DAILY DIGEST: Politicians to Trump: Don’t relicense Oroville Dam until we know why spillway failed; Nestle warned it lacks rights to some California water; Water cutoff accelerates shrinking of the Salton Sea; and more …

In California water news today, Politicians to Trump: Don’t relicense Oroville Dam until we know why spillway failed; Nestle warned it lacks rights to some California water; Water cutoff accelerates shrinking of the Salton Sea, escalating race against receding shorelines; Not easy being green: Legal pot brings environmental rules; Overcoming the challenges of small scale recycling; and more …

In the news today …

Politicians to Trump: Don’t relicense Oroville Dam until we know why spillway failed: “Elected officials and other groups representing those living below the troubled Oroville Dam have asked the Trump administration to hold off on renewing its 50-year license, saying the federal government should at least know why the spillway broke in half last winter before signing off.  On Wednesday, the dam’s owner, the California Department of Water Resources, sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission saying it was past time to renew the dam’s license, an effort that has been on hold for the past 11 years.  “All the environmental clearances, studies and other requirements have been meet,” DWR director Grant Davis wrote in the letter. “The last element needed is a majority vote of the commission.” ... ”  Read more from the Sacramento Bee here:  Politicians to Trump: Don’t relicense Oroville Dam until we know why spillway failed

Nestle appears to be taking too much water from California forest:  “California water regulators told Nestlé that the company doesn’t appear to have valid water rights for all of the water it’s been piping out of the San Bernardino National Forest and selling as bottled water.   Regulators at the State Water Resources Control Board notified Nestlé of their findings following a 20-month investigation, recommending the company limit its use of water from the namesake source of Arrowhead 100% Mountain Spring Water unless it can show it has valid rights for all of the water it’s been taking.  ... ”  Read more from The Desert Sun here:  Nestle appears to be taking too much water from California forest

Nestle warned it lacks rights to some California water:  “Nestle, which sells Arrowhead bottled water, may have to stop taking millions of gallons of water from Southern California’s San Bernardino National Forest because state regulators concluded it lacks valid permits.  The State Water Resources Control Board notified the company on Wednesday that an investigation concluded it doesn’t have proper rights to about three-quarters of the water it withdraws for bottling.  “A significant portion of the water currently diverted by Nestle appears to be diverted without a valid basis of right,” the report concluded. ... ”  Read more from ABC News here:  Nestle warned it lacks rights to some California water

Follow-up:  Nestle says it will follow California water laws:  “Nestle, which sells Arrowhead bottled water, says it will comply fully with California law after regulators said it lacks valid permits to take millions of gallons of water from Southern California’s San Bernardino National Forest. … ”  Read more from the Eureka Times-Herald here:  Follow-up:  Nestle says it will follow California water laws

Water cutoff accelerates shrinking of the Salton Sea, escalating race against receding shorelines:  “The Salton Sea is about to start shrinking more rapidly.  A 2003 water transfer deal called for the Imperial Irrigation District to deliver “mitigation water” to the lake for 15 years. With those water deliveries ending in the final days of 2017, the lake’s decline will begin to accelerate.  More than 19,000 acres of dry lakebed have already been left exposed as the shorelines have retreated over the past two decades. And as the lake continues to shrink, more lung-damaging dust is expected to spew from the growing stretches of lakebed into communities that already suffer from high asthma rates. … ”  Read more from The Desert Sun here:  Water cutoff accelerates shrinking of the Salton Sea, escalating race against receding shorelines

Not easy being green: Legal pot brings environmental rules:  “At a state briefing on environmental rules that await growers entering California’s soon-to-be-legal marijuana trade, organic farmers Ulysses Anthony, Tracy Sullivan and Adam Mernit listened intently, eager to make their humble cannabis plot a model of sustainable agriculture in a notoriously destructive industry dominated by the black market.  In line with a 2017 study that found marijuana grows are more damaging, plot for plot, than commercial logging in Northern California forests, Anthony said he has seen too many destructive grows. Trash-strewn clearings. Growers heaping fertilizer at the foot of a centuries-old sequoia tree, needlessly endangering it. Wild streams diverted for irrigation. ... ”  Read more from the Eureka Times-Herald here:  Not easy being green: Legal pot brings environmental rules

Overcoming the challenges of small scale recycling:  “In downtown San Francisco, a mixed-use 800ft tower nearing completion at 181 Fremont St. features a water treatment system that will provide 5,000 gallons a day of recycled water captured from the building to be used for toilet flushing and irrigation. That will help save an estimated 1.3 million gallons of potable water a year.  Just down the street, the recently expanded Moscone Conference Center has installed a system to collect and treat foundation drainage, otherwise known as “nuisance groundwater,” that will be used for toilet flushing and irrigation as well by the city’s Department of Public Works for street cleaning. … ”  Read more from Water Deeply here:  Overcoming the challenges of small scale recycling

