In California water news today, Water Blueprint proposes parallel waterway for the sinking Friant-Kern Canal; Judge rejects effort to move Shasta Dam lawsuit to Fresno; State appeals FEMA spillways reimbursement; As Chevron Gets Ready to Appeal State Order, Kern County Spill Continues to Grow; Firefighters Lose Critical Tool to Battle Rise in Homeless Fires; U.S. wells are pumping up groundwater from increasing depths; Science might help win climate cases. Here’s how; FBI serves search warrants at LA City Hall, DWP over utility’s billing system fiasco; As Southwest Water Managers Grapple With Climate Change, Can A ‘Grand Bargain’ Work?; and more …
On the calendar today …
- WEBINAR: Tapping into the Resilience Toolkit: Interactive Training Webcast from 10am to 11am. Presented by the WaterNow Alliance. Click here to register.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- BLOG ROUND-UP: The state of wildfire risk reduction in California; Protecting the river and water supply in the Bay-Delta Plan Update; Speculative financing for Delta tunnel engineering work; The double-meaning of accidental lake; and more …
- UPCOMING CALENDAR EVENTS: Urban Water Institute looks at the future of Western Water; Central Valley groundwater contamination workshops; Central Coast and the edge of drought tour; Incentivizing groundwater recharge
Water Blueprint proposes parallel waterway for the sinking Friant-Kern Canal: “California has a complex water delivery system and amid aging infrastructure and unclear regulations the San Joaquin Valley is facing a water crisis. The Friant Kern Canal, one of Kern County’s most critical waterways, has really shown its age. In 2017, the Friant Water Authority discovered parts the canal are sinking due to ground subsidence (when areas of land gradually sink) reducing the canal’s capacity by 60 percent. … ” Continue reading at Bakersfield Now here: Water Blueprint proposes parallel waterway for the sinking Friant-Kern Canal
Judge rejects effort to move Shasta Dam lawsuit to Fresno: “A judge has rejected a San Joaquin Valley irrigation district’s request to move a lawsuit against raising the height of Shasta Dam to Fresno County. Westlands Water District, based in Fresno, wanted to move the lawsuit against it to its home county, but a judge has ruled the case will remain in Shasta County. Colin O’Brien, a lawyer for Earthjustice, said after a brief court hearing Monday that he and others who sued Westlands argued that the case should stay in Redding because the effects of raising the height of Shasta Dam would be felt in Shasta County. … ” Read more from the Redding Record Searchlight here: Judge rejects effort to move Shasta Dam lawsuit to Fresno
State appeals FEMA spillways reimbursement: “The California Department of Water Resources was notified today that the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services submitted DWR’s Oroville spillways reimbursement appeal to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Back in March, FEMA notified DWR that it does not consider some spillway reconstruction work to be eligible for reimbursement based on information DWR had previously submitted at the end of 2018. DWR appealed the initial reimbursement determination and provided FEMA with follow up information and updated cost estimates to support DWR’s appeal, according to a DWR press release. … ” Read more from the Oroville Mercury-Register here: State appeals FEMA spillways reimbursement
As Chevron Gets Ready to Appeal State Order, Kern County Spill Continues to Grow: “One of the largest oil spills in California in decades is still growing. Chevron told state regulators on Monday that large quantities of crude oil and water continue to flow from a well site in Kern County. The company now says says 974,400 gallons of fluid has flowed to the surface in the Cymric oil field, near the town of McKittrick and about 35 miles west of Bakersfield, since the incident was first detected in May. The new amount is 120,000 gallons more than the company reported Friday. … ” Read more from KQED here: As Chevron Gets Ready to Appeal State Order, Kern County Spill Continues to Grow
- SEE ALSO: The Chevron Oil Spill Is Big, But This One Was Bigger – a Lot Bigger, from KQED (photos and story from big spill in 1910)
WILDFIRES
Gaining in Public Acceptance, Can Prescribed Fires Head Off Devastating Wildfires? “As another fire season stretches out before communities across the West, anxiety is inexorably mounting. Maybe it started with the March headlines about drought and 1.5 million dead trees killed by beetles in the southern Sierra. Maybe with the news that Pacific Gas & Electric, the dominant northern California utility, will turn power off in some communities when its wires risk causing a blaze like the Camp Fire that devastated Paradise in 2018. Maybe just since the dry season gets longer every day, anxiety can easily provoke impatience – what is being done to make us safer? … ” Continue reading at & the West here: Gaining in Public Acceptance, Can Prescribed Fires Head Off Devastating Wildfires?
