DAILY DIGEST: For first time in 60 years, spring-run Chinook salmon reproduce in the San Joaquin River; Woodbridge Irrigation District files suit against EBMUD over water rights; Hundreds of millions required to fix critical water infrastructure damaged by subsidence; Rockies drought another problem for SoCal water supply; and more …

In California water news today, For first time in 60 years, spring-run Chinook salmon reproduce in the San Joaquin River; Woodbridge Irrigation District files suit against EBMUD over water rights; Hundreds of millions required to fix critical water infrastructure damaged by subsidence; Valley sinking due to groundwater depletion; threat to aqueduct remains; Temperance Flat Dam hits hurdle; Rockies drought another problem for SoCal water supply; Conservation key as Santa Barbara grapples with persistent drought; Climate change caused the Montecito mudslides; and more …

On the calendar today …

In the news today …

For first time in 60 years, spring-run Chinook salmon reproduce in the San Joaquin River:  “As work to restore the San Joaquin River continues, scientists are seeing promising signs that salmon can thrive in the river as hatchery fish reach new milestones.  A recent breakthrough came in fall 2017, when spring-run Chinook salmon created their nests, called redds, in the deeper and colder parts of the river below Friant Dam. The fish successfully spawned, laying eggs that incubated and hatched into tiny fry as the sexually mature fish died, part of the species’ unusual life cycle. … ”  Read more from the Fresno Bee here:  For first time in 60 years, spring-run Chinook salmon reproduce in the San Joaquin River

Woodbridge Irrigation District files suit against EBMUD over water rights:  “The Woodbridge Irrigation District filed suit against the East Bay Municipal Utility District in the San Joaquin Superior Court on Monday, asking the court to review WID’s water rights and contracts with EBMUD.  The suit was filed after four years of negotiations between the two districts, according to WID Manager Andy Christensen, who claimed that EBMUD has been withholding water from the Mokelumne River for almost 30 years. … ”  Read more from the Lodi News-Sentinel here:  Woodbridge Irrigation District files suit against EBMUD over water rights

Valley sinking due to groundwater depletion; threat to aqueduct remains:  “With rivers, creeks, lakes and reservoirs full to overflowing, it’s tempting for Californians to breathe a sigh of relief and stop worrying about water conservation. One season of heavy rainfall was enough to wash away the surface drought. The drought we’re still in is for the water we can’t see underneath the surface: groundwater.  Years of digging deep to draw water to the surface had left groundwater severely depleted, and the end result is subsidence — or sinking of the ground. … ”  Read more from KXTV here:  Valley sinking due to groundwater depletion; threat to aqueduct remains

Hundreds of millions required to fix critical water infrastructure damaged by subsidence:  “There’s a $300 million problem with a major piece of water infrastructure that threatens the future of Kern County’s bountiful and profitable crops.  In the Central Valley’s complicated web of water infrastructure, there are two major canals that are of particular importance to Kern County’s agriculture, the California Aqueduct on the west side of the valley and the Friant-Kern canal on the east side. … ”  Read more from KBAK here:  Hundreds of millions required to fix critical water infrastructure damaged by subsidence

Temperance Flat Dam hits hurdle:  “While the Temperance Flat Reservoir Project hit a speedbump recently, local officials still have hope the project will get funded and bring more water storage to the Valley.  “I hope in 10 years we can all get together and celebrate a new dam,” said Doug Verboon, Kings County supervisor and county representative on the San Joaquin Valley Water Infrastructure Authority.  The San Joaquin Valley Water Infrastructure Authority, a joint power authority, filed an application with the California Water Commission in August asking for $1 billion of Proposition 1 water bond money to build the dam north of Fresno above Millerton Lake. ... ”  Read more from the Hanford Sentinel here:  Temperance Flat Dam hits hurdle

Researchers continue studying fish in the fields:  “The Resource Renewal Institute is mounting the second phase of a control study measuring how the introduction of freshwater forage fish into fallow rice fields can reduce methane emissions from rice cultivation.  After six years of work demonstrating that small fish grow rapidly in flooded fallow rice fields, using these small fish to control methane emissions from rice cultivation could be a huge Climate Change breakthrough. ... ”  Read more from the Daily Democrat here:  Researchers continue studying fish in the fields

California drought returning?  Sierra snowpack at 30% and two more weeks of warm, dry weather:  “Hampered by hot weather and a stubborn high-pressure ridge that has blocked winter storms, California’s Sierra Nevada snowpack — a key source of the state’s water supply — on Tuesday was a paltry 30 percent of normal.  The last time there was so little Sierra snow at the end of January was in 2015, when it was 25 percent of its historic average.  By April 1 that year — after the snowpack had shrunk to an all-time low of 5 percent of average — Gov. Jerry Brown stood in a barren, rocky field in the mountains near Lake Tahoe and declared a drought emergency that included mandatory statewide water restrictions for the first time in California history. ... ”  Read more from the Mercury News here:  California drought returning?  Sierra snowpack at 30% and two more weeks of warm, dry weather

Rockies drought another problem for SoCal water supply:  “The Colorado River is essential for life in the southwest U.S. and northwest Mexico. It provides water for over 35 million people and over 5 million acres of farmland. Close to 18 million of those residents live in the greater Los Angeles area, the second most populated city in the country.  The sixth longest river in the U.S. is 1,450 miles long and drops about 10,000 feet from the Rocky Mountains into the Gulf of California while traversing a total of seven states. It has been tapped by humans for almost 1500 years, and today more water is exported from its basin than from any other river in the US.  … ”  Read more from the Weather Channel here:  Rockies drought another problem for SoCal water supply

