In California water news today, As Californians Save More Water, Their Sewers Get Less and That’s a Problem; House committee signs off on Garamendi’s Flood Insurance for Farmers Act; Hike, boat, swim, and fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California’s first National Heritage Area; EPA Issues Letter Rejecting Water Board Plan Submission; California Just Passed A $215 Billion Budget. Here’s What’s Between The Lines; Earth’s Freshwater Future: Extremes of Flood and Drought; How Scientists Use the Color of the Ocean to Determine the Impacts of Climate Change; Security: ‘Most dangerous’ hackers targeting U.S. utilities — report; and more …
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: State agencies seek input on creating climate-resilient water system; Updated Folsom Water Control Manual signed by USACE, Reclamation; Public agencies ordered to investigate discharges of human waste into Lower San Diego River
- NOW AVAILABLE: LIDAR Data for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh
- WILDFIRE PREP FOR WATER PROVIDERS: Increased Resilience in the face of Wildfires and Public Safety Power Shut-Off
- WATER PLAN eNEWS: ~~Resilience Portfolio~ Summer Conference~ SGMA Resources~ Utilizing Stormwater~ Guidebook Workgroup~ Water Webinar ~~
- DELTA eNEWS: ~~ County Fair~ Summer Fest~ Sidewalk Saturday~ DCP Meeting~ Yolo Salmon~ Delta Environments~ Ecosystem Restoration ~~
As Californians Save More Water, Their Sewers Get Less and That’s a Problem: “Californians have been doing an exceptional job reducing their indoor water use. But less water used in the home for washing clothes and flushing toilets means less water flowing to sewer lines. That has created a host of complications (including stinking neighborhoods and damaged wastewater treatment equipment), and prompted some to suggest stricter conservation goals should shift more toward outdoor water use rather than indoor use.” Read the story at Western Water here: As Californians Save More Water, Their Sewers Get Less and That’s a Problem
House committee signs off on Garamendi’s Flood Insurance for Farmers Act: “Congressmen John Garamendi has reported that his bipartisan Flood Insurance for Farmers Act of 2019 was passed by the House Financial Services Committee unanimously as part of a larger bill reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program through the end of fiscal year 2024. The Flood Insurance for Farmers Act of 2019, which Garamendi introduced with Congressman Doug LaMalfa in January, would provide farmers access to discounted rates under the National Flood Insurance Program. It would also lift the de facto federal prohibition on construction and repair of agricultural structures in high flood-risk areas designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. … ” Read more from the Daily Democrat here: House committee signs off on Garamendi’s Flood Insurance for Farmers Act
Hike, boat, swim, and fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California’s first National Heritage Area: “The federal government has officially designated its first National Heritage Area in California, and it’s one of the most under-appreciated but important natural regions in the state: the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The Central Valley region used to be a vast wetland. It’s been partly drained for agriculture, and now the wider region grows most of the United States’ fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Thousands of miles of waterways criss-cross the delta’s many islands and marshes. The new national designation is meant to support culturally important “lived-in landscapes” with community-based heritage conservation and economic development. … ” Read more from 7×7 here: Hike, boat, swim, and fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California’s first National Heritage Area
EPA Issues Letter Rejecting Water Board Plan Submission: “California water regulators received a federal rebuke this week over an incomplete water quality plan submission. Feeling the irony, Tri-Dam Project partners, the Oakdale (OID) and South San Joaquin (SSJID) irrigation districts, which hold senior water rights on the Stanislaus River and are among over two dozen agencies suing the State Water Resources Control Board, were quick to comment. ... ” Read more from My Mother Lode here: EPA Issues Letter Rejecting Water Board Plan Submission
California Just Passed A $215 Billion Budget. Here’s What’s Between The Lines: “Despite speculation about bold moves—in a far left direction, even for this blue state—Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative Democrats actually landed a budget Thursday that’s surgical about new taxing and spending while still keeping promises to help poor Californians and working families. Under the $214.8 billion spending plan, the state inched closer to universal health coverage, expanding Medi-Cal to all low-income young adults regardless of immigration status. … ” Read more from Capital Public Radio here: California Just Passed A $215 Billion Budget. Here’s What’s Between The Lines
Earth’s Freshwater Future: Extremes of Flood and Drought: “NASA satellites are a prominent tool for accounting for water, as it constantly cycles from water vapor to rain and snow falling onto soils, and across and beneath the landscape. As Earth’s atmosphere warms due to greenhouse gases and the satellite data record continues to get longer and more detailed, scientists are studying how climate change is affecting the distribution of water. Trends are beginning to emerge, especially at the extremes in the frequency and magnitude of floods and droughts. These trends affect everything from local weather to where crops can grow, and have consequences that will ripple through communities today and in the coming century. … ” Read more from NASA here: Earth’s Freshwater Future: Extremes of Flood and Drought
