In California water news today, Newsom’s new ‘water tax’ poses test for California GOP; High pressure ridge settled along coast keeping California dry; Dallas engineering firm lands California Water Fix contract; Nutria threat continues to grow in farm counties; California contemplates more water for struggling fish; Bay Delta Plan lawsuits continue to be filed; Trump’s deregulatory agenda in court; and more, plus BBID Election Tiebreaker Makes International Headlines
On the calendar today …
- The Delta Conservancy Board meets from 9am to 1pm. Agenda items include an update on aquatic and invasive plants, the Delta Conservancy 2018 Implementation Plan Status Update and request for approval; EcoAtlas Performance Measures Reporting Project Update, San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority and Bay Area Conservancy Update, Delta Stewardship Council Update; and California Water Fix and Eco Restore Updates. Click here for the full agenda.
- SoCal Water Dialog: Can California Adapt to More Frequent Flooding and Drought? From 12pm to 1:30pm at the LA County Hall of Administration. Click here for more information.
- WEBINAR: Atomic Blast Studied for State Water Plan: The Plowshare Program and the DWR Connection from 12pm to 1:30pm. Hosted by the Groundwater Resources Association. For more information and to register, click here.
- WEBINAR: ‘Keeping the Baby in the Bathwater: Integrating Climate Resilience within Existing Water Planning, Design, and Operations’ from 10am to 11am. Hosted by the American Water Resources Association. Registration is free. Click here to register.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: Jacobs named engineering design manager for California WaterFix; Reclamation releases draft Central Valley Project Final Cost Allocation Study; Water bird die-off at the Salton Sea
- CA WATER COMMISSION: Implementing AB 1755: The Open and Transparent Water Data Act; Groundwater Basin Boundary Modifications
- FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: 2019 Fisheries Habitat Restoration Grants
- FUNDING GUIDELINES: Regional Flood Management Assistance Program (RFMAP)
- WATER STORAGE INVESTMENT PROGRAM: Applicants, state agencies to discuss the administration of public benefits
Newsom’s new ‘water tax’ poses test for California GOP: “California Republicans are gearing up to target several vulnerable Democratic state legislators in an effort to block Democratic governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed new tax on drinking water. In his budget blueprint released two weeks into his tenure as governor, Newsom said he planned to create a “safe and affordable drinking water fund,” to help poor communities clean up contaminated water systems. ... ” Read more from the Washington Beacon here: Newsom’s new ‘water tax’ poses test for California GOP
High pressure ridge settled along coast keeping California dry: “There’s no sign of rain for Northern California including the San Francisco Bay Area through the end of January, meteorologists say. A weather system known as a “high-pressure ridge” is parked along the California coast, acting like a wall and blocking Pacific storms from reaching the state. Mid-winter dry spells lasting two weeks or even longer are not that unusual in California. … ” Read more from SF Gate here: High pressure ridge settled along coast keeping California dry
January storms added 580 billion gallons of water to California reservoirs: “Storms that soaked California during the first half of January did more than bring tons of snow to Sierra Nevada ski resorts. They also helped to significantly boost the state’s water supplies. Over the three weeks from Jan. 1 until this Tuesday, 47 key reservoirs that state water officials closely monitor added 580 billion gallons of water — as much as roughly 9 million people use in a year, according to an analysis by this newspaper. The combined storage in the reservoirs, which include critical components of California’s water supply like Shasta Lake, Folsom, Hetch Hetchy and San Luis Reservoir, has expanded from 15.96 million acre feet on New Year’s Day to 17.74 million acre feet now. Each acre foot is enough water to flood an acre of land a foot deep, or 325,851 gallons. ... ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here: January storms added 580 billion gallons of water to California reservoirs
A Dallas engineering firm goes to work solving California’s water problems: “A Dallas-based engineering firm is being tapped to help design California’s plan to bolster its water supply system. Jacobs’ initial $93 million contract is for preliminary and final engineering design of a 15-year program known as California WaterFix. The Golden State’s largest water conveyance project carries a $17 billion pricetag. WaterFix, slated to begin this year, will upgrade 50-year-old infrastructure dependent on levees, which the state said puts clean water supplies at risk from earthquakes and sea-level rise. … ” Read more from The Dallas Tribune here: A Dallas engineering firm goes to work solving California’s water problems
Nutria threat continues to grow in farm counties: “The nutria invasion of California continues. Greg Gerstenberg, a biologist and nutria operations chief with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said 372 nutria had been trapped in the state as of Jan. 10. Of those, 310 were taken in Merced County, 48 in San Joaquin County, 12 in Stanislaus County and one each in Fresno and Mariposa counties. Bruce Blodgett, executive director of the San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation, wants farmers and others who maintain levees to be aware. ... ” Read more from the Daily Democrat here: Nutria threat continues to grow in farm counties
California contemplates more water for struggling fish: “Billions of gallons of water once flowed out of California’s San Joaquin watershed into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta each year, helping sustain salmon, Delta smelt and steelhead and a vibrant fishing industry. But in recent years, water demand from agriculture and the state’s burgeoning cities has, at times, reduced the river to as little as 20 percent of historic flows, hurting fish populations. Now, the state has proposed moving more water from farms and cities to the Delta. In an unprecedented move, the Water Resources Control board voted in December to require water users to leave more water in the lower San Joaquin River to improve water quality and help fish. ... ” Read more from High Country News here: California contemplates more water for struggling fish
