In California water news today, Downsizing the Delta tunnel plan: what it means for water and ecosystems; MWD’s GM Jeff Kightlinger on California Water Infrastructure; Mudslide sweeps house off hill as storm pounds California; El Niño is back but it’s late, weak and probably no big deal; Sites Reservoir is Sacramento Valley’s water project. But L.A. is taking a huge role; Another Looming Climate Disaster: Dam Collapses; EPA Says It Will Regulate Two PFAS Chemicals in Drinking Water; Comment Period Open for Proposed WOTUS Rule; Dispute puts Arizona’s Colorado River drought deal ‘in serious jeopardy’; and more …
On the calendar today …
- A webinar on Inadequate access to water and sanitation for homeless residents from 11:30am to 1pm. Presented by the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water. Click here for more information and to register.
In the news today …
CAL WATER FIX
Downsizing the Delta tunnel plan: what it means for water and ecosystems: “California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced this week his plan to downsize the Delta twin tunnels project, a controversial $17 billion water conveyance system aimed at diverting water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to the Central Valley and Southern California. The tunnels are intended in part to reduce the impacts that massive pumps at the south end of the Delta currently have on Delta hydrology and ecosystems. … In his first State of the State speech, Newsom expressed his support for a one-tunnel system, which could potentially save billions of dollars, but begs the question of whether a single tunnel can effectively transport enough water to thirsty regions of California in an ecologically friendly way. Leon Szeptycki, executive director of Stanford’s Water in the West program, and Timothy Quinn, the Landreth Visiting Fellow at Water in the West, discussed the future of water in California and potential impacts of a tunnel system. ... ” Read more from the Stanford Report here: Downsizing the Delta tunnel plan: what it means for water and ecosystems
MWD’s GM Jeff Kightlinger on California Water Infrastructure: Prior to the Governor’s State of the State address, the Planning Report interviewed Jeffrey Kightlinger, General Manager of Metropolitan Water District. Mr. Kightlinger talked about Water Fix, the State Water Board’s Bay Delta Plan update, the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan, and the passage of LA’s Measure W. “TPR: As California moves from the Governor Brown to the Newsom administration, let’s begin with an update from MWD on the status of the California WaterFix. Jeff Kightlinger: The WaterFix project has been one of the signature large infrastructure pieces of the Brown administration ... ” Continue reading at The Planning Report here: MWD’s GM Jeff Kightlinger on California Water Infrastructure
STORMS/PRECIPITATION
Atmospheric river leaves mud, traffic, some flooding, with colder, more mild storm on the way: “An atmospheric river storm that walloped the Bay Area on Thursday, causing traffic snarls, flood scares and at least one major mudslide that wrecked homes and cars, has finally left Northern California. But apart from the hassles and damage, the biggest storm of the winter so far also delivered something quite valuable: a boost to the Sierra Nevada snowpack — the source of one-third of California’s water supply — to 102 percent of its historical average for April 1. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here: Atmospheric river leaves mud, traffic, some flooding, with colder, more mild storm on the way
Mudslide sweeps house off hill as storm pounds California: “Waves of heavy rain pounded California on Thursday, flooding streets, triggering a mudslide that destroyed homes and forcing residents to flee communities scorched by wildfires last year. The powerful system swept in from the Pacific Ocean and unleashed damaging rain, snow and wind across the U.S. West into Wyoming and Colorado after walloping Northern California and southern Oregon a day earlier. … ” Continue reading at the Anchorage Daily News here: Mudslide sweeps house off hill as storm pounds California
Bay Area’s biggest storm of 2019 douses, disrupts, damages region: “A roar jolted Kevin Austin awake in the middle of the night, like a train passing his bedroom. But there weren’t any tracks near his Sausalito home. A massive mudslide had just given way in the 33-year-old’s neighborhood, as the loose soil under his next-door neighbor’s home sent it rushing toward another house. The predawn landslide Thursday occurred in the midst of a torrential storm — the largest to hit the Bay Area this year. ... ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: Bay Area’s biggest storm of 2019 douses, disrupts, damages region
Sierra Snowpack Balloons to 136% of Normal Amid Series of Storms: “A series of storms that has walloped California in recent weeks has proven to be a big boon for one of the state’s most critical sources of fresh water: the Sierra snowpack. The latest statistics from the California Department of Water show that, as of Wednesday, the snowpack has an astounding snow water equivalent of 136 percent of normal. ... ” Read more from KTLA here: Sierra Snowpack Balloons to 136% of Normal Amid Series of Storms
EL Niño
El Niño is back but it’s late, weak and probably no big deal: “An El Nino, which can alter weather worldwide, has formed but it’s so weak and late that it shouldn’t be a big deal, U.S. forecasters said. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday that the climate feature formed in the central Pacific, but forecasters don’t expect it to last more than three or four months. An El Nino is a natural warming of the ocean that once it interacts with the atmosphere often warms up the globe and changes rainfall and temperature patterns, making some places wetter and some places drier. ... ” Read more from the Capital Press here: El Nino is back but it’s late, weak and probably no big deal
