Seaguls from the coast fly far inland and into the dry landscape of California's Central Valley.

Drought Exposes Vulnerabilities in California Water Management

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California is poorly prepared for another severely dry year
John Burchard, General Manager of the Alpaugh Community Services District, walks a ditch bank on the outskirts of town. The small farmworker community in California's Central Valley suffers from high levels of arsenic and other contaminates in its drinking water.

New Era of Much Drier Conditions Forecast For California

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Federal and state agencies, communities and businesses not positioned well enough to respond, says new Circle of Blue report.

Peter Gleick: Learning from Drought: Five Priorities for California

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Droughts – especially severe droughts – are terribly damaging events. The human and ecosystem costs can be enormous, as we may relearn during the current California drought.

California, Texas, and the Southwestern U.S. Face a Critical Year for Water Supplies: 2014 Preview, Part I

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After a dry 2013, reservoirs are near record lows for the start of a calendar year, setting the table for widespread water restrictions, reduced agricultural and energy production, and political bickering in 2014.
Groundhog Day Bill Murray California Drought Aubrey Ann Parker Circle of Blue

Groundhog Day & California’s Drought

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Like the 1993 classic film starring Bill Murray, the state is stuck in a perpetual time loop of drought, wildfire, and civic dispute, according to managing editor Aubrey Ann Parker.

California Drought Saps Water Reserves Above and Below Ground, Says Satellite Data

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Snow is scarce, reservoirs are approaching bottom, and groundwater is being exhausted in the nation’s most populous state. More than a dozen communities face water shortages in the next 60 to 100 days, and there will be zero water deliveries from the state’s largest canal system this year.
Juan Diego Hernandez, 9, bathes at his family's home in Alpaugh. The small farmworker community in California's Central Valley suffers from high levels of arsenic and other contaminates in its water.

Video: Water Crisis in California’s Central Valley from Photographer Matt Black

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Water Crisis in California's Central Valley from Photographer Matt Black

Peter Gleick: What Californians Can Expect from the Drought

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It is now early 2014 and the rains have not come, for the third year in a row.
A male Chinook Salmon is measured and tagged after being caught in a "Fyke Net," in the San Joaquin River. The fish will be transported upstream by truck, bypassing obstacles, on its way to the historic Salmon spawning grounds near Fresno in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

The Law and The Fish

In the competition for water, fish are on the frontlines.
A worker inspects a valve in the Pleasant Valley Pumping Plant, a facility that supplies irrgation water to the Central Valley's vast Westlands Water District.

Getting Off the Pipe

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In Metro L.A., Searching for Local Water.
Seaguls from the coast fly far inland and into the dry landscape of California's Central Valley.

Big Water Supply Project Creates Unease in Delta

Farms, Wildlife Preserves in the Tunnels’ Path.
An overview map of the Central Valley project at the C.W. Jones Pumping Plant, a federal facility which supplies water to the project's network of irrigation canals and reservoirs.

Photo Slideshow: California’s Lingering Drought and Pollution Defy Solutions

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Less snowmelt from Sierra Nevada leads to more pumping of Central Valley’s contaminated groundwater.