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On the calendar today …
- MEETING: Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program (ILRP) Stakeholder Meeting from 10am to 12pm. The tentative agenda currently includes a focused discussion on a workplan to address uncertainties and validate the Groundwater Protection Formula, Values and Targets developed for the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program. The workplan was developed collaboratively by several third-party Coalitions representing growers within the Central Valley region. Join Zoom meeting: https://waterboards.zoom.us/j/99992210865
- WORKSHOP: Temporary Permitting Process Overview from 10am to 11:30am. The purpose of the workshop is to provide prospective applicants with an overview of the temporary permitting process for groundwater recharge projects and to provide tips for successful filing. Join the meeting now. Click here for the workshop notice.
- WEBINAR: Delta Research Award Seminar Series from 10:30am to 12:00pm. This week’s presentations: HABs and Cyanotoxins in the Delta: Occurrence, Distribution, Trends and Environmental Drivers; and Addressing CyanoHABs as a Threat to Water and Air Quality in the San Francisco Bay-Delta, CA.Click here to register.
- WEBINAR: Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Emerging Environmental Impacts of Tire Wear Particles and Their Chemical Cocktails from 11am to 12:15pm. This presentation will cover the scope and scale of tire pollution and discuss efforts across the US EPA and globally to address the issue of tire-related pollution. Click here to register.
- SoCAL WATER DIALOG: Accessible and Understandable Water Data? Why We Can’t Do Without It? from 12pm to 1:30pm. The Water Dialogue speakers from the SWQCB’s Office of Information Management will explore how changes are taking place to ensure that data is transparent and accessible and that it flows to where it is needed in a timely manner. They will speak on how data is shared with other agencies and the public, ongoing efforts to train staff to speak the language of data science, and how their efforts are spurring innovation. In addition, Evelyn Wendel, with WeTAP, will speak about the ongoing efforts to encourage the drinking of tap water, reducing dependence on single-use plastic bottles, and the role utilities can play in educating the public about water quality. Click here to register.
In California water news today …
New California drinking water report to guide distribution of $855 million to communities in need
“Advancing the state’s ongoing work to provide access to safe drinking water for every Californian, the State Water Resources Control Board today released its fourth Drinking Water Needs Assessment and proposed plans to distribute about $855 million in financial assistance over the next year for projects that address drinking water needs in disadvantaged communities and emerging contaminants. The Needs Assessment informs the priorities of the State Water Board’s Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) drinking water program, which was established in 2019 under legislation signed by Governor Newsom. SAFER advances sustainable solutions for access to safe drinking water in disadvantaged communities, and the annual plans for the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund (SADWF) and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) guide the distribution of the bulk of this drinking water assistance. … ” Read more from the State Water Resources Control Board.
Drinking water of a million Californians fails to meet state requirements
“Almost 400 water systems serving nearly a million Californians don’t meet state requirements for safe and reliable drinking water supplies — and fixing them would cost billions of dollars. More than two-thirds of these failing water systems serve communities of color, and more than half are in places struggling with poverty and pollution, according to an annual assessment released today by the State Water Resources Control Board. These water systems, as of Jan. 1, failed to provide water “which is at all times pure, wholesome, and potable,” as required. Some violated drinking water standards for chemicals, bacteria, taste or odor. Others rely on bottled water, or have failed to meet treatment, monitoring or other requirements. Even more Californians, around 1.54 million, are served by hundreds of water systems considered at risk of failing, state officials said, and nearly 144,000 wells were threatened by encroaching contaminants and shortages. … ” Read more from Cal Matters.
Cost of bringing clean drinking water to California communities estimated at $11.5 billion
“California has made significant progress helping small communities address problems of contaminated drinking water, but the costs of bringing safe tap water to hundreds of communities over the next five years will run more than $11.5 billion, according to a new state estimate. In a newly released report, the staff of the State Water Resources Control Board estimated that at the start of this year approximately 913,000 Californians depended on public water systems that are failing to comply with drinking water regulations, while an additional 1.5 million people depended on water systems that are determined to be “at-risk.” Officials carried out the assessment nearly five years after the state established the Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience, or SAFER, drinking water program. They said in the report that under the program, the state water board has since 2019 given more than $831 million in grants for drinking water projects in disadvantaged communities, and that about 250 failing water systems serving more than 2 million people have come into compliance with drinking water standards. … ” Read more from the LA Times. | Read via AOL News.