El Niño Is Officially Here, NOAA Says; but Don’t Blame It for Recent California Storms: “Like a fickle paramour, El Niño is visiting California again — but the weather pattern is weak this year and its relationship with the state is tenuous, experts say. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday that after months of flirting, conditions for El Niño have finally come together in the central Pacific. Forecasters said there’s a 55% chance the weather pattern conditions will continue through April across the southern half of the U.S. ... ” Read more from KTLA Channel 5 here: El Niño Is Officially Here, NOAA Says; but Don’t Blame It for Recent California Storms
OTHER STATEWIDE NEWS
Sites Reservoir is Sacramento Valley’s water project. But L.A. is taking a huge role: “As water projects go, Sites Reservoir has always been the Sacramento Valley’s baby – a multibillion-dollar reservoir conceived by Valley farmers, carved out of a ghost town an hour north of the Capitol. Around the Valley, “Build Sites Reservoir” signs dot the roads along mile after mile of orchards and rice fields. But a funny thing has happened as the Sites project, designed as the largest reservoir built in California since the 1970s, pulls together its financing: It’s becoming much less of a Sacramento Valley venture. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Sites Reservoir is Sacramento Valley’s water project. But L.A. is taking a huge role
After Wildfires, DWR Staff Deploy to Protect Watersheds and Communities From Flood Risk: “While the devastating Camp Fire roared for several weeks in Butte County last November, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) was on high alert, monitoring the extent of the fire as it approached the northwest shoreline of Lake Oroville. Ensuring the safety of impacted employees and protecting the Oroville facilities from fire were only a few of the ways DWR was, and still is, involved with recovery efforts associated with the Camp Fire and the Woolsey Fire in Southern California. … ” Read more from DWR News here: After Wildfires, DWR Staff Deploy to Protect Watersheds and Communities From Flood Risk
TRUE: ‘More than a million Californians’ don’t have clean drinking water … It could be higher: “Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has made confronting California’s contaminated drinking water a top priority early in his term in office. In his first week, he took his cabinet on a road trip to meet with Central Valley residents who, for years, have had to rely on bottled water for drinking and cooking. In his budget, he called for a tax on drinking water to help disadvantaged communities clean up contaminated water. Then he signed one of his first pieces of legislation to provide assistance to communities with unsafe water, including $10 million for emergency drinking water projects. … ” Read more from PolitiFact here: TRUE: ‘More than a million Californians’ don’t have clean drinking water … It could be higher
With California salmonids facing extinction, conservation group identifies dams to remove in state: “In response to statewide fish extinction crisis, which indicates 74 percent of California’s native salmon, steelhead and trout species are likely to be extinct in the next century, the fish and watershed conservation non-profit organization California Trout (CalTrout) today released its list of the top five dams prime for removal in the golden state. The dams identified in the report were carefully selected: dams that provide the least benefit for people and caused the greatest hazards for imperiled native fish rose to the top. ... ” Read more the Healdsburg Tribune here: With California salmonids facing extinction, conservation group identifies dams to remove in state
Another Looming Climate Disaster: Dam Collapses: “Major dams in California are five times more likely to flood this century than the last one due to global warming, a new study finds, possibly leading to overtopping and catastrophic failures that threaten costly repairs and evacuations. That means Californians can expect more disasters like the Oroville Dam, whose overflow channel failed in 2017 after days of flooding had filled state reservoirs to 85% of their capacity, leading to the evacuation of more than 180,000 people and losses of around $300 million. … ” Read more from Buzz Feed News here: Another Looming Climate Disaster: Dam Collapses
NATIONAL
EPA Says It Will Regulate Two PFAS Chemicals in Drinking Water: “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will set federal drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS, two manmade chemicals in a class of toxic compounds that have been found in the water supplies of millions of Americans. Don’t expect the standards to come quickly, though. In a rollout on February 14 of its plan for addressing nationwide PFAS contamination, Andrew Wheeler, the acting EPA administrator, said that the agency will complete the first step in the regulatory process by the end of the year. That first step is an official determination of whether to regulate the chemicals, which Wheeler said the agency would do. … ” Read more from the Circle of Blue here: EPA Says It Will Regulate Two PFAS Chemicals in Drinking Water
EPA to announce PFAS chemical regulation plans by end of year: “The Trump administration on Thursday said it will issue a draft regulation placing a limit on a cancer-causing chemical frequently found in drinking water by the end of the year, but provided no details on the level of protection it would seek. The new steps to eventually regulate the the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as “PFAS” or “PFOA” are being announced by Environmental Protection Agency head Andrew Wheeler in Pennsylvania. … ” Read more from The Hill here: EPA to announce PFAS chemical regulation plans by end of year
