Amid deepening awareness of Sacramento's flooding risks, a group of builders and developers in North Natomas is taking the unusual step of creating and distributing to prospective home buyers a DVD that lays out -- in frank terms -- the flooding threat to Natomas.  »

The federal government on Wednesday announced it is reversing an earlier decision and redrawing flood maps for a fast-growing region near the state capital, acknowledging the risk of a potentially catastrophic flood is greater than originally believed.  »

Property owners in Sacramento's Natomas basin will be required to purchase flood insurance starting in November, FEMA said Wednesday. FEMA intends to revise its flood-risk maps to show Natomas as a "special flood hazard area." »

Weak levees in the Natomas basin have triggered a wave of bad news: a downgraded safety rating, mandatory flood insurance and now, the possibility of federally required construction restrictions in an area expecting a build-out of more than 8,000 new homes in the next decade. »

At a Phillips Station measuring point -- elevation 6,800 feet along Highway 50 near Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort -- the snowpack's water content is only 65 percent of average for the winter so far. The statewide average is 59 percent. No one is worried yet, as this was just the first snow survey of the season.  »

The Butte County Water Commission was given an overview Wednesday of agencies that monitor and regulate water quality, such as the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the state Water Resources Control Board.  »

As state officials preview guidelines for distributing bond funding for levee improvements in California communities, there is a catch: The state wants local governments and private builders to promise to share financial liability if there is a devastating flood, who have balked at the plan. »

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to draw on his popular campaign against global warming to promote something not so popular among environmentalists – building new dams in California.  »

For six years the Bush administration has refused to take any serious actions nationwide to improve energy and water efficiency. Now it is actively thwarting the efforts of Californians to take such actions on our own. Our state, the federal government would have us know, does not have a compelling interest in conserving water or energy. »

This extrapolation presents a worst-case scenario of California's water situation in the coming decades, but not necessarily an unlikely one. It is based on a variety of sources, including interviews and conversations over the past several years with scientists and government agency staffers, such as those associated with the Univ. of Calif., the Calif. DWR and the Bay Institute. »

Natomas homeowners with sticker shock over news that they must purchase federally required flood insurance by November take heart: City officials said Sunday they are working to reduce premium costs. »

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today will propose building two new dams -- one in Northern California and one north of Fresno -- to increase the state's water supply, making a push to spend billions of dollars on controversial projects sure to start a fight with Democrats and environmentalists. »

"California's Water System," the 10th episode of the "California's Water" public television series produced by Huell Howser, is set to air Jan. 12 at 6 p.m. on KCET. It will be available to air statewide on PBS stations next month. Check your local listings for details. »

The Sacramento Stormwater Quality Partnership is releasing the River Friendly Landscape Guidelines, a publication and accompanying brochure to encourage landscape professionals and residents to implement a River-Friendly landscape approach, at noon on January 10, 2006, on the third floor lobby of the Sacramento Convention Center. »

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday waded into some of the most dangerous waters in California politics with a $6 billion plan to build two new reservoirs and re-engineer the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to counter climate change and other threats. »

On Gov. Schwarzenegger's list for surface storage projects are Sites Reservoir, proposed west of Maxwell, and Temperance Flat, which would be a dam on the northern San Joaquin River east of Fresno. Sites would be filled from the Sacramento River in times of high flow. »

Schwarzenegger outlined his plan Wednesday during a state-of-the-state speech to float a bond proposal to voters in 2008 that would include $4.5 billion for building dams at Temperance Flat reservoir, near Fresno , and at the Sites reservoir, 60 miles north of Auburn , in Colusa and Glenn counties. Neither of the sites are in Doolittle's District Four.  »

On Tuesday, the Shasta County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to pay $45,000 for a study on whether it's feasible to connect the Elk Trail West and Elk Trail East neighborhoods to water from Lake Shasta .  »

Sutter County supervisors and Yuba City City Council members said they will step up public relations on levees and flood control issues. For Sutter County officials, that even means working with the Sutter County Taxpayers Association.  »

Yuba County Supervisor Don Schrader expressed optimism Tuesday that work done on the county's levees will ultimately be reflected in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's final flood maps.  »

Property owners whose wells have dried up in the Jones Valley area are a step closer to a new water supply that would eliminate the need to truck in water each summer. On Tuesday, the Shasta County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to pay $45,000 for a study on whether it's feasible to connect the Elk Trail West and Elk Trail East neighborhoods to water from Lake Shasta. »

A proposed amendment to Yuba County's well ordinance requires home builders to prove to the county an adequate and safe water supply exists on a lot before a building permit can be issued. County staff expressed concern it could prohibit cluster development and lead to sprawling, five-acre parcels in the foothills. »

The Browns Valley Irrigation District has enough water to supply the controversial Spring Valley housing project, says an engineering study. »

A regional agency is developing a plan that will identify endangered habitat and species in Butte County and offer a streamlined process for mitigation. »

Sutter County supervisors and Yuba City City Council members said they will step up public relations on levees and flood control issues. »

For four years water agencies and the California Farm Bureau have been fighting fees that were placed on water rights holders. On Wednesday, the 3rd District Appellate Court in Sacramento deemed those fees unconstitutional and ordered fees paid in the past to be repaid within 180 days. »

A "take-it-or-leave-it offer was recently made by the state to the county over the Oroville Dam relicensing process. Butte County is saying no deal. The dam was licensed in 1957 and the contract expires this month.  »

Yuba County officials believe FEMA got its information wrong when the agency recently plotted much of the county's south end in a flood plain. »

