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The 2015 water year has been a roller coaster ride, with a very dry January tucked in between big storms in December and early February in Northern California. The hydrologic cycle in California has always been unpredictable, with widely fluctuating wet years and dry years, while average years only exist as part of a statistical analysis on paper. This year is no different, except that California is in the midst of a very dry decade and the public is now focused and some say obsessed with weather and the various forecasts. Now is a good time to take stock of this dynamic and remind ourselves that we need to prepare, but not over-react.

During dry years, every drop counts. In the Sacramento Valley, water resources managers are working closely with various conservation partners on a broad salmon recovery program. As part of this effort, the Northern California Water Association joined the Golden Gate Salmon Association earlier this week in requesting that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service schedule … Continue reading “Scheduling salmon releases with the storm”

As part of the water planning process in California, the State Water Resources Control Board has provided a “Notice of Surface Water Shortage and Potential for Curtailment of Water Right Diversions for 2015.” “As the drought emergency continues, it appears that supplies this year could be just as limited or more so, if dry weather … Continue reading “Planning for a Dry Year”

The Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP) have prepared an initial drought contingency plan for 2015 operations, which they today provided to various state and federal agencies. Although there were late 2014 storms that helped our water supply situation in certain areas, the last three dry years have left California’s overall water … Continue reading “Better Planning for 2015: State and Federal Project Operations”