How Scientists Use the Color of the Ocean to Determine the Impacts of Climate Change: “The Caribbean Sea bordering Grand Cayman’s Seven Mile Beach is a startling aquamarine color. Over 1,500 miles away, the Atlantic Ocean next to Coney Island is a dark bluish-green. And Bondi blue, the color of the original iMac computer, was named after the teal hue of the Tasman Sea off the coast of the eponymous Sydney beach. Pollution isn’t to blame for these stark differences. As light bounces off and passes through water, it reflects the color blue back to our eyes, but microscopic algae and tiny sediments known as colored dissolved organic matter muddy the metaphorical waters and cause oceans to appear green, red, or brown. Now, scientists are trying to use these microscopic sediments to help them better predict climate change. … ” Read more from Pacific Standard here: How Scientists Use the Color of the Ocean to Determine the Impacts of Climate Change
Security: ‘Most dangerous’ hackers targeting U.S. utilities — report: “Some of the world’s most dangerous hackers have zeroed in on the U.S. power sector in recent months, according to a nonpublic alert issued by the North American Electric Reliability Corp. this spring and new research. The grid regulator sounded the alarm on March 1 with the industrial cybersecurity firm Dragos Inc. over a notorious hacking group known as “Xenotime” in the report. Xenotime has been spotted hitting U.S. electric utilities with “reconnaissance and potential initial access operations” since late last year, the alert said. The hacking group, infamous for infecting the safety systems of a Saudi petrochemical plant with highly specialized, life-threatening malware two years ago, isn’t known to have broken through to the sensitive controls of U.S. power plants or substations. ... ” Read more from E&E News here: Security: ‘Most dangerous’ hackers targeting U.S. utilities — report
In regional news and commentary today …
Lake Shasta fills but brings unwanted side effect: “Dennis Shankles is a regular visitor at Lake Shasta, but on Tuesday he sat near the shore and gazed out at something he had never seen before. “I come up here two to three times a week, and I’ve never seen this much wood. It’s pretty much socked in,” Shankles said, looking out at the mass of driftwood and other debris that had washed into the Centimudi Boat Ramp at the lake. Floating debris on the lake is common, but this year is worse than most years, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Agency officials blame it on the high lake level. … ” Read more from the Redding Record Searchlight here: Lake Shasta fills but brings unwanted side effect
Don’t drink the water in Black Butte Lake: “An algal bloom in Black Butte Lake could be harmful and even deadly if visitors or their pets swallow the water, the California Water Board said Thursday. Regardless of the heat, boaters, dog owners and other recreational users of the lake are asked to be aware of the dangers in the water since harmful algal blooms (HABs) were found in a recent water test. ... ” Read more from ABC 10 here: Don’t drink the water in Black Butte Lake
Summer steelhead considered for protection under state Endangered Species Act: “The Northern California summer steelhead is closer to being listed under the state’s Endangered Species Act as the state Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously 4-0 on Wednesday at its June meeting in Redding to review the species’ status over the next year. Summer steelhead fish are capable of swimming to and from the ocean, but the presence of the Scott Dam has disrupted their ability to migrate up the Eel River. The commission’s vote relied on a submitted petition, as well as the department’s own evaluation of the species. At a future meeting, the commission will make a final decision on whether to classify the summer steelhead as endangered. … ” Read more from the Redwood Times here: Summer steelhead considered for protection under state Endangered Species Act
- SEE ALSO: California Fish and Game Commission to Begin Listing Summer Steelhead Runs as Endangered, Following Petition From Friends of the Eel, from the Lost Coast Outpost
Sacramento: 5 things to know about the McKinley Park Water Vault: “Construction has started on an underground water vault at McKinley Park in Sacramento. The vault, which will be built underneath the George “Butter” Cole baseball field, will hold rain and wastewater during big storms when the combined sewer system is at capacity. The goal is to reduce flooding. Here are five things to know about the project: ... ” Read more from KCRA Channel 3 here: 5 things to know about the McKinley Park Water Vault
San Mateo County presents green infrastructure workplan: “San Mateo County officials are moving forward on a green infrastructure plan that aims to transform the urban landscape and storm drainage systems. The plan will help the county transition from relying solely on traditional drain infrastructure, which allows stormwater to flow directly into drains and bodies of water, to a more environmentally friendly model that disperses runoff to vegetated areas and collects it for nonpotable uses. ... ” Read more from the Half Moon Bay Review here: San Mateo County presents green infrastructure workplan
San Mateo County to expand flood district to create ‘resilient shoreline’: “Flooding isn’t a new problem in San Mateo County: In 1959, the county formed a flood control district, which today has an annual budget of $3.8 million. But with the threat of climate change-driven sea level rise and continued development along the Bay, there’s a new urgency in the county to combat a series of water-related threats to the county’s well-being. … ” Read more from The Almanac here: San Mateo County to expand flood district to create ‘resilient shoreline’
Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay hit with $1.6 million penalty for failing to provide public beach access: “One of Northern California’s most exclusive hotels, the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, where rooms rent for $1,000 a night and Silicon Valley companies regularly hold posh retreats, agreed Thursday to pay $1.6 million in penalties to the California Coastal Commission to settle years of violations of state coastal laws. The penalties, the second-largest of their kind in the commission’s history, were approved at a monthly commission meeting in San Diego. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here: Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay hit with $1.6 million penalty for failing to provide public beach access
