In California water news today, Experts tell how water availability affects land values; Cleaning up the Delta; A new effort to save birds pinpoints in amazing detail where they fly; How NASA is taking the guesswork out of measuring California’s snowpack; Hydropower bill would sabotage California’s clean energy mandate; NEPA looms over drought plan enthusiasm; Data scientists mapped supply chains of every U.S. city. What it says is bigger than just where your food comes from; and more …
On the calendar today …
- WEBINAR: Electrical Hydrogeology: A Picture is Worth 1000 Wells from 12pm to 1pm. Hosted by the Groundwater Resources Association. For more information, click here.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: LAO handout: Funding water-related activities; Analysis shows increasing groundwater levels in the Coachella Valley
- FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: EPA announces availability of $7.6 million in funding for CA to improve drinking water for schools and disadvantaged communities
- FUNDING OPPORTUNITY for desalination and water purification pilot projects
Experts tell how water availability affects land values: “One of the most frequently recurring themes of last week’s business conference of California agricultural appraisers was the impact the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, known as SGMA, is having on land values. A packed audience of rural appraisers and other related professionals attended the three-day conference of the California Chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers in Sacramento, where they heard a detailed presentation on agricultural land values by appraisers Janie Gatzman and Tiffany Holmes. “Everything is all about SGMA these days,” said Gatzman, who runs an appraisal business in Oakdale. … ” Read more from Ag Alert here: Experts tell how water availability affects land values
Cleaning up the Delta: “Now that the warmer weather is here and more people are taking to the outdoors, local officials have put a renewed focus on making sure one of the area’s crown recreational jewels – the San Joaquin River Delta – is clear and operational. Over the weekend the California Department of Boating and Waterways, in conjunction with the San Joaquin County Sherriff’s Office boating unit, removed a sunken vessel from the San Joaquin River that has been underwater for the past three years – posing a navigation hazard. Using a heavy crane to remove the boat from the bottom near Riviera Cliffs, the incident was photographed and shared widely on Facebook – including a comment from Sheriff Pat Withrow that “change is coming to the Delta.” … ” Read more from Manteca Bulletin here: Cleaning up the Delta
A new effort to save birds pinpoints in amazing detail where they fly: “For years, as California’s Central Valley grew into the nation’s leading agricultural corridor, the region gradually lost almost all of the wetlands that birds, from the tiny sandpiper to the great blue heron, depend on during their migrations along the West Coast. But a dramatic turnaround is underway in the valley. Dozens of farmers leave water on their fields for a few extra weeks each season to create rest stops for birds. The campaign has not only helped salvage a vital stretch of the north-south migration path called the Pacific Flyway but also tested a fresh model for protecting wildlife. … ” Read more from the Washington Post here: A new effort to save birds pinpoints in amazing detail where they fly
How NASA is taking the guesswork out of measuring California’s snowpack: “To better measure the water in our snow, California is sending sharper eyes up into the sky. Two sensors peer out from a turboprop aircraft, soaring from Mammoth Yosemite Airport over the white Sierra Nevada – collecting data that tells us almost exactly how much water we’ll have this summer. Last week’s findings: 1.1 million acre-feet, or 350 billion gallons of water in the mountain snow of Yosemite’s Tuolumne River basin, which flows into Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and provides water to major Central Valley irrigation districts, San Francisco and several other Bay Area communities. ... ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here: How NASA is taking the guesswork out of measuring California’s snowpack
Hydropower bill would sabotage California’s clean energy mandate: “The Don Pedro hydropower project, just west of Yosemite National Park, has been churning out carbon-free electricity for nearly a century. As the Tuolumne River flows from the Sierra Nevada to the Central Valley, it passes through Don Pedro Dam, spinning four turbine generators. None of the electricity is counted toward California’s push for more renewable energy on its power grid. A new bill advanced by state lawmakers last week would change that — and it’s being opposed by environmental groups, who say it would undermine the state’s landmark clean energy law by limiting the need to build solar farms and wind turbines. ... ” Read more from the LA Times here: Hydropower bill would sabotage California’s clean energy mandate
Hydro News: D.C. Circuit Denies Rehearing of Hoopa Valley Tribe Order; FERC Issues Declaratory Order Finding Waiver of State Section 401 Authority: “On April 26, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (D.C. Circuit) issued orders denying requests filed by several environmental organizations for rehearing of the Court’s decision in Hoopa Valley Tribe v. FERC (Hoopa Valley) finding that the withdrawal and resubmission of water quality certification requests under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) does not trigger a new statutory period of review. … On April 18, 2019, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted Placer County Water Agency’s (PCWA) petition for a declaratory order that the California State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) has waived its authority under Section 401 of the CWA to issue a water quality certification in its ongoing relicensing for its Middle Fork American Project. … ” Read more at the National Law Review here: Hydro News: D.C. Circuit Denies Rehearing of Hoopa Valley Tribe Order; FERC Issues Declaratory Order Finding Waiver of State Section 401 Authority
