In California water news today, Experts blast Trump’s claims of needles in San Francisco Bay, Pacific Ocean; EPA head dodges questions about environmental action against San Francisco; Q and A with Coastal Commission chief: Sea-level is rising now; Hundreds Of California Schools Haven’t Released Results Of Water Testing For Lead; Mammoth gets first snow of the season after a very short summer; Environmental rollbacks give Trump rare win with farmers; Nights Are Getting Warmer Across the United States, Analysis Finds; Camp Fire: Amid a Water Crisis, California Officials Fan Flames of Confusion; Marina leverages new groundwater law to fight Cal Am on desalination project; Concrete Jungle: The Quest to Make the LA River Wild Again; The 5 best places to bask in California’s fall colors; and more …
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- THIS JUST IN … Reclamation requests changes to Fall X2 action
- NEWS WORTH NOTING: Delta Conveyance DCA establishes new Delta Stakeholder Engagement Committee; Water and climate update: First snowfall in the Sierra Nevada
- ESTUARY NEWS: Nearing the finish line for invasive spartina eradication efforts; Concerns over Camp Fire runoff into Butte Creek; What Wade Crowfoot thinks about floodplains; How the state plans to better align water management sectors; and more …
- DELTA eNEWS: ~~ DPC Meeting~ Oakley Festival~ Sidewalk Saturday~ Delta Leadership~ Water Resilience~ Estuary Conference~~
TRUMP – SF SEWAGE
Experts blast Trump’s claims of needles in San Francisco Bay, Pacific Ocean: “Claims by President Donald Trump on Wednesday that discarded drug needles in San Francisco are making their way through the city’s sewage system and into San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean were widely blasted the following day by experts who say he has no idea what he’s talking about. “Trump has less standing to complain about pollution and homelessness than pretty much anybody since his administration is actively gutting the Clean Water Act and other environmental laws that protect us all from pollution,” said David Lewis, executive director of Save the Bay. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here: Experts blast Trump’s claims of needles in San Francisco Bay, Pacific Ocean
EPA head dodges questions about environmental action against San Francisco: “Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler dodged questions about any agency plans to bring enforcement against San Francisco, a day after President Trump derided pollution and homelessness in the city and promised a notice “very soon.” “I’m not going to comment on a potential enforcement action that we may or may not take. It’s inappropriate for me to do so,” Wheeler told reporters following a congressional hearing Thursday. ... ” Read more from The Hill here: EPA head dodges questions about environmental action against San Francisco
Fact check: Here’s what actually happens to SF’s sewage: “On Wednesday night, President Donald Trump made a new claim about San Francisco: that the city’s homeless population is polluting oceans with needles and other debris. He said the city is “in serious violation” of environmental laws and warned the city will soon be getting a citation from the Environmental Protection Agency. President Trump’s comments drew swift condemnation from local San Francisco officials, including Mayor London Breed who brushed them off as “more lies.” So, what actually happens to San Francisco’s sewage? … ” Read more from KGO Channel 7 here: Fact check: Here’s what actually happens to SF’s sewage
SEA LEVEL RISE
Q and A with Coastal Commission chief: Sea-level is rising now: “The next few days will put a political spotlight on the environment, with a youth-led global climate strike Friday, international beach cleanup day on Saturday and the United Nations Climate Action Summit on Monday. When it comes to California’s role in these concerns, Jack Ainsworth is in the thick of it. ... ” Read more from the Daily Bulletin here: Q and A with Coastal Commission chief: Sea-level is rising now
A brief introduction to climate change and sea-level rise: “Of all the consequences of a warming world, the idea that our oceans would rise is, on its face, one of the easiest to understand – and maybe the most terrifying. We’re land animals, after all. It’s been a long, long time since we were all sea life. Earth’s ice melts when it gets warmer, and the warming is greatest at the North and South Poles. With increasing melting of land ice – as has been the case in particular in Greenland in recent years – the oceans get higher, just as water in a bathtub rises from an open faucet. ... ” Read more from Yale Climate Connections here: A brief introduction to climate change and sea-level rise
OTHER STATEWIDE NEWS
Hundreds Of California Schools Haven’t Released Results Of Water Testing For Lead: “This summer, we reported that one out of five California schools found detectable levels of lead in drinking water, but we also told you, hundreds of schools still hadn’t reported the required lead test results. Now that school is back in session, CBS13 investigative reporter Julie Watts is digging into the updated data. … ” Read more from CBS 13 here: Hundreds Of California Schools Haven’t Released Results Of Water Testing For Lead
A tiny beetle has decimated hundreds of SoCal trees. Now experts are worried about Sacramento: “The shot hole borer doesn’t look or behave like a killer. Yet the insect — about the size of a sesame seed — could be a lethal threat to Sacramento’s urban forest. It’s already decimated hundreds of thousands of trees across at least six counties in Southern California. Many fear the rest of the state could be next. Scientists are mobilizing to find ways to slow the shot hole borer’s advance. Fast solutions have not been easy to find. State lawmakers recognized the seriousness of the risk and directed $5 million last year to the Invasive Species Council of California to eliminate the beetle. ... ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: A tiny beetle has decimated hundreds of SoCal trees. Now experts are worried about Sacramento