Bay Delta Plan lawsuits continue to be filed: “Multiple Bay-Delta Plan lawsuits have now been filed against the State Water Resources Control Board since it voted to increase minimum flow requirements on the Stanislaus, Merced, and Tuolumne rivers. Several irrigation districts that had been working on alternative agreements to achieve similar environmental outcomes expressed disappointment in the plan which includes unimpaired flow requirements of up to 50 percent. Those districts have now taken their objections to various courts throughout California. … ” Read more from AgNet West here: Bay Delta Plan lawsuits continue to be filed
William Bourdeau Speaks Out About SGMA: “William Bourdeau is Vice President of Harris Farms, a Director of Westlands Water District, and Chairman of the Board of the California Water Alliance. Bourdeau recently talked to California Ag Today about the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), which will force growers in 2040 to keep the water levels in their wells in balance and not allow over-drafting. “It’s mostly about living and growing up in the community and hearing about what the people did when I was still young,” Bourdeau said. “I understand that we were over-drafting the aquifer in the early days of agriculture on the west side of the valley and some very innovative, pioneering individuals figured out how to solve the problem. … ” Read more from Cal Ag Today here: William Bourdeau Speaks Out About SGMA
Trump’s deregulatory agenda in court: “After suspending and rescinding many of the energy regulations introduced under former President Obama, the Trump administration is in the initial stages of writing its replacement rules. As those texts are finalized, each will almost certainly be subject to legal action. Over the last two years, the courts have fielded a flurry of challenges to delays of Obama-era energy rules. This year will offer answers from the courts on the substance of President Trump’s revision rules. “It was just frenetic,” Bethany Davis Noll, litigation director for New York University’s Institute for Policy Integrity, said of last year’s suspension challenges. “Now it will be a little less so, but the issues are going to be a lot more serious.” ... ” Read more from E&E News here: Trump’s deregulatory agenda in court
And lastly … BBID Election Tiebreaker Makes International Headlines: “It was a roll of the die seen around the world. Larry Enos Jr. won re-election to the Byron-Bethany Irrigation District (BBID) Board of Directors following a highly unusual election tiebreaker that went viral. For the first time in BBID’s 100-plus year history, a District election was deadlocked after votes were tallied up. Enos Jr. and his challenger Pete Petrovich had 51 votes apiece. To decide the election, the two candidates joined officials at the Contra Costa County Elections Department last month in Martinez. Each rolled a 20-sided die – a Dungeons and Dragons die – three times, with the highest combined score as the winner. … ” Read more from ACWA’s Water News here: BBID Election Tiebreaker Makes International Headlines
In commentary today …
Mike Wade: San Francisco, agricultural interests band together for water rights fight: He writes, ““The judiciary is the safeguard of our liberty and of our property under the Constitution,” said U.S. Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes in Elimra, New York in 1907. That quote exemplifies the reason that five irrigation districts on tributaries to the San Joaquin River as well as the city of San Francisco filed lawsuits recently against the State Water Resources Control Board. They are defending their water rights. In December, ahead of the Water Board hearing, Governor Brown and Governor-elect Newsom both asked the Water Board to hold off and let the districts, the State, and the federal government finalize the voluntary agreements. … ” Read more from the Visalia Times-Delta here: Mike Wade: San Francisco, agricultural interests band together for water rights fight
Peter Drekmeier: Santa Clara Valley Water District lawsuit jeopardizes future projects: He writes, “The Santa Clara Valley Water District made a grave miscalculation in suing the State Water Board over the Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan. By alienating the remnants of the environmental community who have supported them in recent years, they are jeopardizing future projects and funding measures that will require voter approval. Santa Clara County residents care deeply about the environment. A public opinion poll conducted by San Jose State University found that environmental protection was the top motivator for people to conserve water. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here: Peter Drekmeier: Santa Clara Valley Water District lawsuit jeopardizes future projects
In regional news and commentary today …
Marin: Don’t go chasing waterfalls? ABC7 News did and look what we found in the North Bay: “In the North Bay, so much runoff from our recent rains has created some spectacular sights. Waterfalls are becoming big attractions around Mt. Tamalpais. The sound of rushing water is everywhere in the lush, emerald green hills below Mt. Tam. Creeks and streams are babbling with runoff from recent storms, but it’s nothing compared to bigger attractions created by H2O. ... ” Read more from ABC 7 here: Marin: Don’t go chasing waterfalls? ABC7 News did and look what we found in the North Bay
Reclaiming the Bay: “More than a square mile of former salt ponds north of Mountain View is headed for transformation back into wetland habitat as work begins to return that portion of the bayshore to its natural state after more than a century of industrial salt production. Construction crews will truck in enormous amounts of dirt to the North Bayshore area of Mountain View – hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of the stuff – to shore up old levees, protect landfills and create new habitats for marsh creatures to thrive in. All of this is in preparation for breaching a man-made barrier to bring tidal flows back to an area parched and cut off from the Bay. … ” Continue reading at the Almanac here: Reclaiming the Bay
