DAILY DIGEST: Did Gov. Brown promise the Bay Area a new reservoir in exchange for Delta tunnels support?; Q&A: To manage CA’s groundwater, think more about surface water; Critical decision to be made about Temperance Flat dam; How Pruitt’s science plan might help industry fight rules; and more …

In California water news today, Did Gov. Brown promise the Bay Area a new reservoir in exchange for Delta tunnels support?; Q&A: To manage California’s groundwater, think more about surface water; Radio show: California’s groundwater basins draft plans to become sustainable; Podcast #26: The fate of the Delta smelt; Critical decision to be made about Temperance Flat dam; Instead of more dams, communities turn to reusing wastewater; EPA: How Pruitt’s science plan might help industry fight rules; and more …

On the calendar today …

In the news today …

Did Gov. Brown promise the Bay Area a new reservoir in exchange for Delta tunnels support?: “Just six months ago, a major Bay Area water district only would commit about a third of the $650 million Gov. Jerry Brown’s office had hoped it would pay for his controversial Delta tunnels project.  In a sudden reversal, the Santa Clara Valley Water District board now may pay the full amount. The board is scheduled to vote on the issue Wednesday.  The district’s possible change of heart comes less than two weeks after Brown’s Water Commission recommended giving $485 million in funding from the Proposition 1 water bond to pay for building a new reservoir in the Pacheco Pass in southeastern Santa Clara County, a project the Santa Clara district has on its wish list. … ”  Read more from the Sacramento Bee here:  Did Gov. Brown promise the Bay Area a new reservoir in exchange for Delta tunnels support?

Q&A: To manage California’s groundwater, think more about surface water:  “California’s 2014 legislation, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) was significant in that it was the state’s first major groundwater regulation. But Michael Kiparsky the founding director of the Wheeler Water Institute at the University of California Berkeley School of Law, says that it was also significant in another way.  “It breaks with what had been decades of a legal fiction that groundwater and surface water were not part of a single hydrologic system,” he says. … ”  Read more from Water Deeply here:  Q&A: To manage California’s groundwater, think more about surface water

Radio show: California’s groundwater basins draft plans to become sustainable:  “In 2014 Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the State Groundwater Management Act, changing forever how farms, businesses, cities and residents will pump water in the future. The ultimate goal is to conserve the state’s overdrafted groundwater basins and keep them from becoming depleted. California is the last state in the American West to draft a plan managing groundwater. Over the past two years groundwater users in each of the state’s 515 groundwater basins have been busy forming local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies to implement the law. That goal being accomplished, the Department of Water Resources is now overseeing that process while providing financial and technical support to local agencies. Vic Bedoian reports from Fresno.”  Listen to radio show from KPFA here:Radio show: California’s groundwater basins draft plans to become sustainable

Podcast #26: The fate of the Delta smelt:  “Join our podcast host and former NYT editor David Corcoran as he talks with Sharon Levy about a tiny imperiled fish that’s stirring a big controversy. Also, Seth Mnookin on National Geographic’s race issue, and Jason Plautz on gourmet insects.”  Listen to podcast or read transcript from Undark Magazine here:  Podcast #26: The fate of the Delta smelt

Critical decision to be made about Temperance Flat dam:  “It’s a sink or swim moment for the future of a dam that would triple the Central Valley’s water storage capacity.  This week the California Water Commission will decide if Temperance Flat Dam is still in the running to receive critical funding to build the $3 billion project.  Mario Santoyo, executive director of the San Joaquin Water Infrastructure Authority said he is glad the majority of the gubernatorial candidates supported the dam during Sunday’s debate because he is going to need the help of the next governor to finish building the dam.  “This is the fight of the decade,” said Santoyo. ... ”  Read more from Your Central Valley here:  Critical decision to be made about Temperance Flat dam

Instead of more dams, communities turn to reusing wastewater:  “When California’s Orange County Water District began distributing drinking water derived from sewage in the mid-1970s, it acted out of simple need. The aquifer it relied on for most of its drinking water had been so overdrawn that saltwater from the nearby Pacific Ocean was seeping into it, and allocation limits prevented increases in exports from the Colorado River and Sierra Nevada Mountains, sources of the rest of the district’s water.  Orange County was then a bastion of political conservatism, not the sort of place associated with environmental innovation, but water scarcity is a powerful motivator. … ”  Read more from Yale E360 here:  Instead of more dams, communities turn to reusing wastewater