Yosemite waterfalls are gushing this year — and some won’t last long. Here’s how to see them: “An extra wet winter and spring this year means waterfall season in Yosemite National Park is off to a thunderous, gushing start. This is also a great time to see many of the park’s lesser-known falls that only last for a short time. Waterfalls are fed by melting snowpack, which was at 153 percent of average in Yosemite’s Merced River basin and 176 percent of average in the Tuolumne River basin as of April 1. … ” Read more from the Fresno Bee here: Yosemite waterfalls are gushing this year — and some won’t last long. Here’s how to see them
Reinventing the Tomato for Survival in a Changing World: “In a borrowed van, Brad Gates of Wild Boar Farms sped south on Interstate 680 with hundreds of fuzzy tomato seedlings bumping around in the back, their trembling leaves, warmed by the sun, filling the cab with the smell of summer. It was one of a half-dozen deliveries on his to-do list. Born and raised in Northern California, Mr. Gates has been organically farming tomatoes in the region for 25 years, working on small leased plots and introducing new varieties with cult followings, like the dark, meaty Black Beauty and the striped, rosy-pink Dragon’s Eye. … ” Read more from the New York Times here: Reinventing the Tomato for Survival in a Changing World
Drought: A wide angle picture: “Disastrous droughts are striking widespread areas of the world, from South Africa to American West. Benjamin Cook, a research scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, has written a primer on everything one needs to know about the subject. “Drought: An Interdisciplinary Perspective,” just out from Columbia University Press, ranges from the physics of hydroclimate to the environmental and social consequences of severe drying events. Perhaps the most pressing issue: will these events become more common in a warming world, and if so, what will be the consequences? ... ” Read more from PhysOrg here: Drought: A wide angle picture
Data scientists mapped supply chains of every U.S. city. What it says is bigger than just where your food comes from: “No matter where you are in the United States, some food in your kitchen probably started its life in Fresno, California. How do you know? Vegetables, like every other product, follow a supply chain that moves it from where it’s grown to where it’s used. That supply chain can be tracked through data, and that data can paint a powerful picture of how food, water and energy move throughout the United States. The data illustrates how every corner of America is connected. … ” Read more from Northern Arizona University here: Data scientists mapped supply chains of every U.S. city. What it says is bigger than just where your food comes from
Congress and White House agree to spend $2 trillion on infrastructure: “Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Tuesday after a meeting at the White House, that President Trump has agreed to invest $2 trillion to revitalize the nation’s infrastructure. Congressional leaders said they will return to the White House in three weeks to determine how to pay for it. A public beset by potholes, failing bridges and troubled transit systems overwhelmingly has said in surveys that it supports the investment, but Congress has yet to come up with a funding solution. ... ” Read more from the Washington Post here: Congress and White House agree to spend $2 trillion on infrastructure
In commentary today …
Permanent water conservation regulations: John Kingsbury writes, “The Mountain Counties Water Resources Association has long been opposed to loss of local control for this region. Back in 2017 MCWRA hand-carried a letter to each Assembly and Senate legislator’s office in Sacramento to strongly oppose proposed long-term water conservation legislation as well as a backdoor push of legislation on a budget trailer bill that would circumvent the legislative process. However, signed into law last year, Assembly Bill 1668 and Senate Bill 606 established indoor and outdoor irrigation regulations, making water conservation a permanent way of life. This draconian and arbitrary rationing legislation tramples upon the personal rights of individuals to make choices regarding their beneficial use of water, undermines local conditions and local control, the state’s water rights priority system and area-of-origin water right assurances in this region. ... ” Read more from the Mountain Democrat here: Permanent water conservation regulations
In regional news and commentary today …
Benzene found in the water supply of fire-ravaged Paradise, California: “After the October 2017 Tubbs wildfire, the northern California town of Santa Rosa was blindsided when it discovered that some of its fire-damaged water systems were contaminated with the carcinogen benzene. This phenomenon, never before reported, threatened to add millions and months to recovery cost and time. Little more than a year later, it happened again. In November 2018, the Camp Fire—California’s most destructive wildfire in history—leveled the town of Paradise. Water officials there now report they have discovered the same problem with benzene and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that plagued Santa Rosa, but on an exponentially greater scale. ... ” Read more from Chemical & Engineering News here: Benzene found in the water supply of fire-ravaged Paradise, California
Truckee: No Immediate Danger from Reported Van Norden Dam Damage: “Officials responding to reports of damage to the Lake Van Norden Dam’s spillway on Donner Summit found no signs of immediate danger on Tuesday, April 30. First reported to the property owner – the Truckee Donner Land Trust – by a Donner Summit resident on the morning of the 30th, Land Trust staff immediately contacted the California Department of Water Resources’ Division of Safety of Dams (the State agency that regulates jurisdictional dams including Lake Van Norden Dam) and Nevada County, who joined Land Trust staff and their engineer on site to evaluate the structure. ... ” Read more from YubaNet here: Truckee: No Immediate Danger from Reported Van Norden Dam Damage
Napa: Clover Flat Landfill reopens to the public after contamination into Napa River: “After being shuttered for several weeks to the public due to contamination of the Napa River from toxic runoff, Clover Flat Landfill in Calistoga has resumed normal hours of operation. The county issued a report March 29 saying contaminated water with chemicals and metals had escaped from the landfill into a Napa River tributary. Landfill managers were subsequently taken to task by local officials for breaching their contract for repeated violations since last August, including drainage and erosion issues. ... ” Read more from the Napa Register here: Napa: Clover Flat Landfill reopens to the public after contamination into Napa River