Can the governor persuade the Legislature to invest a few billion dollars on new reservoir projects in California? Of the many initiatives in the governor's State of the State speech Tuesday, new reservoirs elicit near-religious fervor from legislators who love or loathe them. »

Some Sacramento homeowners will pay as much as three times more for flood protection under a proposed property tax hike that goes to voters in March. Despite the increase, the assessment for most people will remain under $100 per year.  »

A tiny shellfish native to Eastern Europe has been found in a Southern California aqueduct and could spread throughout the state, threatening to clog the state's water-delivery systems and damage freshwater ecosystems. »

At the Golden Gate, the sea is rising. In the Sierra Nevada, the snowpack is shrinking. The threats to California's water supply, in many ways the state's lifeblood, are not mere possibilities. They are here. And now. »

Climate models almost unanimously predict a decreasing snowpack for mountainous regions across the globe, including the western United States. »

It appears that - even during dry years - Putah Creek is home to a self-sustaining salmon run. »

A poisonous vestige of the Foresthill-area's Gold Rush past is being targeted by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for possible cleanup. »

Dam critics site the success of LA's MWD and East Bay MUD conservation programs, as well as success in storing more water underground, as an alternative to building more dams. »

Standing in front of a calm Sacramento River, local leaders of the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency on Friday kicked off their campaign to convince Sacramentans they should pay higher property taxes for better flood protection. »

Last June, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors approved the construction of a temporary setback levee on Cache Creek as a result of extensive damage to the existing levee during the 2005-06 New Year's weekend storm. This temporary measure has been completed. This past week the Board of Supervisors received a report on the completion of this temporary measure to provide protection to the residents of Woodland if the damaged levee were to fail.  »

California is especially vulnerable to climate change, whether it comes gradually or with catastrophic speed. It also has much to lose. There's almost no evidence that says climate change is going to be good for any aspect of California. »

California's winter so far confirms the cautionary words of meteorologists and global warming scientists: Every year can be different, and it ain't over until it's over.  »

Tomorrow's generations are at risk if state officials delay any longer on expanding storage capacity. Without some costly improvements, it's not a question of if - but when - a time arrives when there won't be enough water for everyone. »

The Calif. Dept. of Fish and Game announced Tuesday, Jan. 23. that it plans to apply a liquid form of rotenone to Lake Davis and its tributaries after Labor Day in another effort to eliminate northern pike. »

Many locals say they believe the DFG now is receptive to their concerns about effects on health, the local economy and the environment, and seems better prepared to exterminate the invading northern pike. »

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District has been taking more water from the Rubicon River in the high Sierra than its state permits allow, prompting complaints that the power supplier has harmed fish and neighboring water users. »

Now that it plans to designate Natomas a "special flood hazard area," the federal government could force developers to elevate new houses more than 20 feet -- a de facto building moratorium in the fast-growing area. »

About 1,000 homes in Linda and Olivehurst will either qualify for inexpensive flood insurance or need none at all because of improvements made to existing drainage systems, Yuba County officials announced Tuesday. »

Weeks of unusually cold and clear weather have brought the city to the verge of a record: driest January in more than 100 years. »

One of the most effective ways to protect our environment and efficiently use natural resources is recycling. It is particularly true of water, which can be used more than once. There is no good reason to flush wastewater into rivers, bays, estuaries and the ocean if it can be treated and used again for other purposes such as irrigating parks and golf courses. »

In a lengthy comment delivered through its attorneys, the nonprofit group California Trout claims the draft EIR for the proposed Nestle water bottling plant fails to comply with provisions of the CEQA. »

Reducing arsenic in Live Oak's water supply will have a seven-figure price tag, city officials and a city-hired consultant said Wednesday. »

Democrats in the state Senate on Thursday said California does not need to build new reservoirs as it tries to cope with the expected consequences of global warming. Instead, the state should rely on conservation, underground storage and boosting the height of existing dams. »

An engineering study that concludes there's enough water in the Browns Valley area for the controversial Spring Valley subdivision project is undergoing further revision. »

Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis, has introduced Assembly Bill 162, legislation to ensure that local governments consider flood risk in flood-prone regions.  »

Sacramento's Pocket, Greenhaven and Meadowview neighborhoods could soon save a bundle on flood insurance now that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to certify that the area's levees meet a 100-year safety standard. »

Senate leader Don Perata of Oakland and other Democrats are pointing to the Los Vaqueros Reservoir as a prime example of why they oppose two new inland dams — a centerpiece of Schwarzenegger's request for additional batches of voter-approved bonds. »

The herbicide Atrazine, banned in Europe, has the potential to knock the bottom out of the food chain at concentrations found in U.S. streams and waterways, a team of government researchers has found. »

Yolo County's two state legislators are diving back into the state flood control fray this year - a battle that last year ended with a host of bills flushed down the drain.  »

Reviving a dam project in the Sierra foothills that was halted three decades ago would cost up to $10 billion, more than 10 times the original price tag, according to a federal report released Tuesday.  »

Let's be honest. There is virtually no support for the dam outside the Fourth Congressional District, now that Republicans have lost Congress and the federal government is staring at a war invoice that might reach into the trillions. »

California water officials should factor in the projected consequences of climate change when assessing the state's water supplies, according to legislation introduced this week by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis. »

The Sierra Nevada snowpack currently holds about half of what it should to ensure plenty of runoff come springtime. »

After Fresno's five days of 112 degree-plus heat in July and 19 nights of killing frosts in January, will the current dry spell turn into another extreme event — a drought? »

Gov. Schwarzenegger's call for two new dams focuses debate on an issue vital to California's future: ensuring a sufficient supply of water. But regardless of the dams' fate, California can bolster its water supplies now by improving the way Californians use water. »