In California water news today, Large Storms Expected To Add Up To Four Feet In California’s Sierra Nevada This Week; How California is defying Trump’s environmental rollbacks; Progress seen in effort to eradicate Nutria; Reservoir releases shift from flood control to storage; The Sea Beneath Us; Interior sends thousands of documents to House committee ahead of acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s Senate confirmation hearing; When to P3: New report examines use of public-private partnership model in water; A wild Western winter in numbers; and more …
On the calendar today …
- The Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee meets at 9:00am. For more information, click here.
- The Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee meets at 9:30am. For more information, click here.
- A workshop on Water Data Management at 1:30pm. Hosted by the State Water Board’s Office of Information Management and Analysis (OIMA). Click here for the meeting notice.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- BLOG ROUND-UP: Subsidence and Socialism in the Valley; Cal Water Fix tunneling risks; Advancing aquatic restoration; PFAS, Watered down farmgate data; Revised Delta smelt permit; and more …
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: CDFW marks one-year anniversary of Nutria eradication effort; Drought’s over? Not so fast, says one SoCal water agency; Organizations urge Congress to use infrastructure legislation to address Western water challenges
Large Storms Expected To Add Up To Four Feet In California’s Sierra Nevada This Week: “Two wet and cold storms will visit a large portion of California this week. They are expected to add quite a bit of snow to the already well-above-average snowpack. The first storm will move over Northern California beginning Monday through Tuesday and could drop a quarter-of-an-inch of rain at low elevations and up to a foot of snow in the mountains. … ” Read more from Capital Public Radio here: Large Storms Expected To Add Up To Four Feet In California’s Sierra Nevada This Week
How California is defying Trump’s environmental rollbacks: “California is building walls at its borders — they’re just not the kind President Trump has in mind. As the Trump administration continues its assault on environmental regulation, state officials are throwing up legal barriers to some high-stakes attacks. They are preparing to strengthen safeguards for waterways that are about to lose federal protections in a major rollback of the Clean Water Act. ... ” Read more from the LA Times here: How California is defying Trump’s environmental rollbacks
Progress seen in effort to eradicate Nutria: “More than 400 nutria have been captured in the first year of an effort to eradicate the invasive South American rodent from California. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife said Monday the semi-aquatic rodents were trapped in five counties in the San Joaquin Valley. … ” Read more from the SF Chronicle here: Progress seen in effort to eradicate Nutria
Reservoir releases shift from flood control to storage: “Water managers are shifting from flood control to water storage at reservoirs across the California. Folsom Lake is at roughly 70 percent capacity, with about twice the amount of inflow as outflow. “We can kind of buffer up and down — give or take — to try and get that target,” said Todd Plain with Bureau of Reclamation. “That target, as time goes on, is moving up as we fill. So, it’s OK to be to be a little bit above average right now.” ... ” Read more from KCRA Channel 3 here: Reservoir releases shift from flood control to storage
The Sea Beneath Us: Sea level rise has a gotcha-from- behind twin: rising groundwater. It’s already here. And some experts maintain, we’re not ready for it: “In East Oakland, on a residential street in front of a small park, Kristina Hill stopped and got out of her vehicle. She walked to the center of the street as a gaggle of graduate students emerged from their cars and gathered around her. It was midday, early September, the bright, hot sun directly overhead. Hill, a professor of urban and environmental design at UC Berkeley, had chosen the spot because when it rains heavily, water gushes up from storm drains here, forming filthy brown ponds. “That will happen more and more,” Hill said. Then she proceeded to describe a peculiar, almost apocalyptic future. ... ” Read more from Bay Nature here: The Sea Beneath Us
Interior sends thousands of documents to House committee ahead of acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s Senate confirmation hearing: “The Interior Department has responded to requests from the House to provide more detail about acting Secretary David Bernhardt’s schedules, just days before he testifies in his Senate confirmation hearing to become the secretary permanently. In response to a request from the House Natural Resources Committee the department sent almost 7,000 pages of documents related to Bernhardt’s meetings and daily schedules. In a previous letter Bernhardt declined to provide any documents, saying “I have not personally maintained a calendar for years, and I have no intention of suddenly doing so now.” … ” Read more from ABC News here: Interior sends thousands of documents to House committee ahead of acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s Senate confirmation hearing
When to P3: New report examines use of public-private partnership model in water: “The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has collaborated on a new report with Ernst & Young Infrastructure Advisors, LLC that examines the relevance and potential of the public-private partnership (P3) project delivery model in the water sector. The report, “To P3 or not to P3,” presents results and insights from a joint AWWA/EYIA study of P3s as an alternative delivery model to address infrastructure repair and replacement costs, affordability concerns, environmental regulation and demographic changes and long-term risk and resilience in response to extreme weather events and climate trends. … ” Read more from Water Finance and Management here: When to P3: New report examines use of public-private partnership model in water
A wild Western winter in numbers: “We’ve detailed at length how incredibly active the 2018-19 winter has been for the West Coast. Here’s a few numbers to show you just how crazy it’s been. In some of Utah, California and Colorado’s ski resorts, a full season’s snow has already been observed, with several weeks still to go in the winter snow season. … ” Read more from Weather Nation here: A wild Western winter in numbers
In commentary today …
New path on California water must include Delta communities, says Barbara Barrigan-Parilla: She writes, “Delta advocates agree about the need to break out of our silos. And we all agree, the Delta is an amazing estuary, and a vital water supply source for the state. But any new path on California water must bring Delta community and fishing interests to the table. We have solutions to offer. We live with the impacts of state water management decisions from loss of recreation to degradation of water quality to collapsing fisheries. For example, how can new and improved technology be employed to track real time management of fisheries? … ” Read more from Cal Matters here: New path on California water must include Delta communities
