DAILY DIGEST: Snowpack 202% of average for this time of year; Lake Oroville spillway may be used this week; New tool will help water managers make smarter decisions; Two agencies want to secede from the San Diego County Water Authority; and more …

In California water news today, California Snowpack 202% of Average for This Time of Year; Lake Oroville spillway may be used this week; To Pump or Not to Pump: New Tool Will Help Water Managers Make Smarter Decisions; Onetime Enemies Over Logging Are Now United in Preventing Wildfire; Marin water officials heartened by regional supply deal; Two Agencies Want to Secede From the San Diego County Water Authority; and more …

In the news today …

California Snowpack 202% of Average for This Time of Year:  “The amount of snow blanketing the Sierra Nevada is even larger than the 2017 snowpack that pulled the state out of a five-year drought, California water officials said.  As of Thursday, the snowpack measured 202% of average after a barrage of storms throughout winter and spring, according to the Department of Water Resources.  The wet weather has slowed but not stopped, with thunderstorms prompting flash flood warnings Sunday in the central and southern parts of the state. … ”  Read more from US News & World Report here: California Snowpack 202% of Average for This Time of Year

Lake Oroville spillway may be used this week:  “Due to forecasted inflows into Lake Oroville, DWR is preparing for the potential use of Oroville’s main spillway next week.  DWR increased water releases from Hyatt Powerplant to approximately 10,000 cubic feet per second (CFS) on Friday [May 31] in anticipation of higher inflows into the reservoir next week. The current elevation of Oroville reservoir is 895 feet. … ”  Read more from DWR News here: Lake Oroville spillway may be used this week

To Pump or Not to Pump: New Tool Will Help Water Managers Make Smarter Decisions:  “The overpumping of groundwater in California has led to near environmental catastrophe in some areas – land is sinking, seawater is intruding, and groundwater storage capacity has shrunk. But researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) believe machine learning could be part of the solution to restoring groundwater to sustainable levels and quality.  A team of computer and environmental scientists are developing a computational tool that will allow groundwater managers to plan and manage their precious water resources more sustainably, leading to improved resistance to droughts. ... ”  Read more from Berkeley News here: To Pump or Not to Pump: New Tool Will Help Water Managers Make Smarter Decisions

Onetime Enemies Over Logging Are Now United in Preventing Wildfire:  “The forest once tore this town apart.  In the northwest corner of California, the Trinity Alps tumble down to Weaverville, a community of around 3,600 people. Below the subalpine mountains, the basin has a more Mediterranean climate, and summers are dry as a bone. Most of Trinity County is federal land, including two national forests. Their complex landscape of oak woodland is thick with manzanita brush, mixed with chaparral and dense, creeping pines. ... ”  Read more from KQED here:  Onetime Enemies Over Logging Are Now United in Preventing Wildfire

Marin water officials heartened by regional supply deal:  “Marin County water district officials expressed encouragement after an early agreement was reached that seeks to end longstanding conflicts of a major regional water supply 100 miles to the north.  The agreement centers around the relicensing of the Potter Valley Project hydropower plant in Mendocino County, which holds a supply of water that affects fish, farmers and communities stretching from Marin to Humboldt counties. Sonoma Water, one of the main suppliers to Marin’s two water districts, draws water supplied by the power plant’s reservoirs. ... ”  Read more from the Marin Independent Journal here: Marin water officials heartened by regional supply deal

DWR-Funded Restoration Project in Oakland Improves Water Quality, Fish Habitat:  “Local agencies, State government representatives, and community members came together May 11 to celebrate the completion of the Upper Sausal Creek Erosion Control Restoration Project, a collaborative effort that provides improvements to the community of Oakland and local fish habitats.  The multi-benefit project was funded by DWR’s Urban Streams Restoration Program, which provides financial assistance to projects that help restore streams, creeks, and rivers to enhance the environment for fish and wildlife, as well as promote community stewardship. … ”  Read more from DWR News here: DWR-Funded Restoration Project in Oakland Improves Water Quality, Fish Habitat

Beavers’ re-introduction to South Bay going swimmingly:  “A newly discovered den on Los Gatos Creek. Documented sightings of beavers and dams from Sunnyvale to Coyote Creek. Evidence that a new generation of beaver kits is about to be born. It has been a good spring for the South Bay’s recently returned and now blossoming population of buck-toothed river rodents.  On May 24, Ibrahim Ismail, a student and teaching assistant at De Anza College, was conducting a lab with his class on Los Gatos Creek when they discovered the den. This was very near the spot where an individual beaver was captured on a camera-trap in 2014, the first seen on this watershed in a century and half. Ibrahim has spent a lot of time there in recent months. … ”  Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here: Beavers’ re-introduction to South Bay going swimmingly

 

Two Agencies Want to Secede From the San Diego County Water Authority:  “Water rates in San Diego are some of the highest in the country. So, two rural San Diego water agencies just came up with a novel way to save money: Buy water from Riverside County instead.  Leaders of two water agencies that serve about 50,000 people in and around Fallbrook are fed up with rising costs at the San Diego County Water Authority.  Local water agencies from across the region formed the Water Authority in 1944 to import water into the county from rivers hundreds of miles away. … ”  Read more from the Voice of San Diego here: Two Agencies Want to Secede From the San Diego County Water Authority

Solid winter snowpack masks systemic problems in Colorado River:  “Colorado’s eponymous river is doing relatively well in early June 2019 with significant snowpack still lingering at higher elevations, making the river basin’s water managers cautiously optimistic as they look at the state of one of the nation’s key waterways.  Last Thursday evening the Colorado River District, a special taxing district dedicated to the conservation and management of the Colorado River and its stream flows, held a public forum at West Grand High School in Kremmling regarding the current status of the Colorado River. Each year officials from the River District present a series of public forums called “state of the river” meetings in various communities up and down the length of the basin. State of the River meetings are typically held each year in the late spring prior to the start of high runoff periods and irrigation season. … ”  Read more from Summit News here:  Solid winter snowpack masks systemic problems in Colorado River

Mapping groundwater’s influence on the world’s oceans:  “Researchers at The Ohio State University have created high-resolution maps of points around the globe where groundwater meets the oceans—the first such analysis of its kind, giving important data points to communities and conservationists to help protect both drinking water and the seas.  In a study published June 3 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, the team showed that nearly half of fresh submarine groundwater discharge flows into the near the tropics. ... ”  Read more from PhysOrg here:  Mapping groundwater’s influence on the world’s oceans

Also on Maven’s Notebook today …

DAILY DIGEST, weekend edition: Twin Tunnels project is dead. What’s next?; State killed thousands of salmon, anglers report, feds want answers; Feds dodge claims of violating CA water law; House bill boosts EPA funding amid infrastructure plan fallout; and more …

https://mavensnotebook.com/2019/06/03/reservoir-and-water-conditions-for-june-3-2019/

ANNOUNCEMENT: DWR to update Bulletin 74 – California Well Standards

PUBLIC WORKSHOP: Central Valley-wide Salt and Nitrate Control Program (CV-SALTS)

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: USDA Announces Availability of $12.5 million in Conservation Innovation Grants

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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.

 

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