Firefighters Lose Critical Tool to Battle Rise in Homeless Fires: “As the fire season arrives in Southern California, firefighters are bracing for another surge in blazes started by the homeless, often accidentally. And the NBC4 I-Team has found that firefighting efforts might be hampered because some homeless have disabled fire hydrants to use them for bathing, cooling off, and drinking. “I would say this puts firefighters at risk, it puts the community at risk, even the homeless at risk, if we cannot get to our water supply to fight a fire,” said Chief Sam DiGiovanna, a fire expert who trains firefighters. … ” Read more from NBC LA here: Firefighters Lose Critical Tool to Battle Rise in Homeless Fires
Restoring Natural Fire Regimes Can Yield More Water Downstream: “Mountain watersheds are crucial sources of fresh water across western North America, where the year-to-year availability of water depends in large part on variations in vegetation cover and climate. For much of the past century, fire suppression efforts in many areas have led to denser forests with growing water demands that have contributed to increased fire risk and water scarcity. Researchers have previously hypothesized that reintroducing natural fire regimes to these landscapes—essentially letting natural patterns of lightning-ignited fires play out absent suppression efforts—should help mitigate water stress and decrease fire hazard, but in practice few studies have examined how restoring natural wildfire conditions affects a forest’s long-term water balance. ... ” Read more from EOS here: Restoring Natural Fire Regimes Can Yield More Water Downstream
NATIONAL
U.S. wells are pumping up groundwater from increasing depths: “Residential, agricultural and industrial wells are being dug deeper and deeper in search of freshwater, according to the first nationwide assessment of U.S. groundwater wells. But scientists warn that the practice is not a sustainable way to address the country’s future water supply needs. In the United States, groundwater is a source of drinking water for more than 120 million people and supplies nearly half of the water used for irrigating crops. … ” Read more from Science News here: U.S. wells are pumping up groundwater from increasing depths
Clean Water Is a ‘Right’: Kamala Harris Promotes Bill Ensuring Water Safety in Every Community: “Presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris is proposing a law to safeguard access to clean water for everyone, including minority communities like those in Flint, Mich., most at-risk for being without. “Every American has the right to clean water, period,” the California Democrat said in announcing the Water Justice Act, the Hill reports. “We must take seriously the existential threat represented by future water shortages and acknowledge that communities across the country—particularly communities of color—already lack access to safe and affordable water.” … ” Read more from The Root here: Clean Water Is a ‘Right’: Kamala Harris Promotes Bill Ensuring Water Safety in Every Community
- SEE ALSO: Kamala Harris Introduces $220 Billion Clean Drinking Water Bill, from KQED
Bipartisan senators fight ‘political considerations’ in EPA’s new FOIA rule: “A bipartisan group of senators is pushing back against the new public records policy at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), saying it may violate the law by giving political appointees the power to hold back requested information. “The rule purports to make numerous changes to the EPA’s FOIA process that appear to run contrary to the letter and spirit of FOIA, thus undermining the American people’s right to access information from the EPA,” the senators wrote in a letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, referring to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). … ” Read more from The Hill here: Bipartisan senators fight ‘political considerations’ in EPA’s new FOIA rule
Science might help win climate cases. Here’s how: “Last month, temperatures in Europe skyrocketed above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, causing multiple deaths in what was deemed the hottest June on record. Researchers at the World Weather Attribution project said climate change was a culprit behind the intensity of the heat wave — an event that data suggests is 10 times more likely to occur today than a century ago. That study stems from a branch of science called extreme event attribution — a discipline that models how human-caused climate change affects the severity and likelihood of severe weather. … ” Read more from E&E News here: Science might help win climate cases. Here’s how
And lastly … Watch the Ridgecrest earthquake shatter the desert floor in stunning before-and-after images: “Millions felt the shaking from the Ridgecrest earthquake. But new satellite images offer a dramatic and instructive view of the immense power of the magnitude 7.1 quake, showing how California’s biggest earthquake in nearly two decades caused the ground to break. Animated slides show how the quake permanently jolted a huge block of earth northwest while the other side of the fault moved southeast. … ” Read more/view photos at the LA Times here: Watch the Ridgecrest earthquake shatter the desert floor in stunning before-and-after images
In commentary today …
