In California water news today, More Than 300 Public Water Systems Serve Unsafe Water In CA, Will state pass a clean-water tax?; California water utilities seek relief from fire lawsuits; An 800-acre reservoir could be coming to Stanislaus County, but what are the risks?; Freak mud flows threaten our water supplies, and climate change is raising the risk; Escondido, tribe reach agreement on easement for water pipeline; See where PFAS pollution has been confirmed in the American West; License to pump: New web portal examines, compares and explains the permitting process of groundwater pumping across seven U.S. states; Story Map: J.W. Powell’s Perilous River Expedition; and more …
On the calendar today …
- SGMA Survival Toolkit: What farmers can do to prepare from 3pm to 6pm in Exeter. Click here for more information.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- CA WATER COMMISSION: DWR’s Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment
- MET BAY-DELTA COMMITTEE: Update on Delta conveyance
- SCIENCE NEWS: Operation smelt recovery; A new atlas for dealing with rising seas in the Bay Area; Study shows value of soil health and forest restoration after damaging events; and more …
- WATER PLAN eNEWS: ~~ Conservation Workgroups~ Precipitation Symposium~ Funding Fair~ Climate Grants~ Water Data~ Case Studies ~~
DRINKING WATER
More Than 300 Public Water Systems Serve Unsafe Water In California: “Some of California’s struggles with drinking water are well known. The state’s ongoing drought conditions and the difficulties around providing enough supply for residents are usually spread across headlines. But these days, California is not just struggling to provide drinking water volume anymore. It’s struggling to provide safe drinking water. “Today, more than 300 public water systems in California serve unsafe drinking water, according to public compliance data compiled by the California State Water Resources Control Board,” The New York Times reported. ... ” Read more from Water Online here: More Than 300 Public Water Systems Serve Unsafe Water In California
1 million Californians use tainted water. Will state pass a clean-water tax? “José Hernández has two plastic barrels in his front yard, filled to the brim with water collected during the recent rains. Half a dozen buckets, a trash can and a cooking pot sit close by, nearly overflowing. It should be enough for Hernández to tend to his garden for the next few weeks — and slight relief for a water bill that sets him back $130 to $170 each month. A retired farmworker, Hernández, 64, supports his wife and two daughters primarily on a $950 monthly Social Security check. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: 1 million Californians use tainted water. Will state pass a clean-water tax?
Dolores Huerta condemns ‘toxic taps,’ supports proposed water tax at Valley rally: “The nation’s most populous state and world’s fifth-largest economy can’t provide clean drinking water to more than a million of its residents, but a proposal in California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget is hoping to change that. Dozens of water justice advocates, elected officials and rural Central Valley residents gathered outside Senator Melissa Hurtado’s Bakersfield office on Tuesday afternoon to urge the passage of The Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund ahead of a looming mid-June deadline. … ” Read more from the Visalia Times-Delta here: Dolores Huerta condemns ‘toxic taps,’ supports proposed water tax at Valley rally
A long-awaited bill to fund drinking water systems in rural areas faces decision time: “As State Sen. Bill Monning, D-Carmel, puts it, “We’re at a nervous point.” And surrounding that nervous point, there’s a whole lot of water. By the State Water Resources Control Board’s estimates, more than a million Californians don’t have safe drinking water flowing through the pipes into their homes. … It’s not this dirty-water reality that has Monning at the nervous point; it’s the promise of a solution looming on the horizon. … ” Read more from Monterey Weekly here: A long-awaited bill to fund drinking water systems in rural areas faces decision time
WILDFIRE/WATER UTILITIES
California water utilities seek relief from fire lawsuits: “Facing more wildfires and the lawsuits that come with them, a group of public and private California water systems want lawmakers to shield them from having to pay damages caused by fires they did not start but failed to help put out. While wildfire lawsuits have typically targeted electric utilities and their downed powerlines that ignite the blaze, some recent lawsuits have also focused on the water systems that are supposed to provide the water for firefighters to put out the flames. ... ” Read more from the Star Tribune here: California water utilities seek relief from fire lawsuits
WATER STORAGE
An 800-acre reservoir could be coming to Stanislaus County, but what are the risks? “A federal bill promising $14 million in funding for water storage projects for the Central Valley and Northern California served to place more attention on a proposed reservoir in Stanislaus County. Rep. Josh Harder, D-Turlock, got the millions included in a massive energy and water infrastructure bill in the House of Representatives. It includes $6 million for the Sites Reservoir near Colusa favored by agribusiness, $4.1 million for the North Valley Regional Recycled Water Program, $2.1 million for the Los Vaqueros Reservoir expansion in Contra Costa County, and $1.5 million for Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir near Patterson. … ” Read more from the Modesto Bee here: An 800-acre reservoir could be coming to Stanislaus County, but what are the risks?
