In California water news today, Atmospheric river brings storm and flash flood warnings to fire-ravaged wine country; Powerful weather satellite will improve forecasting; California flooding, sea-level rise linked; Local management plans may not protect California groundwater from climate change risk; $4 billion bond will help with droughts and floods; California wineries assess wildfires’ long-term effects; Ranchers take stock of rangeland, forest damage from fires; and more …
On the calendar today …
- The California Water Commission meets at 9:30am. Agenda items include a preparatory briefing on the Water Storage Investment Program scoring and determination, and an update on the State Water Project. Click here for complete agenda and webcast link.
- High tide on Main Street at 6pm: Join the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco for a conversation about envisioning, creating and paying for a new way of life by the water. Click here for more information and to buy tickets.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
Atmospheric river brings storm and flash flood warnings to fire-ravaged wine country: “The first atmospheric river-fueled storm of the season is expected to make landfall in California on Wednesday afternoon, when it will dump inches of rain in the Bay Area, disgorge up to a foot of snow over the Sierra Nevada and likely trigger flash floods in fire-scorched wine country. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning from 4 p.m. Wednesday to 3 a.m. Thursday for those areas of Sonoma and Napa counties that were scorched by a multiple wildfires in October. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: Atmospheric river brings storm and flash flood warnings to fire-ravaged wine country
Powerful weather satellite will improve forecasting: “The current three- to seven-day forecasts Americans have come to rely on for planning everything from weekend picnics to hurricane evacuations rely heavily on constant updates from satellites that orbit Earth’s poles measuring temperature, moisture and a host of other variables that define the planet’s ever-changing weather. Early Tuesday, NASA plans to launch the first of four state-of-the-art polar orbiters for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a $1.6 billion weather satellite that will monitor the entire planet as it rotates below, feeding computer models the data they need to make increasingly accurate predictions. … ” Read more from CBS News here: Powerful weather satellite will improve forecasting
California flooding, sea-level rise linked: “As officials in Washington try to repair the nation’s flood insurance program, scientists in California are grappling with a looming threat that will complicate flooding hazards in the state: sea-level rise. Creeping ocean waters are already flooding coastal areas more frequently and eroding sea cliffs more rapidly. They’re also worsening damage from extreme weather events like high tides and torrential rains. Scientists can’t predict exactly how much sea levels will rise over time because there are too many unknown factors, particularly how much more climate-warming greenhouse gas humans will produce, said Gary Griggs, a geologist at UC Santa Cruz who studies the coast. … ” Read more from Capitol Weekly here: California flooding, sea-level rise linked
Learning from failure: Oroville Dam spillway: “On 7 February this year, engineers spotted a hole in the concrete spillway of the tallest dam in the United States. Over the next few days Oroville Dam in California made international headlines as the damage spiralled out of control. Its two spillways — overflows for excess water — had suffered erosion damage as a result of the heavy rainfall which had spread through the state, after several years of drought. That month, more than half of the 3,000 people working for the California Department for Water Resources (DWR) were dedicated to emergency response work. … ” Continue reading at Civil Engineer here: Learning from failure: Oroville Dam spillway
Local management plans may not protect California groundwater from climate change risk: “While hundreds of local agencies across California draft their plans to ensure the sustainability of groundwater basins, water experts say in a white paper released today that these state-mandated plans need to incorporate climate change impacts to be sustainable. The paper is intended to serve as a resource to help agencies do just that. The white paper was published by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and Stanford University’s Water in the West program. “Many water managers are not trained in the climate science needed to understand how best to estimate the future impacts of climate change on their water resources,” said Geeta Persad, Ph.D., post-doctoral scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science at Stanford and co-author.” Yet the law requires them to incorporate climate change into their plans, which is extremely difficult to do on the scale of a groundwater basin, even with more funding and expertise. This white paper aims to help them navigate the process of incorporating climate change projections appropriately,” she said. ... ” Continue reading from Stanford News here: Local management plans may not protect California groundwater from climate change risk
$4 billion bond will help with droughts and floods: “Droughts and floods are both a part of life in California as 2017 has so clearly demonstrated: It took one of the wettest winters on record to pull the state from the depths of a five-year drought. The state has invested funds in bulking up drought and flood protection in the past, but recent events highlighted the necessity of rejuvenating those efforts. As a result, Gov. Jerry Brown recently approved a new general obligation bond measure that would fund projects focused on those problems. The bond measure will go before California voters during the 2018 primary on June 5, and it must receive a 66.6 percent “yes” vote to pass. … ” Read more from Water Deeply here: $4 billion bond will help with droughts and floods
