The Once and Future Delta: Mending the broken heart of California

Bay Nature | April 1st, 2010

On March 30, 1772, Spanish explorer Pedro Pages was traveling east along the south shore of Suisun Bay, looking for a land route around the seemingly endless chain of b

On March 30, 1772, Spanish explorer Pedro Pages was traveling east along the south shore of Suisun Bay, looking for a land route around the seemingly endless chain of bays extending inland from the Golden Gate. Mounting to Willow Pass, the rise of land between present-day Concord and Pittsburg, he found himself staring at a new obstacle: an enormous expanse of marshland, threaded with bright channels. He had "discovered" the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

The Steam Wells of California

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | May 5th, 1928

The utilisation of the steam of the soffioni of Tuscany as a source of mechanical power has steadily developed since 1904 when the first pioneer experiments were

The utilisation of the steam of the soffioni of Tuscany as a source of mechanical power has steadily developed since 1904 when the first pioneer experiments were carried out at Larderello by Prince Ginori Conti. The remarkable results which have since been achieved were described in NATURE of Jan. 14 last. Similar sources of geothermal energy were first tapped in California in 1921, and since then several deep wells have been successfully sunk, some of them being superior both in pressure and steam output to any yet reported from Italy. The active region is known as ‘The Geysers,’ and lies on the western side of the St. Helena Range, one of the coast ranges of California. Along a line some twentyfive miles in length, which appears to mark a fault or shatter belt, hot springs, some of which are associated with quicksilver deposits, occur at intervals. There are no actual geysers at ‘The Geysers,’ but over an area of thirty-five acres the ground is dotted with hot springs and fumaroles and salt patches, and steam and gases are constantly seeping through the surface. A thorough investigation of the locality has been made by Dr. E. T. Allen and Dr. A. L. Day, and the results, beautifully published by the Carnegie Institution of Washington,1 add very materially to our knowledge of subterranean supplies of magmatic steam.

The System of the River: Francis Newlands and the Improbable Quest to Irrigate the West

Stanford University | June 28th, 2018

The Transfer of Water Rights In California: Background and Issues

Governor's Commission to Review Water Rights Law | December 1st, 1977

This paper is part of a series of background and issue papers prepared by the staff of the Governor's Commission to Review Water Rights Law. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. 

This paper is part of a series of background and issue papers prepared by the staff of the Governor's Commission to Review Water Rights Law. TABLE OF CONTENTS I.  Water is a Marketable Resource II.  Legal Impediments to Water Rights Transfers in California III.  A Selective Review of Recent Water Rights Transfers in California IV.  Issues

The Water Districts of California

Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) | April 1st, 1979

Tijuana River Valley Historical Ecology Investigation

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | January 2nd, 2017

The Tijuana River Valley Historical Ecology Investigation addresses a regional data gap by reconstructing the landscape and ecosystem characteristics of the river valley

The Tijuana River Valley Historical Ecology Investigation addresses a regional data gap by reconstructing the landscape and ecosystem characteristics of the river valley prior to the major modifications of the late 19th and 20th centuries. The research presented here, funded by the California State Coastal Conservancy, supplies foundational information at the regional and system scale about how the Tijuana Estuary, River, and valley looked and functioned in the recent past, as well as how they have changed over time. The ultimate goal of this study is to provide a new tool and framework that, in combination with contemporary research and future projections, can support and guide ongoing restoration design, planning, and management efforts in the valley.

To Quench a Thirst

San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) | October 10th, 2023

The story has three parts: the first tells how the early residents lived with their local resources; the second, which begins in the 1920s, tells the story of how the [Sa

The story has three parts: the first tells how the early residents lived with their local resources; the second, which begins in the 1920s, tells the story of how the [San Diego County] region has become heavily dependent on imported water, and the third is just starting. It is the part of the story about how the region will learn to thrive in a changing climate that has turned 20th century norms for water and weather upside down.

Unwatering the Comstock Lode

Scientific American | November 4th, 1899

AN operation of immense interest to miners and mining generally has been in progress for the past five months in Nevada, in the district embracing the well known Comsto

AN operation of immense interest to miners and mining generally has been in progress for the past five months in Nevada, in the district embracing the well known Comstock mines. The remarkable circumstances connected with the discovery and development of the wonderful lode upon which these famous mines are located is a matter of comparatively recent history—too recent to require more than a passing reference. The wild speculation, which followed their discovery, forms one of the most thrilling pages of the annals of the Far West. It is estimated that up to the year 1886 the assay value of the gold and silver extracted from these mines amounted to $500.000,000. It was during this period of greatest production that the race of California multi-millionaires arose. Up to 1886 the exploration of all the territory embraced in the Comstock lode was industriously pursued, one shaft reaching a depth of 3,300 feet, but the exhaustion of ore bodies of high grade and the large expense attending milling and mining together with the heavy tax necessary in controlling the enormous volumes of water which every where flowed from the ground caused an abandonment of all mining below the 1,600-foot level. Another element of difficulty was the high temperatures experienced on the deeper levels, which increased as the shafts were lowered until miners were able only to work in shifts of a few moments in length. In a few months the water arose to within 1,640 feet of the surface opening of the Consolidated California and Virginia shaft, and at that level it has remained for nearly thirteen years. Above this level mining has been prosecuted with some success since the lower levels were flooded, and it is now believed that all pay ore bodies above the 1,600-foot level are practically exhausted.

Urban Water Systems—A Conceptual Framework

I.B. Tauris (Bloomsbury) | December 1st, 2014

We will here show how a focus on water/urban relationships can further our knowledge of city developments, and how urban studies can deepen our understanding of the rol

We will here show how a focus on water/urban relationships can further our knowledge of city developments, and how urban studies can deepen our understanding of the role of water in societies. The basic premises for this proposal are two facts of huge importance for understanding the history and development of the city; the universal needs of water and the actual, physical waterscape at a given place. All urban dwellers1—from the first few people who settled around a natural spring in a desert in Jericho and built a wall around it almost 10,000 years ago, to the Incas living in the royal city Machu Picchu on a mountain top in the Andes, to stock traders relaxing in spacious apartments in a skyscraper on Manhattan, and to the party officials assembled for one of their meetings in a grand conference hall in Beijing—share the need for one resource: water. The theoretical and empirical importance of this state of affairs can hardly be overestimated: these people all need water to survive, and as long as they live in cities, it has to be provided in one way or another. Water is the only universal urban resource that in this sense is a must and that can be controlled in this strict understanding of the word.

Ventura River Watershed Management Plan

Ventura River Watershed Council | March 13th, 2015

The Ventura River watershed is a rare and remarkable coastal southern California treasure; it is water-self-reliant, providing clean water to many farms and residents bot

The Ventura River watershed is a rare and remarkable coastal southern California treasure; it is water-self-reliant, providing clean water to many farms and residents both within and outside its boundaries. Stream networks in surrounding watersheds are often channelized and hard to recognize as streams; in the Ventura River watershed river and streams are largely unchannelized. Urban development dominates much of the landscape of southern California; yet cities comprise only three percent of the Ventura River watershed, and developed land only 13%. A unique set of circumstances has left this small watershed with a relatively healthy ecosystem, containing over 100 special status plant and animal species. Introductory chapters 1, 2. Part 1 About this Plan Part 2 Watershed Plan, Projects,and Programs Part 3 Watershed Characteristics Part 4 References and Supporting Materials