NOW AVAILABLE: State Water Board relaunches updated water use tracker
“To spur public awareness and promote water conservation, the State Water Resources Control Board is once again publishing a dataset online that allows water managers, policy makers, the media and the public to monitor how water is used across California’s largest urban retail water suppliers. The comprehensive and up-to-date dataset gleans monthly water use information from more than 400 water systems that serve approximately 95 percent of the state’s population. As the data reflect water use trends, the tracker was used to measure progress toward the state’s voluntary conservation target from 2021-2022. Users can retrieve monthly data from June 2014 on, and the tracker will be updated going forward in the middle of each month. … ” Continue reading from the State Water Resources Control Board.
LAist Podcast: Are California’s dams in jeopardy? We look into the state of California’s aging damming system
“With California facing a budget deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed cutting 50 million dollars in funding for the state’s dams as part of his solution. California has over 1,500 dams across the state, all owned by different cities, counties, and water districts. And many are aging and in need of repairs. Forty-two dams are restricted in how much water they can hold due to safety concerns regarding their infrastructure. This has caused a loss of around 330,000 acre-feet of storage capacity, a major hindrance to California’s water resources. Dam safety measures are important in staying off major floods. Like in the case of the Oroville Dam, in which over 180,000 residents fled their homes because damage to the dam threatened a flood of about 30 feet deep of water. So, what can be done to ensure our damming system’s longevity? And can we continue using our dams to their full capacity without compromising safety?” Listen at the LAist.
Reclamation again increases 2024 Central Valley Project water supply allocation for south-of-Delta ag to 50%
“Today, the Bureau of Reclamation announced another increase in the Central Valley Project 2024 water supply allocation for south-of-Delta contractors. While all north-of-Delta Central Valley Project contractors are currently at 100% of their supplies, south-of-Delta agricultural contractors are being increased from 40% to 50%. All other Central Valley Project contract allocations remain the same per the March 22 water supply update. Initial contract allocations were announced on Feb. 21 and updated in March and April. “With the current and forecasted conditions that factor into Central Valley Project allocations, in particular, a greater than expected rate of exports during the month of June, we are pleased to be able to provide an additional increase to south-of-Delta agricultural contractors,” said California-Great Basin Regional Director Karl Stock. … ” Read on for statements from Congressman David Valadao, the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, and Westlands Water District.
SEE ALSO: Feds boost CVP water supplies by 10 percent for westside farmers, from the San Joaquin Valley Sun
Senate Bill 366, that would secure long-term water supply, advances through Assembly Committee unanimously
“CA Water for All thanks the California State Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee for its unanimous passage of Senate Bill 366 authored by Senator Anna Caballero (D-Merced). SB 366 will establish statewide water supply targets while requiring the State, water community, and stakeholders to follow through on comprehensive, long-term water supply solutions that will transform water management in California, ensuring adequate and reliable supplies for all beneficial uses. SB 366 was approved by the Committee on a unanimous 13 – 0 vote and will face its next hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee in August. “We’re pleased that the Committee sees the importance of SB 366 and understands the urgency in which California must make a change to secure a long-term and reliable water supply for the State’s future. We’d like to thank the Committee for keeping this vital legislation moving forward,” said Danielle Blacet-Hyden, Deputy Executive Director, California Municipal Utilities Association (CMUA), co-sponsor of SB 366. “The Governor said himself, ‘the water system in California was designed for a world that no longer exists.’ With SB 366, the state can reverse the trend of overreliance on water cutbacks and rationing by working with the water community to rectify the decades-long, statewide water supply threats that are impacting 40 million Californians.” … ” Read more from CA Water for All.
Big win for wildlife: Habitat Conservation Fund secured
“In an inspiring show of unity and determination, we have fantastic news to celebrate: the Habitat Conservation Fund (HCF) has been protected from budget cuts this legislative session! Earlier this year, a draft budget threatened to slash $45 million from this vital fund, disregarding the will of California voters. However, your voices and the efforts of our dedicated state leaders have ensured that this crucial funding remains intact. This victory wouldn’t have been possible without the steadfast commitment of Governor Newsom and our allies in the Legislature. Special thanks go to Senator Catherine Blakespear and Senator Brian Dahle for their passionate advocacy. We are also deeply grateful for the crucial support from Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, Senate Leader pro tem Mike McGuire, Senator Scott Wiener, and Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel. Their dedication, along with your involvement, has been instrumental in this success. … ” Read more from Cal Trout.
