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In California water news this weekend …
SGMA subbasin round up
Geoff Vanden Heuvel, Director of Regulatory and Economic Affairs at the Milk Producers Council, writes, ““The implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) is a very local endeavor. Of course, the State plays a role, but the actions and decisions about what the policies and rules are for each individual area are determined by local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) for their jurisdictions. Over 90% of California milk production occurs in the San Joaquin Valley and I try to keep up with all the SGMA developments in that area. What follows is an overview of SGMA progress starting in the south and moving northward. … ” Update covers Kern, Tule, Kaweah, Tulare Lake, Delta-Mendota, Kings, Madera, Chowchilla, Merced, Turlock, Modesto, and Easter San Joaquin subbasins. Read more from the Milk Producers Council.
Kings Co. Farm Bureau raising $400k to fund water lawsuit against state
“The Kings County Farm Bureau (KCFB) is asking for help from its members and the surrounding community to fight its lawsuit against the state for putting the Tulare Lake Subbasin on probation for its groundwater management. The KCFB announced Tuesday that it has created a SGMA Defense Fund to support the lawsuit. The backstory: Then Gov. Jerry Brown signed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) into law in 2014, setting up the current battle Kings County farmers are locked into with the state. … ” Read more from the San Joaquin Valley Sun.
Madera Judge asks for more information in lawsuit over fees for groundwater projects
“Round one of a lawsuit brought by a group of farmers against Madera County over land assessment fees left both sides standing — for now. On June 18, Madera County Superior Court Judge Brian Enos inched forward on the county’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the California United Water Coalition. He granted the county’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, but gave the coalition 60 days to provide more information. Meanwhile, the injunction against the fees remains in place. A new hearing date has not been set. “I feel good for now, but this is just round one,” said Robert Bishel, board member of the coalition. Coalition attorney Patrick Gorman agreed, predicting the case would likely drag into 2025. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
California lawmakers reject proposal to curb well-drilling where nearby wells could run dry
“Over the past several years, California’s water managers have seen a pattern emerge in farming areas of the Central Valley: Even as declining groundwater levels have left thousands of residents with dry wells and caused the ground to sink, counties have continued granting permits for agricultural landowners to drill new wells and pump even more water. A bill that was sponsored by the California Department of Water Resources sought to address these problems by prohibiting new high-capacity wells within a quarter-mile of a drinking water well or in areas where the land has been sinking because of overpumping. Despite support from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration, the measure was narrowly rejected in the Senate last week after encountering opposition from the agriculture industry, business groups, local governments and water agencies. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
What does a California ban on salmon mean for the livelihood of fishermen?
“This time of year, Ben Hyman of Wild Local Seafood would like to be out on a boat, fishing for salmon. But for the second year in a row, federal fishery managers have closed all salmon fishing in California. The decision has devastated the state’s fishermen. “The Sacramento River system and the various rivers that stem from it are major producers of king salmon. Some of the largest runs in the world, and especially on the West Coast, have [come] from this river system,” Hyman says. “A lot of the fishing seasons are determined by how many fish make their way up the rivers.” An escapement goal, the base number of salmon that escape the ocean and make it up the river, needs to hit 180,000 to open the season. In 2023, the number barely reached 120,000, so Hyman and his fellow fishermen knew early on they were headed toward a ban. … ” Read more from KCRW.