Field Station Planned for UC Merced’s Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve: “At the northern tip of the UC Merced campus, an unremarkable aluminum gate leads into a field that extends, seemingly, into infinity. Perpendicular to the gate, the LeGrand Canal, drawn from Lake Yosemite, snakes around campus into the emerald pastures, through farm rows and almond orchards across the highway. It’s the rainy season and bulbous cumuli foreground the rippled line of the Sierra Nevada that slices across the open sky. This is no ordinary field or pasture. The UC Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve, or MVPGR, is the 39th of the 41 reserves in the University of California Natural Reserve System. NRS reserves serve as living laboratories and outdoor classrooms for students and researchers at UC and beyond. ... ” Read more from UC Merced here: Field Station Planned for UC Merced’s Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve
Victorville: Amethyst Basin dedicated: “The Amethyst Basin flood control and groundwater recharge facility, aimed at meeting the water needs of the High Desert, was formally dedicated on Thursday. The 27.4-acre project, 10 years in the making, has been a cooperative effort between the San Bernardino County Flood Control District, the Mojave Water Agency, the City of Victorville and California Department of Water Resources. Officials from each of these agencies participated in the dedication ceremony. ... ” Read more from the Daily Press here: Victorville: Amethyst Basin dedicated
Malibu: 100-Year-Old Palm Tree Is First Victim of Adamson House Erosion: “There is growing concern over recent and dramatic erosion happening at Surfrider Beach and the historic Adamson House—considered a crown jewel of Malibu’s coastline. After a century-old palm was felled by rising sea level and erosion, county workers dropped in boulders at the lagoon’s sea wall in a last-ditch effort to retain receding coastline that’s undermining the Adamson House wedding lawn and the iconic wall at Surfrider Beach. … ” Read more from the Malibu Times here: Malibu: 100-Year-Old Palm Tree Is First Victim of Adamson House Erosion
Mayor targets stormwater protection in Manhattan Beach: “Every day, nearly every resident in Manhattan Beach sends waste towards the Pacific Ocean. A walk on the beach reveals the obvious stuff — the thousands of pounds of plastics, pop cans, cigarette butts, paper, and miscellaneous detritus left behind by beachgoers each year. But there is a category of waste that makes its way to the ocean that is less obvious: the brake dust that drops from every vehicle every time it slows, the oil drippings found on parking spots throughout the city, the grass clippings landscapers sweep away every day, or the tiny whiffs of pesticides or herbicides that gardeners spray that don’t stay where intended. … ” Read more from Easy Reader News here: Mayor targets stormwater protection in Manhattan Beach
San Diego: Report: Water usage in the region on the rise: “A new report reveals water usage continues to climb quickly since state water restrictions were lifted in 2016. Romy Meraz finds joy in watering her yard at her home in Bonita. “I know the plants are happy and I’m happy for them,” said Meraz. It was a different story amid the state-mandated restrictions, when she cut her watering to once a week. Years later, she’ll be watering four or five times a week this summer. ... ” Read more from KGTV here: San Diego: Report: Water usage in the region on the rise
Water Board places 10 county agencies on notice to clean up San Diego River: “The San Diego Water Board is asking 10 local agencies, including the city and county of San Diego, to curtail the flow of human fecal matter into the San Diego River. The problem has gotten worse over the last few years to the point it’s being compared with similar issues along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the state agency that monitors the region’s water quality. … ” Read more from Fox 5 here: Water Board places 10 county agencies on notice to clean up San Diego River
Along the Colorado River …
MWD Achieves Consensus on Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan: “On May 20, at a ceremony atop the Hoover Dam, federal, state, tribal, and local leaders and water managers gathered to commemorate the finalization of the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan. The agreement on how to address dwindling reservoir levels along the Colorado River comes after years of negotiation between two nations, seven states, ten tribes, and the countless internal interests involved. TPR presents the following interview with Metropolitan Water District General Manager Jeffrey Kightlinger discussing how a complex consensus among the parties was finally reached, and providing an update on other pending water supply issues affecting Southern California’s livability. … ” Read more at the Planning Report here: MWD Achieves Consensus on Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan
Phoenix, Arizona, a city of the desert, prepares for an even drier future: “Arizona’s been in a drought for nearly 20 years. So the city of Phoenix has long worked to promote water conservation. Kathryn Sorensen is director of Phoenix Water Services. Sorensen: “We deliver less water to our customers today than we did 20 years ago – but we serve 400,000 more people with that water.” But as climate change makes the region even hotter and drier, water scarcity will get worse. And it will be critical for businesses and residents to conserve even more. … ” Read more from Yale Climate Connections here: Phoenix, Arizona, a city of the desert, prepares for an even drier future
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
NOW AVAILABLE: LIDAR Data for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh
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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.