The West is warming and drying so fast that a crucial drought-monitoring tool can’t keep up, study says
“Drought in the American West is becoming a persistent reality instead of a periodic emergency due to climate change, and a recent study found that an essential tool used to measure drought can’t keep up. Every week since 1999, the U.S. Drought Monitor has published a new map showing drought conditions across the country, with five categories of drought severity depicted in shades of yellows, oranges and reds. Policymakers and elected leaders in Colorado and other states use the map to make critical decisions about water use, campfire bans, declarations of emergency and more. And multiple federal agencies use the map to determine how much financial aid is filtered to ranchers and farmers in times of drought. But what was once considered an exceptional, rare drought is no longer so rare, the study found. … ” Read more from Phys Org.
Sizing up progress on nature-based infrastructure
“It wasn’t the appearance of a flashy, high-ranking California official at the podium, or the review of 35 years of efforts to protect the Bay’s watershed at the beginning of the May 2024 State of the Estuary conference that made me sit up in my red velvet auditorium seat. It was an awards ceremony for outstanding projects. Usually a rather dull procedural item in my experience of half a dozen such conferences, this one’s message was nothing anyone said or put up on the screen. There to receive each small plaque from Friends of the Estuary were long lines of “collaborators.” As they snaked on and off the stage for a photo and handshake, the line of folk who had helped complete this or that project — from mapping the range of the salt marsh harvest mouse to involving students and teachers in watershed restoration — got longer and longer. In these humble lines of changemakers, no one was taking selfies or fist-pumping or even expecting to hear their own name spoken into the mike. These are just the folks quietly going about saving the planet — year after year. It was heartening to see such unity compared to the daily news headlines. … ” Continue reading at Knee Deep Times.
AG ALERT: Climate-smart practices help dairies, nourish crops
“Prompted by drought-induced water allocation cutbacks in 2014, the diversified DeJager Farms began looking at buried drip irrigation and manure water from its dairy operations to try to help its farming operations survive. Since then, the Chowchilla-based producer of milk, beef, row crops and specialty crops has embraced the system. It has installed seven irrigation systems that treat and filter manure water from nearby dairy operations to support crop production. Two more systems are in the works for DeJager Farms, which produces forage feed for dairy cattle and crops such as processing tomatoes, wheat and almonds. “The benefits we’ve found have just been enormous,” DeJager Farms Chief Financial Officer Richie Mayo said during a recent farm tour. … ” Read more from Ag Alert.
Beavers released into California river in effort to combat drought, restore native species
“A family of seven beavers was released into a southern Sierra Nevada watershed earlier this month, in a move reminiscent of historical ways tribes conserved water. On June 12, the Tule River Tribe, in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, released the beavers into the South Fork Tule River watershed on the Tule River Indian Reservation. Beavers play a critical role in the ecology of the land, CDFW said in a news release. Their dams retain water and improve drought and wildfire resilience. CDFW wildlife biologists also expect the introduction of beavers to lead to better habitat conditions for a number of endangered species in the area. … ” Read more from KCRA.
Solano County supervisors want to know more about California Forever before it’s on the ballot
“After a packed three-hour meeting Tuesday, the Solano County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to delay placing a controversial proposal on the November ballot to build a city from scratch over what is now farmland. The board followed the suggestion of the county administrator’s office and requested a study looking at the project’s impacts on existing cities in the area. The administrator’s office and the Solano County Department of Resource Management will compile the report and present it to the board in late July, at which time the board could decide to approve the proposed new city or place it on the November ballot. … ” Read more from KQED.
