In California water news today, Gov. Gavin Newsom hits back at Trump in new fight over who controls California water; A California town could finally get clean water – if its neighbor is willing to help; Lawsuits are a weapon in major water conflicts; Spiritual Leader and Chief of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe Caleen Sisk Receives Earth Day Award; Are your jeans creating an eco disaster?; Federal judge dismisses key pieces of tribe’s claim against local water districts; Mission Springs Water District representative: “We’ve been hijacked by Desert Water Agency”; and more …
On the calendar today …
- The Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee meets at 9:00am. The committee will discuss a variety of water-related bills, including a “safe and reliable drinking water fund,” appropriations of water, and wildfire prevention grants. For more information, click here. To watch on webcast, click here.
- Watershed University Webinar: Wildfire Impacts to Infrastructure from 12pm to 1pm. Click here for webcast information.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- BLOG ROUND-UP: Voluntary agreements, Delta’s trophic collapse; Groundwater depletion and salt-impaired lands in the San Joaquin Valley; Oil industry pollutants in Kern County water supply wells; and more …
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: Fishing groups applaud steps to protect salmon from Trump Administration; Key claims dismissed in Agua Caliente’s case against water agencies; EPA seeks public input for development of National Water Reuse Action Plan
- FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: DWR Releases Proposal Solicitation Package for Proposition 1 Implementation Grants
Gov. Gavin Newsom hits back at Trump in new fight over who controls California water: “Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is taking unprecedented steps to combat President Donald Trump’s efforts to ship more water to his agricultural allies in the San Joaquin Valley. Saying Trump’s water plans are scientifically indefensible and would violate the state’s Endangered Species Act, the state Department of Water Resources on Friday began drawing up new regulations governing how water is pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to the southern half of the state. The move sets the stage for another confrontation between Trump and Newsom over the future of California’s water supply and the fish that live in it. Already, the state has sued the Trump administration more than 45 times over issues ranging from immigration to climate change. ... ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Gov. Gavin Newsom hits back at Trump in new fight over who controls California water
A California town could finally get clean water – if its neighbor is willing to help: “The 80 homes that make up Tooleville nestle against the mighty Friant-Kern Canal, thousands of gallons of fresh water flowing each day past the two-street town. But none of that water can help Tooleville’s decades-old problem of contaminated water, chronicled at the start of this decade in a three-part series by The Bee on the San Joaquin Valley water crisis. Nearby Exeter might, though, giving a rise of newfound hope. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: A California town could finally get clean water – if its neighbor is willing to help
Lawsuits are a weapon in major water conflicts: “In court, the California Environmental Quality Act is a familiar obstacle to projects large and small — housing developments, solar projects, even bike lanes. It’s also lately become a weapon in the state’s major water conflicts. Last week, the Imperial Irrigation District filed a CEQA lawsuit trying to block a deal among seven states that could lead to further rations of the Colorado River in the near future. Even though environmental law doesn’t apply outside of California, Imperial is the largest holder of Colorado water rights in the country — it has dibs on as much river water as Arizona and Nevada combined — and is suing other California agencies that have agreed to give up water if there’s a shortage. … ” Read more from the Voice of San Diego here: Lawsuits are a weapon in major water conflicts
Extra Snow Runoff Could Prove Treacherous For Rafters; Outfitters Taking Precautions: “If you thought we had high water on rivers now, just wait because it’s about to get higher. Water is running harder and colder due to the large snowpack. That means sections of the American River could prove treacherous because surviving after a few minutes in what’s called ‘liquid snow’ could be deadly. “This is one of the highest water years we have seen in the last three decades,” said Nathan Rangel with Raft California. … ” Read more from CBS Sacramento here: Extra Snow Runoff Could Prove Treacherous For Rafters; Outfitters Taking Precautions
