Water Levels

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - For decades this rural basin has battled over the Klamath River's most precious resource: water that sustains fish, irrigates farms and powers the hydroelectric dams that block one of the largest salmon runs on the West Coast. Now, one of the nation's fiercest water wars is on the verge of erupting again. New water rights have given a group of Oregon Indian tribes an upper hand just as the region plunges into a severe drought . Farmers and wildlife refuges could be soon cut off by the Klamath Tribes, which in March were granted the Upper Klamath Basin's oldest water rights to the lake and tributaries that feed the mighty river flowing from arid southern Oregon to the foggy redwoods of the Northern California coast.

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - For decades this rural basin has battled over the Klamath River's most precious resource: water that sustains fish, irrigates farms and powers the hydroelectric dams that block one of the largest salmon runs on the West Coast. Now, one of the nation's fiercest water wars is on the verge of erupting again. New water rights have given a group of Oregon Indian tribes an upper hand just as the region plunges into a severe drought . Farmers and wildlife refuges could be soon cut off by the Klamath Tribes, which in March were granted the Upper Klamath Basin's oldest water rights to the lake and tributaries that feed the mighty river flowing from arid southern Oregon to the foggy redwoods of the Northern California coast.

Re "A bid to make the desert bloom," Column One, May 19 The article reads like a commercial for Gregory Perlman's grandiose vision for Borrego Springs. It does a huge disservice by quickly glossing over the fact that the town's aquifer is getting lower each year and will eventually tap out because of all the development. Developing areas in inland deserts is environmentally unsustainable in the long run -- just look at the ever-growing water needs of Las Vegas. Robert Hemedes Los Angeles

Isaac may have left , but its legacy along the Gulf Coast was still developing Friday. Authorities and residents of Louisiana and Mississippi were contending with flooding, evacuations and cleanup , and the official death toll rose to seven.   In Ascension Parish, about 60 miles west of New Orleans, a voluntary evacuation was announced because of flooding from nearby Lake Maurepas that struck at least 10 homes. The parish, home to about 120,000, saw the worst flooding in many residents' lifetimes - worse than during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 or floods in 1983 and 1977, according to Ascension Parish spokesman Lester Kenyon.

The issue of Ormond Beach and flooding will again be addressed tonight by the Oxnard City Council. For the last two months, business owners near the lagoon at Ormond Beach have expressed concern about high water levels and the possibility of flooding if there is rain. City officials will consider today sending a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers in support of reducing the lagoon's water level by two feet.

Recent storms have muddied the waters and slowed fishing temporarily in many popular Southland lakes, but water levels have increased dramatically. Randy King reported from Lake Casitas near Ventura that the level is up 14 feet from Feb. 28 and still rising--but still down 40 from normal. "We got back everything (the water users) used last year," King said. "Now if the water gets warmer, we'll really take off." Jack Dempsey at Lake Isabella said, "These four weeks of storms have really helped.

For safety, the state Department of Water Resources has ordered California-American Water Co. to lower water levels at San Clemente Dam on the Carmel River in Monterey County. Michael J. Spear, the department's interim director, issued the order Thursday in a letter to CalAm President Paul Townsley. The order provides that the storage level at San Clemente Dam, located two miles upstream of Carmel Valley Village, be maintained 10 feet below the spillway crest year round, until further notice.

The annual springtime rise in water levels in the Great Lakes now arrives nearly a month earlier than it did 139 years ago, perhaps as a result of global warming, Wisconsin researchers say. The water levels rise as snow melts in the region, and the earlier appearance suggests that springtime is coming earlier in the year, climatologist John D. Lenters of the University of Wisconsin reported Wednesday at a meeting of the International Assn. of Great Lakes Research.

The dried-out wooden pilings beneath Lewis Lloyd's multimillion-dollar Beacon Hill town house were rotting out from under him. "You could stick a screwdriver in up to the handle," said the 67-year-old retired media executive. Groundwater levels have been dropping for years in some Boston neighborhoods, exposing the wooden supports that have propped up the city for more than a century. Without the protecting embrace of water, the pilings quickly rot, posing expensive problems for property owners.

