation Act into law…
Read More...Study finds flooding damage to levees is cumulative–and often invisible
Recent research finds that repeated flooding events have a cumulative effect on the structural integrity of earthen levees, suggesting that the increase in extreme weather events associated with climate change…
Read More...Ag water users profiled in new Colorado River report
A year-long effort to bring the perspectives of key agricultural water user interests into the current Colorado River Compact discussions culminated in the release of two special “Water Review” reports.
Read More...Last year’s historic floods ruined 20 million acres of farmland
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, heavy spring rains across the nation in 2019 caused nearly 20 million acres of farmland to go unplanted. Farmers incurred, collectively, billions…
Read More...California moves toward single water tunnel under delta
California is moving forward with its biggest water project in decades, a single tunnel beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta that will help move Northern California water south to cities…
Read More...Final Trump WOTUS rule expected soon
The Trump administration is expected to finalize a rule limiting which waterways are protected by the Clean Water Act this month.
Read More...New research finds ranchers consider diverse factors in managing their land
A new study evaluates the complex decision-making process of how ranchers choose to manage their land, more specifically how they choose to irrigate their land and why. They found that…
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