Mammoth gets first snow of the season after a very short summer: “Like a movie trailer of things to come, Mammoth Lakes got its first snow of the season early Thursday. By noon it was mostly gone, although it served as a reminder that the Eastern Sierra ski season is only seven weeks away. Lows on Thursday night were forecast for the mid-20s, another sign that as fall begins on Monday, winter in the Sierra will be close behind. Mammoth Mountain lifts will begin to spin Nov. 9, likely with mostly machine-produced snow, courtesy of the cooler nights. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: Mammoth gets first snow of the season after a very short summer
Ninth Circuit Voids Geothermal Leases on Sacred Tribal Land: “In a decision hailed by some as a victory for tribal rights and ecological preservation, the Ninth Circuit on Thursday upheld voiding 40-year lease extensions for geothermal energy production on 26 plots of California land deemed sacred by Native Americans. The rugged, volcanic landscape of the Medicine Lake Highlands in Siskiyou County has served as a revered site for ancient customs and rituals by Native American groups, including the Pit River Tribe, for the last 10,000 years. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service here: Ninth Circuit Voids Geothermal Leases on Sacred Tribal Land
NATIONAL
Environmental rollbacks give Trump rare win with farmers: “Farmers have long seen the Environmental Protection Agency as one of their chief adversaries, but it may now be one of the best friends they have in the federal government. Amid President Donald Trump’s ever-deepening trade wars, immigration crackdown and controversial approach to ethanol policy, deregulation has provided a rare bright spot for farmers and ranchers over the past two and a half years. EPA delivered its latest win this month when it repealed an Obama-era water pollution rule that had sparked years’ of fierce opposition from the farm lobby, and is in the midst of an even more sweeping effort to shrink the scope of the Clean Water Act. Trump’s EPA has also defended the safety of two pesticides that some research has linked to cancer and damage to children’s developing brains. And the agency tried to revise rules aimed at protecting farm workers from excessive exposure to pesticides, an effort Congress ultimately blocked. … ” Read more from Politico here: Environmental rollbacks give Trump rare win with farmers
Smart treatment, smart investment: New report details impact investment strategies in water: “Newsflash: our water-stressed, climate-changing world is a major resilience challenge for communities. But there’s also an upside to meeting this challenge. Building resilient water solutions can create important, and sometimes catalytic, opportunities for private investors. That’s especially so in the wastewater treatment world. It’s not sexy, but treating dirty water is essential to a sustainable water future. A lot of money is being spent to do so, and a cutting edge new report details how those capital streams could be deployed for good. The new report details the investment opportunities associated with a global shift from centralized wastewater treatment (read pipes, pumps, and big smelly plants) to innovative on-site wastewater treatment technologies. ... ” Read more from Water Finance & Management here: Smart treatment, smart investment: New report details impact investment strategies in water
Nights Are Getting Warmer Across the United States, Analysis Finds: “Find yourself waking up in the middle of the night and forced to turn on the air conditioning more often? It’s not you. It’s a changing climate making nights warmer across the United States, according to an analysis of thousands of daily temperature highs and lows over the past 40 years by NBC News. The data comes from more than 500 weather stations. … ” Read more from NBC News here: Nights Are Getting Warmer Across the United States, Analysis Finds
Can you get cancer from tap water? New study says even ‘safe’ drinking water poses risk: “A new report from an environmental advocacy watchdog group cautions that carcinogenic products in tap water may altogether increase cancer risk for thousands of U.S. residents over a lifetime. In a peer-reviewed study published in the journal Heliyon Thursday, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that 22 carcinogens commonly found in tap water — including arsenic, byproducts of water disinfectants and radionuclides such as uranium and radium — could cumulatively result in over 100,000 cancer cases over the span of a lifetime. … ” Read more from USA Today here: Can you get cancer from tap water? New study says even ‘safe’ drinking water poses risk
In commentary today …
To protect California from Trump’s environmental genocide, Newsom must sign this bill, says Caleen Sisk: She writes, “As the traditional chief and spiritual leader of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, I represent an unbroken line of tribal leadership that has survived the California Indian genocide, the Indian boarding schools and the construction of Shasta Dam, which flooded our river and left us homeless. I’m writing to express our tribe’s dismay at Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement that he plans to veto Senate Bill 1. The bill would ensure that the federal Central Valley Project complies with state environmental law no matter what the Trump administration does to undermine endangered species protection. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: OPINION: To protect California from Trump’s environmental genocide, Newsom must sign this bill