California wineries assess wildfires’ long-term effects: “A month after deadly wildfires swept through California’s famed wine country, hot-air balloons are floating again over Napa Valley vineyards splashed with fall colors. On the heels of the disaster, a new winery is opening, keeping the name it chose some time ago: Ashes and Diamonds. The fires had only a minimal effect on the area’s wineries, according to the Wine Institute, an advocacy and policy group. Of the 1,200 wineries in Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino, about 10 were destroyed or heavily damaged, and 90 percent of this year’s harvest already was complete, the institute said. Most vineyards were spared due to their high moisture content, and some even helped save surrounding structures by acting as fire breaks. … ” Read more from the Capital Press here: California wineries assess wildfires’ long-term effects
Ranchers take stock of rangeland, forest damage from fires: “Rancher Kurt Albrecht was away at a meeting when a neighbor called to tell him of the wildfire that was rapidly approaching his property. He and his son drove home from nearby Orland, Calif., and by the time they got to Oroville, they could see the Cherokee Fire on the top of Table Mountain overlooking the city. “It was a huge, wide expanse,” Albrecht said of the blaze that started Oct. 8 and charred 8,417 acres, mostly rangeland. “It was many miles wide and headed in our direction, so we raced home.” ... ” Read more from the Capital Press here: Ranchers take stock of rangeland, forest damage from fires
Strawless in Seattle: How one city is tackling ocean pollution: “In June, actor and environmental activist Adrian Grenier appeared at the United Nations Ocean Conference in New York City to promote his Lonely Whale Foundation’s campaign against plastic straws, a billion of which are used each day worldwide with an untold number ending up in the sea. To fight ocean plastic pollution, “We have to start with something simple, accessible and inspirational to get as many people on board as possible,” Grenier, the U.N. Environment Programme’s newly appointed goodwill ambassador, tells a standing-room-only crowd in a usually deserted press room. “Instead of asking people to change their entire life, start with something small, such as stop using single-use plastic straws.” … ” Read more from Water Deeply here: Strawless in Seattle: How one city is tackling ocean pollution
UN says better protections needed for mine water disasters: “A string of mining waste disasters — some deadly — over the past decade show better protections are needed for communities downstream of massive polluted material storage sites, according to a United Nations report. The UN Environment Program report tallied 40 significant mine waste accidents in the past decade. Most involved dams or other storage areas that failed, releasing torrents of polluted water. Among the accidents highlighted by the agency were a 2015 dam collapse at a Brazilian iron-ore mine that killed 19 people and the Gold King Mine disaster in the U.S. that spilled pollution into rivers in three Western states. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: UN says better protections needed for mine water disasters
In commentary today …
Governor could still solve the Delta’s water roles with single-tunnel deal, says Ed Clendaniel: He writes, “I got up at 5:15 a.m. on Saturday morning with the idea of driving 100 miles to watch the sun rise over the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. I wanted to show my 84-year-old mom the beauty of one of California’s best-kept secrets. Maybe see some of the Delta’s magnificent sandhill cranes capable of flying up to 400 miles in a single day. But my real goal was to get a clearer perspective on the merit of building a single, 35-mile tunnel to provide a more reliable supply of water for generations of thirsty Californians. What we got instead was a thick layer of fog. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here: Governor could still solve the Delta’s water roles with single-tunnel deal
Come hell or low water, it’s what’s underground that must be preserved, says Spreck Rosekrans: He writes, “After our recent drought, the importance of providing sustainable water supplies for California’s cities and farms – both now and over the long term – is clearer than ever. And long-term water planning has to include a commitment to manage groundwater aquifers carefully, recharging them whenever possible and pumping from them only when necessary. Modesto must protect its groundwater supplies. It’s the only way for farmers and city dwellers alike to maintain their economy, their heritage and their very way of life for future generations. It’s also the law. ... ” Read more from the Modesto Bee here: Come hell or low water, it’s what’s underground that must be preserved
In regional news and commentary today …
Melted drain pipes could bring flooding as Santa Rosa fire zone prepares for storm: “From devastating wildfires to possible flooding, mudslides and debris flows — that’s the very real scenario officials in Santa Rosa are bracing for inside fire zones as the first big storm of the season moves in. In the fire-ravaged Fountaingrove neighborhood, work crews are racing to beat the storm by removing 80 feet of plastic storm drain pipe which melted during the firestorm. … ” Read more from KGO here: Melted drain pipes could bring flooding as Santa Rosa fire zone prepares for storm
Small quake rattles the Delta: “A 3.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Delta area Tuesday evening south of town, according to authorities. … ” Read more from the East Bay Times here: Small quake rattles the Delta
Underserved LA communities get almost $10 million in funding for water needs: “The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors accepted a $9.8 million state grant Tuesday to be used for water quality and conservation planning efforts in disadvantaged or underrepresented communities. Supervisor Hilda Solis said the money would be used in 33 neighborhoods in the First District, which she represents, ranging from Boyle Heights to Pomona. … ” Read more from City Watch here: Underserved LA communities get almost $10 million in funding for water needs
Precipitation watch …
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.
