It's been nearly three decades since California has experienced a full-scale battle in its perennial war over water, but another one may be brewing. »

The circular firing squad of California's water community was locked and loaded last week. But then cooler heads prevailed and, by Friday, there was a glimmer of hope that all sides would stand down and make progress on addressing the state's multiple water challenges. »

Yet February's trio of storms dumped decent rain and snow where it counts for summer water storage and recreation -- on the mountains around the valley. Runoff from these downpours helped erase the giant bathtub ring around Lake Shasta. »

News that California' snowpack remains higher than normal arrived Thursday coupled with a report that the state must reduce pumping in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to comply with a federal court order to protect fish. »

The Butte County Water Commission Tuesday will discuss a water transfer program proposed with Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District, Western Canal Water District and Richvale Irrigation District. »

Water users who benefit most from tapping the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta have been given an unprecedented role in drafting new rules to manage water diversions. Critics call it a "fox in the henhouse" situation that may further imperil the Delta, where experts believe water diversions have already contributed to a broad ecosystem collapse. »

Officials warn that a total closure of commercial and recreational salmon fishing may be needed this year to protect dwindling Sacramento River fall-run chinook populations. »

The Pacific Fishery Management Council has released a report indicating that Sacramento fall Chinook salmon abundance will fall to an all-time low in 2008. »

Jim Ladrnini Paradise Irrigation District maintenance supervisor walked along Dogtown Friday morning shaking his head at the irony that the same people who paid to drink water from the reservoir would pollute it with their trash.  »

The Yuba County Board of Supervisors will have some big decisions to make Tuesday when it is presented with options to pay for the Feather River setback levee, the fourth in a series of levee repairs.  »

The Nevada Irrigation District voted to raise water rates Wednesday, but the cost impact will depend on usage.  »

Scientists examining the sudden and widespread collapse of West Coast salmon returns are pointing to the unusual changes in weather patterns that caused the bottom to fall out of the ocean food web in 2005.  »

Many area residents know that the miners of the Gold Rush unleashed a toxic legacy on the region in the form of millions of pounds of mercury - mercury that has accumulated in soil, plants, fish and birds, many of which we eat. But a legislative hearing on the mercury problem Tuesday revealed some disturbing new facts about this relic of the Gold Rush. »

The Sierra is holding above-average levels of snow for this time of year, boosting Nevada Irrigation District and Placer County Water Agency water-supply expectations.  »

Kilarc Reservoir is not for sale, but it could remain a fishing hot spot if the right group steps up to maintain it, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. officials Tuesday told the Shasta County Board of Supervisors. »

Yuba County will take on a loan of $33 million to fund the six miles of the Feather River setback levee, the final phase of levee repairs. »

State wildlife officials warned fishermen Wednesday that salmon fishing will likely be severely restricted this year because of a precipitous decline in the number of wild chinook returning to spawn in the Central Valley. »

California fishermen are so frustrated by the precipitous decline of Sacramento River salmon that some suggested Wednesday there may be too few fish to fight over this year. »

With water transfers in the pipeline in both Butte and Glenn counties, the Butte County Water Commission was given an update on those negotiations Tuesday. »

Water policy has played a deeply personal role in my life as a farmer and as a Californian, as well as in the lives of my constituents. After countless hours in hearings, discussions and negotiations, trying to formulate fair and reasonable water policies, it was shocking to learn last week that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has arbitrarily and without legislative consultation instigated planning for a peripheral canal.  »

West Coast members of Congress appealed to Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez on Thursday to declare a fishery failure, triggering federal aid because of a devastating collapse of the Sacramento River fall-run chinook. »

Evans is the author of "Top Trails: Sacramento" (Wilderness Press, $16.95, 361 pages). In it, he describes 43 hiking trails that range from easy to difficult, the result of three years of research and hiking. The trails are in the Sacramento Valley, along the coast, in the foothills and in the Sierra Nevada. We chose this one from his book, and Evans agreed to give us a personal tour. »

A key federal advisory panel this week is expected to begin considering an unprecedented ban on salmon fishing in California in response to an alarming collapse of a signature fishery. »

A near-record-low fall chinook spawning run in 2007 has regulators considering an all-out ban on salmon fishing in California this year. It would protect surviving fish, but for those whose lives are tied to salmon, the future looks dim.  »

A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.  »

The California Department of Parks and Recreation is proposing to add nearly 360 acres to Bidwell Sacramento River State Park, on both sides of River Road from roughly West Sacramento Avenue on the north to Big Chico Creek on the south.  »