100-degree heat to scorch parts of southwestern US this week: “After a seasonably mild April so far, residents across California and much of the southwestern United States should brace for the first significant heat wave of the year this week. A ridge of high pressure will build across the Southwest this week, pushing temperatures into the 90s and even 100s in spots by the middle and latter part of the week. “By Wednesday, widespread highs in the 90s F are anticipated throughout California’s Central Valley and the deserts of Southern California, Nevada and Arizona,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski. ... ” Read more from Accu-Weather here: 100-degree heat to scorch parts of southwestern US this week
Westands officials disappointed by water allocation announcement: “While all other Central Valley Project contractors’ allocations were previously increased to 100% of their contract totals in recent months, the Bureau of Reclamation announced Wednesday that agricultural districts South-of-Delta will receive only 65% percent of their historic water allocation. South-of-the-delta cities like Avenal that get water from the Central Valley Project were increased to 90 percent of their contract supply, up from an 80 percent allocation announced in March. Bureau officials said this update reflects ongoing water supply improvements due to continued precipitation in March and early April. … ” Read more from the Hanford Sentinel here: Westands officials disappointed by water allocation announcement
Spiritual Leader and Chief of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe Caleen Sisk Receives Earth Day Award for Exceptional Advocacy for Indigenous Rights and Water Justice: “The Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment announced Winnemem Wintu Tribal Chief and Spiritual Leader Caleen Sisk as the winner of the 2019 Anthony Grassroots Prize, an annual $1,000 Earth Day award recognizing an outstanding example of grassroots environmental activism. Since assuming leadership of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe in 2000, Chief Sisk has focused on uplifting the cultural and religious traditions of the tribe, such as the revitalization of the Winnemem’s H’up Chonas (War Dance) and BaLas Chonas (Puberty Ceremony). She also advocates tirelessly for salmon restoration, the undamming of rivers and lakes, and the basic human right to clean water. Chief Sisk is currently leading the Tribe’s resistance against the proposal to raise the Shasta Dam, and is an integral voice in the efforts to bring salmon home to the tribe’s sacred watershed above the dam. … ” Read more from YubaNet here: Spiritual Leader and Chief of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe Caleen Sisk Receives Earth Day Award for Exceptional Advocacy for Indigenous Rights and Water Justice
UC Cooperative Extension ramps up its climate change response: “While scientific reports continue to mount confirming that global climate change is increasing temperatures, causing more frequent weather extremes and raising the sea level in California, UC Cooperative Extension is working to ensure the worst predictions are avoided and California residents and businesses will be able to adapt to the change. Each year, a diverse group of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources academics and program implementation professionals meet to share and collect the latest climate change experiences, ideas, science and solutions. The team works with farmers across the state to improve production practices and minimize environmental impact, conduct agricultural and natural resources conservation research, and coordinate programs like California Naturalist and UC Master Gardener, which recruit and educate volunteers to reach out to communities statewide to extend research-based information. … ” Read more from the Sierra Sun Times here: UC Cooperative Extension ramps up its climate change response
Are your jeans creating an eco disaster? “There are a million ways to measure 1,800 gallons of water: roughly 104 showers, 50 bubble baths, 11,520 Venti-sized coffees—or a single pair of jeans. Though conversations about our carbon footprint have tugged at our conscience for years, the most many of us think about water consumption is in terms of how much we’re drinking in a day. (That would be about 20 ounces, in case you’re wondering.) But with environmental crises—like California’s multi-year drought and devastating wildfires—hitting closer to home, our water footprint is getting harder to ignore. It’s even more glaring when we take a look inside our closets. … ” Read more from Marie Claire here: Are your jeans creating an eco disaster?