Comment Period Open for Proposed WOTUS Rule: “The comment floodgates are open for the proposed federal Waters of the United States (“WOTUS”) rule. The rule would re-define the phrase “waters of the United States” which dictates the geographic reach of the Clean Water Act. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army made the pre-publication rule available starting on December 11, 2018, but the comment period has only now officially begun with a notice in the Federal Register published on February 14, 2019. Currently, due to litigation over the Obama Administration’s 2015 WOTUS rule, pre-2015 regulations and guidance apply in some states, while the 2015 rule applies in others. ... ” Read more from the National Law Review here: Comment Period Open for Proposed WOTUS Rule
In regional news and commentary today …
Crescent City: Board airs concerns about Klamath Dam removal: “Though Crescent City Harbor District approved a letter supporting dam removal on the Klamath River last week, the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors was unconvinced the project wouldn’t result in excessive silt and sediment at the port. County supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a letter to the state Water Resources Control Board in response to the Klamath River Renewal Corporation’s request for a Clean Water Act section 401 certification in connection with the removal of the J.C. Boyle, Copco 1, Copco 2 and Iron Gate dams…. ” Read more from the Del Norte Triplicate here: Crescent City: Board airs concerns about Klamath Dam removal
Two levee breaches reported near Highway 37 in Novato as heavy rains pound region: “Officials were monitoring the situation on Highway 37 in Novato after a levee was breached in two places during a Thursday storm, threatening to inundate the roadway with water. A second levee near Pacheco Pond in Novato was flowing over the top of the barrier, though the levee did not appear to have been breached, officials said. The largest breach, along Highway 37 and Harbor Drive, spurred a swollen Novato Creek to spill over onto a field south of the highway, California Highway Patrol said. ... ” Read more from SF Gate here: Two levee breaches reported near Highway 37 in Novato as heavy rains pound region
Latest storm boosts Santa Barbara County well above normal rainfall totals: “Only halfway through February — statistically the wettest month — Santa Barbara County as a whole has received 90 percent of a normal year’s rainfall as of Thursday. Figures from the county Flood Control District also show that the county overall has received 144 percent of normal precipitation to date for the water year that runs from Sept. 1 through Aug. 31. Lompoc (14.94 inches) and Lake Cachuma (20.37 inches) led the county rainfall to date with 168 percent. Both also had received more than 100 percent of normal precipitation for the entire year. … ” Read more the Noozhawk here: Latest storm boosts Santa Barbara County well above normal rainfall totals
California City Well Debated: “With a couple of council members continuing to question the financial and legal aspects of installing a well in Central Park to provide nonpotable water to the park’s lake and to irrigate the city’s golf course and parks, the City Council on Tuesday put off a decision on the matter for a second time. The council split 3-2 to approve the delay, with Mayor Chuck McGuire and Councilman Nick Lessenevitch voting to move forward. Although she said she felt comfortable with the information available Tuesday, Councilwoman Tami Johnson agreed to the delay in order to provide answers for the others. … ” Read more from the Antelope Valley Press here: California City Well Debated
Highway ‘Washed Away’ After Heavy Rain Pounds Riverside County: “Riverside County officials Thursday urged residents in Idyllwild and surrounding areas to shelter in place due to “unsafe” road conditions as torrential rain inundated Southern California, turning tunnels into lakes and streets into rivers. Anyone living in the areas of Idyllwild, Mountain Center, and Pine Cove were urged to shelter in place or head to Idylllwild School at 26700 Highway 243, according to Cal Fire. ... ” Read more from CBS LA here: Highway ‘Washed Away’ After Heavy Rain Pounds Riverside County
7.5 million floating balls deploying to make Redlands airport safer. Here’s how: “After the 130-million-gallon Citrus Reservoir was completed near the Redlands Municipal Airport two years ago, a problem showed up the radar: Birds. Big ones. Ted Gablin, director of the Redlands Airport Association, called the threat of a birdstrike from migrating geese worrisome for pilots. “Somebody could die from this if they hit the geese going 80, 90 miles per hour,” he said. ... ” Read more from the Redlands Daily Facts here: 7.5 million floating balls deploying to make Redlands airport safer. Here’s how
Historic rainfall hits the Palm Springs area. Where does all the water go? “Where does all the water that flooded the Coachella Valley on Thursday end up? Two words: Salton Sea. But to get there, it funnels through an elaborate web of side channels, dikes and dams into a 50-mile long “backbone” channel that runs from the Whitewater River north of Palm Springs down to California’s largest lake. Some will also percolate into the ground and some will evaporate before it gets there, said Diane Carmony, a spokeswoman with the Coachella Valley Water District. … ” Read more from the Desert Sun here: Historic rainfall hits the Palm Springs area. Where does all the water go?
