In California water news today, California groundwater: Dry wells and sinking ground as state struggles with groundwater crisis; Kern County proposes walking away from groundwater management role it previously embraced; Camp Fire effect on groundwater, wildlife still uncertain; Harvard quietly amasses California vineyards – and the water underneath; Brown’s Delta tunnels are now Newsom’s; Feinstein on extending the WIIN Act; and more …
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- DAILY DIGEST, weekend edition: Big setback for Delta tunnels; How does climate change impact water?; A toxic dumping ground festers on the border; US States to meet at deadline on Colorado River drought plan; and more …
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: DWR withdraws Cal WaterFix Certification of Consistency with Delta Plan; San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority Fills Key Management Positions; New report on Sobranes Fire suppression, the most expensive wildfire suppression incident in U.S. history
- RESERVOIR AND WATER CONDITIONS for December 10, 2018
California groundwater: Dry wells and sinking ground as state struggles with groundwater crisis: “Two decades ago, the rolling hills of Paso Robles were mostly covered with golden grass and oak trees. Now the hills and valleys are blanketed with more than 32,000 acres of grapevines. Surging demand for wine has brought an explosion of vineyards, and along with it heavy pumping of groundwater. With the water table dropping, many people have had to cope as their taps have sputtered and their wells have gone dry. Drilling a new well can cost $30,000 or more, and for Juan Gavilanes and his family, that’s out of reach. Instead, they’re relying on a neighbor who lets them use his well, and they bring water to their house through a hose. … ” Read more from The Desert Sun here: California groundwater: Dry wells and sinking ground as state struggles with groundwater crisis
Kern County proposes walking away from groundwater management role it previously embraced: “County government is considering pulling out of a coalition of local water agencies after failing to secure blanket immunity from lawsuits that could arise from efforts to rein in local groundwater pumping. The proposal follows a written assurance by state water officials that the county’s withdrawal from the Kern Groundwater Authority will not, by itself, jeopardize local control of groundwater use across much of the area. Some local water agencies had worried it would. ... ” Read more from Bakersfield.com here: Kern County proposes walking away from groundwater management role it previously embraced
Camp Fire effect on groundwater, wildlife still uncertain: “The immediate, physical impact of the Camp Fire is plainly obvious to anyone who lost one of the nearly 14,000 homes in the blaze, or who sees the blistered remains of buildings that once made up the town of Paradise. But less immediately visible are the scars wildfire can inflict on the local environment, including surface water, groundwater and the wildlife population. … ” Read more from the Daily Democrat here: Camp Fire effect on groundwater, wildlife still uncertain
Harvard quietly amasses California vineyards – and the water underneath: “Steve Sinton, a rancher, was baffled when a company he’d never heard of began buying large tracts of agricultural land near his pastures at above-market prices. The firm, Brodiaea Inc., over a few months in 2012 acquired more than three square miles of a flat-bottomed valley. “It was surprising, the prices they were willing to pay,” says Mr. Sinton, a partner in a family-owned ranch that raises cattle and grows grapes. A conventional agricultural business’s returns couldn’t have justified those prices. “It didn’t make sense to me.” … ” Continue reading at the Wall Street Journal here: (Note: Close subscription pop-up window to read article): Harvard quietly amasses California vineyards – and the water underneath
Brown’s Delta tunnels are now Newsom’s: “Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom will inherit what two prior administrations failed to finish: an ambitious, $20 billion plan to bore twin tunnels from the Sacramento River 30 miles south to the massive pumps near Tracy. The question: Will Newsom see the project with the same sense of urgency as Gov. Jerry Brown? ... ” Continue reading at Cal Matters here: Brown’s Delta tunnels are now Newsom’s
‘There is so much devastation’: Inside the early days of the Camp Fire cleanup: “Cleanup crews have begun to remove hazardous waste from the roughly 18,000 buildings destroyed in the Camp Fire, which ignited in Butte County more than a month ago. It’s the first step in the massive cleanup, which is expected to take more than a year to complete. Debris removal is being overseen by CalRecycle, a department within the California Environmental Protection Agency, which is expected to start hauling away more than 8 million tons of ash, contaminated soil, concrete and metal in January. ... ” Read more from KQED here: ‘There is so much devastation’: Inside the early days of the Camp Fire cleanup