The California Department of Water Resources said it's reducing the pumping according to a federal court order focused on protecting the delta smelt issued late last year by Judge Oliver Wanger. »

Although Redding's water isn't tested for trace amounts of pharmaceuticals, local water officials said people shouldn't worry about what's coming from the tap. »

The Sierra Fund released Mining's Toxic Legacy: An Initiative to Address Mining Toxins in the Sierra Nevada yesterday, a report nearly two years in development. This is the first comprehensive look at the long-term impacts of the Gold Rush on the culture, environment and health of Californians. »

Big Chico Creek Watershed Alliance board member Susan Strachan explained to other alliance members that McManus was asked to speak to the group because of groundwater depressions under the city of Chico and in the Capay area. There are no easy answers, McManus said. »

Two local state senators working to strike a deal on building new reservoirs in the Central Valley might explore that concept further. Sens. Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, and Michael Machado, D-Linden, want to see how much the public would benefit from building a dam on the San Joaquin River near Fresno and another along the Sacramento River in Colusa. »

State Sens. Don Perata, D-Oakland; Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento; and Mike Machado, D-Linden, wrote Schwarzenegger a letter on Feb. 27 condemning plans for an alternate water transfer system to bypass the Delta, rather than run through it.  »

California salmon fishermen might benefit from a $2 million study using genetics and global positioning systems to link the ocean location where fish are caught with the rivers from which they were spawned.  »

So few salmon are living in the ocean and rivers along the Pacific Coast that salmon fishing in California and Oregon will have to be shut down completely this year unless an emergency exception is granted, Pacific Fishery Management Council representatives said Tuesday. »

Now that Lake Davis is open, focus has been redirected from steering committee meetings to the Economic Impact Workgroup, or sub-committee where the question hangs in the air: what has poisoning Lake Davis cost the community and its businesses? »

It used to be simple. Consumers were told to flush their old medications down the toilet. Now that is considered a serious mistake in light of reports of pharmaceuticals in drinking water. »

Wildlife officials moved Wednesday for early closure of seven coastal salmon fishing zones in California and Oregon, a sign of dire conditions facing the Central Valley chinook. »

The grim prospect of a total shutdown of ocean salmon fishing in California and Oregon is forcing anglers, merchants and food servers who rely on the once-thriving fishery to reassess their lives and futures. »

Flood mapping efforts are on track to redraw south Sutter County into a special flood hazard insurance zone this summer. The release of redrawn maps, part of a process called a physical map revision, would start a countdown to mandatory flood insurance for some homeowners by late 2008 or early 2009. »

Completion of a $200 million levee upgrade and the release of a new Federal Emergency Management Agency flood map could overlap, time-wise, in spite of an aggressive construction timeline. »

It takes a lot of water to produce energy. It takes a lot of energy to provide water. The two are inextricably linked, and claims on each are rising. »

Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced a bill on Wednesday that proposes establishing a fund to clean and secure abandoned mining sites.  »

Rest assured the Ridge has clean water, free from pharmaceuticals that have been found in trace amounts in millions of Americans' drinking water.  »

Some Yuba County reclamation district officials were surprised to learn Thursday that levees they maintain are not recognized as strong enough to protect residents in a 100-year flood. »

Federal officials have indicated that they are likely to close the Pacific salmon fishery from northern Oregon to the Mexican border because of the collapse of crucial stocks in California’s major watershed. »

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, believes the economic blow to coastal communities this year will exceed the 2006 salmon disaster, partly because it could affect a greater area and because the sport fishing industry may suffer more than in the previous season. »

Fisheries managers have canceled the early season of ocean fishing for chinook salmon off the coast of Oregon and Northern California because of a collapse of stocks in California rivers. »

The Chinook salmon that swim upstream to spawn in the fall, the most robust run in the Sacramento River, have disappeared. The almost complete collapse of the richest and most dependable source of Chinook salmon south of Alaska left gloomy fisheries experts struggling for reliable explanations — and coming up dry. »

California salmon fishermen, at best, will be allowed to chase a tiny number of treasured chinook on just a few days this year. »

Early each year, Nevada Irrigation District awaits notification from Pacific Gas & Electric on the status of the giant utility's surplus water reserves. And so do farmers in Sutter County. But PG&E has yet to notify NID if surplus water will be available this year. »

Tiny, prolifically reproductive and nonnative, the New Zealand mud snail is just the latest invasive species to take root here. It was discovered in September in Lake Shasta. »