Forest Service prepares for 2024 fire season
“Across California, USDA Forest Service crews and managers are already preparing for fire season. Despite two years of average to above-average precipitation, Fire Director Jaime Gamboa knows just how quickly wildfire season can take off. “We will not get complacent,” Gamboa said. “Our firefighting crews, equipment and aircraft form one of the largest, most experienced wildland firefighting forces in the world. We’re ready to respond to whatever the season brings.” Gamboa also stressed the importance of being able to bring in other federal crews from across the country. “With the federal system we have, we can call resources from neighboring states and even farther away. That means when California is busy, we are able to not only sustain our staffing numbers but also enhance them — all without depleting other state resources.” … ” Read more from the Forest Service.
Record amount of preventative fires set in California this year — but is it enough?
“California has seen a record amount of prescribed burning on federal lands over the past year, helping reduce wildfire risk and perhaps tempering this year’s young but already worrisome fire season — though many say more should be done. The U.S. Forest Service announced this week that burn crews had intentionally set fire to 63,878 acres in California since the start of the federal budget year on Oct. 1. The effort surpasses the previous annual high of 63,711 acres burned in 2018. The uptick in burning, which seeks to make forests and grasslands less combustible by getting rid of dangerous overgrown vegetation, comes amid a push to improve the state’s resiliency after several years of devastating fires. Forest service officials say they’ve dedicated more staff to conducting burns over the past year and that burning conditions were largely favorable because of wet weather. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
In commentary today …
New report exposes inaccuracies in Benefit-Cost Analysis of California’s Delta Conveyance Project
“A newly published report challenges the financial feasibility of the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) as outlined by the Benefit Cost Analysis (BCA) released by the Department of Water Resources’ (DWR). The report from Dr. Jeffrey A. Michael, Director of Public Policy Programs at the University of the Pacific, finds that DWR’s BCA is flawed and inflated, with questionable assumptions, overvalued benefits and a failure to consider major project risks and financial implications. At an estimated cost of $20.1 billion, the DCP represents a substantial financial commitment for water agencies amidst growing financial constraints. The DWR’s BCA claims a benefit-cost ratio of 2.2, suggesting the project’s economic viability. However, Dr. Michael’s review concludes that this ratio is inflated and unreliable due to unjustified optimistic assumptions underlying the analysis. … ” Read more from Restore the Delta.
In regional water news and commentary today …
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Lake Tahoe receives $3.4 million to help tackle invasive species
“In early June, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California received $3.4 million. The money is part of a 5-year grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to improve the health of Lake Tahoe. The funding will be used to construct two permanent watercraft inspection stations along the Lake Tahoe shoreline. The stations will help stop invasive species, such as the quagga mussel and the New Zealand mud snail, from spreading in the lake. Dennis Zabaglo, aquatic invasive species program manager for the agency, said they currently have three temporary inspection stations which are inconvenient. … ” Read more from KUNR.
CENTRAL COAST
Thousands of gallons of sewage spill into ocean at Morro Bay
“Mark Jenkins was visiting Morro Bay from Ventura County on Monday hoping his family could experience the idyllic Central Coast beach before it became “a zoo” packed with summertime crowds. Unfortunately, when he arrived, the water already resembled a zoo’s bathroom. That’s because 7,600 gallons of raw sewage had been released into Morro Bay on Sunday when a sewage main broke at The Inn at Morro Bay, according to the San Luis Obispo County’s Public Health Department. The county is warning the public to avoid the water within 50 yards, both north and south, of the hotel while it is tested for bacteria levels, said Peter Hague, director of environmental health for San Luis Obispo County. The hotel declined SFGATE’s request for comment. … ” Read more from SF Gate.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Project restores flow to 10 miles of Friant-Kern Canal
“A newly constructed 10-mile stretch of the Friant-Kern Canal has elevated both the canal bed and the spirits of those who rely on its water for irrigation as years-long issues with conveyance capacity are slowly being restored. Phase one of the Friant-Kern Canal Middle Reach Capacity Correction Project wrapped up this spring, providing relief to a portion of the canal in Tulare County. Construction crew members, state and local water officials and Valley politicians came together for a celebration of this milestone on June 21 at the site of the project’s origin along the canal, just south of Avenue 136 and a few miles west of Porterville. “When we started in 2017, knowing that we needed to do something fast, we put together a timeline that was super aggressive, … that we had to have water year 2024 molecules running through this canal right here, and outright that was like we just can’t go into water year 2025, and so that was something that we were adamant we were gonna meet,” Friant Water Authority CEO Jason Phillips said. … ” Read more from the Foothills Sun-Gazette.
