In California water news today, Water transfers to the environment on the rise; Warming Winters and Dwindling Sierra Nevada Snowpack Will Squeeze Water Resources in Parts of California, NOAA Reports; Catch A Snowflake And Help Scientists Understand How Winter Storms Change The Sierra Nevada; US hydropower droughts cause rise in greenhouse gas emissions; and more …
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: DWR releases draft California Water Plan Update 2018 for public review; House passes Gibbs’ bipartisan bill to help communities comply with clean water standards; Water and climate update: Rain, snow, and wind target the Pacific Northwest
- SAN FRANCISCO ESTUARY AND WATERSHED SCIENCE JOURNAL: Analyses of large storms and atmospheric rivers; Evaluations of fish surveys; Impacts of predator species on juvenile salmon; Alternative juvenile salmon production estimate approaches
- SHASTA DAM RAISE PROJECT: Scoping comment deadline extended to January 14; Scoping meeting presentation and posters now available
- DELTA eNEWS: ~~ RMP Science~ Dutch Slough~ Fisheries Plan~ Boater Card~ Traffic Advisory~ Ugly Sweaters~ Uglier Sweaters ~~
Water transfers to the environment on the rise: “Use it or lose it. Historically, that was the prevailing understanding amongst water rights holders throughout the Western United States. Farmers, ranchers and other water right holders had to use all of their allocation or risk forfeiting their rights, which could endanger their operations in the future should they run into a dry year. Thus, there was no incentive or even ability in some cases to leave water instream for recreation, fish populations, ecological restoration, or other positive environmental uses. However, over the last 30 years, state laws have relaxed to allow voluntary transfers of water for environmental uses (also known as environmental water transactions) without risking the farm. ... ” Read more from Stanford News here: Water transfers to the environment on the rise
Warming Winters and Dwindling Sierra Nevada Snowpack Will Squeeze Water Resources in Parts of California, NOAA Reports: “Snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada Mountains provides roughly 75 percent of California’s agricultural water, and 60 percent of Southern California’s water resources. Warm winters can cause snow droughts in the Sierra Nevada, both by nudging precipitation in the direction of rainfall rather than snowfall, and by melting snow sooner. A new study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, uses historical records and modeling to understand how the Sierra Nevada snowpack may respond to rising temperatures. … ” Read more from the Sierra Sun Times here: Warming Winters and Dwindling Sierra Nevada Snowpack Will Squeeze Water Resources in Parts of California, NOAA Reports
Catch A Snowflake And Help Scientists Understand How Winter Storms Change The Sierra Nevada: “The fourth and fifth graders at Sage Ridge School in Reno fill their classroom with shouts of “ooh” and “ahh” as Meghan Collins teaches them how to take pictures of snowflakes with their phones. Since it’s not snowing, they’re practicing with salt. “You’re going to want to get the camera really, really close to the object and then slowly move it away,” Collins explains as the students put a magnifying glass over the phone’s camera, so they can snap a detailed picture. As the kids focus the lens, they get really excited and yell, “It’s glowing.” … This is all part of a project called Stories in the Snow, organized by the Desert Research Institute in Reno. It began three years ago because scientists wanted to better understand storms, and to figure out how warmer winters alter weather systems and snow levels. … ” Read more from Capital Public Radio here: Catch A Snowflake And Help Scientists Understand How Winter Storms Change The Sierra Nevada
Merced Irrigation District fights back: Lawsuit planned over Bay-Delta water plan: “Leaders in Merced County are furious at the latest water plan passed by the State Water Board. So much so, that the Merced Irrigation District is planning to sue. The SWB passed the Bay-Delta water quality control plan last Wednesday. The plan calls for 40-percent of runoff from the Merced River, Stanislaus River and Tuolumne River to flow straight to the Bay Area. The goal is to increase the salmon population and improve water quality in the delta. ... ” Read more from KGPE here: Merced Irrigation District fights back: Lawsuit planned over Bay-Delta water plan
US hydropower droughts cause rise in greenhouse gas emissions: “Scientists at Stanford University in the US have discovered that recent droughts in western states such as California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington have caused a rise in greenhouse gas emissions due to the need for fossil fuels to replace US hydropower projects in particularly dry periods. Between 2001 and 2015 droughts caused a 10% rise in average annual carbon dioxide emissions as power generators brought fossil fuels projects back online to balance the power lost from hydropower, according to a study published on 21 December in Environmental Research Letters. … ” Read more from Power Technology here: US hydropower droughts cause rise in greenhouse gas emissions
- SEE ALSO: Droughts boost emissions as hydropower dries up, Stanford study suggests, from Stanford News
The Year in Water 2018: “A cholera outbreak in Yemen that sickened more than 280,000 people amid a brutal civil war. Day Zero panic in Cape Town. Warnings from the UN climate panel that the planet’s ecosystems are changing more quickly than predicted. 2018 was a tumultuous, eventful year in water. Two questions, as always, hang in the air: Can leaders recognize environmental and social change? If they do, will they respond? The evidence of monumental alterations to land, water, and air was unmistakable this year. Even government agencies acknowledged it. India’s government-chartered think tank called the continued decline of India’s groundwater and its contamination the country’s “worst water crisis.” … ” Read more from Circle of Blue here: The Year in Water 2018
In commentary today …