In commentary today …

No more patch and pray: privatize Oroville Dam, say Lawrence J. McQuillan and Hayeon Carol Park:  They write, “Just about one year ago, the collapse of two spillways at Oroville Dam forced the frantic evacuation of 188,000 people, caused millions of dollars in property damage and triggered hundreds of lawsuits. Earlier this month, an independent forensic team found that decades of reckless mismanagement by the California Department of Water Resources caused the crisis. Instead of making needed changes, Sacramento has responded by increasing the department’s control. … ”  Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here:  No more patch and pray: privatize Oroville Dam, say Lawrence J. McQuillan and Hayeon Carol Park

San Francisco’s tallest building makes big water recycling statement, says Kirsten James:  She writes, “San Francisco’s newest skyscraper, Salesforce Tower, is a first in many ways.  At 1,070ft, it is the tallest building in the city, and except for the spire on the Wiltshire Grand in Los Angeles, it’s the tallest west of the Mississippi. It is the first thing seen by travelers approaching the city from any direction, rising above the city’s fog.  Of particular interest to me, Salesforce Tower will also house the largest water recycling system in a commercial high-rise building in the United States. A black-water system will recycle all of the water used in the building to be available again for nonpotable uses, saving about 30,000 gallons of freshwater a day. ... ”  Read more from Water Deeply here:  San Francisco’s tallest building makes big water recycling statement

In regional news and commentary today …

Oroville committee wants spillway boat ramp reassurance:  “The Oroville Recreation Advisory Committee will hear updates Friday on recreational improvements and have some questions for state Department of Water Resources leaders about the spillway boat launch ramp reopening.  Following the Lake Oroville spillway crisis, DWR is jump starting several projects to compensate for the public’s temporary loss of the spillway boat launch facility, which boasts the largest ramp on the lake. The department announced Jan. 18 that the access road over the dam and the spillway ramp would reopen once reconstruction at the dam is complete, after months of uncertainty. ... ”  Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record here:  Oroville committee wants spillway boat ramp reassurance

Marin January wetter, but behind average; no rain in sight:  “January was a better rain month for Marin than December, but totals are still lagging behind averages and the National Weather Service sees no storms in the offing.  “Unfortunately, it’s looking high and dry with no real chances for precipitation in the first part of the month,” said Scott Rowe, meteorologist with the weather service. “There is a high-pressure ridge sitting off the Pacific that is sending storm tracks to the north.” … ”  Read more from the Marin Independent Journal here:  Marin January wetter, but behind average; no rain in sight

Conservation key as Santa Barbara grapples with  persistent drought:  “Cachuma Lake has not spilled since 2011, and Santa Barbara is still facing significant drought conditions, the city’s top water manager told the City Council on Tuesday.  Joshua Haggmark, the city’s water resources manager, said the city has adequate water supplies through 2020, largely because of water conservation.  “It’s really extraordinary how much water conservation is going on right now,” Haggmark said. ... ”  Read more from Noozhawk here:  Conservation key as Santa Barbara grapples with  persistent drought

Climate change caused the Montecito mudslides:  “There was little “natural” about the January 9 natural disaster that killed 23 Montecitans and forever altered the South Coast landscape. A one-two-three punch of extreme and irregular weather events turned one of the country’s wealthiest zip codes inside out, proving none of us are safe from the devastating effects of a changing global climate.  Leah Stokes, a climate policy researcher at UC Santa Barbara, acknowledges it’s difficult to find perspective when the wounds are still so fresh. But it’s critical, she said, to consider the bigger picture to understand what really happened so we can better protect ourselves in the future. ... ”  Read more from the Santa Barbara Independent here:  Climate change caused the Montecito mudslides

Santa Clarita: Water officials respond to perchlorate-contaminated well:  “While officials continue to tackle perchlorate contamination on many fronts, recent tests on water from a well shut down five years ago showed levels of the suspected carcinogen still requiring specific action.  In April 2012, a well identified by officials at the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency as Well V-205 was voluntarily shut down after low concentrations of perchlorate were found.  Well V-205 has been out of service ever since. … ”  Read more from The Signal here:  Santa Clarita: Water officials respond to perchlorate-contaminated well

Cadiz offers new study finding water project won’t harm spring; environmentalist skeptical:  “After extensive fieldwork, site observation and geologic mapping, a team of scientists hired by Cadiz Inc. concluded that a proposed water transfer project in a remote part of San Bernadino County desert won’t harm one of the largest wildlife water sources in the Mojave Desert.  Cadiz commissioned a peer-reviewed geologic investigation “to address lingering questions as to whether the project could impact Bonanza Spring under any circumstance. That question has now been answered definitively no,”  Cadiz CEO Scott Slater said, in a statement.  … ”  Read more from the San Bernardino Sun here:  Cadiz offers new study finding water project won’t harm spring; environmentalist skeptical

Winter heat wave bakes the Southwest, bringing renewed worries of severe drought:  “The pear trees are already blooming in Celeste Cantú’s garden. She usually sees the blossoms appear in late February, but this winter’s extreme warmth triggered the bloom a full month early.  As the thermometer hit 80 degrees in her garden, she snapped a photo of the blossoms and posted it on Facebook with the question: “Do you think the three weeks of winter are over in So Ca?” … ”  Read more from the Desert Sun here:  Winter heat wave bakes the Southwest, bringing renewed worries of severe drought

Precipitation watch …

Nada, unfortunately.

Also on Maven’s Notebook today …

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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.

 

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