Beware of E. coli in rivers and lakes: “With the Memorial Day weekend marking the unofficial launch of water recreation throughout much of California, the Central Valley Water Regional Water Quality Control Board is reminding the public to be aware of the risk of waterborne illnesses. The board monitors and evaluates water quality data for many Central Valley lakes and rivers used for recreational activities. This summer, staffers will be collecting weekly E. coli water samples in selected watersheds and making the findings known to the public. Sampling for E. coli provides a way to monitor the overall well-being of recreational waters. ... ” Read more from the Daily News here: Beware of E. coli in rivers and lakes
Freak mud flows threaten our water supplies, and climate change is raising the risk: “Slurries of mud increasingly threaten the water we drink. This rush of sediment, known as “debris flow,” is a type of erosion where mud and boulders in steep catchments suddenly tumble down the stream channel, often traveling at speeds of several meters per second. And they don’t just damage water supplies—they can cut roads, damage infrastructure, and even kill people. Last year, California saw mudslides that destroyed more than 100 homes and killed 21 people. In our research, published in the journal Geology, we found that debris flow is likely to become more frequent and widespread as bushfire activity and rainfall intensity are predicted to increase. ... ” Read more from PhysOrg here: Freak mud flows threaten our water supplies, and climate change is raising the risk
Thinning Forests, Prescribed Fire Before Drought Reduced Tree Loss: “Thinning forests and conducting prescribed burns may help preserve trees in future droughts and bark beetle epidemics expected under climate change, suggests a study from the University of California, Davis. The study, published in the journal Ecological Applications, found that thinning and prescribed fire treatments reduced the number of trees that died during the bark beetle epidemic and drought that killed more than 129 million trees across the Sierra Nevada between 2012-2016. ... ” Read more from UC Davis here: Thinning Forests, Prescribed Fire Before Drought Reduced Tree Loss
OTHER STATEWIDE
Thirsty Silicon Valley water agency might buy a Central Valley farm. Why agriculture is worried.: “Once again, a big thirsty metropolis is looking at buying Central Valley farmland with an eye toward boosting its water supplies. And once again, neighboring farmers are nervous about it. Silicon Valley’s main water agency, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, confirmed Wednesday that it’s considering buying a 5,200-acre Merced County ranch. The district would build a groundwater storage bank beneath the ranch as a buffer during drought conditions. ... ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Thirsty Silicon Valley water agency might buy a Central Valley farm. Why agriculture is worried.
