In California water news today, ‘Monumental achievement’: Trump signs Colorado River drought plan; Water users try to adopt ‘orphaned’ PG&E project; Six Key Takeaways from the State Water Board’s New Cannabis Cultivation Policy; New guide on avoiding degraded water quality under SGMA; Could California host a hydropower renaissance?; Farm leaders advocate on Capitol Hill; States say half of wetlands would lose protection under EPA proposal; EPA won’t regulate pollution that moves through groundwater; and more …
On the calendar today …
- The California Water Commission meets today beginning at 9:30am. Agenda items include stormwater capture and recharge, the 2018 State Water Project Review, and the Feather River Fish Hatchery. For agenda and webcast link, click here.
- The Sacramento Valley chapter of the Groundwater Resources Association meets tonight at 5:30pm in Chico. Presentation title: The Disconnect Between Groundwater Legal Systems and Groundwater Hydrology: What Changes Should Be Made to Groundwater Law to Better Reflect the Physical Environment? For more information and to register, click here. You do not have to be a member to attend.
In the news today …
‘Monumental achievement’: Trump signs Colorado River drought plan: “President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a plan to cut back on the use of water from the Colorado River, which serves 40 million people in the U.S. West. The Colorado River drought contingency plan aims to keep two key reservoirs, Lakes Powell and Mead, from falling so low they cannot deliver water or produce hydropower. It was negotiated among the seven states that draw water from the river. Mexico also agreed to store water in Lake Mead on the Arizona-Nevada border if the U.S. legislation was approved by April 22. ... ” Read more from the Las Vegas Sun here: ‘Monumental achievement’: Trump signs Colorado River drought plan
- More Colorado River news in the ‘Along the Colorado River’ section below. Take me there!
Water users try to adopt ‘orphaned’ PG&E project: “Balancing fisheries restoration and water-supply reliability is central to a water struggle playing out in Mendocino, Lake, Sonoma and Humboldt counties after Pacific Gas and Electric Co. withdrew its application to relicense the Potter Valley Project, leaving the now “orphaned” project in the hands of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. A trans-basin water diversion project operated since 1908 between the Eel River watershed and the Russian River watershed, the Potter Valley Project includes two dams on the upper Eel River and a diversion tunnel that leads to a 9.2 megawatt powerhouse in Potter Valley, which supplies water to the Potter Valley Irrigation District. ... ” Read more from Ag Alert here: Water users try to adopt ‘orphaned’ PG&E project
Six Key Takeaways from the State Water Board’s New Cannabis Cultivation Policy: “Cannabis is the most highly regulated crop in California, and the state just added another layer of regulation. This article breaks down the State Water Resources Control Board’s (SWRCB) recently updated Cannabis Cultivation Policy – Principles and Guidelines for Cannabis Cultivation (“Policy”) into six key takeaways.1 These guidelines impose new rules on cannabis cultivation activities that have the potential to impact a watercourse (stream, creek, river or lake). Most of these rules apply to cultivation of sun-grown cannabis, which is currently allowed in some form in 12 counties. Compliance with these new requirements will be implemented through the CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing Program. … ” Read more from the Cannabis Industry Journal here: Water Policy in California: Six Key Takeaways from the State Water Board’s New Cannabis Cultivation Policy
New guide on avoiding degraded water quality under SGMA: “With deadlines looming, local agencies formed under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) are focused on creating plans to sustainably manage groundwater in basins throughout the state. As the January 2020 deadline for critically overdrafted basins (2022 for high and medium priority basins) approaches, Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) are charged with developing plans to avoid six “undesirable results,” including avoiding “significant and unreasonable degraded water quality.” A report released today from Stanford’s Water in the West program and funded by the Water Foundation provides GSAs with a resource to guide them through their responsibilities regarding groundwater quality under SGMA. … ” Read more from Stanford’s Water in the West here: New guide on avoiding degraded water quality under SGMA
Legal analysis: Assemblymember Frazier’s Bill to Increase Local Representation on Delta Stewardship Council Dies in Committee: “On April 9, 2019, Assembly Bill 1194 (AB 1194), aimed at increasing local representation on the Delta Stewardship Council (DSC), died in the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee. A motion for a vote on the bill was made by the committee Vice Chair, Assemblymember Gallagher, but the bill failed to receive a “second” from the other committee members and so is effectively stalled for the 2019 legislative year. The bill was spearheaded by Assemblymember Frazier and coauthored by Assemblymembers Eggman, Grayson, and McCarty as well as Senators Dodd and Galgiani, all members of the Delta Legislative Caucus. In an attempt to align the DSC membership with the rules governing two other Delta agencies—the Delta Protection Commission and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy—AB 1194 would have increased the total number of voting council members to eleven, adding four new voting members. ... ” Read more from Somach Simmons & Dunn here: Legal analysis: Assemblymember Frazier’s Bill to Increase Local Representation on Delta Stewardship Council Dies in Committee
Could California host a hydropower renaissance? “Against a backdrop of diminishing environmental standards at the federal level, America’s states are taking the baton. In September, California’s outgoing governor, Jerry Brown, signed into law a mandate requiring the state to derive all its power from renewable energy sources by 2045. Brown at the same committed California to achieving total “carbon neutrality” by the same year. In doing so the Golden State is creating a new gold standard for US decarbonization efforts. Though the mandate was met with widespread praise, even its most ardent supporters have acknowledged the many challenges ahead in implementing it. … ” Read more from Water Power & Dam Construction here: Could California host a hydropower renaissance?