Drought is causing America's great river highway, the mighty Mississippi, to run low on water. One of the driest spring seasons in a half-century is also dropping water levels dangerously low on other rivers, great and small, that depend on watersheds in the Midwest, Southeast and Northwest to keep them flowing.

LAKE PROVIDENCE, La. - Eight grim-faced men sit in a cramped, impromptu war room in the shadow of a levee on the Mississippi River. With laptops opened to Web pages of the National Weather Service and the Army Corps of Engineers, the group of farmers, grain brokers and barge operators is engaged in what humans have grappled with for more than 200 years in the Mississippi Delta: puzzling out the latest blow from a stubborn river that refuses every...

NEW ORLEANS -- Isaac continued its slow march across Louisiana on Thursday as rising floodwaters forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate and officials launched a “controlled” release of water from a storm-stressed dam along the border with Mississippi. At least one death was reported . As evening approached on another soggy Gulf Coast day, hundreds of homes remained underwater and thousands of residents scrambled to emergency shelters. At least 500 people who had gambled on riding out the storm were rescued by helicopter or boat.

SEATTLE - Pike Place Market. The Space Needle. Pioneer Square. Check, check and check. If you've hit these obvious Seattle destinations, you're not a newbie. But maybe you're not an insider either. So, this 21-stop Seattle checklist is for you. It skirts those three attractions and several other popular stops to make more room for Ballard, Capitol Hill, Fremont and the University District - four asset-rich Seattle neighborhoods my family and I explored on a visit last summer.

As people stroll Balboa Island's picturesque waterfront, some wonder how much one of those cozy cottages costs. City officials think about another price tag: how much it will take to defend those homes against rising sea levels. City engineers revealed last month that it could cost about $60 million to replace Balboa Island's aging seawalls; otherwise, residents could risk more high tides washing into their streets and homes. The island, 4 to 8 feet above sea level, represents only a small portion of coastal communities' looming problems from climate change.

Search-and-rescue teams have spent days scouring the banks of the Merced River in Yosemite National Park after three people were swept away over Vernal Fall, but it could be weeks — even months — before the victims are found, park officials said. Treacherous river conditions caused by a larger-than-normal snow pack this winter have so far limited the search to foot patrols. "There's so much water and so much churning and so much power behind that water that it would just be completely unsafe to insert park rangers and search-and-rescue divers into the water," said park spokeswoman Kari Cobb.

Lake Okeechobee's declining water level once again threatens to generate water-supply ripple effects throughout south Florida, leaving less water for thirsty crops and lawns as well as an ecosystem trying to rebound from years of abuse. The big lake is south Florida's backup water supply, relied on to replenish drinking water for some communities and tapped for irrigation by sugar cane growers and other farmers. During droughts, the lake also is a barometer for water conditions across the region.

The steelhead trout in San Mateo Creek just south of San Clemente are a hardy bunch. After all, they are living in a stream previously thought to be inhospitable to the endangered fish. However, water levels are falling fast in the small ponds holding the steelhead, prompting California Department of Fish and Game biologist Alex Vejar to take action.

An invasion of trout fishermen is about to begin and, with few exceptions, the thousands who will partake in opening day on Saturday should find conditions throughout the Eastern Sierra to their liking. Extended forecast: Mostly clear with daytime temperatures from 50 to 75 degrees.

Floodwaters in Australia's Queensland state created havoc in at least 22 cities and towns throughout the region grappling with several weeks of devastating rains, officials said Monday. At least three people have been killed in the flooding since Saturday, and Queensland officials said as many as 10 have died in weather-related incidents beginning in late November. About 200,000 people have been affected by the flooding, with many leaving their homes and seeking rest and food at relief centers, officials said.

For the last few years, water officials in southeast Queensland watched as the worst drought on record dragged on. Even with conservation efforts well underway -- including an absolute ban on watering lawns -- there was simply not enough water to meet the needs of one of Australia's fastest-growing regions. "Being honest with you, we had done all the easy and straightforward restriction measures," said John Bradley, chief executive officer for the Queensland Water Commission. To combat what they saw as a burgeoning crisis, state officials in 2007 began investing $9 billion to improve Queensland's water infrastructure, establishing a regional water grid, opening a desalination plant and building the largest water recycling project in the Southern Hemisphere.