San Diego County wants more water testing in Imperial Beach and Coronado: “County Supervisor Greg Cox wants to double the number of water quality tests the county conducts along Imperial Beach and Coronado – the two areas most affected by sewage spills from the Tijuana River. To help pay for this expansion – which aims to increase from four to nine the number of testing sites between Border Field State Park to the Coronado Shores – Cox is asking his colleagues on the county Board of Supervisors to set aside $289,000 during upcoming budget deliberations, Cox announced Wednesday. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union Tribune here: San Diego County wants more water testing in Imperial Beach and Coronado
Along the Colorado River …
Tribe holds off its planned approval of drought plan over legislation concern: “A major player in the drought contingency plan on Thursday yanked its scheduled ratification of its part of the deal, potentially upending any chance of the state meeting the March 4 deadline set by the federal government. Stephen Roe Lewis, governor of the Gila River Indian Community, said he had called for a special meeting of the tribal council to consider and approve the necessary agreements to provide up to 500,000 acre-feet of water between now and 2026. That was designed to help make up for the water the state will no longer be able to draw from Lake Mead, much of that earmarked for Pinal County farmers. … ” Read more from Tucson.com here: Tribe holds off its planned approval of drought plan over legislation concern
Dispute puts Arizona’s Colorado River drought deal ‘in serious jeopardy’: “Just when it looked like Arizona was close to wrapping up a Colorado River drought plan, a dispute that has the potential to sink the deal has flared up. Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community said in a statement Thursday that a decision by House Speaker Rusty Bowers to move forward with a contentious water bill threatens the community’s plan to support the drought agreement. The Gila River Indian Community’s involvement is key because it’s entitled to about a fourth of the Colorado River water that passes through the Central Arizona Project’s canal, and it has offered to kick in some water to make the drought agreement work. ... ” Read more from the Desert Sun here: Dispute puts Arizona’s Colorado River drought deal ‘in serious jeopardy’
How will Arizona battle drought in the next decade? “States that rely on the Colorado River for their water supplies are currently unable to finish a series of agreements that would keep its biggest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, from dropping to levels not seen since they were filled decades ago. Five states—Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming and Nevada—are done. The country of Mexico has also completed its portion. But California and Arizona failed to meet a Jan. 31 federal government deadline to wrap up negotiations and sign a final agreement. ... ” Read more from Science Friday here: How will Arizona battle drought in the next decade?
Facing cutbacks on the Colorado River, Arizona farmers look to groundwater to stay in business: “In satellite images, the farm fields in central Arizona stand out like an emerald green quilt draped across the desert landscape. Seeing it from the ground level, the fields of alfalfa, corn and wheat are interspersed with the furrows of freshly plowed fields. After the cotton harvest, stray fluffy bolls lie scattered on the ground like patches of snow. A large share of the water that flows to these fields comes from the Colorado River, and the supply of water is about to decrease dramatically. … ” Read more from Arizona Central here: Facing cutbacks on the Colorado River, Arizona farmers look to groundwater to stay in business
As Western water managers turn to cloud seeding, Nevada’s program faces funding uncertainty in the legislature: “On a cold January day, a technician from the Desert Research Institute holds a vial next to a propane tank and a control center at the top of Alpine Meadows Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe. Jeff Dean is holding the small bottle, which contains silver iodide, and he’s about to burn it through a process known as cloud seeding. His goal is to bring more snowfall to a basin that feeds the Truckee River, a critical waterway for Reno, the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and farmers as far away as Fallon. For decades, researchers have used the compound to induce the formation of ice crystals, a technique that can create more snow under the right conditions. “This is 1.4 grams, which can equate to an acre-foot of water, if all is right,” he said. … ” Read more from the Nevada Independent here: As Western water managers turn to cloud seeding, Nevada’s program faces funding uncertainty in the legislature
Experts: Southwestern US sees some drought relief: “Drought conditions in much of the southwestern United States have improved because of surges of moisture over the last few months. But national forecasters and climate experts warned Thursday that it hasn’t been enough to alleviate concerns about long-term water supplies around the region. Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center and others provided a briefing on the current conditions in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah as parts of California and the Pacific Northwest were blasted by another round of snow and rain. ... ” Read more from US News & World Reports here: Experts: Southwestern US sees some drought relief
Precipitation watch …
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.