California salmon season nears, with hopes of a longer season and lower prices: “When commercial fishermen head out to catch Chinook salmon for their first trip of the season on May 1, they’ll be able to look forward to what’s shaping up to be the longest salmon season in several years. On Tuesday, the schedule for the 2019 commercial salmon season was announced by the Pacific Fishery Management Council, which determines the dates and quotas of West Coast fishing every year. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: California salmon season nears, with hopes of a longer season and lower prices
Farm leaders advocate on Capitol Hill: “With a focus on the new—new members of Congress, a new Cabinet official, a renewed format for communicating with congressional staffers—California Farm Bureau Federation officers and directors visited Washington, D.C., to advocate on topics including trade, water and immigration. The Farm Bureau delegation met last week with more than 20 members of the California congressional delegation, with a particular emphasis on members newly elected in 2018. They met with Acting U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, two days before the Senate confirmed his appointment as the Cabinet’s newest member. For the first time in several years, they conducted a briefing for congressional staff members, to describe key issues facing California farmers and ranchers. … ” Read more from Ag Alert here: Farm leaders advocate on Capitol Hill
States say half of wetlands would lose protection under EPA proposal: “Fourteen states, including New York and California, and the District of Columbia said the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to replace an Obama-era water regulation would end federal protection for half of wetlands and 15 percent of streams across the country. The attorneys general issued a joint statement on Monday critical of the EPA’s proposal to narrow the scope of protections in the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule that President Barack Obama’s administration expanded in 2015 to cover a wide range of water bodies. … ” Read more from Reuters here: States say half of wetlands would lose protection under EPA proposal
Fifteen AGs slam Trump move to limit federal authority under Clean Water Act: “Attorneys general from 14 states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday vehemently opposed the Trump administration’s proposal to roll back a regulation known as Waters of the United States, a move they said would end federal oversight of 15 percent of streams and more than half of the nation’s wetlands. The limit on the federal government’s authority to regulate the pollution of wetlands and tributaries that run into the nation’s largest rivers would be a major win for builders, farmers, coal miners and frackers. … ” Read more from the Washington Post here: Fifteen AGs slam Trump move to limit federal authority under Clean Water Act
EPA won’t regulate pollution that moves through groundwater: “EPA won’t regulate any pollution to surface waters that passes through groundwater. The Clean Water Act regulates pollution to surface water and requires permits for so-called point-source discharges to them. But questions have remained about whether the law regulates any pollution that ends up in surface waters, or only direct discharges. EPA now says it’s the latter. “The agency concludes that the best, if not the only, reading of the Clean Water Act is that Congress intentionally chose to exclude all releases of pollutants to groundwater from the [point source] program, even where pollutants are conveyed to jurisdictional surface waters via groundwater,” the agency wrote in an interpretive statement posted online last night. ... ” Read more from E&E News here: EPA won’t regulate pollution that moves through groundwater
U.S. Needs to Shift to More Sustainable Agriculture—As Do All Countries: “Water supply has long been a key issue in California. Today it is no less critical, especially given the years of drought that California is experiencing, lending additional impetus to assessing the impact of agriculture on water. The conventional estimate is that 80 percent of the water used in California flows into the state’s multi-billion-dollar agricultural sector. But it goes way beyond water. As in California, agriculture in the United States is dominated by large, specialised crop and animal farms that focus on short-term productivity, often at the cost of creating other environmental problems, as well as public health issues. … ” Read more from IPS here: U.S. Needs to Shift to More Sustainable Agriculture—As Do All Countries
In regional news and commentary today …
Del Norte: Town hall includes dam removal debate: “County Supervisor Roger Gitlin prefaced a debate on Klamath River dam removal by stating it would address the project’s potential of creating problems at the Crescent City Harbor. But the side opposing efforts to demolish the dams and drain the reservoirs to improve habitat quality for salmon said he wasn’t going to talk about silt or sediment. “The Klamath River has declining salmon stocks over perhaps at least the last 25 years, perhaps even longer, and at this point, the only potential problem we’ve addressed, or we’re currently addressing is the fact that perhaps the dams are creating this decline in salmon populations,” said Samuel Strait at Gitlin’s April 3 town hall meeting. ... ” Read more from the Del Norte Triplicate here: Del Norte: Town hall includes dam removal debate
Paradise: Water is contaminated but residents are moving back anyway: “Six months after the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history, the town of Paradise remains a disaster zone. Only 6 percent of the debris from last November’s Camp Fire has been hauled away. Burned-out skeletons of cars, piles of toxic rubble and blackened old-growth pine trees can still be seen everywhere. Before the wildfire, the population of Paradise was about 26,000. Today, it’s in the hundreds. The extent of the latest crisis unfolding in Paradise is yet unknown: The deadly fire may also have contaminated up to 173 miles of pipeline in the town’s water system with cancer-causing benzene and other volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. ... ” Read more from NPR via KQED here: Paradise: Water is contaminated but residents are moving back anyway
