DAILY DIGEST: CA budget moves toward final votes, has money for drinking water; Hatchery-born coho salmon helping save species in the Russian River; Lake Tahoe snowmelt will be massive and dangerous; Colorado exploring program to pay farmers for temporarily stopping their water use; and more …

In California water news today, California Budget Moves Toward Final Votes, Has Money for Drinking Water; Hatchery-Born Coho Salmon Are Helping Save the Species From Extinction in the Russian River; Lake Tahoe snowmelt will be massive and dangerous; Ventura’s water rates to remain at drought levels, staff recommends; Trump EPA releases blueprint for stemming Tijuana River pollution that routinely fouls San Diego beaches; Colorado exploring program to pay farmers for temporarily stopping their water use; and more …

On the calendar today …

In the news today …

California Budget Moves Toward Final Votes, Has Money for Drinking Water:  ” … Atkins said in her statement that the spending plan makes “significant investments in safe drinking water, historic levels of funding for California’s schools — including higher education — and financial assistance to California’s middle class families to pay for health care coverage.”  The agreement rejects a controversial Newsom proposal to create a new fee to clean up unhealthy drinking water in disadvantaged communities. Instead, it assigns money to the new safe drinking water fund with revenues from the state’s cap-and-trade program that seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ... ”  Read more from Capital Public Radio here:  California Budget Moves Toward Final Votes, Has Money for Drinking Water  Similar coverage from the Sacramento Bee here: Newsom’s budget deal and from the LA Times here: Gov. Gavin Newsom abandons water tax, rejects some new spending in California budget deal

Butte County: Heavy late-season rainfall leaves local rice farmers struggling:  “Record-breaking rain this past May has already delayed many rice farmers in Butte County this year, and has left some uncertain about the year’s harvest yields.  As of the end of May, rainfall for this year is at 130 percent of average for the period since October as reported by the Department of Water Resources, according to Kelly Peterson, a water resources scientist for the county. In the month of May alone, over 4 inches was received, which has caused a variety of problems for local rice farms. … ”  Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record here: Heavy late-season rainfall leaves local rice farmers struggling

Hatchery-Born Coho Salmon Are Helping Save the Species From Extinction in the Russian River:  “Right now, thousands of 1-year-old coho salmon, or smolts, are making their way to the Pacific Ocean from the Russian River in Sonoma County.  But most of these endangered fish weren’t actually born in the river’s tributaries. Instead, they were bred and raised at the Warm Springs Fish Hatchery in Geyserville.  At the beginning of this century, the coho in the Russian River were almost completely eradicated. ... ”  Read more from KQED here:  Hatchery-Born Coho Salmon Are Helping Save the Species From Extinction in the Russian River

State Leaders Hear About TUD’s Supply And Infrastructure Challenges:  “Members of the Tuolumne Utilities District gave California water leaders a tour focused on the challenges the county faces when it comes to water supply, with hopes that it will bring long-term solutions.  34 people were on the tour yesterday that started at Pinecrest Lake, and later moved to Lyons Reservoir, then to the Section Four ditch, and ended at Phoenix Lake. ... ”  Read more from My Mother Lode here: State Leaders Hear About TUD’s Supply And Infrastructure Challenges

Lake Tahoe snowmelt will be massive and dangerous:  “The Lake Tahoe Basin has about half of this year’s massive snowpack still stuck to the mountain slopes.  May was an extension of winter and the snowpack actually grew.  But June is here. Days are longer and temperatures are rising. ... ”  Read more from the Record Courier here:  Lake Tahoe snowmelt will be massive and dangerous

Ventura’s water rates to remain at drought levels, staff recommends:  “Ventura Water officials are recommending the city stay in a Stage 3 Water Shortage Event, a position it’s been in for nearly five years.   Staff will make the recommendation to the City Council on Monday night, during a presentation of the 2019 Comprehensive Water Resources Report. The report is updated annually to provide elected officials and the public a look at the city’s current and future water supply and demand. ... ”  Read more from the Ventura County Star here:  Ventura’s water rates to remain at drought levels, staff recommends