Cured in Place? An Underground Pipe Repair Raises Questions: “In October 2017, Brett Morrow, a 22-year-old rugby player known as “String Bean” to his teammates, died while helping to install a plastic liner inside a Chicago-area sewer pipe. He had descended a 20-foot-deep manhole and then crawled 30 feet into the newly lined pipe, measuring two feet in diameter. At some point, the plastic liner crumpled and started to harden around him. A dangerous concentration of an ingredient in the liner, styrene, seeped out as gas and likely crippled him. Morrow drowned in liquid generated by the installation process, according to a medical examiner’s report. The drowning caused his death, but the styrene incapacitation was a “significant contributing factor,” the report stated. It took nearly four hours for firefighters to free his body. … ” Read more from Undark Magazine here: Cured in Place? An Underground Pipe Repair Raises Questions
In regional news and commentary today …
Paradise resident ‘forced’ to move home after wildfire without access to safe water: “In the wake of the deadliest and most destructive fire in California history, the residents of Paradise are slowly returning and rebuilding. But even though one Paradise resident’s home survived the wildfire, her family’s saga of returning to a normal life is far from over. While the structure of resident Kyla Awalt’s home is still intact, she said it has no access to running water — a widespread problem in the area after the historic fire — but her insurance company has ruled that the water issue isn’t covered by her home insurance policy. … ” Read more from ABC News here: Paradise resident ‘forced’ to move home after wildfire without access to safe water
Work to continue on second half of Dry Creek restoration: “Overlooking water that was swiftly running through a broad channel that was mostly a patch of thick brush and trees until last year, local and federal officials and others on Monday marked the halfway point in a 13-year, $81 million fish habitat restoration project along Dry Creek. In the past seven years, Sonoma Water and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have completed about 3 of the 6 miles of streambed they intend to rehabilitate and enhance to give endangered salmonid species that call the creek home a better chance to survive. “This is, I think, one of the gems of our region and really a highlight project,” Army Corps Brigadier General Kimberly Collaton told those assembled. ... ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat here: Work to continue on second half of Dry Creek restoration
Napa County watershed divide deepens: “Napa County is known for the stories behind its world-class wines, and recent public-policy actions on tree removal and permitted rural winery activities are mobilizing groups to have a hand in writing the future story for local business. On April 9 after three years and two unsuccessful ballot measures — Measure C failed by a razor-thin margin in June — the Napa County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved greater protections for native woodlands from development and buffer zones for watersheds. But the contentious path to the Water Quality and Tree Protection ordinance vote may not be the last word from supporters and opponents of tougher rules, from inside and outside the wine business. … ” Read more from the North Bay Business Journal here: Napa County watershed divide deepens
Manteca: Farmers see value in stronger alliance with city interests: “For most of its 110 years of existence, scant attention has been paid to the South San Joaquin Irrigation District by residents in the cities of Manteca, Ripon, and Escalon. As the district inches forward in its struggle with PG&E to leverage the benefits of its Tri-Dam Project investment to secure the retail electric distribution system within the district in an effort to reduce power costs 15 percent across the board compared to PG&E rates, some concern has been expressed by farmers that municipal concerns could one day overshadow agricultural interests on future SSJID governing boards. ... ” Continue reading at the Manteca Bulletin here: Manteca: Farmers see value in stronger alliance with city interests
Waste water facility renamed in Santa Barbara because many uses come from site: “The waste water in Santa Barbara is becoming one of the area’s most valuable resources. It is being converted into several different uses when most people think it goes down the drain and into the ocean. The city has just renamed its water treatment facility and it will now be called the El Estero Water Resource Center. “It will be used for more projects than ever before,” said Santa Barbara Water Resources Manager Joshua Haggmark. ... ” Read more from KEYT here: Waste water facility renamed in Santa Barbara because many uses come from site
Long Beach: Nature can soften impacts of rising seas—if we let it: “By the end of the century, rising seas will force Long Beach to find ways to protect homes and businesses—or see some of them swallowed by the sea. While seawalls, breakwaters and other barriers are already deployed up and down portions East Coast and West Coast, not all solutions are made of concrete and stone. Some say the future of protecting California’s coasts, and the developments behind them, will include more natural solutions like restoring wetlands and other habitats so they can help slow storm surges and combat other effects of sea level rise. … ” Read more from the Long Beach Post here: Long Beach: Nature can soften impacts of rising seas—if we let it
Coachella Valley: Federal judge dismisses key pieces of tribe’s claim against local water districts: “Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians against the Coachella Valley’s local water districts, ruling against the tribe’s attempt to quantify its rights to groundwater. The judge ruled Friday that the tribe’s access to water has not been sufficiently harmed to adjudicate the matter. The ruling strikes a blow to the tribe’s sweeping 2013 lawsuit aimed at asserting greater control of the groundwater beneath its land. … ” Read more from the Desert Sun here: Federal judge dismisses key pieces of tribe’s claim against local water districts
Mission Springs Water District representative: “We’ve been hijacked by Desert Water Agency”: “A report from a citizen advisory committee in Desert Hot Springs is asking lawmakers in Sacramento to “re-work” a state law, which went into effect in 2015, that allowed the Desert Water Agency in Palm Springs to take over management authority of the groundwater distributed by the Mission Springs Water District, to people living in Desert Hot Springs and surrounding areas. John Souliiere, MSWD’s Public Affairs Officer, says his district has been “hijacked” by DWA. … ” Read more from KESQ here: Mission Springs Water District representative: “We’ve been hijacked by Desert Water Agency”
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
In announcements 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.
