Sacramento Bee

The State Water Resources Board proposed a $1.5 million fine against the Byron-Bethany Irrigation District in northern California for "unauthorized diversion and use of water," the first such action against a senior rights holder, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Five water districts sued California's State Water Resources Board over its decision to ban senior water rights holders from drawing water out of rivers and streams in the Sacramento and San Joaquin watersheds, said the Sacramento Bee.

A state survey shows a 30-percent drop in the population of breeding waterfowl in California in one year due to drought and poor habitat, says the Sacramento Bee.

State regulators have reduced water discharge from Lake Shasta in Northern California in hopes of boosting the survival rate of juvenile fish threatened with extinction, says the Sacramento Bee.

Growers in California harvested a record crop of tomatoes for processing, the thick-skinned varieties used in making soup and pasta sauces, says Bloomberg.

The magnitude 6.0 earthquake in California's Napa wine country damaged buildings and wine held in storage at some wineries.

Olive trees are taking root as a cash crop in California, with the drought as an inducement, says the Sacramento Bee, which cites a farmer who switched to olives from rice.