In California water news today, California marks another dry year; Supreme Court Won’t Review California Billionaire’s Case Over Beach Access; New underwater trail of historic sunken boats opens at Lake Tahoe’s Emerald Bay; Southern California, parched and wary, hopes for rain, readies for flash floods; Rosa and non-tropical storm to deliver dangerous flooding, drought-busting rain in southwestern US; Arizona hopeful to reach Colorado River deal; and more …
On the calendar today …
- The State Water Resources Control Board meets this morning beginning at 9:30 am. Agenda items include an update on current hydrologic conditions, an update on urban water conservation, and a progress report on the reforms for the Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program. Click here for the full agenda.
- Building Bridges to a New World in Water Resources Management from 6pm to 8pm: Presentation by Kirby Brill at the Southern California chapter of the Groundwater Resources Association tonight in Fountain Valley. Click here to register.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: DWR: Below average precipitation for Water Year 2018; Stormwater targets for groundwater recharge and direct use in CA; SFPUC, Senator Wiener celebrate passage of SB 966; SF Baykeeper releases ShoreView Planning Tool for sea level rise
- BLOG ROUND-UP: Prop 3, Groundwater and collective action; Shasta Dam raise; Groundwater and the Colorado River; WOTUS and more …
California marks another dry year: “California began a new water year Monday with some rain in the immediate forecast for Sacramento after 12 months of below-average precipitation. The Department of Water Resources said the Oct.1-Sept. 30 water year that ended Sunday was marked by hot and dry conditions, except for sporadic significant precipitation. During the period, the statewide snowpack was just 58 percent of average by April 1, a dramatic reversal from the previous water year in which the pack reached 159 percent of average. … ” Read more from Capital Public Radio here: California marks another dry year
Supreme Court Won’t Review California Billionaire’s Case Over Beach Access: “The Supreme Court is refusing to hear an appeal from a California billionaire who doesn’t want to open a road on his property so that the public can access a beach. The justices said Monday that they will not take up Vinod Khosla’s appeal of a California appeals court decision. The case had the potential to upend California’s longstanding efforts to keep beaches open to the public. Khosla bought the property in the San Francisco Bay Area for $32.5 million in 2008 and later blocked the public from accessing it. That prompted a lawsuit by the nonprofit Surfrider Foundation. … ” Read more from KQED here: Supreme Court Won’t Review California Billionaire’s Case Over Beach Access
Rosa and non-tropical storm to deliver dangerous flooding, drought-busting rain in southwestern US: “Rosa will spread the risk of life-threatening flash flooding over the interior Southwest, while a non-tropical storm spreads soaking rain into much of the balance of California this week. Even though Rosa was once a Category 4 hurricane, it will continue to weaken as it pushes across the interior Southwest during the first part of this week. “Rosa was a tropical storm as of Monday morning, local time, and is forecast to transition to a tropical rainstorm over the Four Corners region on Tuesday,” according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Steve Travis. … ” Read more from Accu-Weather here: Rosa and non-tropical storm to deliver dangerous flooding, drought-busting rain in southwestern US
In commentary today …
Of course some well permits should require impact studies, others not so much: “The common assumption that you can pump all the water you want from beneath your property ignores hydrologic reality and has allowed a legal theft of groundwater from many neighbors. To understand why that’s true, and how this came about, you have to know a little about how water acts underground and how it gets to the surface. A productive well must penetrate a water-saturated sedimentary bed that is permeable – meaning the water can move laterally through the bed to the well. When water is sucked to the surface through the well-pipe, that water pulled to the surface must be replaced by water in the aquifer. This replacement water is often pulled from thousands of feet away in all directions. … ” Read more from the Modesto Bee here: Of course some well permits should require impact studies, others not so much
Proposition 3 will pay for a multitude of water needs, says Jerry Meral: He writes, “California needs clean, safe and reliable water supplies. We also would greatly benefit from the improved flood management Proposition 3 would provide. The measure on the Nov. 6 ballot includes $400 million to implement the Central Valley Flood Control Plan and repair Oroville Dam. Climate change is worsening the threat of floods. Sacramento is the nation’s second most flood-prone city after New Orleans. We need all the help we can get to improve our levees, widen the floodplain to accommodate higher Sacramento River flows and improve and repair upstream flood control dams such as Oroville. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Proposition 3 will pay for a multitude of water needs
