In California water news today, Is Donald Trump fighting the tunnels? No. But he won’t pay for them either; Interior Department clarifies, says it will continue to work on tunnels project; Interior Department clarifies that it remains behind proposed Delta tunnels; LA 90: Trump Administration will help with the California water project; Trump opposes massive California water project; Flood experts say California levees need much more money; Stanford researchers find link between media attention to drought and household water savings; State Water Board Issues Second Draft Order, with Significant Revisions, on General WDRs for Eastern San Joaquin Watershed; and more …
On the calendar today …
- The Delta Stewardship Council meets at 9am. Agenda items include Delta Independent Science Board reappointments, the approach and timeline for the ecosystem amendment to the Delta Plan, Lessons on Drought, and the 2017 Water Year in Review. Click here for more information. Click here to watch on webcast.
- The webcast for PPIC Priorities for California water begins at 9am. Click here to watch on webcast.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: New PPIC Report: Priorities for California Water; Reclamation releases enviro docs for the High Speed Rail Project; Semitropic Water District to implement water conservation measures and reduce energy costs
- SCIENCE NEWS: Resiliency rising: State of the Estuary; Wildfires, water, and CAWSC science; Climate shifts shorten marine food chain off California; Mountain glaciers shrinking across Western US; and more …
DELTA TUNNELS
A lot of texture in these headlines …
Is Donald Trump fighting the tunnels? No. But he won’t pay for them either: “Is the Trump administration opposed to the Delta tunnels, Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to remake the troubled estuary and improve water deliveries to the southern half of the state? For a while Wednesday, it certainly looked that way. A top spokesman for the U.S. Interior Department, Russell Newell, told The Associated Press that “the Trump administration did not fund the project and chose to not move forward with it.” … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Is Donald Trump fighting the tunnels? No. But he won’t pay for them either
Interior Department clarifies, says it will continue to work on tunnels project: “After several hours of confusion over the Trump administration’s position on a massive water delivery project, the Interior Department said Wednesday it would continue to work with the state on California WaterFix. California officials were scratching their heads over a department statement that the Trump administration does not support the project, which the federal government has helped plan. Russell Newell, the department’s deputy communications director, told the Associated Press: “The Trump administration did not fund the project and chose to not move forward with it.” … ” Read more from the LA Times here: Interior Department clarifies, says it will continue to work on tunnels project
Interior Department clarifies that it remains behind proposed Delta tunnels: “Bewildering both opponents and supporters of Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to build two giant water tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the federal Interior Department said late Wednesday that the Trump administration had not pulled its support for the project as reported earlier. Department spokesman Russell Newell had reportedly told a news agency earlier in the day that the administration “chose not to move forward” with the project. The news had tunnel opponents celebrating the apparent death blow to Brown’s plan, which seeks to rectify California’s chronic water shortages through a massive plumbing project that would take water from the state’s northern rivers and funnel it to the dry farms and cities in the south. … ” Read more from SF Gate here: Interior Department clarifies that it remains behind proposed Delta tunnels
LA 90: Trump Administration will help with the California water project: Video from the LA Times: LA 90: Trump Administration will help with the California water project
Trump opposes massive California water project: “The Trump administration pulled support Wednesday from Gov. Jerry Brown’s ambitious plan to build California’s biggest water project in decades, casting the current form of the $16 billion proposal to build two giant tunnels as another unwanted legacy from the Obama era. The comments from a U.S. Department of the Interior spokesman marked the first public statements by the Trump administration on the initiative and signaled the latest setback for the project that California’s 79-year-old leader had hoped to see launched before he leaves office next year. ... ” Read more from McClatchy DC here: Trump opposes massive California water project
OTHER NEWS
Flood experts say California levees need much more money: “California needs to spend another $100 million a year to keep the state’s levee system sound, according to state flood control experts. At a press conference marking flood preparedness week Monday at a levee repair site near Sacramento, Bill Edgar, president of the Central Valley Flood Protection Board said the levees will need a $17 billion to $21 billion investment over the next 30 years to protect the seven million Californians at flood risk. That number includes $130 million a year annually for repairs and maintenance, up from the $30 million currently spent. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here: Flood experts say California levees need much more money
Stanford researchers find link between media attention to drought and household water savings: “With increased drought coverage from newspapers, water conservation increased in the San Francisco Bay Area during the drought that ended in 2016. That’s according to a new study from Stanford researchers that links real water consumption data with the public attention garnered by California’s recent droughts. “A number of water utilities that we work with observed unprecedented and unexpected water conservation levels during the recent drought in California compared to previous ones,” said hydrologist Newsha Ajami, who directs Urban Water Policy and Innovation research for Stanford’s Water in the West program. … ” Read more from Stanford News here: Stanford researchers find link between media attention to drought and household water savings
