DAILY DIGEST: Judge shoots down Delta tunnel foes’ request to halt key hearing; Storm helps but snowpack far below normal; With Supreme Court challenge, tech billionaire could dismantle beach access rights — and a landmark coastal law; Hetch Hetchy water’s long trip; and more …

In California water news today, Judge shoots down Delta tunnel foes’ request to halt key hearing; Storm helps but snowpack far below normal; Big snow maker storm improves California’s water outlook; With Supreme Court challenge, tech billionaire could dismantle beach access rights — and a landmark coastal law; Underwater, networked drones monitor water quality; Hetch Hetchy water’s long trip from Sierra to San Francisco; and more …

On the calendar today …

• The State Water Resources Control Board meets beginning at 9:30am: Agenda items include consideration of an amendment to the Central Coast water quality control plan to adopt TMDL’s for sediment toxicity and pyrethroid pesticides in the Lower Salinas watershed, Consideration of a proposed resolution to adopt the proposed regulations for surface water augmentation using recycled water, and an update on the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund and cleanup programs.  Click here for more information.  Click here to watch on webcast.

In the news today …

Judge shoots down Delta tunnel foes’ request to halt key hearing:  “A Sacramento County judge on Monday declined to temporarily stop the hearings that will decide the fate of Gov. Jerry Brown’s Delta tunnels project after its opponents sued alleging the process had been tainted by secret meetings.  In denying their request for a restraining order, Judge James P. Arguelles said during a hearing in Sacramento that project opponents didn’t provide enough evidence to show that he needed to halt the water-rights hearings before the State Water Resources Control Board. … ”  Read more from the Sacramento Bee here:  Judge shoots down Delta tunnel foes’ request to halt key hearing

Storm helps but snowpack far below normal:  “It’s a good sign when the Department of Water Resources’ monthly snow survey gets snowed out.  DWR officials and a train of news media were supposed to hike out Thursday into a meadow near Echo Summit off Highway 50, and drive a pipe into the snow. That tells the depth of the snow. The snow-filled pipe is then weighed, and that can be used to calculate the water content. ... ”  Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record here:  Storm helps but snowpack far below normal

Big snow maker storm improves California’s water outlook:  “California’s first major storm of the winter this past week made a sizable dent in the prospects of another drought, but more precipitation is needed for the state to approach an average water year.  California water official Frank Gehrke measured the snowpack at 41.1 inches at the Phillips Station just southwest of Lake Tahoe during the California Department of Water’s third snow survey of the season.  “This represents a huge boost to what we had been seeing before the storms hit,” Gehrke said after taking the measurements. “Another encouraging aspect is that forecasting are calling for more storms this coming weekend. If they are big enough it gets us to shouting distance of a decent water year.” … ”  Read more from the Courthouse News Service here:  Big snow maker storm improves California’s water outlook

Look what the big storm brought to the Sierra:  “A powerful storm visible in satellite images has dramatically changed the state’s seasonal snowpack totals, according to today’s monthly survey —  but it still leaves California’s water supplies well below normal.  The Sierra Nevada’s biggest storm of the year attracted (and threatened) skiiers and closed some roads; Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows reported 7 feet of snow this weekend. The storm also delayed state scientists’ monthly trek out to Phillips Station, just off highway 50 near Echo Summit. This is just one spot in the California Cooperative Snow Survey (CCSS) managed by the Department of Water Resources (DWR). ... ”  Read more from KQED here:  Look what the big storm brought to the Sierra

With Supreme Court challenge, tech billionaire could dismantle beach access rights — and a landmark coastal law: “The California Coastal Act for decades has scaled back mega-hotels, protected wetlands and, above all, declared that access to the beach was a fundamental right guaranteed to everyone.  But that very principle could be dismantled in the latest chapter of an all-out legal battle that began as a local dispute over a locked gate.  On one side, property owner and Silicon Valley billionaire Vinod Khosla wants Martins Beach, a secluded crescent-shaped stretch of sand and bluffs, to himself. On the other, generations of beachgoers demand continued access to a path long used by the public. The squabble has spurred a spate of lawsuits that now focus on whether Khosla needs state permission to gate off the road — and a string of California courts has said he does. ... ”  Read more from the LA Times here:  With Supreme Court challenge, tech billionaire could dismantle beach access rights — and a landmark coastal law

Underwater, networked drones monitor water quality:  “Repeated dose toxicity: “No data available.” Carcinogenicity: “No data available.” Reproductive toxicity: “No data available.” Specific target organ toxicity, repeated exposure: “No data available.”  This is what the safety data sheets for a number of chemicals read like—including the 2014 sheet for crude MCHM, the compound that leaked into the Elk River that year compromising the drinking water supply of most of the state. That incident highlighted just how little we know about the risks associated with many chemicals in use today, and the need to monitor water quality in real-time. … ”  Read more from Environmental Monitor here:  Underwater, networked drones monitor water quality