Blue-green algae treated at Lake Skinner near Temecula, as other lakes recover from blooms:  “The season of toxic algae blooms is here.  A helicopter crew spread copper sulfate over Lake Skinner near Temecula on Thursday, June 6, to combat a cyanobacteria bloom — also known as blue-green algae — that had been producing some cyanotoxins and unpleasant tastes and odors. ... ”  Read more from the Riverside Press-Enterprise here: Blue-green algae treated at Lake Skinner near Temecula, as other lakes recover from blooms

New report highlights acquisition trends in the U.S. water market:  “The U.S. municipal water landscape is undergoing a transformation as critical infrastructure services — water, gas, and electricity — converge under single investor-owned utility banners. This trend is highlighted by the growing roster of diversified infrastructure service providers owning water and wastewater utilities in the U.S., according to a new report from Bluefield Research.  The recent report, “U.S. Private Water Utilities: Drivers, Competitive Landscape and Acquisition Trends, 2019,” provides in-depth analysis of investor-owned water utility strategies and of 517 water and wastewater system acquisitions from 2015 through 2018, including Eversource Energy’s $1.68 million (USD) for Aquarion Water, NW Natural’s roll-up of smaller systems in the Pacific Northwest, and Aqua America’s $4.3 billion (USD) acquisition of People Gas. … ”  Read more from Water Finance and Management here: New report highlights acquisition trends in the U.S. water market

Trump EPA releases blueprint for stemming Tijuana River pollution that routinely fouls San Diego beaches:  “Shorelines in South Bay San Diego will never be fully immune from the sewage and chemical pollution that flows north from Mexico over the border through canyons and the Tijuana River.  However, beach closures triggered by contaminated stormwater and Tijuana’s leaky sewer system can be dramatically reduced — from more than a hundred days a year to perhaps a just few dozen. … ”  Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune here: Trump EPA releases blueprint for stemming Tijuana River pollution that routinely fouls San Diego beaches

In commentary today …

Californians deserve safe drinking water, says Lucas Deniz:  He writes, “There is nothing new about political divisions in California. Congested coastal cities skew from moderately liberal to relentlessly progressive. Rural inland regions, with vast and bountiful fields, range from independent to hardcore conservative. But the state’s divided political tribes may have found a unifying goal — safe, sustainable drinking water.  The lack of safe drinking water has been California’s dirty little secret for years. The problem has been mostly hidden away in rural communities from the Central Valley to the southern deserts, and even a few in Northern California. ... ”  Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat here: Californians deserve safe drinking water, says Lucas Deniz

Along the Colorado River …

Colorado exploring program to pay farmers for temporarily stopping their water use:  “As the West faces more demand for water and less water available to meet that demand, decision makers are working to figure out how Colorado could implement recently signed agreements to reduce water use in the Colorado River basin, which includes the Yampa River.  The collective group of agreements is called the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan.  It aims to raise the unprecedented low water levels in the largest reservoirs on the Colorado River system, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, to enable them to continue to deliver water and produce hydropower. ... ”  Read more from the Steamboat Pilot here:  Colorado exploring program to pay farmers for temporarily stopping their water use

Also on Maven’s Notebook today …

DAILY DIGEST, weekend edition: 7 places that are sinking faster than anywhere else in US; FERC launches inquiry into salmon stranding on Feather River; WOTUS review stumps advisers; States test how many more diversions Colorado River can bear; and more …

NEWS WORTH NOTING: Reclamation, DWR take steps to improve habitat for endangered salmon at the Yolo Bypass; Sierra Nevada Conservancy awards $3M+ for restoration projects; Attorney General Becerra denounces EPA actions to allow indirect water pollution; EPA Issues guidance on 401 certification

https://mavensnotebook.com/2019/06/10/reservoir-and-water-conditions-for-june-10/

JUNE WEBINARS: Earthquake threats and resilience tools; Protecting public health with open water quality data; Developing conceptual models for IWRM; Consequences of groundwater sustainability; Bulletin 74 well standards update

PUBLIC MEETING: Agricultural Water Management Plan Guidebook Workgroup

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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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