A listening California should consult the real experts on water, says Wayne Western: He writes, “It seems every new administration in Sacramento must deal with water issues in California that never seem to get fixed. Under the last administration, water rationing, increasing flows to the ocean, higher rates to customers, multi-billion dollar bonds, increased regulations, and a declaration of the human right to water obviously didn’t do the trick. California has consistently been moving water from human use to environmental use for decades by transferring it to the ocean. Millions of acre-feet of water are diverted away from cities and farms on an annual basis. … ” Read more from The Sun here: A listening California should consult the real experts on water
In regional news and commentary today …
Federal Agencies Looking to Expand Humboldt County’s Open Ocean Dumping Grounds, Where We Put All the Dredge Spoils: “If you want ships or boats in Humboldt Bay, you have to dredge it. Every year, nature does its damndest to fill in the bay with sand and silt and make in unnavigable. And if you’re going to dredge the shipping channels and harbors of Humboldt Bay — or if you’re going to dredge the very entrance to the bay, as you absolutely have to do — you have to dump all the stuff you dredge up someplace. To date, that place has been HOODS — the Humboldt Open Ocean Disposal Site, a patch of sea a few miles off our shore. … ” Read more from the Lost Coast Outpost here: Federal Agencies Looking to Expand Humboldt County’s Open Ocean Dumping Grounds, Where We Put All the Dredge Spoils
Tribes Say They’ve Been Left Out of the Process on Potter Valley Project, but Congressman Huffman Begs to Differ: “A group of Eel River-adjacent Native American tribes issued a press release Friday saying they’ve been denied a seat at the table as regional stakeholders navigate a deal to take over the hydroelectric dams on the upper Eel. The press release, which was sent via the True North Organizing Network, says members of the Wiyot and Round Valley Indian Tribes walked out of a June 17 ad hoc committee meeting in solidarity with the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria. … ” Continue reading at the Lost Coast Outpost here: Tribes Say They’ve Been Left Out of the Process on Potter Valley Project, but Congressman Huffman Begs to Differ
Ukiah: Farm Bureau hosts meeting on local water supply: “The Mendocino County Farm Bureau is hosting a meeting in Ukiah Wednesday to update the community on the Potter Valley Project, a hydro-electric dam responsible for much of the water that flows into Lake Mendocino. The “informational” meeting will be held in the Ukiah Valley Conference Center on South School Street on July 24 from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m., and will explain how the region’s “dependable, year-round water supply” might be threatened because the dam’s owner, Pacific Gas and Electric, “abandoned its intent to re-license the power station. … ” Read more from the Ukiah Daily News here: Ukiah: Farm Bureau hosts meeting on local water supply
Go with the flow — high water calming on South Fork of the American River: “Last winter’s large snowpack in the Sierra meant high river flows this season for those seeking the thrill of rafting the class III to class V, 21-mile stretch of the South Fork of the American River, a popular whitewater destination that runs between Chili Bar and Folsom Lake. Hitting around 7,000 cubic feet per second in May and June, river releases from Slab Creek Dam have now ebbed to a more typical 2,000 cfs and under. … ” Read more from the Mountain Democrat here: Go with the flow — high water calming on South Fork of the American River
Marin: San Geronimo Creek study could mean stiffer habitat protections: “An environmental impact report that could lead to new rules on property changes within 100 feet of San Geronimo Creek and its tributaries was approved by the Marin County Planning Commission on Monday. The new regulations are aimed at protecting the habitat of endangered coho salmon and steelhead trout. The supplemental environmental impact report (SEIR), which was ordered by the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco in 2014, now moves on to the Marin County Board of Supervisors for possible final certification next month. ... ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal here: Marin: San Geronimo Creek study could mean stiffer habitat protections
Massive SF recycling project to save 30 million gallons of drinking water per year: “Fifty feet below the platform of the Powell Street BART Station sits the starting point for one of the largest water recycling projects in San Francisco — one that’s transforming dirty groundwater into clean steam heat for hundreds of downtown buildings. In the process, it’s saving tens of millions of gallons of drinking water annually. For decades, BART officials treated the naturally percolating groundwater that pools beneath the BART stop as a nuisance and a potential flooding risk. After seeping into an underground cistern, millions of gallons of water a month was pumped into the city’s sewer system. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: Massive SF recycling project to save 30 million gallons of drinking water per year
FBI serves search warrants at LA City Hall, DWP over utility’s billing system fiasco: “FBI agents served search warrants at Los Angeles City Hall and the Department of Water and Power on Monday as a part of a probe into a series of lawsuits over DWP’s billing system. FBI officials acknowledged their investigation, but declined to provide additional information because the records are sealed at this time. Rob Wilcox, a spokesman for City Attorney Mike Feuer, confirmed the warrants asked for documents from some of Feuer’s staff, as well as employees at the DWP. … ” Continue reading at the Long Beach Press Telegram here: FBI serves search warrants at LA City Hall, DWP over utility’s billing system fiasco