Beavers are back on Tule River Tribal lands in the Southern Sierra Nevada
“After years of work by the Tule River Tribe, a family of seven beavers has been released into the South Fork Tule River watershed on the Tule River Indian Reservation as part of a multi-year beaver reintroduction effort done in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). Beavers play a critical role in the ecology and stewardship of the land. They build dams that retain water on the landscape, extending seasonal flows, increasing summer baseflows, improving drought and wildfire resilience and better conserving the Tribe’s drinking water supply, of which about 80% comes from the Tule River watershed. CDFW wildlife biologists also expect to eventually see better habitat conditions for a number of endangered amphibian and riparian-obligate bird species, including foothill and southern mountain yellow-legged frogs, western pond turtle, least Bell’s vireo and southwestern willow flycatcher. … ” Read more from the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
How sunflower stars can save California’s vanishing kelp forests
“The Santa Barbara Channel harbors some of the most brilliant and diverse marine ecosystems on the planet. The towering kelp forests that line our coast and surround the Channel Islands provide habitat for over a thousand different species of marine plants, animals and algae, help soften wave action to reduce the threat of erosion to our coastlines, and store carbon to counteract the impacts of climate change. As a Santa Barbara resident and frequent local diver of these magnificent ecosystems, I have experienced firsthand the innate beauty and importance of our underwater kelp cathedrals. However, over the last decade, California has been experiencing an ecological crisis cascading down our coastal oceans that is already disrupting these vital ecosystems close to home. Vast swaths of these sequoias of the sea have been razed, with nothing but miles of barren rock left behind. What is causing this unparalleled ocean deforestation along our coasts? … ” Read more from the Santa Barbara Independent.
California wildfires have already burned 90,000 acres, and summer is just beginning
“California’s summer is off to a fiery start after an explosion of wildfire activity across the state this week, with blazes stretching firefighting resources thin, forcing evacuations and scorching several homes, businesses and bone-dry hillsides. Perilous weather conditions in the last days of spring before Thursday — strong winds, low humidity and high temperatures — fueled flames from Los Angeles County to Colusa County north of Sacramento, with more than 30 wildfires igniting, including two of the state’s largest this year that each surpassed 15,000 acres in a matter of hours, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The early boom in wildfires is casting new concerns about what the rest of 2024 will bring, especially with the hottest months ahead and another heat dome forecast for interior California this weekend. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
In people news this weekend …
Promotions, passings, profiles – submit people news items to maven@mavensnotebook.com.
Adel Hagekhalil: Southern California’s embattled ‘water doctor’
“As general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Adel Hagekhalil has overseen a public agency that’s responsible for supplying the water that 19 million people drink. And he has been playing a leading role in efforts to transform how Southern California manages water, one of the most consequential issues the region faces as climate change continues to upend the water cycle. Discover the changemakers who are shaping every cultural corner of Los Angeles. This week we bring you The Civic Center, a collection that includes a groundbreaking mayor, a housing advocate, a giver of food and others who are the backbone of Los Angeles. Come back each Sunday for another installment. His influence in this critical sphere currently hangs in the balance. Earlier this month, the water district’s board placed Hagekhalil on leave as it investigates harassment allegations by his chief financial officer that he denies. With him sidelined, some of his supporters are concerned the policies he has been pursuing could be affected. … ” Read more from the LA Times. | Read via AOL News.
Podcasts …
FISH WATER PEOPLE: A historic win for Southern Steelhead: Understanding the endangered listing, with Dr. Sandra Jacobson and Redgie Collins
Step into the spotlight with Southern steelhead! These iconic fish are making headlines from Politico to the LA Times, but what’s behind the buzz? Dive into the latest episode of the Fish Water People podcast, where Dr. Sandra Jacobson, CalTrout’s South Coast and Sierra Headwaters Regional Director, and Redgie Collins, CalTrout’s Legal and Policy Director, explore the landmark decision to list Southern steelhead as endangered under California’s Endangered Species Act.
TALKING UNDER WATER: One year after Sackett v. EPA: What’s next?
In this episode of Talking Under Water, Duke McCall, partner in Environmental Counseling & Litigation at Morgan Lewis, discusses the 1-year anniversary of the Sackett vs. EPA ruling. The Supreme Court’s decision on Sackett v. EPA significantly altered ‘waters of the United States,’ only allowing the regulation of wetlands that are indistinguishable from a protected body of water. In this interview, McCall discusses what has happened in the year since the ruling, work that has been done since and how the ruling has impacted it and where the industry goes from here.