See where PFAS pollution has been confirmed in the American West: “Polyfluoroalkyl chemicals exist in furniture, waterproof makeup and clothing, nonstick cookware, popcorn bags, the foam used to extinguish petroleum fires (which is different from the slurry used across the West to fight wildfires), and countless other items. Known collectively as PFAS, this class of chemicals contains more than 5,000 different compounds that are often called “forever chemicals” because they take so long to break down in the environment. PFAS chemicals are an omnipresent, if largely invisible, part of daily life. Yet numerous studies have linked exposure to them to cancer, thyroid disease, weakened childhood immunity and other health problems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A 2007 study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives estimated that PFAS are in the blood of 98% of Americans. … ” Read more from High Country News here: See where PFAS pollution has been confirmed in the American West
License to pump: New web portal examines, compares and explains the permitting process of groundwater pumping across seven U.S. states: “Overpumping groundwater poses a major threat to the availability of a critical resource, especially in the arid lands of the Southwestern United States. States across the region have sought to deal with this issue through a wide variety of regulations and permitting processes. A new dashboard tool, created by affiliates from Stanford’s Water in the West program, compares groundwater withdrawal permitting – a common tool used by resource managers to limit groundwater pumping – to help plan for a more sustainable future. “Western states have adopted a wide range of approaches towards regulating groundwater pumping, but information about these approaches are not always shared across the region. Our goal is to help parties in different states learn from what is happening elsewhere. This is particularly important in California, where local agencies are working to implement the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act,” said Leon Szeptycki, executive director of Water in the West and a dashboard contributor. … ” Continue reading at Water in the West here: License to pump: New web portal examines, compares and explains the permitting process of groundwater pumping across seven U.S. states
In commentary today …
Beware: Stealth water tax hike still alive in Legislature, says the San Diego Union-Tribune: They write, “It’s disgraceful that 1 million residents statewide do not have regular access to safe water supplies — a problem that is concentrated in rural agricultural communities in the Central Valley and Southeast California with little or no water infrastructure. But Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push to impose a first-ever tax on water to respond to the problem was never the right answer. … Fortunately, the proposal now appears dead. Unfortunately, Assembly Bill 217, by Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella, is very much alive, having passed two committee votes. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union Tribune here: Beware: Stealth water tax hike still alive in Legislature
Changes in climate continue to make surveying watersheds tricky. ‘But we can change that’, says Frank Gehrke: He writes, “In April 2015, I escorted then-Gov. Jerry Brown to Echo Summit, where we ceremoniously plunged a metal pole onto the dry, bare earth that typically would have been covered by snow but wasn’t that year. That spring, we were in the depths of a record-setting drought. If you’re among the many Californians who remember the photo of that survey, you’ll probably recognize me. I’m the one wearing a ball cap with “DWR” plastered on the front. Until my retirement last December, I’d been measuring snow in California for nearly 40 years. As chief of the Cooperative Snow Surveys Program, I’ve had a front-row view of how changes in the state’s needs – and climate – have begun challenging our traditional snow measurement and forecasting methods. ... ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Changes in climate continue to make surveying watersheds tricky. ‘But we can change that’
No, we shouldn’t pump desert groundwater near Joshua Tree to help store electricity, says the LA Times: They write, “For years developers have tried to figure out how to repurpose Kaiser Steel’s former open-pit iron mine at Eagle Mountain in Riverside County. One idea: Use it as a massive landfill, a proposal that fortunately never came to fruition. The current owners of the site now want to convert it into an immense, $2.5-billion hydroelectric battery, using daytime power to pump water from a lower-elevation pit to a pit 1,400 feet farther up the mountain, then running the water downhill at night through turbines to create energy. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: No, we shouldn’t pump desert groundwater near Joshua Tree to help store electricity
In regional news and commentary today …
Coming together for the Potter Valley Project: “Last week three local entities — California Trout, Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission (IWPC) and Sonoma Water — announced that they will be signing a project planning agreement with the hopes of looking at pathways to relicense the Potter Valley Project. The Potter Valley Project is a hydropower project that sits in the middle of the Eel River and Russian River watershed basins and is integral in providing water to both Mendocino County and northern Sonoma County. The project itself refers to an interbasin transfer between the Eel River and Russian River watersheds. Included in the operation are two Eel River dams (Scott Dam and Cape Horn Dam), as well as a powerhouse and water diversion facilities. … ” Read more from Sonoma West here: Coming together for the Potter Valley Project