San Joaquin Valley ag revenue
Don Wright writes, “For the past few years I’ve been rolling up and down Highway 99 attending ag irrigation related meetings. I’ve heard several opinions about the value of agriculture and I tend to enjoy a good meal now and then, ipso facto, I tend to appreciate food and those who grow it. Mostly I deal with water matters but what about the industry it supports? What is the value of ag to our area and the state? What is the value of having a safe, affordable and consistent food supply to the United States? There are plenty of estimates about the economic value of agriculture. It strikes me as often being undervalued. When speaking with an official from the Fresno County Ag Commissioners office I was told the prices given in the legally required, annual crop reports are farm gate value. Farm gate value means the worth of milk in the udder, tomatoes on the vine or nuts hanging on a tree. It doesn’t mean a farmer makes a profit. … ” Read more from Water Wrights.
Organizations rally as neighbors in southeast Bakersfield are left without water for days
“As temperatures are expected to reach 10 to 15 degrees above average, one Bakersfield neighborhood said they’ve been without water since Friday. Now local organizations are rallying to help their neighbors in need. Since Friday residents near Shirley Lane have relied on water from hoses thanks to Shirley Lane Elementary, but what upsets them the most is the lack of communication, saying no warning was given. In order to assist those in-need, 23ABC has teamed up with Kern Health Systems and CAPK to help collect water. You can drop by donations for water and other items at our station located at 321 21st Street in Bakersfield. … ” Read more from Channel 23.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Santa Ana to delay water shutoffs until bills are 2 months overdue
“Due to the end of pandemic utility assistance programs, the City of Santa Ana is preparing to resume service discontinuations for water customers beginning July 4, 2024. However, water service disconnections will not begin until September 2024. Residential customers will see major changes in the billing processes, including having 60 days instead of 30 days to pay a past-due bill before service is interrupted or discontinued, additional notifications, and special provisions for qualified customers with medical and financial hardships. … ” Read more from News Santa Ana.
IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS
How changes at the Salton Sea might be fueling the smallest migrants
“My love of shorebirds started several decades ago when I was surveying rare Upland Sandpipers in isolated grasslands in Massachusetts. I marveled at how these birds managed to migrate thousands of miles between their wintering grounds in Argentina and breeding grounds on tiny patches of grassland, mostly on inhospitable airfields, in Massachusetts. Contemplating how they found each other across vast distances and found these strange spots left me with more questions than answers. But I knew two things: we must understand what these remarkable creatures need to survive and we must protect those areas.Fast forward to a morning in late summer 2023, on the heels of an epic monsoon that hit the Salton Sea region with large bursts of rain, Camila Bautista and I set off on our assigned survey route, near the community of Bombay Beach on the southeastern Salton Sea shoreline. … ” Read more from Audubon.
SAN DIEGO
San Diego’s plan to help beach neighborhoods survive, and thrive, as seas rise
“Six projects proposed for San Diego’s coastal areas are part of a comprehensive campaign to prepare every city neighborhood for the worst effects of climate change — wildfires, floods, extreme heat and sea-level rise. The projects, from new dunes proposed for Ocean Beach to an earthen dike proposed for La Jolla Shores, are part of a coastal resilience master plan city officials say they will present to the City Council early next year. Local residents can use an online survey to comment on the projects, which are also proposed for Sunset Cliffs, Tourmaline Beach and Mission Beach. The coastal resilience plan, which aims to fight sea-level rise, is part of a wider strategic effort called Climate Resilient SD, 86 strategies the city adopted in 2021 to prepare neighborhoods — particularly low-income areas — for climate change. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Officials close popular California beaches amid sewage-contaminated waters
“Multiple San Diego beach areas have been flagged for potential medical safety concerns due to high levels of bacteria in the water, stemming from sewage contamination. The Department of Environmental Health and Quality has warned that water contact closures have been issued for the shorelines of Tijuana Slough, Silver Strand and Imperial Beach. Three more beaches currently have advisories warning against water contact. These include Mission Bay, La Jolla and the dog beach at Ocean Beach. … ” Read more from Fox Weather.