EPA: How Pruitt’s science plan might help industry fight rules:  “Dozens of prominent scientists published an alarming study about formaldehyde in 2010. Their findings: Exposure to the compound — used in everything from auto manufacturing to embalming — was linked to leukemia.  It’s the type of study that can significantly influence major public health regulations. The research, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, has made waves in the public health world. It’s been cited by both EPA and the International Agency for Research on Cancer in assessments that linked formaldehyde to leukemia and other serious health problems. … ”  Read more from E&E News here:  EPA: How Pruitt’s science plan might help industry fight rules

In commentary today …

Don’t reverse course on the Delta tunnels project, the San Jose Mercury News says to Santa Clara Valley Water District:  They write, “The fate of the environmentally fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and the future cost of water in Silicon Valley once again rests with the Santa Clara Valley Water District board.  For the second time in six months, board members are being asked to commit a minimum of $650 million to help fund Gov. Jerry Brown’s ill-conceived $16 billion twin-tunnels project. They wisely rejected the deal in October, and they have no business reversing course when the same issue comes back Wednesday.  It’s a Southern California and Central Valley water grab that won’t provide a drop of new water to California’s water supply. The decision will impact the Bay Area and much of the rest of Northern California. ... ”  Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here:  Don’t reverse course on the Delta tunnels project

California is dammed enough already, says the LA Times:  They write, “Environmental consequences aside, it would seem to make a certain amount of sense to dam a river in order to store and distribute water where and when it is most needed.  But what if there’s no river? Or more to the point, what if every river that can be dammed already has been dammed, and the water in those rivers has already been tapped? The value of new, giant dams is extremely limited and costly without new giant rivers to fill them, and California has no such new rivers. … ”  Read more from the LA Times here:  California is dammed enough already

The next governor must make clean water a priority, says Virginia Strom-Martin:  She writes, “In the North Bay and across California, our health and economy depend on reliable supplies of clean water — water we need for everyday drinking and to support our farms and fish. Water also is the bedrock of an outdoor recreation industry that employs more than 4,000 people and contributes $731 million annually to the economy of Sonoma County, according to a recent study by the county’s Economic Development Board.  Sonoma County residents take pride in this beautiful place we call home, and most locals take good care of the land and waters we share. But we still have a pollution problem, as runoff from roads, roofs and vineyards carry fertilizer, pesticides and other chemicals into rivers that connect to our taps. ... ”  Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat here:  The next governor must make clean water a priority

In regional news and commentary today …

Siskiyou County: SCWUA files motion to dismiss Klamath Dam transfer application:  “A local water users group has filed a motion with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission asking that the commission dismiss an application for the transfer of four dams on the Klamath River for their eventual removal.  Several entities – including the states of California and Oregon – signed an amended version of the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement in 2016, putting FERC at the center of the agreement’s goal: Removal of four of PacifiCorp’s dams on the Klamath River. … ”  Read more from the Siskiyou Daily News here:  SCWUA files motion to dismiss Klamath Dam transfer application

Redding: Operators lose license over water bacteria reports:  “Two water treatment operators in Siskiyou County have lost their licenses to operate public drinking water systems after pleading no contest to criminal charges of failing to report bacteria in water systems in Dunsmuir and McCloud.  Ronald Dean Larue of Dunsmuir and Wayne Garland Grigsby of McCloud pleaded no contest to one count each of a misdemeanor making a false statement or representation, according to the California Water Board. … ”  Read more from the Redding Searchlight Record here: Redding: Operators lose license over water bacteria reports

Monterey: Public water takeover petition validated by Monterey County election officials: “A Public Water Now petition seeking to require a feasibility study and ultimately a public takeover of California American Water’s local water system has been validated by Monterey County election officials.  On Friday, county Registrar of Voters Claudio Valenzuela notified Public Water Now and the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District that the petition had enough valid voter signatures to be considered sufficient.  According to the notice, a random sampling of 500 of the 11,557 signatures submitted to the elections department last month indicated that nearly 82 percent were valid, which projects to more than 8,400 valid signatures in total. … ” Read more from the Monterey Herald here:  Public water takeover petition validated by Monterey County election officials

