water resources

Over half of the state of California are in severe to exceptional drought conditions, but things are as bad as they were just a year ago when most of the Western United States were experiencing those same drought conditions.

The latest storms to hit the Sierra and Lake Tahoe kept wter content in the snowpack close to average, with some areas of California going above average in the precipitation they've received.

Officials from the Department of Water Resources (DWR) will be making their last monthly snowpack measurement near Sierra-at-Tahoe next week, but electronic readings taken March 22, 2016 show the snowpack is at 92 percent of average.

Most of the ski resorts around the lake, while still below average snowpack, are experiencing the best measured snow in a few years.

“Mother Nature is not living up to predictions by some that a ‘Godzilla’ El Niño would produce much more precipitation than usual this winter,” said California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Director Mark Cowin. “We need conservation as much as ever.”

It is still too early to know whether enough precipitation will have fallen by the end of winter's wet season to significantly impact the drought, but, snowpack and reservoir storage has benefited from recent storms.

Officials from the Department of Water Resources (DWR) will be making their monthly snowpack measurement near Sierra-at-Tahoe on Tuesday, February 2, but electronic readings taken on January 28 show the snowpack is at 116 percent of average. The statewide water content of 18.7 inches is greater now than on any January 26 since 2011.

The first snowpack survey of the season was taken Wednesday in Phillips, showing the snowpack us at 136% of average with a water content of 16.3 inches.

"This is encouraging but not where we'd like to be," said Frank Gehkre, the Chief Snow Surveyor for the California Department of Water Resources. "This is clearly much better than last year at this time."

One year ago the survey showed the snowpack at 47% of average.

Vast areas of California's Central Valley are sinking faster than in the past as massive amounts of groundwater are pumped during the historic drought, state officials said Wednesday, citing new research by NASA scientists.

The data shows the ground is sinking nearly two inches each month in some places, putting roads, bridges and vital canals that deliver water throughout the state at growing risk of damage.

As Pacific Ocean temperatures continue to warm and trade winds shift, federal scientists now say that the El Niño weather event that’s emerging could be one of the strongest on record.

California took the first step June 5 to regulate its nearly 20-year-old medical marijuana industry, one that lawmakers said currently resembles something out of the “wild, wild West.”

AB266 merges what were two competing bills and attempts to set up state regulations that will pass muster with the federal Department of Justice. It was one of dozens of pieces of legislation advancing through the Legislature Thursday as lawmakers faced a Friday deadline to move bills out of their house of origin.

Due to the prospect of finding only bare ground, the Department of Water
Resources (DWR) did not conduct a May 1 snow survey at Phillips Station at the top of Echo Summit near Sierra-at-Tahoe.

“We can’t count on the Sierra snowpack to replenish our water supplies,” said California Department of Water Resources Director Mark Cowin. “Major reservoirs are dropping at a time when they typically would be filling with melted snow. We need careful, sparing use of water across the state, because we don’t know when this drought will end.”

Top experts will converge at Lake Tahoe in September for the annual meeting of the Western Regional Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species, hosted by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

Taking place September 2-4, the annual meeting brings together officials from across the country in the fight against western expansion of aquatic invasive species. Participants will learn from informative lectures and discussions to foster coordination of aquatic invasive species management among western states. This event is open to the public.

Because of the drought, three wells in South Lake Tahoe have higher levels of contamination. Some wells have been shut-downs and the state of California is investigating.

With California and Nevada grappling with a third year of drought, one of the largest and most complex challenges we face over the long run at Lake Tahoe is adapting to a changing climate.

Climate change will affect the protection and restoration of our beautiful mountain lake as well as the expansive forests around it. And the health of our lake, forests, and communities are all intertwined.

Crews have been working on an underground stormwater system in the Bijou area of South Lake Tahoe. The work is causing both Fairway Drive and Bal Bijou Road to have detours during the week but open and no controls on weekends.

Work is wrapping up with the installation of a box culvert for Bijou Creek and work is now focused on new curbing and inlets. The Bal Bijou storm drain system will be connected at US 50 next week, with curb installation to follow.

Though late season storms have helped skiers and boarders enjoy Lake Tahoe resorts a bit longer, the snowpack measured at 38% of normal today during the monthly test at Echo Summit. The California Department of Water Resources (DWR)reported a statewide average of just 32% of average.

Surveyors from DWR trekked to several monitoring stations as they do annually to measure the water content in snow, as well as depth, to try and pinpoint the state's water supply this summer.

The first snow survey of the season found more bare ground than snow throughout the higher elevations of the state. The survey, conducted by the Department of Water Resources on Friday, found the 9.3" of snowpack at Phillips Station to be 20% of the long term average. A dismal 2.3" of water content was found.

The City of South Lake Tahoe has been awarded a competitive grant from the State Water Resources Control Board through the Proposition 84 Stormwater Grant Program (SWGP).

A total of $42 million was available for Round 1 Implementation projects throughout the State that are designed to reduce and prevent stormwater contamination of rivers, lakes, and streams. The City was one of the 37 applicants to make it through the first round of the application process, and one of only 24 applicants selected for funding.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe received a grant Monday from Wells Fargo and Company as part of a $3 million Wells Fargo Environmental Solutions for Communities grant program across 64 community-based nonprofits nationwide to help support land and water conservation, energy efficiency, infrastructure and educational outreach.

Douglas Boyle is Nevada's new state climatologist. He will oversee operations of the Nevada State Climate Office, a public-service department in the College of Science at the University of Nevada, Reno.
The state climatologist and the Nevada Climate Office collect, maintain and interpret Nevada’s climate and weather data information, publish a quarterly report and provide leadership on climatic hazards and drought planning in the state through work and consultation with the governor's office and state agencies.

The California State Water Resources Control Board has approved a proposal by the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board that would allow the use of aquatic pesticides at Lake Tahoe under ce...

California's Water Resources Control Board OK'd plans on Tuesday that could allow pesticides to be used for the first time in Lake Tahoe. The measure now moves to the Environmental Protection Agency. The new rules permit pesticides as a last resort to control invasive species like Eurasian milfoil, an aquatic plansold for aquariums which is choking the bottom of marinas around the lake.

The California State Water Resources is scheduled to vote on a proposal that would allow the use of aquatic pesticides at Lake Tahoe under certain circumstances.The State Water Board is scheduled t...

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - While the usual crowd of reporters and television cameras gathered for the first California Department of Water Resources snow survey of the year in Phillips, one thin...

By Kathryn Reed. A joint appeal to the state Water Resources Control Board is being crafted by South Lake Tahoe, and El Dorado and Placer counties regarding the stormwater permit the Lahontan Regional...