Sierra snowpack well above average after storms: “Back-to-back California storms blanket the Sierra Nevada in snow, more than twice the snowpack level compared to this time last year, with winter still nearly two weeks away. At the same time last year, the Sierra snowpack was 47 percent of average, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday. … ” Read more from NBC Channel 4: Sierra snowpack well above average after storms
In commentary today …
WIIN Act ensure state’s ready for future droughts, says Dianne Feinstein: She writes, “Your editorial “Brown, Feinstein betrayal of the Delta is unacceptable” (Dec. 2) misses the fundamental purpose of the California drought provisions of the WIIN Act, which are to better prepare California for future dry years. The WIIN Act extension authorizes nearly $1 billion for environmental restoration and water infrastructure projects in California. It also requires Congress, not the Trump administration, to decide which projects receive funding. This will ensure the environment is safeguarded. … ” Continue reading at the San Jose Mercury News here: WIIN Act ensure state’s ready for future droughts
We’d prefer a deal, but we’ll fight to protect our rivers if we have to, says the Modesto Bee: They write, “Five appointed state regulators can do an enormous amount to help salmon and the state’s most-altered water system on Dec. 12. Or they can guarantee that water lawyers will stay busy for decades to come. The State Water Resources Control Board’s five members – including one added Thursday – are scheduled to vote on implementing the Bay-Delta Plan’s Substitute Environmental Document. If unchanged, the SED will require 40 to 50 percent of the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers to flow unimpaired to the Delta, for the sake of salmon. It would also require vast amounts of water be left in cold storage behind the region’s three dams to help salmon in an ever-warming environment. … ” Read more from the Modesto Bee here: We’d prefer a deal, but we’ll fight to protect our rivers if we have to
In regional news and commentary today …
Recent rains ease Paskenta water crisis: “After months of hauling water from Corning, recent rains have eased Paskenta’s water crisis. “We have water in the creek,” said Paskenta Community Services District Secretary Janet Zornig. “It’s starting to get a little low but we’ve been running the plant.” In August, it was announced there was no longer enough water to sustain the town of Paskenta. The city of Corning has been supplementing the small town by hauling in water, a deal that expires at the end of December. ... ” Read more from the Daily News here: Recent rains ease Paskenta water crisis
Antelope Valley: Watermaster staff cuts near? “The Antelope Valley Watermaster, the body tasked with overseeing the 2015 court settlement that set limits on groundwater pumping for users across the Valley, will look to reduce administrative costs in the coming year by shifting some of the work to staff from the contracted watermaster engineer, now that procedures are in place to make some matters more or less routine. On Wednesday, the watermaster board accepted a proposal put forth by the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency, the Palmdale Water District and the Quartz Hill Water District to provide administrative services for the coming year for a proposed $108,901. … ” Read more from the Antelope Valley Press here: Antelope Valley: Watermaster staff cuts near?
Along the Colorado River …
Snow is falling across Nevada and the Colorado River basin, but more is needed to pull the West from drought: “The heavy winter storms after Thanksgiving were good news for skiers. With little snow until March last year, the early start to the season provided much-awaited precipitation in the West. But climatologists and hydrologists say it’s far too soon to draw any firm conclusions about what the above-average snowpack means for the rest of the winter, let alone the state’s water supply. Across Nevada, snowpack was above average as of Friday, and in some spots like the Carson River basin, monitoring stations recorded snowpack at more than 200 percent above the median. … ” Read more from the Nevada Independent here: Snow is falling across Nevada and the Colorado River basin, but more is needed to pull the West from drought
Precipitation watch …
Light amounts of precipitation are expected today across interior NorCal as a weak weather system moves through the area.
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
https://mavensnotebook.com/2018/12/10/reservoir-and-water-conditions-for-december-10-2018/
Sign up for daily email service and you’ll never miss a post …
Sign up for free daily email service and you’ll get all the Notebook’s aggregated and original water news content delivered to your email box by 9AM. And with breaking news alerts, you’ll always be one of the first to know …
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.