Point Reyes: SPAWN to restore Jewell floodplain: “The Salmon Protection and Watershed Network’s largest conservation project to date is moving upstream. This month the group secured over half a million dollars to complete the second phase of its effort to improve habitat for endangered salmon in Lagunitas Creek between the ghost towns of Jewell and Tocaloma. The floodplain and riparian enhancement project, which kicked off last year, was originally estimated to be a $1.2 million project. Preston Brown, who directs SPAWN’s watershed conservation program, said the actual cost of removing the fill from the creek—which was transported to a restoration project at a defunct Petaluma golf course—was much higher than anticipated in part due to construction work on Marin and Sonoma County roads that put truckers on the road for longer periods. ... ” Read more from the Point Reyes Light here: Point Reyes: SPAWN to restore Jewell floodplain
Pleasanton Tech Company Aims To Cool Floating Data Centers With Bay Water: “A Pleasanton company has an unusual idea to cool data storage machines that they say uses a fraction of the energy and cuts greenhouse gasses. But local environmentalists are against the plan because of the possible impact it could have on San Francisco Bay. The internet actually exists in huge industrial data storage facilities located all around the world. Connect them together and you have the “cloud.” But the servers run hot, so most industrial data farms use evaporative air coolers, consuming millions of gallons of clean tap water. ... ” Read more from CBS Sacramento here: Pleasanton Tech Company Aims To Cool Floating Data Centers With Bay Water
Escondido, tribe reach agreement on easement for water pipeline: “A plan to underground about 2.5 miles of the Escondido Canal through and near the San Pasqual Indian reservation has moved forward with an agreement reached recently for Escondido to pay the tribe for an easement through its land. The 14-mile-long Escondido Canal transports water from Lake Henshaw to Lake Wohlford where it is stored for use by Escondido and Vista Irrigation District consumers. Back in 1969, a lawsuit was filed by the federal government and five local Indian tribes along the San Luis Rey River contending that Escondido and Vista had stolen the tribes’ water by construction of the canal. After nearly 50 years of litigation, a complicated settlement was finally reached a few years ago. … ” Read more the Union-Tribune here: Escondido, tribe reach agreement on easement for water pipeline
San Diego: Trenchless Technology Saves Ratepayers Time, Money, and Inconvenience: “A method of replacing sewer pipe without digging or removing the old pipe – trenchless pipe repair – is saving Vallecitos Water District ratepayers money and reducing traffic delays. It’s another example of how water agencies in San Diego County are tapping cost-effective technology. The district is using the trenchless method to extend the life of its service pipelines while avoiding the disruption of excavation trenches and traffic rerouting around work areas on public streets. Instead of digging the pipeline up to replace it, the sewer line is rehabilitated from inside the pipe. This trenchless technology method increases the efficiency and the service life of the pipe without having to replace it; eliminating paving, reducing traffic interruptions, as well as saving the District and in turn its ratepayers money. ... ” Read more from the Water News Network here: San Diego: Trenchless Technology Saves Ratepayers Time, Money, and Inconvenience
Port of San Diego touts clean water initiatives: “Maintaining the cleanest water possible is one of the most significant priorities of the Port of San Diego’s environmental initiatives. This was the message of a nearly one-hour presentation and discussion, held between port district staff and the Board of Port Commissioners on May 14, on keeping pollution out of San Diego Bay. Discussions were held last year on investments into the environmental future of San Diego Bay. Commissioners approved an allocation of resources to champion environmental programs and invest in long-term sustainability of the bay, according to port district staff. … ” Read more from The Log here: Port of San Diego touts clean water initiatives
Along the Colorado River …
Story Map: J.W. Powell’s Perilous River Expedition: “May 24, 2019, marked the 150th anniversary of the beginning of John Wesley Powell’s ambitious expedition through the canyonlands of Utah, Colorado, and Arizona, including the Grand Canyon. Powell succeeded in recording some of the earliest known maps, data, topographic measurements, geology, and local Native American culture for much of the treacherous Colorado River. In a new USGS story map, readers can follow Powell’s epic journey from a remote sensing perspective. A variety of satellite and aerial imagery from the Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center in Sioux Falls complements the gripping story of whitewater adventures. It’s nothing short of stunning that the crew survived the perilous rapids in the canyons of the Green and Colorado Rivers in their small wooden boats. ... ” Read more and access story map from USGS here: Story Map: J.W. Powell’s Perilous River Expedition
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
CA WATER COMMISSION: DWR’s Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment
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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.
