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DAILY DIGEST: Water hearings, sometimes contentious, end with hope for agreement between farms, fish; Four different sides to state ‘water grab’; How the water sector helps map drug abuse; Utah asks federal government to resume permitting for Lake Powell pipeline; and more …

Maven
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In California water news today, Water hearings, sometimes contentious, end with hope for agreement between farms, fish; Four different sides to state ‘water grab’; How the water sector helps map drug abuse; Restoration Celebration honors Klamath Tribes recognition; SF socked in with fog: ‘There will be little if any sunshine’ on coast until September; Historic, tragic Dennett Dam removed as part of plan to restore river in Modesto; Utah asks federal government to resume permitting for Lake Powell pipeline; and more …

On the calendar today …

In the news today …

Also on Maven’s Notebook today …

Water hearings, sometimes contentious, end with hope for agreement between farms, fish: “Two days of hearings before the State Water Resources Control Board created some hope of voluntary agreements with local irrigation districts, which are under pressure to release more water in rivers to help salmon.  Tuesday and Wednesday, the state board heard heartfelt comments from people concerned about collapsing fish populations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and fears about job losses and economic calamity in the Northern San Joaquin Valley if water rights are stripped from communities. … ”  Read more from the Modesto Bee here:  Water hearings, sometimes contentious, end with hope for agreement between farms, fish

Four different sides to state ‘water grab’:  “Whether it’s a healthy fishery, ecological crisis, or economic impact, every side invested in California’s water wars and impacted by a controversial river flow proposal have some skin in the game.  At the heart of current discussions is the Substitute Environmental Document [SED], a controversial river flow proposal that would take 30 to 50 percent of flows from the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced Rivers for the benefit of fish, wildlife, and the environment. … Trout Unlimited, Turlock Irrigation District and Modesto Irrigation District, and the State Water Board are among the stakeholders in California’s latest water war. They help explain why they each have skin in the game. … ”  Read more from ABC 10 here:  Four different sides to state ‘water grab’

Water rally draws at least 1,000 to capitol steps in Sacramento:  “About 1,000 farmers, public school educators, farm employees and consumers from Tulare to Red Bluff descended on the State Capitol in Sacramento to protest State Water Resources Control Board (SCWRB) plans to force half the annual flows in several state rivers out to sea in a move purported to help declining fish populations in the Bay Delta region.  The protest on the Capitol steps was spearheaded by California Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, whose district covers Stanislaus and Merced counties and would be heavily impacted by the board’s decision. … ”  Read more from the Western Farm Press here:  Water rally draws at least 1,000 to capitol steps in Sacramento

How the water sector helps map drug abuse:  “By investigating dirty pipes to clean up city living, water professionals have begun to help health and law enforcement officials track the dangerous abuse of controlled substances in near real time, opening a promising new front in the domestic ‘war on drugs.’  The effort has enlisted trained researchers in more than a hundred cities from Brisbane and Berlin to Boston and Barcelona. Chemists collect samples from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), then analyse them for traces of opioids, amphetamines, cocaine, MDMA (ecstasy) and crystal meth.  In university labs, and in some cases within private companies, researchers are studying strains broken down into parts per million, and dividing the result along demographic areas of the population served. They can then discern levels of concentration, yielding rich and remarkably granular data that help officials more effectively focus on preventative steps. ... ”  Read more from Source Magazine here:  How the water sector helps map drug abuse

In commentary today …

Supporting a Bay Delta Plan that balances water reliability and environmental sustainability:  Harlan Kelly, GM of SFPUC, writes, “The Tuolumne River fish population is struggling. We know this because we are one of the public utilities that relies on this system for drinking water, so we care about the health of this ecosystem. And we’ve put in the work to find out what’s happening and how we can fix it.  In fact, together with the Modesto and Turlock Irrigation Districts, we invested $25 million on more than 200 Tuolumne-specific studies to get better results for fish and residents. Those studies revealed that we can increase the fish population and ensure that Bay Area residents have a reliable water supply. ... ”  Read more from the San Francisco Examiner here:  Supporting a Bay Delta Plan that balances water reliability and environmental sustainability

