In California water news today, In the Fate of the Delta Smelt, Warnings of Conservation Gone Wrong; California struggles to handle water needs in drought and downpours; Report: Climate change is driving precipitation whiplash in 21st century; California and climate change: Jerry Brown’s would-be successors make plans; Farming That Uses a Little Water … And a Whole Lot of Fish Poop; Western Arizona eyed as water source for major metro areas
On the calendar today …
- The Department of Water Resources will hold a SGMA Assistance Workshop in Chico at 1pm. Click here for more information and to register.
In the news today …
In the Fate of the Delta Smelt, Warnings of Conservation Gone Wrong: “Peter Moyle, an eminent authority on the ecology and conservation of California’s fishes, stands on the narrow deck of a survey boat and gazes out over the sloughs of Suisun Marsh. The tall, tubular stems of tule reeds bend in the wind as a flock of pelicans soars past, their white wings edged in black. It’s an idyllic scene that hints at an earlier time, back before the Gold Rush, when undisturbed creeks and tidal marsh covered the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. In the delta, two of California’s greatest rivers meet and mingle with the ebb and flow of tides from San Francisco Bay, forming the largest estuary on the Pacific coast of the Americas. ... ” Read more from Undark Magazine here: In the Fate of the Delta Smelt, Warnings of Conservation Gone Wrong
California struggles to handle water needs in drought and downpours: “Los Angeles is a city of extremes: downpours lead to deadly mudslides, yet people talk about a water shortage. “Just like with earthquakes, droughts are just a way of life here in California,” said Demetri Polyzos of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The state suffered a serious drought from 2012-2017, forcing many to change their long-established ways of life. Though no longer officially classified as in drought, many expect the designation to return soon. “It could bring this country to its knees,” documentary filmmaker Jim Thebaut said. “It’s gonna impact international security.” ... ” Read more from CGTN here: California struggles to handle water needs in drought and downpours
Report: Climate change is driving precipitation whiplash in 21st century: “Scientists already know how climate change is impacting the Western United States – higher temperatures have translated to earlier spring snow melts, precipitation is falling more as rain instead of snow at higher elevations and there’s reduced runoff and streamflow. “When it comes to global warming, a lot of what we know with really high confidence has to do with temperature,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California Los Angeles Center for Climate Science. … ” Read more from Water Deeply here: Report: Climate change is driving precipitation whiplash in 21st century
Increasing precipitation whiplash in 21st century (Daniel Swain’s own discussion of study cited above: “Previous studies have found that future changes in California’s overall average annual precipitation are likely to be fairly modest, even under rather extreme global warming scenarios. Most climate models suggest that the boundary between mean wetting (in the already moist mid-latitude regions to the north) and mean drying (in the already arid subtropics to the south) in a warming world will likely fall somewhere over California—which increases uncertainty regarding whether the region will become slightly wetter or slightly drier on average. The notion that California’s average precipitation might not change much in the future is actually somewhat surprising, as there is high confidence that other “mediterranean” climate regions on Earth will experience progressively less precipitation as the world warms and the region of stable subtropical influence expands. As we demonstrate in our new research, however, these small shifts in average precipitation mask profound changes in the character of California precipitation. … ” Continue reading at the California Weather Blog here: Increasing precipitation whiplash in 21st century
California and climate change: Jerry Brown’s would-be successors make plans: “When Gov. Jerry Brown leaves office next year, California will lose a climate advocate who has carried the nation’s fight against global warming as Washington has stood down. Many of the Democratic candidates seeking to replace Brown say they will stick to his agenda of cutting heat-trapping gas emissions to confront the danger of escalating wildfires, droughts and sea level rise. Some want to step up the effort. The two major Republicans in the race, meanwhile, are skeptical that humans are the primary agents of climate change. They’re pledging to trim the policies the governor has championed. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: California and climate change: Jerry Brown’s would-be successors make plans
Farming That Uses a Little Water … And a Whole Lot of Fish Poop: “Most farms grow food with soil and water. But at Ouroboros Farm in Half Moon Bay, Ken Armstrong grows food with water and fish. Inside a building about the size of a professional basketball court, water pours from a pipe into huge tubs where goldfish, catfish and tilapia are swimming. Then a complex pipe system takes water from the tubs to feed rows of lettuce, cabbage, and kale, floating on large platforms over water beds. What we’re looking at is called “aquaponics.” … ” Read more from KQED here: Farming That Uses a Little Water … And a Whole Lot of Fish Poop
Western Arizona eyed as water source for major metro areas: “A week into her appointment last fall as a Mohave County supervisor in western Arizona, Lois Wakimoto heard the words that would consume her since: We have a water problem. The entity that sends Colorado River water throughout Arizona wants to buy farmland in her district that includes Mohave Valley, pay farmers to fallow it and redirect the water to the state’s most populous areas where housing developments are booming. The program would be the first in the state to move water from agricultural users along the river to central and southern Arizona, and local residents are opposing it. ... ” Read more from the Arizona Daily Sun here: Western Arizona eyed as water source for major metro areas
More news and commentary in the weekend edition …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- Stay on top of water news and policy for another year!
- RESERVOIR AND WATER CONDITIONS for April 23rd
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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.
