California water regulators propose relaxing conservation standards for some cities

State regulators say they're considering relaxing conservation targets that have required some California communities to cut use by 25 percent during historic drought. Max Gomberg of the State Water Resources Control Board said Monday that inland communities in hot regions and those that use new sources, such as recycled water and new desalination plants, could be eligible for lowered...

FEMA preps agencies for El Nino response

Forecasters predict the weather phenomenon known as El Nino to arrive in the early part of next year, which is why local, state and federal emergency responders are training now...

Another warm water phenomenon adding to El Nino

There have been numerous unusual wildlife sightings off the California coast and in San Francisco Bay of late. Some people are blaming the increased animal activity on El Nino, but something else is out there too.

Water wasters fined $61,000

Bay Area residents helped the state meet water conservation goals in September, according to new numbers released Friday...

EBMUD list of excessive water users includes former Warrior

East Bay MUD once again released a list of its heaviest water users Thursday, and the numbers are astonishing. Some Contra Costa County customers are using 5,000 gallons, 7,800 gallons and even 9,600 gallons every day.

Evidence mounts for El Nino that could ease drought

Evidence is mounting that the El Nino ocean-warming phenomenon in the Pacific will spawn a rainy winter in California, potentially easing the state's punishing drought but also bringing the risk of chaotic storms like those that battered the region in the late 1990s.

Scientists: Drought stressing California's Giant Sequoias

Giant Sequoias growing in California's Sierra Nevada are among the largest and oldest living things on earth, but scientists climbing high up into their green canopies say they are seeing symptoms of stress caused by the state's historic drought.

Expert says heavy NorCal rains likely from forthcoming El Niño

OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) --  In urging all of us to keep conserving because the coming winter could extend our drought, no less that the state climatologist issued this statement Thursday: "Strong El Niño events in the past have led to wetter-than-average conditions in the southern part of the state but offered mixed results for California's main water supply regions in the north."

Officials work to stop thefts of Native American artifacts

LAKEPORT, Calif. (AP) — The four-year drought that has ravaged California and the wildfires charring through the state's dry forests have exposed prehistoric Native American sites as water levels drop and thick brush and poison oak are burned away.