Prop 3 mostly benefits billionaire investors, says Eric Parfrey: He writes, “When Californians consider Proposition 3, a $8.9 billion water bond on the November ballot, they should be aware that it began with a bad process, it is full of bad spending items and — if passed — Californians will be responsible for paying back this bad bond for more than a generation. In short, it’s a bad water deal. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Prop 3 mostly benefits billionaire investors
Prop. 3 — vote yes to pay for watershed, water supply and water projects: David Lewis writes, “Flint, Mich., isn’t the only place where tap water is poisonous. Shockingly, more than 1 million California residents are exposed to unsafe tap water each year in our homes, schools and public buildings. Latino and low-income communities are suffering the most. At the same time, longer droughts and shrinking Sierra snowpack endanger the water supplies of millions more Californians, and threaten extinction for salmon and other wildlife. More extreme storms have exposed vulnerable old dams and canals that need maintenance to protect us from floods and deliver water to homes and farms. ... ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: Prop. 3 — vote yes to pay for watershed, water supply and water projects
Prop 3 shifts water project costs but not benefits to all taxpayers, says Jim Blickenstaff: He writes, “What’s being sold as commonality between Republicans and Democrats on environmental concerns based on support for Proposition 3 is a false premise. Prop. 3 is not what it appears to be. There are several bad ideas incorporated in this $8.9 billion bond statewide bond measure. Here are just two … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: Prop 3 shifts water project costs but not benefits to all taxpayers
In regional news and commentary today …
Butte County: Comment taken on groundwater management area boundaries: “Comment is being taken on proposed boundary changes related to the managing of groundwater beneath Butte County. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act requires development of plans to manage groundwater beneath California to avoid undesirable results like land sinking or wells going dry. The plans are required for defined subbasins of the larger aquifers underground. The Butte County Department of Water and Resource Conservation has applied to change the subbasin boundaries locally in response to requests by involved agencies, and that’s what the public is being invited to comment upon. …. ” Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record here: Comment taken on groundwater management area boundaries
Butte County: Dry rainfall year ends, new one starts with showers: “The water year began Monday with a few showers locally, hopefully a start at washing away the dry year just ended. The water year runs from Oct.1 to Sept 30, and according to the Department of Water Resources, the one just ended was far below average. DWR’s monitoring stations in the Sacramento River watershed recorded 79 percent of the average precipitation for a year. The situation worsened the farther south in the state, with much of the South Coast only getting a third of the rain that normally falls. … ” Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record here: Butte County: Dry rainfall year ends, new one starts with showers
New underwater trail of historic sunken boats opens at Lake Tahoe’s Emerald Bay: “For those of you who’ve managed to hike every California State Park trail at Lake Tahoe there’s a new adventure — only this one you’ll need a dive mask to explore. On Monday, the state opened the Emerald Bay Maritime Heritage Trail — an underwater showcase of Lake Tahoe’s historic sunken watercraft and barges. To form the trail, three new sites are being added to the Historic Barge Dive Site at Emerald Bay, which the state opened in 1998. ... ” Read more from Capital Public Radio here: New underwater trail of historic sunken boats opens at Lake Tahoe’s Emerald Bay
Calaveras/Tuolumne County: Water-year whiplash: on heels of below-average rain and snow, expect wet or dry extremes: ““Dry, Hot, and On Fire” is how state water authorities are describing the water year that ended Sunday, and outlooks for the 2018-19 season come laden with concerns about post-fire erosion in recently burned areas, including the Donnell Fire burn in the Middle Fork Stanislaus watershed. For watersheds in Calaveras and Tuolumne counties, including the Stanislaus and Tuolumne watersheds, precipitation for the 2018 water year totaled 29.7 inches, more than 10 inches below the 1966-2015 average of 40.2 inches. ... ” Read more from the Union Democrat here: Water-year whiplash: on heels of below-average rain and snow, expect wet or dry extremes