Sacramento: Farm managers and rural appraisers to talk trade, water and cannabis: “The American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers will hold its Outlook 2019 Agribusiness Conference on trade tariffs and water woes April 23-25 in Sacramento. The first day of the conference, to be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, 2001 Point West Way, will include a seminar on cannabis operations and valuation. Organizers said the seminar is intended to introduce students to basic terminology, processes and methods of appraising a cannabis operation, with emphasis on property valuation. … ” Read more from the Daily Democrat here: Sacramento: Farm managers and rural appraisers to talk trade, water and cannabis
Monterey County Resource Agency needs more funding: “The Monterey County Resource Agency is holding a meeting on Friday, April 26 to discuss ideas and option to receive additional funds to pay for maintenance projects in the county, including updates to the dams at the Nacimiento and San Antonio reservoirs. “Projects that range from the dams to the delivery systems to Pajero river, to all the different areas within the county that need to have operation of maintenance,” said Shauna Lorance, the interim general manager at the Monterey County Water Resource Agency. ... ” Read more from KSBY here: Monterey County Resource Agency needs more funding
Salton Sea still in need of restoration funding: “A sweeping deal to plan for drought in the Colorado River Basin may yet include the river’s largest water user. The Imperial Irrigation District was frozen out of the multi-state deal when Los Angeles water managers offered to provide water cutbacks if Lake Mead continues to lose water. However, the Southern California water district still hopes to join the federal drought contingency plan. … ” Read more from KPBS here: Salton Sea still in need of restoration funding
San Diego: Here’s your regular reminder that we’re already drinking sewage: “San Diego relies on importing 85 percent of its water supply each year from the Colorado River and Sacramento Delta. But soon, that won’t be the case. The city is working on a multibillion-dollar project to purify enough wastewater to provide a third of the city’s drinking water by 2035. The city’s project, called Pure Water, will soon raise resident’s water bills by $6 to $13 a month. … ” Read more from the Voice of San Diego here: Here’s your regular reminder that we’re already drinking sewage
Along the Colorado River …
‘Monumental achievement’: Trump signs Colorado River drought plan: “President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a plan to cut back on the use of water from the Colorado River, which serves 40 million people in the U.S. West. The Colorado River drought contingency plan aims to keep two key reservoirs, Lakes Powell and Mead, from falling so low they cannot deliver water or produce hydropower. It was negotiated among the seven states that draw water from the river. Mexico also agreed to store water in Lake Mead on the Arizona-Nevada border if the U.S. legislation was approved by April 22. ... ” Read more from the Las Vegas Sun here: ‘Monumental achievement’: Trump signs Colorado River drought plan
President Trump signs bill endorsing Colorado River drought plan: “President Donald Trump signed a bill Tuesday authorizing a plan for Western states to take less water from the overburdened Colorado River. The president’s signing capped a years-long process of sometimes difficult negotiations among the seven states that rely on the river. Trump announced his approval of the bill in a tweet, calling it a “big deal” for Arizona. Minutes later, Gov. Doug Ducey applauded Trump and all of the lawmakers who did their part in formalizing the plan and said it was “a crucial action that moves DCP one step closer to full implementation.” … ” Read more from AZ Central here: President Trump signs bill endorsing Colorado River drought plan
Legal analysis: Congress Authorizes Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan: “With atypical haste, on April 8, 2019, Congress passed legislation authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to implement the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan (DCP). Once the President signs the DCP, the states can execute and implement a series of cascading agreements designed to shepherd the new Colorado River water savings plan. The mighty Colorado provides water to over 40 million people in the seven Colorado River Basin states, and helps drive economies throughout its winding course. Over time, this sweeping and historic agreement will touch many western water users. The DCP also forms the basis for upcoming future negotiations for sharing Colorado River resources after 2026. ... ” Read more from Somach Simmons & Dunn here: Legal analysis: Congress Authorizes Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan
Winter snowfall should significantly help Lake Mead water levels: “The winter snow across the western United States, especially in the Colorado mountains, could prove to be a huge blessing for Southern Nevada this summer. Experts have finished crunching the numbers and say the snowpack should have an impact on water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell. Simply put, when it comes to water reaching Lake Mead, the good news is there is no bad news. ... ” Read more from Channel 3 here: Winter snowfall should significantly help Lake Mead water levels
Wet year means above average flows for Lake Powell: “A new study released by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation predicts a release of up to 9 million acre-feet of water from Lake Powell to Lake Mead this year, which means a possible shortage declaration looming in 2020 might be averted. The snowpack in the Colorado River Basin is about 130 percent of average, with flows into Lake Powell predicted to be 128 percent of average during the runoff season. ... ” Read more from KSL here: Wet year means above average flows for Lake Powell
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
ERNEST CONANT: Federal priorities for Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region for 2019
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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.