In regional news and commentary today …
Klamath Project water outlook: “Despite above average mountain snowpack levels, Klamath Project farmers will still need to stretch their irrigation supplies this summer. The mountains above Upper Klamath Lake have 123% of average snowpack for March 25th. “The bad news is, we are sitting at over 100% of snowpack and precipitation and still we are unable to receive a full project delivery,” said Mark Johnson of the Klamath Water Users Association. ... ” Read more from KOBI here: Klamath Project water outlook
Napa County supervisors search for elusive watershed middle ground: “Napa County supervisors on Tuesday will take on what to date has been a baffling brainteaser – how to heal community divisions prompted by ongoing watershed and tree protection debates. Some community members are demanding the county do more to safeguard reservoir water quality and save carbon-sequestering trees to combat climate change. Others say no proof exists that drastic steps are needed and that the results could hurt agriculture and vineyard development. ... ” Read more from the Napa Register here: Napa County supervisors search for elusive watershed middle ground
High tech fight on aquatic invasive plants in Lake Tahoe shows promising results: “A pilot program that used ultraviolet light to combat aquatic invasive plants has shown promising results. Results from the program, which was deployed in Lakeside Marina in the summer of 2017, show the use of ultraviolet-C light successfully killed submerged aquatic plants, according to the Tahoe Resource Conservation District. Most of the submerged plants showed signs of deterioration or complete collapsing within seven to 10 days following the treatment, which was administered via a specially-made boat fitted with a drop-down panel of UV-C lights. ... ” Read more from the Mountain Democrat here: High tech fight on aquatic invasive plants in Lake Tahoe shows promising results
Flyway Nights explores Nutria invasion of California: “Yolo Basin Foundation’s Flyway Nights speaker series will explore one of the Delta’s invasive mammals, the Nutria. Martha Volkoff will discuss “Nutria in California: Current Status and Response” on Thursday, April 4, at 7 p.m. at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area Headquarters in south Davis. The report comes as the state Department of Fish and Wildlife report than more than 400 of the large rodents have been captured one year after they launch an Incident Command System and a formal effort to eradicate them from the state. ... ” Read more from the Daily Democrat here: Flyway Nights explores Nutria invasion of California
LAFCO approves Pacific Flyway annex into Fairfield: “Mayor Harry Price called the proposed $75 million Pacific Flyway Center “a gift for future generations.” “From an economic development point of view, it will be a major tourist attraction and create a lot of local jobs,” Price said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. Price also noted that the facility will create local jobs and provide a unique education experience, adding that it will change the science curriculum for schools throughout the area. … ” Read more from the Daily Republic here: LAFCO approves Pacific Flyway annex into Fairfield
Snowpack feeding SSJID system at 158% of normal: “The snow melt forecast calls for 1.6 million acre feet of water flowing into New Melones Reservoir in the coming months. That’s based on a Central Sierra snowpack survey that feeds the Stanislaus, Merced, and Tuolumne rivers’ watershed that was at 158 percent of normal as of Friday. Water content of that snowpack is on the high side at an average of 45.2 inches. That bodes well for South San Joaquin Irrigation District. … ” Read more from the Manteca Bulletin here: Snowpack feeding SSJID system at 158% of normal
Mayor Garcetti to continue water restrictions despite end of drought: “The state of California declared the drought is over – but don’t touch your sprinkler programming. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti says the city is not easing watering restrictions because the next “drought is right around the corner,” and conservation is “the new normal.” He made his comments on the latest installment of Ask the Mayor on Eyewitness Newsmakers. The city of Los Angeles is about to rewrite its own Green New Deal. Garcetti plans to announce an update next month. ... ” Read more from NBC LA here: Mayor Garcetti to continue water restrictions despite end of drought
Beverly Pond in Redlands goes from marshy depression to birding hotspot: “A little pond named after a farmer’s wife that became a birding hotspot was the topic at the Redlands Conservancy’s Life in a Puddle walk on Saturday, March 23. Megan Brousseau, Associate Director of Inland Empire Waterkeeper, and an expert on freshwater habitats, discussed water management and conservation at Beverley Pond at the San Timoteo Nature Sanctuary in Redlands. ... ” Read more from the Redlands Daily Facts here: Beverly Pond in Redlands goes from marshy depression to birding hotspot
A Local Water Board Paid an Employee Not to Work There. Now He’s on the Board.: “Five years ago, the Sweetwater Authority paid one of its engineers $175,000 to drop a lawsuit against the water district if he agreed to never work there again. Now, the engineer, Hector Martinez, is one of seven board members in charge of running the district. He also has ties to a former board member who, years earlier, was paid in exchange for leaving the district’s board. … ” Read more from the Voice of San Diego here: A Local Water Board Paid an Employee Not to Work There. Now He’s on the Board.
Along the Colorado River …
Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan Is Necessary Now, says Tom Buschatzke and others: They write, “Last week, the seven Colorado River basin states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — sent a letter to Congress calling for federal legislation to authorize the Drought Contingency Plan (DCP). Congressional House and Senate committees are holding hearings on the plan. It’s a historic moment for a river that supports two countries, seven states, 40 million people, 5.5 million acres of agricultural land, 22 federally recognized tribes, 11 national parks, seven wildlife refuges, four national recreation areas, and seven endangered species. In recent days, there have been contentions that the DCP has left a major factor out of the equation: the Salton Sea, California’s largest inland lake. But this simply is not the case. … ” Read more from The Desert Sun here: Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan Is Necessary Now
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.