State Water Board’s actions could jeopardize Turlock, says Gary Soiseth:  He writes, “I’m Gary Soiseth, the Mayor of Turlock. I represent an incredible city that is committed to leveraging our water resources as much as we can.  We will no longer be discharging our recycled water into the San Joaquin River, but instead we will be using this water in our parks and on neighboring farms.  We have kept our aggressive conservation regulations, requiring residents to only water twice per week during the summer months.  And we have made the very hard policy decision to increase water rates on our residents to pay for the needed infrastructure that will lead to a new source of drinking water. ... ”  Read more from the Turlock Journal here:  State Water Board’s actions could jeopardize Turlock

California’s rivers are under assault by the feds, and the state isn’t helping much, says Gary Bobker:  He writes, “Earlier this month, President Donald Trump continued gas-lighting the public in a Twitter rant about “bad environmental laws” that supposedly limit water available to fight California’s wildfires. Fire officials immediately rejected the claim.  Don’t mistake these tweets as just one more illustration of our president’s ecological illiteracy. They reflect a comprehensive attack by his administration and anti-environment Republicans in Congress on the health of California’s rivers, water quality and fisheries.  For example, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recently told California regulators that he may sue to exempt his agency from new water quality standards for the San Francisco Bay estuary, and Congress is considering parallel legislation.  … ”  Read more from the Sacramento Bee here:  California’s rivers are under assault by the feds, and the state isn’t helping much

Safe drinking water for all, says Laurel Firestone and Susana De Anda:  They write, “In 2007, the small town of Lanare in California’s Central Valley finally got what it had desperately needed for years — a treatment plant to remove high levels of arsenic in the drinking water. But the victory was short-lived. Just months after the $1.3 million federally funded plant began running, the town was forced to shut it down because it ran out of money to operate and maintain it.  More than a decade later, the plant remains closed and Lanare’s tap water is still contaminated — as is the drinking water piped to about a million other Californians around the state. The common barrier to solving the problem is that communities lack access to government financing to run their water treatment systems. … ”  Read more from the New York Times here:  Safe drinking water for all

In regional news and commentary today …

Restoration Celebration honors Klamath Tribes recognition: “It marks a momentous occasion in Klamath tribes history, a remembrance honoring Klamath Tribes regaining federal recognition as a sovereign entity in 1986, with three days of fun festivities with the 32nd annual Restoration Celebration.  Held Aug. 24-26 in Chiloquin, a variety of events honor the past and celebrate the present and future in a fond welcoming annual tradition open to the public. This year’s theme is “Women Are Sacred,” and features competitions ranging from rodeo to softball, rounded out with a Pow Wow and community celebrations. … ”  Read more from the Herald & News here: Restoration Celebration honors Klamath Tribes recognition

Water district releases independent audit of Centennial Dam project: “On Wednesday, the Nevada Irrigation District released an independent audit of its controversial Centennial Dam project that has been in the works since 2014.  The outside audit came after Project Manager Doug Roderick said in December 2017 that the district had spent just over $11.3 million to date on its proposed Centennial Reservoir project along the Bear River. In response to comments from bo: ard member Nancy Weber, who said the district needed to be transparent and accurate, General Manager Rem Scherzinger opted to bring in an independent party to take a closer look at the money spent on the project. … ”  Read more from The Union here:  Water district releases independent audit of Centennial Dam project

SF socked in with fog: ‘There will be little if any sunshine’ on coast until September:  “A deep, drizzly layer of fog has blanketed San Francisco and nearby coastal areas in recent days.  Any Bay Area local knows dreary gray weather on the coast is typical for summer, yet still people can’t help but wonder, when will it ever lift?  The answer is probably not until September, according to meteorologists.  “We’re expecting fog every morning probably through the end of the month,” says Anna Schneider, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Bay Area. ... ”  Read more from SF Gate here:  SF socked in with fog: ‘There will be little if any sunshine’ on coast until September