Sacramento: Aerojet cleanup to go on for many more years: “After 35 years of cleaning efforts, the final remediation plan for a badly polluted section of the Aerojet Superfund site still calls for treatment of 31,100 tons of soil, permanent fencing around some areas, and ongoing extraction of volatile and dangerous chemicals for many years to come. The land is owned by Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc., and it was one of one of the first sites put into the national Superfund program, to clean up contaminated areas. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Business Journal here: Aerojet cleanup to go on for many more years
Cal Am marks completion of $50 million pipeline: “After nearly two years of torn-up streets, construction, and traffic delays, California American Water representatives and several public officials and community leaders marked the completion of a $50 million water pipeline project on Monday. In a ceremony at the Eardley Avenue roundabout, where the 7-mile pipeline ties into the existing Cal Am water system, Cal Am president Rich Svindland, Pacific Grove’s Mayor Bill Kampe and City Councilman Rudy Fischer, who represented Monterey One Water, and Monterey Peninsula Water Management District General Manager Dave Stoldt all praised the pipeline project as a key element of the proposed Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project. … ” Read more from the Monterey Herald here: Cal Am marks completion of $50 million pipeline
Lead problems linger at Los Angeles schools, despite years of testing and repairs: “Lead testing at Miramonte Elementary in Los Angeles Unified last January found six water outlets over the state and federal limit for drinking water. An auditorium drinking fountain tested at 10 times the lead limit. Three months later at Audubon Middle School, eight fixtures tested over the lead limit of 15 parts per billion. One water fountain tested at 120 parts per billion. District officials say they shut off the fountains that produced the most alarming lead levels at Audubon Middle in Leimert Park and Miramonte Elementary in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood. But they left three water sources in use at each school that tested above lead limits by flushing the outlets, a standard practice in which school staff run water through the tap for 30 seconds at the start of each day. … ” Read more from the Pasadena Star News here: Lead problems linger at Los Angeles schools, despite years of testing and repairs
Southern California, parched and wary, hopes for rain, readies for flash floods: “Southern California got ready Monday for the first storm of the new rain season, due midweek, while also preparing for possible debris flows as the threatening remnants of tropical storm Rosa rolled through the mountain and desert areas. For a time Monday afternoon, authorities issued a voluntary flood evacuation for San Jacinto Mountain communities in the area of the Cranston fire that burned near Idyllwild as Rosa’s clouds headed north from Baja. That voluntary evacuation notice was lifted early Monday evening. ... ” Read more from the Pasadena Star News here: Southern California, parched and wary, hopes for rain, readies for flash floods
Along the Colorado River …
Arizona hopeful to reach Colorado River deal: “Progress is being made in talks toward a set of agreements for cities, farmers and tribes to share in Colorado River water cutbacks, according to Arizona water officials. The Arizona Republic reports that the state water officials also want to join in a larger proposed deal to prevent Lake Mead from dropping even further. Arizona water managers have been leading a series of biweekly meetings since July to work out details of the proposed drought-contingency plan. … ” Read more from Colorado Public Radio here: Arizona hopeful to reach Colorado River deal
Precipitation watch …
Substantial early-season rainfall in California to dampen explosive wildfire conditions: “After a fair bit of excitement in recent days regarding East Pacific Hurricane Rosa–which is now weakening rapidly as it takes aim at the far northern coast of Baja California (about 200 miles south of San Diego–among the most northerly NE Pacific landfalls on record)–it now appears that *most* of the remnant moisture from this system will miss Southern California to the east. Scattered showers and thunderstorms wrapping around Rosa’s remnant circulation will be possible in far southern California–brushing San Diego and especially the interior desert regions (the Imperial Valley and points eastward, where heavy rainfall is possible). But the majority of Rosa’s copious tropical moisture now appears destined for Arizona, where widespread heavy precipitation and flooding now appears likely. … ” Read more from the California Weather Blog here: Substantial early-season rainfall in California to dampen explosive wildfire conditions
Northern California forecast: The National Weather Service forecasts light showers today with the chance for scattered t-storms tomorrow.
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: DWR: Below average precipitation for Water Year 2018; Stormwater targets for groundwater recharge and direct use in CA; SFPUC, Senator Wiener celebrate passage of SB 966; SF Baykeeper releases ShoreView Planning Tool for sea level rise
- BLOG ROUND-UP: Prop 3, Groundwater and collective action; Shasta Dam raise; Groundwater and the Colorado River; WOTUS 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.
