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Welcome to the archives of Water Deeply. While we paused regular publication of the site on November 1, 2018, we are happy to serve as an ongoing public resource on water resilience. We hope you’ll enjoy the reporting and analysis that was produced by our dedicated community of editors and contributors.
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Stories about water issues in California and the American West, including coverage of energy, climate change, agriculture, innovation, water policy and rights.
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On-farm groundwater recharge could greatly help decrease aquifer overdraft, but recent efforts show that some significant obstacles will need to be overcome.
Many studies have modeled future impacts from climate change, but scientists have shown that warming trends are already affecting water and ecosystems in the West.
After the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal, the Ninth Circuit will decide a Southern California tribe’s share of Coachella Valley Aquifer – a decision that’s being watched closely by tribes across the West.
In Sandra Postel’s new book ‘Replenish,’ she writes about an initiative that helped inspire farmers to put more water back in Arizona’s Verde River and how downstream users in Phoenix are also getting involved.
State and federal use of fire-retardant chemicals has grown significantly in recent years. Yet recent studies have shown the toxins are deadly to fish and may contribute to permanent changes in plant communities.
An agreement to address a decades-old problem of toxic drainage on agricultural fields in the San Joaquin Valley could fall apart without congressional action.
Despite an increase in the number of Chinook salmon in California this year, some fishers are worried that methods to truck and barge hatchery fish will lead to long-term problems for the restoration of ecosystems and fisheries.
For more than 50 years, Californians have been considering new ways to move water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Here’s a graphic look at the important milestones.
In June, California voters will decide whether to fund a $4 billion bond measure that covers a wide variety of issues, including urban parks, drought resilience and flood protection.
The state’s biggest urban supplier hopes to divert water from farms in the Palo Verde Valley by encouraging conservation. But the move may endanger an existing water-sharing deal that has become a model of cooperation.
State officials are moving forward with a strategy for a “smaller but sustainable Salton Sea,” but some experts worry that it is not enough to stave off the growing risks to environmental and public health.
A California phenomenon called the ‘duck curve’ successfully predicted an electricity surplus as solar and wind energy flooded the grid. This may be bad news for Western hydroelectric dams that are unable to adapt.
While most Californians are in favor of using recycled water for nonpotable purposes, research has found that only 11 percent would drink it. A Stanford study examines the reasons why and the policy implications.
Without major dams, the Cosumnes River presents a great opportunity for restoration, which has prompted a coalition to begin a basin-scale project and a new roadmap for watershed stewardship.
A decade ago, the state passed up a chance to embrace a cheaper, single water diversion tunnel in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Now a groundbreaking vote by a Silicon Valley water agency could turn the tide.
In 2015 the San Clemente Dam was demolished, in part to restore the watershed and protect endangered steelhead trout. Now scientists are studying the impacts and the findings have them optimistic about the future.
With all parties on board, the Hualapai Water Rights Settlement should be a slam dunk. The plan would provide water for the Arizona tribe to grow its business operations in the Grand Canyon.
The fires that burned wildlands and urban areas in Northern California this month now pose a threat to water quality, humans and wildlife as crews work to contain unstable hillsides and keep toxic debris from entering waterways.
The remote town of Nipton in the Mojave Desert has been bought by the United States’ largest publicly traded marijuana company, which will rely entirely on groundwater to develop a new cannabis-themed resort.
After 16 years of drought along the Colorado River, water quantities and prices fluctuate wildly. Now cities that depend on the river are desperate for some water regularity.
With millions in state funding, a new startup incubator has begun luring water innovators to Las Vegas. The goal is to create a destination for water entrepreneurs akin to the culture of Silicon Valley.
The Ojai Valley in Ventura County relies solely on local water sources, but in light of a continued dry spell and concerns over future supplies, it’s looking at several options to diversify.
California is beginning to take stock of the damage caused by a series of wildfires that tore through the state’s wine country and resulted in more than 40 confirmed fatalities.
Effective water markets in California could help solve some of the state’s water woes, but that is easier said than done. Water Deeply talks with experts about how to thoughtfully structure water markets.
Urban and agricultural water districts have begun to take sides on whether they’ll fund the $17 billion Delta tunnels project, and it’s looking like economic concerns and not just environmental impacts could hamper it.
After 20 years of work to restore habitat for steelhead trout on Alameda Creek in the Bay Area, efforts will get a significant boost with the biggest barrier to fish migration finally being tackled.
Decades after it was first proposed, Southern Nevada Water Authority is still pushing for a pipeline to send rural groundwater to the Las Vegas area. But others are questioning whether the project is really needed.
A century of levee building confined the state’s major rivers to narrow channels. A new policy aims to free them again, which could not only reduce flood risk but also recharge groundwater and improve wildlife habitat.
Experts say a recent memo from interior secretary Ryan Zinke on how to stop and prevent forest fires perpetuates misconceptions about how fires can be avoided or controlled and ignores major drivers of Western fire: weather and climate change.
A new agreement signed between the U.S. and Mexico continues an important collaboration in managing the Colorado River, but also gives new hope for reviving stretches of the river that have run dry.
David O’Neill and Karyn Stockdale of the National Audubon Society talk about a recent report that highlights the threats to two major habitats used by migrating birds in the West: saline lakes and riparian habitat along the Colorado River.
The state proposes to amend hundreds of water rights to help endangered salmon in the San Joaquin River, as well as other species. But there’s lots of disagreement about how much water the fish need to thrive.
In our last video in the ‘Toxic Taps’ series, we visit Southern California’s Imperial Valley, where thousands of rural residents rely on untreated water used to irrigate crops.
Many mobile home parks in the eastern Coachella Valley do not meet health and safety codes. In the latest ‘Toxic Taps’ video, we look at what’s being done to fix water and sanitation problems and improve living conditions.
A sprawl of mobile home parks house 10,000 people in Southern California’s Coachella Valley, but their drinking water is chronically contaminated. Now some solutions are in sight.
This year a court invalidated a regulation protecting Californians’ drinking water from contamination by chromium-6, a carcinogen. The latest ‘Toxic Taps’ video looks at why, what the public health implications are and what happens next.
New research predicts that an increase in the frequency and magnitude of wildfires will double the rates of sedimentation in one-third of the West’s large watersheds, reducing reservoir storage and affecting water supplies.
In the Imperial Valley, nearly 3,000 homes are dependent on raw canal water for showering, washing and other household uses. State regulators sanction the arrangement, but others are concerned about health risks.
A little-recognized but common problem, vandalism can put water supplies at risk of contamination. Alarms and a safety-first approach are often the only recourse for water agencies.
Amid the natural wonders of southern Utah, Zion National Park faces unique threats as hikers swarm the narrow Virgin River canyon. New measures are being proposed to control the foot traffic, but they’re still years away.
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