Plan to solve Tijuana River sewage crisis to be presented to San Diego County Board of Supervisors
“San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer on Tuesday plans to present a policy addressing the impacts of the Tijuana sewage crisis to the full Board of Supervisors. In that policy, Lawson-Remer collaborated with Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre on ways to collect more data that will show proof of the public health crisis in the South Bay. Their goal is for both the state of California and federal leaders could declare a state of emergency, so funds can be sent over to continue tackling the sewage issue. … ” Read more from Channel 10.
Critical policy committee approves Senator Padilla’s Tijuana River pollution legislative package
“Today, the California State Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials approved Senate Bills 1178 and 1208, authored by Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego), which address corporate pollution poisoning California waters (Senate Bill 1178) as well as halt the development of a landfill that would only further pollute the Tijuana River Watershed (Senate Bill 1208). “The Tijuana River is one of the most overburdened watersheds in the state, if not the country,” said Senator Padilla. “We are fed up with corporations poisoning Californians all to make a quick buck. By making these polluters clearly label their products to show the public they have contributed to this crisis, perhaps we can encourage them to contribute to the solution. This pollution impacts tens of thousands of San Diegans every day, we must do everything in our power to bring justice to this community. ” … ” Read more from Senator Steve Padilla.
Along the Colorado River …
Arizona: Few water reforms emerged from the Legislature, but governor says talks will continue
“Arizona lawmakers adjourned last week after hearing more water bills they had in decades. But of the few measures that made it through to Gov. Katie Hobbs’ desk, none addressed rural groundwater management in a way that would protect the state’s dwindling aquifers, according to the governor’s staff. In the end, the Legislature heard dozens of water bills. Of those that passed, Hobbs signed eight and vetoed 12. Her office said Monday she was ready to talk with policymakers and water users to find reforms they could all agree on. Senate Bill 1221, sponsored by Sine Kerr, R-Buckeye, would have designated a process to create groundwater regulation through basin management areas. The designated basins would have to reduce water use by 2% annually, or less. The law would also have prohibited mandatory metering. Water users would report their estimated groundwater use annually based on their well’s pumping capacity and power usage. … ” Read more from the Arizona Republic.
Arizona water agency lost $333M. Director says it can’t build for the future without reliable funds
“As the governor and state lawmakers finalized their state budget earlier this month … they had to make big cuts — enough to cover a $1.8 million dollar budget deficit over the next two years. And perhaps the biggest cuts came to water. The budget swept a $333 million allocation to the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority, or WIFA — one-third of a billion dollar promise made by the Legislature under former Gov. Doug Ducey a few years ago. And, while lawmakers noted that the budget left $450 million in WIFA’s Long-Term Augmentation Fund, the cuts are dramatic. Now, WIFA’s board is meeting to consider suing. State law says sweeps to its budget have to be approved by three-fourths of lawmakers, which didn’t happen. WIFA Director Chuck Podolak joined The Show to talk more about what they decided. … ” Listen to the show or read more from KJZZ.
Arizona opinion: Hobbs’ water-bill veto is missed opportunity for state’s future
Alexander Kolodin, an attorney and Republican member of the State House, writes, “Governor Katie Hobbs’ recent veto of three Republican water bills, including the “Ag to Urban” bill, represents a significant setback for Arizona’s efforts to address its ongoing water crisis. As a Republican state representative deeply committed to sustainable water management, I am compelled to express my concerns regarding this decision. The “Ag to Urban” bill was a pragmatic approach to one of our state’s most pressing issues: water conservation. Arizona’s current water management laws inadvertently discourage transitioning land from agriculture to suburban use, despite the fact that agricultural practices are substantially more water-intensive than residential or municipal uses. This transition is essential for our state’s future, and the vetoed bill aimed to facilitate this shift by addressing the outdated and counterproductive incentives embedded in our water laws. … ” Read more from the Arizona Daily Star.
Water-rich Gila River tribe near Phoenix flexes its political muscles in a drying West
“Stephen Roe Lewis grew up seeing stacks of legal briefs at the dinner table — often, about his tribe’s water. His father, the late Rodney Lewis, was general counsel for the Gila River Indian Community and fought for the tribe’s rights to water in the Southwest, eventually securing in 2004 the largest Native American water settlement in U.S. history. Years later, Stephen would become governor of the tribe, whose reservation is about a half-hour south of downtown Phoenix. Amid his tenure, he’s been pivotal in navigating a water crisis across the seven-state Colorado River basin caused by existential drought made worse by climate change and decades of Western states overdrawing from the river. … ” Read more from the Associated Press.