WATER IS A MANY SPLENDOR’ED THING PODCAST: Rethinking Prior Appropriation
Some people wonder if the prior appropriative doctrine is still working well. Rachael Osborn, Center for the Environmental Law and Policy in Spokane, Washington focuses on protecting fresh waters of western Washington. She feels current water law doesn’t use water efficiently and is inequitable. Enormous conflicts are in our future. Rachael is an advocate to changing the prior appropriative doctrine if the changes can consider water that drives the economy. It’s about how we see our connection with the environment and each other. Water is a Many Splendor’ed Thing brings you another water relationship that has a personally significant impact to your life. Produced by Steven Baker, Bringing People Together to Solve Water Problems, water@operationunite.co 530-205-6388
In regional water news this weekend …
NORTH COAST
Shasta River watershed: Water Rights Junior to January 1,1958 must cease diversions immediately
“Water rights in the Shasta River watershed with a priority date of or junior to January 1, 1958, must cease diversions immediately. These water rights have been changed from a status of “conditionally curtailed” to “curtailed” as noted in this email and the online curtailment mapping tool. Under the terms of Order WR 2024-0006-DWR, ordering paragraph 4, diverters with a priority of or junior to January 1, 1958, must check daily to determine whether diversion is permissible when flows are below 55 cfs at the Yreka USGS gage (for May – September 15). Water rights with priority dates of, or between November 25, 1912, and December 31, 1957, remain conditionally curtailed and these diverters must curtail in order of priority to meet and sustain the flow requirement of 50 cubic feet per second (cfs) at the Yreka United States Geological Survey (USGS) gage. … ” Continue reading this notice from the State Water Resource Control Board.
BAY AREA
Marin Municipal Water District renews focus on desalination
“The Marin Municipal Water District is revisiting the possibility of constructing a desalination plant, this time taking a closer look at the cost to produce drinking water during a drought. The reason for the focused cost analysis is because while a desal plant could provide a great supply, the district has limited storage capacity, Paul Sellier, water resource manager, told the board of directors at its meeting on Tuesday. “Our reservoirs are going to be spilling,” Sellier said. “So we’ll be operating this plant in years when we don’t really need to.” With that in mind, staff presented findings where the cost of water produced by such a plant is based on a four-year drought scenario. The analysis also assumes a 25-year service life before plant upgrades would be needed. … ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal.
Marin reservoir connection plan delayed by creek habitat concerns
“The Marin Municipal Water District has paused a $10 million project to pump water from Phoenix Lake to Bon Tempe Reservoir over concerns that more could be done to mitigate the effect on creeks. District staff hoped the board would approve the project at its meeting on Tuesday so that they can begin ordering materials, including 6,300 feet of 18-inch pipe needed for construction to begin this fall. The project has been identified as a quick way to increase water supply. However, local environmentalists told the board they are worried the plan ignores the quality of habitat for steelhead trout, a federally listed threatened species, in Ross Creek and Corte Madera Creek. Phoenix Lake, the district’s smallest reservoir, is in the Corte Madera Creek Watershed. … ” Continue reading from the Marin Independent Journal.
Spiraling costs and big design flaws: S.F.’s public projects need more oversight, report says
“Several big city infrastructure projects went over budget, struggled with construction and design flaws, and were built in inappropriate locations, according to a harsh new San Francisco report. The San Francisco Civil Grand Jury is blaming San Francisco Public Works’ byzantine bureaucracy for a host of problems with large infrastructure projects built in recent years as detailed in a report released Thursday and titled “Building San Francisco: Designing, Constructing and Maintaining city Infrastructure.” Public Works is currently completing over $5.5 billion of construction projects. The report comes as San Francisco voters look to City Hall to get a handle on the skyrocketing cost of delivering public projects such as tiny cabins for the homeless, custom garbage cans and public toilets in parks. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Eight years, ten miles and $325 million later, first phase of Friant-Kern Canal fix celebrated
“Sun-kissed waters flowing south in the Friant-Kern Canal provided a perfect backdrop on a hot summer morning for a ribbon-cutting celebration that drew more than 100 people, including a who’s-who of local, state and federal water managers. An upbeat mood pervaded the gathering Friday, June 21, which marked the completion of Phase I of the Middle Reach Capacity Correction Project. As its name suggests, the massive, $325 million construction project in the middle portion of the 152-mile long canal adds room to the canal’s carrying capacity. About 1,000 cubic feet per second, to be exact. “We identified this project in 2017, broke ground in 2022, and in 2024, we’re holding a ribbon cutting,” said Kristin White, deputy regional director of the Bureau of Reclamation’s California-Great Basin region. “This has got to be a record for a federally-led infrastructure project.” … ” Read more from SJV Water.