Bioremediation Efforts Mushroom in the Aftermath of California’s North Bay Fires:  “Fifty miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, California’s Sonoma County is famous for its wine-country image — a patchwork of picturesque rolling hills and vineyards graced with moderate temperatures all year round. Beyond the grapes and quaint roadside tasting rooms, oak woodlands rich with black oak, Douglas fir, madrone, and California laurel provide habitat for abundant wildlife and ecological services like erosion control and water filtration to the surrounding area. Typically hot and dry from midsummer through late fall, these woodlands also comprise an ideal environment for wildfires. It was here that flames ignited on the evening of October 8, 2017, fueled by winds of 50 miles per hour. … ”  Read more from the Earth Island Journal here:  Bioremediation Efforts Mushroom in the Aftermath of California’s North Bay Fires

Santa Clarita: Water officials seek groundwater pumpers to serve on advisory board:  “If you pump water out of the ground in the Santa Clarita Valley, then local water officials, who are tasked with putting together a plan to manage that groundwater, want to hear from you.  Members of the SCV Groundwater Sustainability Agency met Monday to discuss the best way to develop a plan expected by state water officials by Jan. 31, 2022, called a Groundwater Sustainability Plan. … ”  Read more from the Santa Clarita Signal here:  Santa Clarita: Water officials seek groundwater pumpers to serve on advisory board

South Pasadena residents complain of brown water from tap; city says it is not harmful:  “Dozens of South Pasadena residents are seeing brown water flow from their faucets and showers, a problem that is disconcerting but does not pose a health threat, according to city officials.  So far, out of 6,200 service connections, the city has received complaints from about 36 residents, said Anteneh Tesfaye, water operations manager.  “It is aesthetic,” he said in reference to the water color during an interview Monday. “The water is safe.” ... ”  Read more from the Pasadena Star-News here:  South Pasadena residents complain of brown water from tap; city says it is not harmful

Along the Colorado River …

You no longer need a snorkel to see this Nevada ghost town:  “The ice cream parlor served up its last scoop more than three quarters of a century ago and now all that’s left are some crumbling concrete walls and a sun-bleached chimney that reaches toward a big desert sky. These ghostly remains are silent testimony that not every bustling city in Nevada grows into Las Vegas, Reno or Carson City.  Some of them go under. Literally.  Located on the northern reach of what is now Lake Mead National Recreation Area, St. Thomas was once the most happening town in southern Nevada. Settled in 1865, it was an agricultural center and way station on the Arrowhead Trail between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. ... ”  Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here:  You no longer need a snorkel to see this Nevada ghost town

Scientists hope bug experiment fattens Colorado River fish:  “Any great fishing hole depends on the health and well-being of its bugs.  In a key stretch of the Colorado River below a dam on the Arizona-Utah border, anglers have been pulling out long, skinny trout that don’t give up much of a fight with a hook in their mouths.  Turns out, they don’t have enough to eat, scientists say. ... ”  Read more from the Arizona Daily Star here:  Scientists hope bug experiment fattens Colorado River fish

U.S. states, Arizona try to settle Colorado River feud:  “Major users of the Colorado River are trying to resolve a dispute over how to conserve the vital waterway amid a prolonged drought.  Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming met with the Central Arizona Project in Salt Lake City Monday. There was no immediate word on the outcome. … ”  Read more from the Denver Post here:  U.S. states, Arizona try to settle Colorado River feud

Also on Maven’s Notebook today …

• BLOG ROUND-UP: Resurrecting the Delta for desirable fishes; The misapplication of “Best Available Science”; Water Fix tunnels and gas wells; Are California’s cities prepared for the next drought?; What makes a ruin; and more …
• NEWS WORTH NOTING: Twin spacecraft to weigh in on Earth’s changing water; CDFW accepting proposals for restoration projects for Prop 1 grants; Siskiyou County drinking water operators lose licenses; W.A.T.E.R. challenges EIR approval of Crystal Geyser bottled water plant

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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.