In regional news and commentary today …

The contentious future of Point Reyes:  “On a rocky peninsula with sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean, an hour north of San Francisco, cows, tule elk, and people have shared the land for several hundred years — but lately, with growing conflict. That’s why the National Park Service is rethinking how to manage the rangelands in the Point Reyes National Seashore. President John F. Kennedy established the national park at Point Reyes in 1962, but the government only owned some of the land. The rest had been cattle and dairy land for 100 years. So federal authorities paid out $50 million in the 1960s and 70s to buy the land from the cattle and dairy ranchers. ... ”  Read more from KQED here:  The contentious future of Point Reyes

Hetch Hetchy water’s long trip from Sierra to San Francisco:  “Just to the east of Crystal Springs Reservoir sits the Pulgas Water Temple, a landmark commemorating completion in 1934 of the Hetch Hetchy aqueduct, which brought water from the lakes and valleys in the Sierra Nevada Mountains to kitchen taps in the Bay Area. An inscription above the temple’s columns reads: “I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people.”  It took 22 years and $100 million to complete the Hetch Hetchy system, and on Oct. 28, 1934, thousands of people celebrated as water flowed into Crystal Springs Reservoir in the Santa Cruz Mountains. … ”  Read more from the SF Chronicle here:  Hetch Hetchy water’s long trip from Sierra to San Francisco

Nacimiento water isn’t lost – it’s just going to the Salinas Valley, says Phil Dirkx:  He writes, “I hope you read about Nacimiento Lake’s drought difficulties.  It was on the front page of Wednesday’s Tribune. Nacimiento Lake is more than half empty, and our winter rainy season is almost over. The lake’s water level has been going down steadily. The headline said, “Nacimiento has lost half its water.”  There was also a large picture of Nacimiento Lake. The banks of the lake looked bare and wide and dry. The story said the lake was only 40 percent full. … ”  Read more from the San Luis Obispo Tribune here:  Nacimiento water isn’t lost – it’s just going to the Salinas Valley

Santa Clarita: Meetings called to update public about last days of Whitaker-Bermite cleanup:  “As state officials count down the time remaining in the cleanup of close to 1,000 acres of contaminated land at Whittaker-Bermite, they plan to update the public about the cleanup at two meetings Wednesday.  A multi-jurisdictional meeting in which each stakeholder involved in the cleanup weighs in on the status of soil, air and water decontamination efforts is scheduled to take place at Santa Clarita City Hall at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Century Conference Room. ... ”  Read more from The Signal here:  Santa Clarita: Meetings called to update public about last days of Whitaker-Bermite cleanup

What will Frank Gehry come up with for a new, greener LA River? LA County hired him to help find out:  “Los Angeles County hired world-renowned architect Frank Gehry to work up a master plan for the restoration of the 51-mile Los Angeles River, two county supervisors announced Monday.  Gehry, who is known for his fanciful building designs, including the Disney Hall in downtown L.A., will work with OLIN, a worldwide landscape and urban design firm, known for landscaping the Washington Monument and the plaza in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  They will work with engineering firm Geosyntec, which will keep the flood-control aspects and hopefully create more storm-water capture elements, said Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, who along with Supervisor Hilda Solis, made the joint announcement. ... ”  Read more from the Pasadena Star News here:  What will Frank Gehry come up with for a new, greener LA River? LA County hired him to help find out

The Coachella Valley must act to maintain local control of water policy, says Craig Kessler:  He writes, “Perception is reality in politics, never more so than when the subject is water.   If the Coachella Valley learned nothing else from the last statewide drought crisis it was this: The facts of the matter didn’t matter much when it came to how Sacramento treated the valley.  Those who live, work, farm and play golf in the valley understand that the desert’s water supply is secured by sources almost entirely separate from the State Water Project and unrelated to seasonal rains and snows. It is secured by an aquifer that is among the richest and deepest in the world, as well as federally guaranteed allocations from the Colorado River. … ”  Read more from the Desert Sun here:  The Coachella Valley must act to maintain local control of water policy

Precipitation watch …

From the National Weather Service, Sacramento:  “A weak storm system is on tap for Wednesday night into Saturday. This storm will not be as cold or as wet as last week’s storm. Light valley rain is possible with mountain snow (less than a foot) down to around 5000-6000 feet.”

Also on Maven’s Notebook today …

• BLOG ROUND-UP: The wall and the tunnels; Getting prepared for drought again; Advice on voluntary settlements; Progress on water data; Nunes & the Bee; and more …
• NEWS WORTH NOTING: San Joaquin River Restoration Flows’ recapture allowed for Friant Division farmers; Delivery, transfer and exchange of San Joaquin River Restoration Flows to continue; Department of the Interior releases report on fight against invasive mussels
• THIS JUST IN … Winter Storm Provides Much-Needed Boost to Sierra Snowpack, but Water Content Still Below Average

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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.