Historic, tragic Dennett Dam removed as part of plan to restore river in Modesto:  “Fireworks, a Venetian boat parade, California Gov. James Rolph and more than 20,000 people were part of a July 4, 1933, dedication ceremony for Dennett Dam, which was intended to create serene Lake Modesto along the Tuolumne River.  There was significantly less pomp and circumstance this week when crews removed the tiny dam from the river, where it had become a dangerous hazard and an eyesore near Modesto’s Ninth Street Bridge.  Those behind the project envision that removing the dam will restore the natural habitat and change the public’s perception of that area along the river. … ”  Read more from the Modesto Bee here:  Historic, tragic Dennett Dam removed as part of plan to restore river in Modesto

‘Exchange Pools’: Los Angeles Provides Innovative Groundwater Strategy: “Across California, Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) are devising plans to reduce long-term overdraft. As part of the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, GSAs will submit plans in 2020–22, which detail strategies to bring groundwater use into balance by 2040.  Planning processes must assemble stakeholders and estimate sustainable yields of groundwater, quantify existing pumping, describe future options to limit overdraft and identify funding. GSAs are actively searching for ways to stretch limited supplies and sustainably use the underground storage space created by decades of overdraft, drawing on lessons of previous regional agreements.  In one part of Los Angeles County (a region whose groundwater basins are mostly adjudicated, in contrast with most other parts of the state), an innovative approach has established a community exchange pool where parties can store and purchase water.  … ”  Read more from Water Deeply here:  ‘Exchange Pools’: Los Angeles Provides Innovative Groundwater Strategy

Along the Colorado River …

Colorado River Indian Tribes Get Money In Deal To Fallow Farmland: “The Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) in western Arizona announced a new plan to fallow farmland and store water in Lake Mead.  It’s a one-year deal to fallow 1,884 acres of land in exchange for a little more than $2 million. The program will allow the irrigation water to stay on Lake Mead, which is a top priority for the groups putting up the money: the federal Bureau of Reclamation, the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, the Environmental Defense Fund, Southern Nevada Water Authority, and Denver Water. … ”  Read more from KJZZ here:  Colorado River Indian Tribes Get Money In Deal To Fallow Farmland

Utah asks federal government to resume permitting for Lake Powell pipeline:  “Utah wants the federal government to resume its work permitting the Lake Powell Pipeline.  Utah water officials in January asked to press pause on the project, worried over jurisdictional questions about whether the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) would continue to act as the permitting agency.  After more than seven months of waiting, the state still hasn’t received any answers, and on Wednesday attorneys for the Utah Board of Water Resources and the Washington County Water Conservancy District filed a letter with FERC asking it to proceed. ... ”  Read more from the St. George Spectrum here:  Utah asks federal government to resume permitting for Lake Powell pipeline

Is there water left to be developed in the Colorado River Basin?  “The Colorado River is running low on water. The lifeline that slakes the thirst of 40 million southwestern residents is projected to hit a historic low mark within two years, forcing mandatory cuts to water deliveries in Arizona, Nevada and Mexico.  Facing exceptional drought conditions, cities throughout the watershed this summer have imposed mandatory water restrictions, ranchers have begun selling off cows they’re unable to feed, and the river’s reservoirs are headed toward levels not seen since they filled decades ago. … ”  Read more from KUNC here:  Is there water left to be developed in the Colorado River Basin? 

Lake Mead water shortage could spell trouble for Colorado:  “A new forecast from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation shows signs that water levels at Lake Mead, which supplies water to three southwestern states and northern Mexico, could drop so low by next year that it could eventually result in a demand for more water from the Colorado River and from the upper basin states, including Colorado, that rely on the big river.  The ever-increasing shortages in those three southwestern states could eventually mean water shortages in Colorado, too. … ”  Read more from the Durango Herald here:  Lake Mead water shortage could spell trouble for Colorado

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.

 

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