St. George got hammered in the national media as a water waster. Can the green spot in the desert become a saver?
“Zach Renstrom was pitching water conservation ideas several years ago to a homebuilder in his neighborhood — and clearly boring the man’s wife. ”One option,” Renstrom said, “is we just pay you to rip out the grass in your yard.” She suddenly wasn’t bored anymore. “His wife looked up” from her phone, Renstrom remembers, “and said, ‘I’ll be damned if you rip out my grass so another Californian can move here.’” Renstrom shares the story to show how attitudes are changing in the dry southwestern corner of the state. In 2023, the area served by the Washington County Water Conservancy District, where Renstrom is general manager, accounted for 34% of the grass torn out and replaced statewide — though it serves only 7% of Utah’s population. And Washington County has become the first region in the state to ban nonfunctional grass, or “lazy” grass, on all new commercial, industrial and institutional developments. Today, Renstrom proudly points out, you can even spot yards that are grass-free in the showcase Parade of Homes. … ” Read more from the Salt Lake Tribune.
In national water news today …
Half of world’s lakes are less resilient to disturbance than they used to be
“Nearly half of the world’s large lakes have lost resilience, or the ability to bounce back after an abrupt disturbance, in recent decades, according to the first global assessment of long-term changes in lake resilience. Lakes in eastern North America and northern Europe have been hit the hardest, and dense populations and pollution are largely to blame, the study suggests. However, wealthier regions had healthier lakes, suggesting costly conservation efforts may pay off. Both people and climate can gradually shift lakes away from their natural, healthy state. Warmer temperatures can increase evaporation, decreased precipitation can lower lake levels, and persistent pollution can chip away at the lake ecosystem’s health. When sudden disturbances hit, such as heat waves, droughts or floods, a “resilient” lake can recover; a vulnerable one may not be able to return to its previous state. … ” Read more from AGU.
NOAA seeks data for microplastics mapping project
“A division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is mapping microplastics in the world’s oceans, and it’s taking submissions. The tool, created by NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information and plainly dubbed the NCEI Marine Microplastics product, uses data submitted from scientists around the world to aggregate and, once it’s been vetted, present it in digestible form. The result is a map which details the quantity of microplastics found on beaches, at the ocean’s surface or in sediment taken from the ocean floor, among other places. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service.
Supreme Court may overturn major environmental precedent this week
“As the Supreme Court approaches the final opinion release dates of its term, environmental and administrative lawyers are waiting with bated breath to learn the fate of a legal doctrine that federal agencies have used since the Reagan administration to defend themselves in court. In two of the term’s most closely watched cases — Loper Bright v. Raimondo and Relentless v. Commerce — the justices have been asked to overturn the 40-year-old Chevron doctrine, which says judges should generally defer to agencies’ reasonable interpretations of their powers when Congress has been unclear. The justices could decide the cases by the end of this week. While Chevron is not inherently ideological, it has become a target for some members of the high court’s conservative supermajority, who have called for the doctrine’s demise. … ” Read more from E&E News.
Extreme heat waves aren’t ‘just summer’: How climate change is heating up the weather, and what we can do about it
“The heat wave that left more than 100 million people sweating across the eastern U.S. in June 2024 hit so fast and was so extreme that forecasters warned a flash drought could follow across wide parts of the region. Prolonged high temperatures can quickly dry soils, triggering a rapid onset drought that can affect agriculture, water resources and energy supplies. Many regions under the June heat dome quickly developed abnormally dry conditions. The human impacts of the heat wave have also been widespread. In Ohio and Pennsylvania, emergency room visits for heat-related illnesses surged. Several Massachusetts schools without air conditioning closed to protect kids and teachers. In New York and New Jersey, electric wires sagged in the heat, shutting down trains into and out of New York City and leaving commuters stranded. … ” Read more from The Conversation.
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
Available for Public Comment: Cawelo Water District Coalition Surface Water Quality Management Plan Exemption Request
