In California water news today, California gauges snowpack amid dry winter; State now facing cascade of litigation over Oroville Dam; Stewart Resnick: A kingdom from dust; A tale of two tunnels; Battery storage begins to find a home at some water utilities; California may be returning to drought again and Sierra snow droughts may become more common; Wine lovers, relax: Study suggests California grapevines can weather searing drought; How a skeptical rancher in rural California embraced green-friendly farming – with help from a popular outdoors brand; Trump promised better infrastructure. Not with this roadmap, California leaders say; and more …
On the calendar today …
- The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board meets today beginning at 9:30 am. Click here for the agenda and webcast link.
- The State Department of Food and Ag meets in Sebastopol today from 12:30 pm to 2:00pm. Click here for more information.
- Climate Chaos and Local Resilience: Water Solutions in the American West from 6pm to 9pm at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. Click here for more information.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: Working group releases report evaluating the use of nature-based strategies to combat ocean acidification; Conservation, fish and recreation groups applaud draft Mokelumne River Wild and Scenic Study Report; Initial 2018 restoration allocation & default flow schedule for San Joaquin Rest. Pgm released
- ANNOUNCEMENT: State Water Board’s Proposed Rulemaking on Wasteful Water Uses—changes to the proposed text and additional 15-day comment period
- SCIENCE NEWS: Research finds discrepancies between satellite and global model estimates of land water storage; USGS geologists join efforts in Montecito to assess debris-flow aftermath; When octupuses thrived in San Francisco Bay; and more …
California gauges snowpack amid dry winter: “Amid record-setting heat in the state’s south, California’s water managers will measure the Sierra Nevada snowpack, which supplies water to millions. Department of Water Resources officials will trek to the mountains Thursday to check the snow depth, one gauge of the state’s water supply. Electronic sensors show snow levels are about one-third of normal. At the peak of California’s recently ended five-year drought, Gov. Jerry Brown ordered 25 percent water conservation in cities and towns and declared a drought emergency. ... ” Read more from ABC News here: California gauges snowpack amid dry winter
State now facing cascade of litigation over Oroville Dam: “More than 40 farmers and business owners in the Oroville area sued the state Wednesday over the effects of the Oroville Dam crisis, seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. The giant lawsuit against the California Department of Water Resources was filed by the same law firms representing the city of Oroville in a suit it filed in early January against DWR. It accuses DWR of harboring a “culture of corruption and harassment” that compromised dam safety and led to last February’s near-catastrophe. ... ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: State now facing cascade of litigation over Oroville Dam
Stewart Resnick: A kingdom from dust: “Stewart Resnick is the biggest farmer in the United States, a fact he has tried to keep hidden while he has shaped what we eat, transformed California’s landscape, and ruled entire towns.But the one thing he can’t control is what he’s most dependent on — water. ... ” Continue reading from The California Sunday Magazine here: A kingdom from dust
A tale of two tunnels: “In the world of California water, nothing is a sure thing. But when you’re Governor Jerry Brown, even one step forward can seem like two steps back. The seventeen billion-dollar plan to build two tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (“Delta”) in California, currently known as California WaterFix (“CA WaterFix”), has been a concern for environmentalists and Central Valley landowners since the plan was initiated in 2005. But in the past two years, the Delta plan has experienced a rollercoaster ride of successes and setbacks. Formerly known as the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, CA WaterFix made headway this summer when, after an extensive ten-year environmental study and scientific inquiry, the Delta plan received the “go ahead” from both federal agencies responsible for the protection of species under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) and from the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife. … ” Read more from the University of Denver Law Review here: A tale of two tunnels
Battery storage begins to find a home at some water utilities: “High-capacity batteries aren’t just making electric vehicles viable. They’re also beginning to transform water utilities. In Southern California, a number of water utilities have begun to install large batteries alongside their pumping plants and water treatment facilities. The idea is to store energy in the batteries overnight, when energy is cheaper. Then during the daytime, when power is more expensive, a water agency can tap that battery power for its routine operations. ... ” Read more from Water Deeply here: Battery storage begins to find a home at some water utilities
California may be returning to drought again and Sierra snow droughts may become more common: “Despite a recent blanket of 1 to 2 feet of snow, snow cover in the Sierra is at its lowest point in late January since the peak of the state’s multi-year drought in 2014 and 2015, according to an analysis from NOAA’s National Operational Hyrdologic Remote Sensing Center. Tahoe City, along the north shore of Lake Tahoe, had picked up only 23.5 inches of snow this season through Jan. 30, a season-to-date snowfall deficit of 70.5 inches, or just under 6 feet. The water content estimated in the Sierra snowpack was only 30 percent of average for the date, according to the California Department of Water Resources. ... ” Read more from The Weather Channel here: California may be returning to drought again and Sierra snow droughts may become more common
Wine lovers, relax: Study suggests California grapevines can weather searing drought: “The drought could be crippling but the wine will be good. That is the happy conclusion of a study published today in the journal, Science. It turns out that the grapevine is hardier than anyone thought. Scientists who looked at vineyards in California’s Napa Valley and the Bordeaux region of France found that in times of drought, the grapevine’s resistance actually increased as the season progressed. The study, conducted over a period of ten years, found that the grapevines were not at risk of dying from “even very dry conditions.” … ” Read more from KQED here: Wine lovers, relax: Study suggests California grapevines can weather searing drought
