Dear Deeply Readers,
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.
We continue to produce events and special projects while we explore where the on-site journalism goes next. If you’d like to reach us with feedback or ideas for collaboration you can do so at [email protected].
Alastair Bland is a freelance journalist in San Francisco, CA. He can be reached at [email protected] or via Twitter.
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The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has supported additional groundwater extraction in the San Joaquin Valley, where aquifer depletion is already damaging vital infrastructure. A new water-exchange project may also be spreading toxic soil contamination.
Numerous efforts are under way to restore floodplains throughout the state to capture stormwater. The projects simply aim to reconnect rivers with their historic floodplains — long isolated by levees and land development — but require a different way of thinking about farming and land management.
The drought has left California landscapes so dry that initial heavy rains could smother fish habitats under mudslides and trash, potentially harming spawning habitats for decades. Biologists hope for a gentle start to winter so the land can absorb water slowly before any torrential rains arrive.
The industrious rodents can offer a range of benefits for California water supplies and habitats. But they’re still officially considered a pest.
Water demand and land development could mean the end of an iconic species, even in wealthy and liberal Marin County.
The Golden State leads the world in technology, but is hardly a model in handling its own water resources.
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