Peter Gleick: Stealing Water from the Future – California’s Massive Groundwater Overdraft Newly Revealed

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A NASA report summarizing data collected from new satellites confirms what most water observers have known for a long time. Massive amounts of groundwater are being sucked out of California's Central Valley groundwater aquifers -- unreported, unmonitored, and unregulated.

Drought Causes Record Low Water Allocations for California

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Climate conditions and regulations are causing California to reassess water allocation, potentially taking drastic conservation measures.

Peter Gleick: Prepare Now for Another Dry Year

The western United States is still in a drought. If you have any doubts, take a look at the latest map from the U.S. Drought Monitor. Maybe we'll be lucky and the rains will start soon and be healthy. But California water agencies and users must begin planning for another dry year.

Peter Gleick: California Water Bills. Is the New Water Legislation Better than Nothing?

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A lot of people have asked me my opinion about the new water legislation just passed in Sacramento. Here is a longer version of my piece in the New York Times Bay Area blog page

Peter Gleick: Doing Desalination Wrong: Poseidon on the Public Dole

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Many people believe that desalination of seawater is the ultimate solution to California (and the planet's) water problems. I've written about desalination in previous posts (see here and here), and have made it clear that I love the idea. In theory. And in select locations.

Peter Gleick: Who Is Stealing California’s Water?

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Someone is stealing our water. Many someones. But who and how much? No one knows today, mostly because the agency responsible for keeping an eye on water rights and use--the State Water Resources Control Board--is blind, deaf, and dumb. Blind, because they don't look. Deaf, because they don't listen to or act on most requests to investigate water rights allocations and use. Dumb, because they don't talk about these issues. "Asleep at the switch," as a colleague describes it.

Peter Gleick: Water use in the United States has Leveled off: New Remarkable Numbers Released

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New numbers on total water use in the United States in 2005 have just been released by the U.S. Geological Survey, which does an assessment of water use every five years.

U.S. Water Use Declines, But Points to Troubling Trends, Says USGS Report

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U.S. Geological Survey's newest five-year report (2000-2005) reveals positive trends and potential problems for U.S. water use.

California Right to Water Bill Vetoed

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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) vetoed a bill last week that would have included a right to “clean, affordable, and accessible water” in the state’s legislation.

Peter Gleick: Destroying our Libraries: A Water Story

Libary of Alexandria, Courtesy: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:DomitoriIn 49 BC, parts of the priceless Library of Alexandria burned, when Julius Caesar set a fire to the Egyptian fleet in the harbor and the fire spread.

America’s Water Supply: Scarcity Becoming Endemic

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Americans have good reason to be concerned about the future of the nation’s supply of clean fresh water, according to state and federal research and resource agencies.

Solar Power Plants Drain Desert Waters

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The push for renewable energy through low-carbon alternatives could further compromise water resources