How a skeptical rancher in rural California embraced green-friendly farming – with help from a popular outdoors brand: “Lani Estill’s family ranches on thousands of acres in Modoc County on the border of Nevada and California. Her operation, Bare Ranch, sits in a place called Surprise Valley. It’s a beautiful almost forgotten place “Where the West still lives” — that’s the county’s motto. “We have things going on here that you just don’t see going on everywhere in the nation,” Estill says. “Cattle are still gathered on horseback. We have cattle drives down the main country road.” There are less 10,000 people in the whole county, and very few industries besides agriculture and hunting exist there. The Estills have three bands of sheep that trek through the area where the Burning Man festival takes place yearly. ... ” Read more from Capital Public Radio here: How a skeptical rancher in rural California embraced green-friendly farming – with help from a popular outdoors brand
Trump promised better infrastructure. Not with this roadmap, California leaders say: “Last winter, California’s Democratic leaders were feeling cautiously optimistic that they could work with President Donald Trump to spur desperately needed infrastructure investment in the state. One year into the Trump administration, the prospects for bipartisan partnership on the issue have dimmed. The president touted plans to invest in the nation’s infrastructure in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. “We will build gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways, and waterways across our land,” Trump promised. ... ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Trump promised better infrastructure. Not with this roadmap, California leaders say
In regional news and commentary today …
Tahoe sees record-breaking temperatures: ‘With each day of sunshine, we lose a little snowpack: “A down parka wasn’t necessary around the Tahoe Basin on Tuesday afternoon, as record-breaking temperatures and sunny skies made for unseasonably spring-like conditions. South Lake Tahoe hit a high of 56 degrees, surpassing the same-day record of 52 degrees reached in both 1999 and 2012. Reno spiked at a balmy 68 degrees, beating the 2003 same-day record of 65 degrees. … “ Read more from SF Gate here: Tahoe sees record-breaking temperatures: ‘With each day of sunshine, we lose a little snowpack
In Sonoma County, February will decide if we slip towards drought: “A year after record rainfall swamped Northern California, filling our reservoirs and ending the state’s crippling yearslong drought, this winter is proving quite lackluster for storm activity. In Santa Rosa, just 5.98 inches of rain have fallen since the start of the year compared to 18.96 inches of rain last January, the wettest on record for the Santa Rosa Plain. This January’s rainfall total just beat out the historical average for the month in Santa Rosa, 5.93 inches, according to the National Weather Service. … ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat here: In Sonoma County, February will decide if we slip towards drought
Water main break caused by movement on Hayward fault: “We now know what caused a big water main break in Hayward. The USGS says the water main break was caused by what’s called a creep – a constant or periodic movement – on the Hayward Fault. The pipe suddenly snapped, causing a flood along Highland Boulevard. The water main break on Highland Boulevard was so powerful it forced the street to rise and buckle. It looked as if the Earth was about to burst from the extreme pressure. … ” Read more from CBS Sacramento here: Water main break caused by movement on Hayward fault
Santa Barbara’s drought never left: “Responding to dire warnings of potential heavy rains that might trigger another avalanche of mud and rock, Montecito Water District boardmember Dick Shaikewitz sought to provide grim reassurance at a community meeting held last week about Montecito’s future. Meteorologists with the National Weather Service had scanned the South Coast for future rains, he reported; there was nothing on the horizon. The bad news, he said, was no rain. The good news, he said, was exactly the same: no rain. … “ Read more from the Independent here: Santa Barbara’s drought never left
Indian Wells Valley groundwater committees to meet Thursday: “The Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority’s committees are set to meet on Thursday, Feb. 1 at the Indian Wells Valley Water District’s office at 500 W. Ridgecrest Boulevard. IWVGA’s Technical Advisory Committee meets first at 1 p.m., then the Policy Advisory Committee meets later that evening at 6 p.m. Each committee is made up of a group of volunteer community members who went through an application process to be part of the committee. The goal of each committee is to discuss, respectively, technical or policy issues in order to give recommendations to the IWVGA board of directors as IWVGA continues its state-mandated mission of creating a Groundwater Sustainability Plan in order to bring pumping of the IWV groundwater basin into sustainable levels. ... ” Read more from the Taft Midway Driller here: Indian Wells Valley groundwater committees to meet Thursday
San Diego: Lagoon foundation renews call for lake cleanup: “The Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation is renewing its call for a cleanup of Lake San Marcos, the man-made water body at the center of a North County retirement community. Polluted water released from the lake flows into the San Marcos Creek and eventually downstream to the coastal lagoon at the border of Carlsbad and Encinitas, foundation President Fred Sandquist said Tuesday. “The nitrogen level is very high,” Sandquist said. “It’s got heavy metals in the sediment. Over the years, this has all been documented.” … ” Read more from the San Diego Union Tribune here: Lagoon foundation renews call for lake cleanup
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: Working group releases report evaluating the use of nature-based strategies to combat ocean acidification; Conservation, fish and recreation groups applaud draft Mokelumne River Wild and Scenic Study Report; Initial 2018 restoration allocation & default flow schedule for San Joaquin Rest. Pgm released
- ANNOUNCEMENT: State Water Board’s Proposed Rulemaking on Wasteful Water Uses—changes to the proposed text and additional 15-day comment period
- SCIENCE NEWS: Research finds discrepancies between satellite and global model estimates of land water storage; USGS geologists join efforts in Montecito to assess debris-flow aftermath; When octupuses thrived in San Francisco Bay; 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.