Central Coast: King tides raise interest in erosion and sea level issues: “The annual king tides have raised an interest in coastal erosion and rising sea levels. The tides hit with a bang at Butterfly Beach in Montecito Monday morning. The concrete wall was lined with people taking pictures and getting video. Some of the waves splashed over 25 feet into the air and below some evidence rocks the size of soccer balls were being tossed on to walking areas. ... ” Read more from KEYT here: Central Coast: King tides raise interest in erosion and sea level issues
Owens Valley: Los Angeles Department of Water and Power agrees to relinquish Owens Valley commercial property: “Angelenos bearing gifts have elicited skepticism in Owens Valley since the early 1900s, when city agents posed as ranchers and farmers to buy land and water rights and then built dams and diversions that turned much of the region into an acrid dust bowl. The scandal dramatized in the classic 1974 film “Chinatown” also transformed local business owners into lessees paying rent to an overbearing landlord 180 miles to the south. Now, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is extending an olive branch. The department has proposed selling some of the commercial property it leases – but not the water rights – to dozens of lessees in the financially struggling towns along a rustic, 112-mile stretch of Highway 395 between the eastern Sierra Nevada range and the White-Inyo Mountains. … ” Continue reading at the LA Times here: Owens Valley: Los Angeles Department of Water and Power agrees to relinquish Owens Valley commercial property
Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority’s first meeting of 2019 meeting features presentations, appointments: “The Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority had its first meeting since November 2018 on Jan. 17. All representatives were present with the exception of Ryan Klaush from Bureau of Land Management because of the government shutdown. There was a moment of silence for furloughed workers. This was also the first board of directors meeting for Ridgecrest City Councilman Loren Scott Hayman since being appointed to the position. The board approved the appointment of Judie Decker as a policy advisory committee representative for Eastern Kern County Resource Conservation District. Mick Gleason personally thanked Decker for her service on the board. … ” Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent here: Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority’s first meeting of 2019 meeting features presentations, appointments
Coachella Valley Water District eyes $40 million bond to pay for pipe; Growers say the district should tap hefty reserves instead: “Coachella Valley Water District board members on Tuesday debated issuing a $40 million bond to pay for an extension of the Oasis pipeline to bring imported water to about 40 farmers and others in the irrigation district, who would pay the costs back over 30 years. A small rate increase could be imposed as well. A coalition of farmers known as Growing Coachella shot back with a different proposal. In a meeting with The Desert Sun editorial board, they said the district should dip into its $500 million reserves to pay for the project instead. But district manager Jim Barrett said that wasn’t possible under state law. ... ” Read more from the Desert Sun here: Coachella Valley Water District eyes $40 million bond to pay for pipe; Growers say the district should tap hefty reserves instead
King Tides pressure San Diego coastal cities: “The San Diego coastline got another taste of high ocean levels Tuesday morning as the seasonal king tides gave a peek into California’s future. Storm swell and the beginning of king tides pummeled Imperial Beach late last week, but the astronomical high tides are still affecting the region. The high tide Tuesday morning peaked at more than seven feet above normal sea levels in San Diego County. … ” Read more from KPBS here: King Tides pressure San Diego coastal cities
Along the Colorado River …
As shortage looms, groundwater takes on added importance in the Colorado River Delta: “The workers were bundled up, some of them in hoodies, spread out across a muddy field on an unusually rainy morning at the Laguna Grande restoration area. Their shovels stood upright, wedged in the soft ground as they planted cottonwood and willow trees and other riparian vegetation. The restoration site is one of three south of the U.S.-Mexico border, in the riparian corridor along the last miles of the Colorado River. There, in the delta, a small amount of water has been reserved for nature, returned to an overallocated river whose flow has otherwise been claimed by cities and farms. ... ” Read more from Arizona Central here: As shortage looms, groundwater takes on added importance in the Colorado River Delta
Gila River tribe threatens to pull out of Colorado River drought plan: “The Gila River Indian Community is threatening to blow up the drought-contingency plan because of efforts it says will undermine its claim to water rights. House Speaker Rusty Bowers is proposing changes to state laws in a way he said will protect the rights of farmers in the Safford Valley who have been “scratching it out” to water from the Gila River. But attorney Don Pongrace, who represents the Gila River Indian Community, said what Bowers proposes to do would effectively overturn and nullify a federal appellate court ruling, which said those upstream who have not used the water have forfeited those rights. … ” Read more from Tuscon.com here: Gila River tribe threatens to pull out of Colorado River drought plan
Precipitation watch …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
Today’s announcements …
- FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: 2019 Fisheries Habitat Restoration Grants
- FUNDING GUIDELINES: Regional Flood Management Assistance Program (RFMAP)
- WATER STORAGE INVESTMENT PROGRAM: Applicants, state agencies to discuss the administration of public benefits
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.