In commentary today …

Valley’s contaminated water is like third world country, says Dr. Ed Hernandez:  He writes, “At the end of 2017, California finds itself at a major crossroads. With Washington, D.C., refusing to lead on the issues that matter to most Americans and putting California values in its crosshairs, our Golden State has done a fantastic job of showing the rest of the country – and the world – that things can be different.  However, we have made a serious omission from our progressive priorities: we have yet to fully address California’s growing water crisis.  It is tempting to overlook an issue that doesn’t affect most areas of California, with such a large economy and our state’s many successes, like combatting Big Pharma and providing tuition-free community college to California residents. ... ”  Read more from the Fresno Bee here:  Valley’s contaminated water is like third world country

Drought is the new normal, says the San Francisco Chronicle:  They write, “Don’t let that smattering of rain and dusting of snow at Lake Tahoe Wednesday distract you from the ominous weather pattern we’ve experienced for the rest of December: dry, dry, dry. The state hasn’t slid back into drought yet, but it is time to start planning as if it has. In fact, drought is shaping up as the new normal for our state.  The U.S. Drought Monitor last week classified 44 percent of the state as “abnormally dry” — one step removed from “moderate drought” — as a high-pressure air mass hovering over the state has diverted storms northward. This is an all-too familiar pattern that we saw during the most recent drought. … ”  Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here:  Drought is the new normal

In regional news and commentary today …

Sacramento River side channel cleared to aid juvenile salmon:  “Young salmon in the Sacramento River have a new place to grow strong before heading to sea, thanks to a project completed this week to reopen a clogged side channel near Lake California.  The channel, which had become blocked naturally over the years, will provide rearing habitat for juvenile salmon and is expected to improve the fishery, said Rob Irwin of the Sacramento River Forum. The juveniles seek out the side channels, where the current is gentler, in order to rest, eat and grow before continuing downstream. They may remain in the channels up to a year, depending on food sources. … ”  Read more from the Tehama Daily News here:  Sacramento River side channel cleared to aid juvenile salmon

Yuba County Water Agency looking to purchase PG&E powerhouse on Yuba River:  “The Yuba County Water Agency could boost its capacity to generate electricity on the Yuba River if negotiations are successful with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to purchase the Narrows 1 Powerhouse.  The agency announced on Wednesday it is negotiating with PG&E to purchase the powerhouse. No estimate on the dollar amount was yet available.  Although the capability of Narrows 1 Powerhouse to generate 12 megawatts would provide the agency some marginal economic generation value by selling the electricity on the open market, it pales in comparison to the agency’s biggest facility – New Colgate Powerhouse, which has the ability to produce 340 megawatts. … ”  Read more from the Appeal-Democrat here:  Yuba County Water Agency looking to purchase PG&E powerhouse on Yuba River

Three dams in Santa Clara County have similar problems to Oroville: “The spillways at three dams located near densely populated communities around San Jose have structural problems that are similar to the flaws that led to the failure of the main spillway at Oroville Dam last February, recently completed technical reports show.  The concrete spillways at the Guadalupe Dam and Calero Dam, both built in 1935 in the hills south of San Jose, have extensive cracks, flawed joints, and in the case of Guadalupe, gaps of up to 15 inches deep between the bottom of the spillway and the bedrock underneath.  While the prospect of a wall of water wiping out parts of San Jose is indeed alarming, officials say the spillways would only pose a risk if the South Bay is inundated for months with rain filling the reservoirs to their brims. That’s a rarity, although it happened last year at Anderson, Santa Clara’s largest dam. … ”  Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here:  Three dams in Santa Clara County have similar problems to Oroville

Along the Colorado River …

One of the funniest gets serious about water:  “The Colorado River is an essential resource for a surprisingly large part of the United States, and every gallon that flows down it is owned or claimed by someone. David Owen traces all that water from the Colorado’s headwaters to its parched terminus, once a verdant wetland but now a million-acre desert. He takes readers on an adventure downriver, along a labyrinth of waterways, reservoirs, power plants, farms, fracking sites, ghost towns, and RV parks, to the spot near the U.S.–Mexico border where the river runs dry. Learn more from David Owen on this episode of The Write Question. … ”  Read more from Montana Public Radio here:  One of the funniest gets serious about water

Also on Maven’s Notebook today …

• NEWS WORTH NOTING: Report: Groundwater trading as a tool for implementing SGMA; New salmon habitat project completed on Sacto River; Chowchilla Water District and Fresno Irrigation District rejoin Friant Water Authority; River report examines climate change impact on Colorado River basin
• NEWS WORTH NOTING, Legal edition: Lawsuit seeks to have California waterways identified as hydrologically impaired under the Clean Water Act; Dispute over lead testing in school drinking water continues; New California coastal laws for 2018
• OROVILLE SPILLWAYS CONSTRUCTION update for December 21st
• SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER MGT PGM NEWS for December 21st

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About the Daily Digest: The Daily Digest is a collection of selected news articles, commentaries and editorials appearing in the mainstream press. Items are generally selected to follow the focus of the Notebook blog. The Daily Digest is published every weekday with a weekend edition posting on Sundays.