Desalination: A long-term solution to California’s water woes, says Marc Joffe: He writes, “After years of drought and the recent devastating wildfires, Californians have been frequently reminded of water’s key role in everything from subduing the tragic blazes to its continuous uses for key agriculture, residential and commercial needs across the state. In the past, California has battled shortages and water challenges by rationing. But Israel has shown there may be a better long-term solution. Like California, Israel has an arid climate. Unlike the Golden State, Israel has solved its water shortage by commissioning a series of privately built and operated seawater desalination plants. Built just over a decade ago, five desalination plants now supply 70 percent of Israel’s drinkable water and a sixth facility is in the planning stages. … ” Read more from the San Gabriel Valley Tribune here: A long-term solution to California’s water woes
In regional news and commentary today …
Look for migratory birds on Yolo Bypass tour: “The Pacific Flyway stretches from Alaska to Central and South America. It is the collection of routes taken by birds on their annual migration to and from their breeding grounds. Some birds spend their winter in the Central Valley while others stop by as they continue their journey south. The Yolo Basin Foundation will lead a tour of the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 12, to view resident and migratory birds. ... ” Read more from the Davis Enterprise here: Look for migratory birds on Yolo Bypass tour
New questions about SF safety tests at Hunters Point shipyard building: “City employees who work at an unusual building deep inside a San Francisco Superfund site have been waiting for years to know if their surroundings are safe. But recent tests by the city health department won’t provide much comfort. The structure at the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, which has housed police employees since 1997 and contains the citywide crime lab, is known as Building 606. ... ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: New questions about SF safety tests at Hunters Point shipyard building
Carmel River Lagoon project accomplishing its goals: “Just as was planned, the Carmel River Lagoon Large Wood Augmentation project has seen an alteration to the river channel and the creation of new habitat made possible by the root ball, boulder and log structures placed in the lower lagoon area just over a year ago. “I would say everything is working out as designed,” said Brian LeNeve, Carmel River Steelhead Association president. “The structures are scouring as designed with the deepest parts of the upper lagoon being our structures.” … ” Read more from the Monterey Herald here: Carmel River Lagoon project accomplishing its goals
State agency decides water company’s Ventura County customers to get lower rate increases: “The California Utilities Commission has decided that California American Water’s Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park and Camarillo customers will get lower rate increases than the company proposed in 2016. The commission last week adopted a proposed decision by two of its administrative law judges that essentially denied the 32.1 percent hike over three years that the company wanted to impose, Thousand Oaks Public Works Director Jay Spurgin said. … ” Read more from the Ventura County Star here: State agency decides water company’s Ventura County customers to get lower rate increases
Farm Bill Makes Salton Sea Eligible for Millions in Federal Clean-up Funds: “President Trump on Thursday signed the 2018 Farm Bill, which alters language in agricultural conservation programs to make the Salton Sea eligible for millions in new federal funding. The changes were negotiated earlier this year by Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert, and California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, both Democrats. The bill’s inclusion of the Salton Sea could also nudge California closer to approving a Colorado River drought contingency plan. … ” Read more from the Desert Sun here: Farm Bill Makes Salton Sea Eligible for Millions in Federal Clean-up Funds
Along the Colorado River …
How best to share the disappearing Colorado River: “As early as 2020, hydrologists forecast that the level of Lake Mead, the largest reservoir on the Colorado River, could drop low enough to trigger the first water shortages in its downstream states of Arizona, Nevada and California. The three states in the river’s Lower Basin have long feared shortages. But the continued decline of Lake Mead reflects a reality they can no longer ignore: Demand for the river’s water, which supports 40 million people from Wyoming to California, has long outpaced the supply. … ” Read more from High Country News here: How best to share the disappearing Colorado River
Radio show: 2018 a bad year for water supplies in the Colorado River Basin: “The Colorado River has made headlines this year for more than rafting. The river is also a lifeline for the water supply in the American West and it’s future is in doubt. As climate change creates hotter and drier conditions, and demand for water remains high, water managers are pushing up against a deadline to come to an agreement that will determine much of the Southwest region’s water future. Luke Runyon covers the Colorado River for KUNC in Colorado and he joined The Show for a year-end look at the Colorado River — where we are now, and what’s led us to this point.” Listen to the radio show from KJZZ here: 2018 a bad year for water supplies in the Colorado River Basin
Will the Arizona legislature act quickly on the drought contingency plan? “In early December, after months (some would say years) of tough negotiations, the Central Arizona Project board approved a framework for the state’s internal Drought Contingency Plan (DCP). Pinal County farmers expressed concern, however, because money to help them build groundwater infrastructure was up in the air. Paul Orme, an attorney who represents many of those farmers, said this to the CAP board: “It’s going to require participation by all for us to have the comfort level of, in one month from now, basically having to tell our Pinal County legislators, yes, this is something we should support.” ... ” Read more from KJZZ here: Will the Arizona legislature act quickly on the drought contingency plan?
Precipitation watch …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
Today’s announcements …
- SHASTA DAM RAISE PROJECT: Scoping comment deadline extended to January 14; Scoping meeting presentation and posters now available
- DELTA eNEWS: ~~ RMP Science~ Dutch Slough~ Fisheries Plan~ Boater Card~ Traffic Advisory~ Ugly Sweaters~ Uglier Sweaters ~~
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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.