- SEE ALSO:
- FBI raids at DWP, L.A. City Hall related to fallout from billing debacle, from the LA Times
- CA Water politics takes a weird turn: FBI raids LADWP and LA City Attorney’s offices, from Dan Bacher at the Daily Kos
Volunteers on horseback inform residents on upgrades to water system serving Compton, Willowbrook: “Volunteers on horseback rode down the streets of Compton Sunday, informing residents of upgrades coming to their water supply. Compton’s equestrian community had riders on horseback going around the neighborhood, handing out flyers with information to residents who live in the old Sativa Water District that serves nearly 7,000 residents in Compton and Willowbrook. … ” Read more from KABC 7 here: Volunteers on horseback inform residents on upgrades to water system serving Compton, Willowbrook
Contaminated groundwater found beneath Lomita homes: “Pollution from a source of contaminated groundwater near Torrance Airport — which exceeds state drinking-water standards and generates potentially harmful chemical vapors — has spread beneath Lomita, officials with the tiny city recently learned, though state officials have long known about it. The contaminants have spread both through the groundwater and the soil. … ” Read more from the Daily Breeze here: Contaminated groundwater found beneath Lomita homes
Temecula-area water technicians helping Paradise recover after Camp Fire: “Though November’s Camp Fire — the deadliest wildfire in California history — has been extinguished for nearly nine months, the blaze’s effects are still being felt. Recently, however, the small, Northern California town sought help from an unlikely source: the Temecula-based Rancho California Water District. In Paradise, which was nearly leveled by the fire, many water lines were declared unsafe to drink from — forcing residents whose houses are still standing to rely on bottled water. … ” Read more from the Riverside Press-Enterprise here: Temecula-area water technicians helping Paradise recover after Camp Fire
Oceanside Residents Lobby For New Strategy To Save Disappearing Beach: “Many Southern California beaches are gradually disappearing, and communities along the coast are looking for ways to save the sand. A group of Oceanside residents is lobbying for a new strategy to supplement the beach sand replenishment program that takes place every year when the Army Corps of Engineers dredges the harbor mouth. … ” Read more from KPBS here: Oceanside Residents Lobby For New Strategy To Save Disappearing Beach
San Diego suing state over costs of tests for toxic lead in schools: “San Diego is suing the state for refusing to cover the costs of lead tests at hundreds of local schools. The city says it’s an unfunded state mandate that could set a troubling precedent for city taxpayers. The state decided in 2017 to require cities and other water agencies to test for lead in water at schools. The requirement came in response to a national outcry over lead in drinking water at schools in Michigan. ... ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune here: San Diego suing state over costs of tests for toxic lead in schools
It’s Not Your Imagination — Humidity Is Getting Worse In San Diego: “It’s part of the reason so many of us love living here so much, the beautiful sunny weather. But inject humidity into the picture and the sunny becomes sticky. That’s when what meteorologists call the “heat index” comes into play. Some people call it the “real feel” temperature. But are we really feeling more humid weather in San Diego over the last several years? … ” Read more from KPBS here: It’s Not Your Imagination — Humidity Is Getting Worse In San Diego
San Diego Congressional Reps Introduce Bills To Fight Tijuana River Pollution: “A group of San Diego County’s congressional representatives introduced a package of bills Monday to address and mitigate pollution in the Tijuana River Valley. The bills unveiled by Reps. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, Scott Peters, D-San Diego and Mike Levin, D-Oceanside, would boost funding to clean up the river and prevent future water contamination while a resolution from Susan Davis, D-San Diego, would encourage the Department of the Navy to focus on pollution in the river as a national security issue. … ” Read more from KPBS here: San Diego Congressional Reps Introduce Bills To Fight Tijuana River Pollution
Along the Colorado River …
As Southwest Water Managers Grapple With Climate Change, Can A ‘Grand Bargain’ Work? “Water managers on the Colorado River are facing a unique moment. With a temporary fix to the river’s scarcity problem recently completed, talk has begun to turn toward future agreements to manage the water source for 40 million people in the southwestern U.S. Climate change, growing urban populations and fragile rural economies are top of mind. … ” Continue reading at KUNC here: As Southwest Water Managers Grapple With Climate Change, Can A ‘Grand Bargain’ Work?
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
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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.