Oysters to defend San Francisco Bay from sea level rise? Marin research shows promising results: “As sea levels continue to rise, Marin and state researchers are set to begin a second phase of tests on how San Francisco Bay and the wildlife within it can come to the defense. While oysters and sea grasses may not immediately stand out as defenders against sea level rise, a five-year test run using oyster reefs and eelgrass beds in the waters off of San Rafael has shown promising results. Using the lessons from this first run, researchers with the San Francisco Bay Living Shoreline Project are set to begin an even larger test on the opposite side of San Pablo Bay, which in turn is expected to influence future projects in Marin and throughout the bay. … ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal here: Oysters to defend San Francisco Bay from sea level rise? Marin research shows promising results
Why Stanislaus County dairy farmers are leaving the business: “More farmers than ever before are making the difficult choice to leave the dairy business in Stanislaus County, according to a USDA Census of Agriculture report. “I operated a dairy farm here since 1973,” Ray Souza said. For Souza, farming is in his blood. “Sometimes you have to put your head above your heart,” he said. ... ” Read more from ABC 10 here: Why Stanislaus County dairy farmers are leaving the business
Owens Valley: Premium Energy proposes reservoirs where?: “Picture this: a pipeline from either the Owens River or the Lower Rock Creek gorge up to reservoirs on Wheeler Ridge with an adjoining slue from the ridge back down to reservoirs in the gorges. Is this a water slide gone mad or a hydroelectric project waiting on a preliminary permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission? If you guessed the latter, you’re right. Premium Energy Holdings, LLC out of Walnut is the mastermind behind this project which begs the question: has the company ever met the Eastern Sierra? ... ” Read more from the Sierra Wave here: Premium Energy proposes reservoirs where?
Bakersfield: Environmental groups take their digs at fracking plan: “The federal government released a plan last week to reopen more than a million acres of land in the Central Valley to fracking. On April 28, the Bureau of Land Management’s Bakersfield Field Office released its Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) proposing to open up 1,011,470 acres of public land and federal mineral estate in Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare and Ventura counties to fossil fuel extraction. If finalized, the plan would end California’s five-year moratorium on leasing federal public land to oil companies but will not open additional public lands or federal mineral estate to oil and gas leasing within the boundaries of the Bakersfield Field Office. … ” Read more from the Foothills Sun Gazette here: Bakersfield: Environmental groups take their digs at fracking plan
Coachella Valley groundwater levels show`significant increases’: “Groundwater levels throughout most of the Coachella Valley have increased significantly over the past decade, according to an annual analysis released today by the local water district. The Coachella Valley Water District submitted two annual reports for the 2017-18 water year to the California Department of Water Resources, one on the Indio Subbasin and the other on the Mission Creek Subbasin, which make up most of the valley’s aquifer. … ” Read more from Channel 3 here: Coachella Valley groundwater levels show`significant increases’
Salton Sea wetland projects access agreement afoot: “With the clock ticking, a major hurdle to restoring the southern edge of the fast-drying Salton Sea may finally be overcome. Imperial Irrigation District general manager Henry Martinez told the Desert Sun that he and California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot have reached an agreement in principle that the state — not the water district — will be responsible for construction and maintenance of more than 3,700 acres of wetlands aimed at controlling toxic dust and restoring wildlife habitat. In exchange, the water district will sign easements for access onto lands it owns that border California’s largest lake. The agreement could break a years-long impasse and find ways to get restoration projects moving. ... ” Read more from the Desert Sun here: Salton Sea wetland projects access agreement afoot
Along the Colorado River …
NEPA looms over drought plan enthusiasm: “Colorado River states cheered this month when President Trump signed swiftly passed legislation ratifying a drought plan for the waterway. But they could be in for a legal fight. Some lawyers say the Drought Contingency Plan, or DCP, may be built on shaky legal ground and could be vulnerable to litigation — depending on how the Bureau of Reclamation implements it. One California water district has already sued to block it. ... ” Read more from E&E News here: NEPA looms over drought plan enthusiasm
Colorado River: Snow news may not be good news: “As the animation of satellite images above shows, this past winter has brought desperately needed snowfall to a large portion of the American West. It consists of images captured by NASA’s Terra satellite, centered on the Colorado Rockies — one on April 18 of last year, and the other this past April 19th. All that extra white stuff tells the tale better than any statistics. And looks aren’t deceiving. For Colorado as a whole, snowpack looks to be about the third highest on record. … ” Read more from Discover here: Colorado River: Snow news may not be good news
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
Today’s announcements …
- FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: EPA announces availability of $7.6 million in funding for CA to improve drinking water for schools and disadvantaged communities
- FUNDING OPPORTUNITY for desalination and water purification pilot projects
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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.