SEE ALSO: Reclamation and partners celebrate completion of critical water supply infrastructure for San Joaquin Valley, press release from the Bureau of Reclamation
Domestic well program gets mini launch in Tule subbasin as water managers worry about one agency’s ability to pay its share long term
“Board members of Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainablity Agency signed a deal with Self-Help Enterprises this week to respond to dry or damaged drinking water wells. The deal may, or may not, be extended throughout the Tule subbasin as part of a larger effort by managers to revamp their groundwater plan and submit it to the state Water Resources Control Board by July 1 to try and stave off state intervention. But if this one piece of the larger puzzle is any indication, July 1 may be a pipe dream for a cohesive plan as other water managers are negotiating their own deals with Self-Help and questioning Eastern Tule’s ability to pay for a well program long term. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
Kings River’s 2022-23 runoff sets a record
“The 2023-24 WATER YEAR still has a week to go but Kings River runoff has already established an all-time record as a result of the past winter’s massive Sierra Nevada snowstorms and significant summer rainfall. The Kings River Water Association now expects that when the current water year concludes Saturday, September 30, the river’s annual runoff will total approximately 4.5 million acre-feet. Kings River Watermaster Steve Haugen said this year’s total runoff eclipsed the river’s 40-yearold water supply record on Sunday, September 17. That’s when the 2022-23 total passed 4.4763 million acre-feet, the amount of unimpeded full calculated natural flow that occurred in another big central Sierra water year, 1982-83. … ” Read more from California Ag Today.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Toxic algae closes swim zone at Lake Hemet for summer season
“Lake Hemet will be closed for swimming this summer due to toxic algae that has bloomed at area lakes in recent months, officials announced earlier this week. In a social media post, Lake Hemet Campground said it received test results Tuesday, June 18, showing that while there has been some improvement, enough algae is present to keep swimmers out of the water even as temperatures begin to climb. Kayaking is allowed as of June 13 at the lake near Mountain Center in the San Jacinto Mountains. “We thoroughly enjoy being able to offer a seasonal swim zone to our summer camping guests but their safety is always our top priority here,” campground officials said in the social media post Tuesday. “Access to swimming is never guaranteed with a camping reservation but we understand very much the letdown that occurs when it becomes unavailable. Our team shares in that disappointment with you.” … ” Read more from the San Bernardino Sun.
Along the Colorado River …
Supreme Court Rio Grande ruling could ripple through other water cases
“The Supreme Court’s new ruling that rejected a state-authored settlement in the long-running legal battle over the Rio Grande could bolster the federal government’s position in negotiations over other Western waterways — including the Colorado River. The court Friday ruled 5-4 in favor of the Biden administration to rebuff the proposed settlement among the three Western states named in Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado over how to account for water use in the Rio Grande River Basin. “Our decision today follows directly from our prior recognition of the United States’ distinct federal interests in the Rio Grande Compact,” wrote Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who led the majority opinion. “Having acknowledged those interests, and having allowed the United States to intervene to assert them, we cannot now allow Texas and New Mexico to leave the United States up the river without a paddle.” … ” Read more from E&E News.
Colorado’s attorney general pledges to find solution over Rio Grande after Supreme Court rejects water-sharing deal with Texas, New Mexico
“Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser pledged to keep working with other states to find a solution to sharing water in the Rio Grande, site of a decades-long dispute. The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected a settlement between Colorado, Texas and New Mexico over the management of one of North America’s longest rivers. In a 5-4 decision, the justices ruled that the water-sharing deal between Texas and New Mexico can’t go through because the federal government still has concerns about New Mexico water use on the Rio Grande, which Colorado also draws from. “Having acknowledged those interests, and having allowed the United States to intervene to assert them, we cannot now allow Texas and New Mexico to leave the United States up the river without a paddle,” said Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, reading the majority opinion, which crossed ideological lines as it was joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh and John Roberts. … ” Read more from Colorado Public Radio.