Fourteen months ago, just after being invested with new powers over development in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a state commission faced its first test in the form of a controversial residential project on the grounds of a former sugar beet processing plant along the Sacramento River. »

It's OK to drink the water. That's the consensus of local water providers in the face of a national news story that detailed traces of pharmaceuticals finding their way into some water supplies. »

California's reservoirs and lakes are under siege by an invasive species that has been migrating from the Upper Midwest via the Ukraine.  »

The Anderson family knows the effects of flooding first hand — Mary Anderson's mother-in-law drowned in the 1997 flood — and does not oppose a setback levee along the Feather River. The family only asks to be fairly compensated for the loss of income when its property is taken. »

Two environmental groups say they are preparing to haul officials of the State Water Resources Control Board into court for failing to protect the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta. It says the board has failed to halt the continuing ecological collapse of the estuary by permitting excessive amounts of water to be pumped to western San Joaquin Valley farms and to Southern California.  »

California faces continued increases in international trade, population pressure and climate change, all factors that make the state even more susceptible to new and spreading invasive species. In addition to the damage some of these species will do to agricultural production, some species will also have major impacts on our natural areas and the ecosystem services they provide--the water, fire protection, pollination and recreation we all depend on. To protect our environment and our agriculture, we need all hands on deck, working together.  »

Residents are being urged to stay out of Matson Creek and Wolf Creek in Grass Valley for at least two weeks after 500 gallons of raw sewage flowed into the waterways Monday night. »

After more than three hours of discussion that included a presentation by Deputy Director of Water Resources Pam Francis and feedback from citizens, the Lake County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion to implement 13 strategies to combat the quagga.  »

Nine large projects are seeking a share of the stream of money coming into the local community as a result of the California Department of Water Resources' bid for a license to generate electricity at the Lake Oroville facilities.  »

In 2003, the town of McCloud signed a contract to sell its spring water to Nestlé Waters North America, a subsidiary of the largest food and beverage company in the world. The deal has divided this close-knit town of about 1,350 people. While some support it because they welcome economic development, others object to the lack of public input on the contract, the contact's terms, and the possible environmental effects. »

Amid growing concern over an imminent shutdown of the commercial and sport chinook salmon season, scientists are struggling to figure out why the largest run on the West Coast hit rock bottom and what Californians can do to bring it back. »

Today the Pacific Fishery Management Council formally announced its April 7-12 meeting in Seattle, Washington, where an option for managing West Coast salmon fisheries will be chosen and recommended to National Marine Fisheries Service. »

State wildlife officials arrested nine Sacramento men Friday on charges of poaching salmon and sturgeon in the Sacramento River and Delta, providing another possible clue about why these species are threatened. »

New development fees are being considered to help cover an estimated $162 million increase in the cost of levee projects in Natomas, and could become "deal breakers" for some small projects.  »

Prospects for the completion this year of a Feather River setback levee to protect Plumas Lake and other areas of Yuba County got a boost Friday from a state levee agency. »

There's a lot of work ahead for the new director of the county Department of Water and Resource Conservation. His first steps are to help funnel ideas and create an environment where people with different views can work together on common goals, he said.  »

The California Assembly on Monday approved $5.3 million to restore salmon habitat as federal fisheries managers considered whether to shut down salmon fishing off the California and Oregon coasts. »

Despite salmon numbers dwindling from the northern Oregon border throughout California and proposed fishing bans in the states, Butte Creek may have abundant salmon, maybe even too many.  »

Yuba County is out of time and money when it comes to funding the Feather River setback levee. Tuesday, supervisors learned the project was $11 million short when only five of the anticipated nine Plumas Lake developers signed a funding agreement that would have provided $30 million for the project. »

California has been blessed this winter with an almost perfectly "average" snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, a far sight better than last year's dry conditions. But in times of trouble, average often isn't good enough. »

There's a sale on water right now in Yuba County, and local water officials are expected to take full advantage of the deal. »

Yolo County plans to take another shot today at winning state approval for a controversial housing development in the protected rural heart of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta – but it still faces tough odds. »

The American West is heating up faster than any other region of the United States, and more than the Earth as a whole, according to a new analysis of 50 scientific studies. »

While some suggest the current collapse of the Sacramento chinook salmon run is unprecedented, we are poised to repeat unlearned lessons from a century ago unless conservation measures are enacted that reverse the underlying causes of the salmon decline. »

Construction of the Feather River setback levee back on schedule when Yuba County officials identified a funding source Thursday.That funding source is an agreement between the county and the Yuba County Water Agency to borrow $46.6 million for the project.  »