State Water Board Issues Second Draft Order, with Significant Revisions, on General WDRs for Eastern San Joaquin Watershed: “On October 10, 2017, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) released a second proposed order (Revised Draft Order), proposing modifications to the Waste Discharge Requirements General Order No. R5-2012-0116 for Growers within the Eastern San Joaquin River Watershed that are Members of the Third-Party Group (General WDRs). The General WDRs were adopted by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (Central Valley Water Board) in 2012 and regulate discharges from irrigated lands to groundwater and surface water within the Eastern San Joaquin watershed. After several parties filed petitions for review with the State Board, the State Board granted “own motion review” of the General WDRs to resolve the petitions and develop precedential directions for the irrigated lands regulatory programs administered by the regional water quality control boards. … ” Read more from Somach Simmons and Dunn here: State Water Board Issues Second Draft Order, with Significant Revisions, on General WDRs for Eastern San Joaquin Watershed
In commentary today …
Facing rollbacks, California must protect drinking water, wetlands, says Richard Frank: He writes, “Californians strongly support action by state and federal agencies to ensure that the water in our streams and the water we drink are free of dangerous contaminants, and that our precious wetlands are preserved. Unfortunately, the Trump administration and Congress propose to weaken federal Clean Water Act protections for those essential resources. But California regulatory agencies needn’t and shouldn’t wait for this federal rollback. They should instead take action proactively to use state law to ensure clean water and wetlands protections for all Californians. … ” Read more from Water Deeply here: Facing rollbacks, California must protect drinking water, wetlands
Telling lies about water rights won’t help fix the Tuolumne, says the Modesto Irrigation District Board of Directors: They write, “Peter Drekmeier, in his role as Policy Director for the Tuolumne River Trust, expressed his opinions on water and agriculture in a column published in The Sacramento Bee. The column provides false information to justify misguided recommendations and conclusions. The big lie has to do with the application of the public trust doctrine as regards to water. Drekmeier claims that under this doctrine all water belongs to the people and can be allocated by the state. … ” Read more from the Modesto Bee here: Telling lies about water rights won’t help fix the Tuolumne
How fish and farms can both survive in California: Roger Cornwell and Jacob Katz write, “Fish or farm lawsuits are common in California and typically end with legal decisions that create more bureaucracy but don’t make a significant difference for struggling native fish populations. And no matter who wins in court, giving water to one interest never feels like a solution. So when water resources dwindled during the drought, many braced for a new wave of courtroom battles. Instead, farmers and fish advocates chose to pursue solutions that benefit both fish and farms. This shows us that a better future for both people and the environment is possible even in the era of climate change and ever-increasing pressures on limited water supplies. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: How fish and farms can both survive in California
In regional news and commentary today …
Lincoln City leaders illegally overcharge residents millions of dollars for water: “A group of citizens in Lincoln have successfully sued the city after they allege the city was overcharging residents for their water rates. Residents say they warned the city before the rates were put into place, but city leaders didn’t listen. This group says they were shocked after seeing water rates skyrocket, launching their own investigation discovering that what the city was doing was illegal. … ” Read more from CBS Sacramento here: Lincoln City leaders illegally overcharge residents millions of dollars for water
San Luis Obispo County groundwater agencies seek crucial state grants: “San Luis Obispo County and other local agencies wrestling with depleted groundwater have their sights set on state grants that, if secured, could cut local groundwater management costs in half over the next few years. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) is divvying $86 million in Proposition 1 (the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014) funds to localities next year to help subsidize the crafting of long-term groundwater sustainability plans, required per state law by 2020. … ” Read more from New Times SLO here: San Luis Obispo County groundwater agencies seek crucial state grants
Salton Sea communities ‘no longer a good place to live’ for those with respiratory issues: “Nancy Johnson has lived near the Salton Sea her entire life. Her grandparents originally moved to the area at the behest of their doctors, who said the hot, dry desert was the perfect antidote for their emphysema. Now, as the principal of Westmorland Union Elementary School, Johnson faces an entirely different set of circumstances. She’s responsible for 380 of Imperial County’s most vulnerable residents — children between the ages of 5 and 11 — and 17 percent of her student body has asthma. The air quality is so poor that the county ranks first in California for asthma-related emergency room visits for children. … ” Read more from the Desert Sun here: Salton Sea communities ‘no longer a good place to live’ for those with respiratory issues
Simulated flood injected life into thirsty Colorado River Delta, new data shows: “In the spring of 2014, a rare moment happened on the lowest stretches of the Colorado River. Instead of its last few drops being diverted at a dam near the U.S.-Mexico border, it flowed through its banks. “There was a remarkable amount of excitement and energy in the air,” says James Leenhouts, a U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist who runs the agency’s Arizona Water Science Center and was present for the moment. “One of the most remarkable impacts of the flow was the human impact.” ... ” Read more from KUNC here: Simulated flood injected life into thirsty Colorado River Delta, new data shows
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: New PPIC Report: Priorities for California Water; Reclamation releases enviro docs for the High Speed Rail Project; Semitropic Water District to implement water conservation measures and reduce energy costs
- SCIENCE NEWS: Resiliency rising: State of the Estuary; Wildfires, water, and CAWSC science; Climate shifts shorten marine food chain off California; Mountain glaciers shrinking across Western US; and more …
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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.