WOTUS has done more for trial lawyers than clean water, says the Capital Press: They write, “While farm and private property interests cheered, environmental groups last week bemoaned the Trump administration finalizing the repeal of the controversial “Waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, rule. We see little to cheer or jeer at this point, as the repeal is hardly the final chapter in a dispute that has stretched on for nearly 10 years. At issue is which bodies of water can be regulated by the federal government under the Clean Water Act. ... ” Read more from the Capital Press here: WOTUS has done more for trial lawyers than clean water
In regional news and commentary today …
Camp Fire: Amid a Water Crisis, California Officials Fan Flames of Confusion: “The November 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California was the state’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire on record, causing 86 fatalities and destroying more than 14,000 homes. In the aftermath of the blaze, government officials discovered yet another, unexpected casualty: the local water systems. Many of the region’s underground water pipes were contaminated with benzene and other cancer-causing chemicals, and they were sending that water into the buildings left standing. The origins of the contamination are unclear, but it was likely a combination of fumes being sucked into water pipes when the system pressure dropped, and plastics decomposing in place. This was only the second time in recorded history that widespread drinking water chemical contamination was discovered after a wildfire. (The first was the Tubbs Fire that hit another area of Northern California a year earlier.) … ” Read more from Undark Magazine here: Amid a Water Crisis, California Officials Fan Flames of Confusion
SF’s Treasure Island, poised for building boom, escaped listing as Superfund site: “San Francisco’s Treasure Island, the former naval base being transformed into a $6 billion development of condos and shops, was once considered hazardous enough to be a federal Superfund waste site but was never officially named one, newly disclosed documents show. While it’s not clear why Treasure Island was never named a Superfund site, a designation given to some of the most polluted places in the country, the release of the records prompted calls Wednesday from some environmentalists for more federal examination. … ” Read more from the SF Chronicle here: SF’s Treasure Island, poised for building boom, escaped listing as Superfund site
Palo Alto looks to sell, treat — and possibly ask people to drink — wastewater: “In an effort to open the spigot on recycled water in the region, Palo Alto and Santa Clara Valley Water are exploring a deal that would send the city’s wastewater to a treatment plant elsewhere in the county, where it would be treated, transformed into potable water and potentially resold to the city for its residents and businesses. The proposed deal would give Palo Alto a new source of drought-proof water to draw on in case of emergency. … ” Read more from Palo Alto Online here: Palo Alto looks to sell, treat — and possibly ask people to drink — wastewater
Marina leverages new groundwater law to fight Cal Am on desalination project: “Four years and hundreds of meetings ago, the farmers and elected leaders of the Salinas Valley set out to prove that they can manage their own groundwater supply. They drafted a plan to limit pumping on more than 130 square miles of mostly agricultural land and to invest their own money to end the seepage of ocean water into freshwater aquifers. This effort – organized by the Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency – seemed to be coalescing ahead of a Jan. 31, 2020 deadline imposed by state law. Then, Marina came along. … ” Read more from Monterey Weekly here: Marina leverages new groundwater law to fight Cal Am on desalination project
Santa Barbara: Steelhead Win Landmark Victory: “By any reckoning, the steelhead trout won a significant legal victory this week, along with CalTrout and the Environmental Defense Center, which have been arguing the case for two decades. But it remains uncertain exactly how much more water will have to be released downstream from Lake Cachuma to create a habitat wet enough along the main stem of the Santa Ynez River for the federally endangered fish to wage a meaningful comeback. The State Water Resources Control Board voted decisively on September 17 that current release schedules, which have been in place for 16 years, have made little difference. ... ” Read more from the Santa Barbara Independent here: Steelhead Win Landmark Victory
What will Malibu’s beach erosion problem look like in 20 years? “When we bought our house on the Colony in ’64, the beach was far away and water never came up much on the sand,” said Carol Moss, one of Malibu’s favorite matriarchs. “We had minnows instead of dolphins.” Now, Moss said, due to serious beach erosion, she and her neighbors must wait for low tide to enjoy walking on the beach. The rapid erosion of Malibu’s beaches in the past few years is nothing short of startling and has drawn the concerned attention of local citizens, advocacy groups and public officials. Beach erosion, attributable in part to climate change and in part to the hand of man, is pervasive, invasive and expensive. … ” Read more from Malibu Magazine here: What will Malibu’s beach erosion problem look like in 20 years?
Bye-Bye Beaches: How Parts Of SoCal’s Iconic Coast Could Disappear In Our Lifetime: “The stretch of coast from Santa Monica to Malibu is iconic and quintessentially Californian. It’s also ridiculously beautiful — and it’s clear, based on the latest science, it could be unrecognizable by the end of the century. As the planet warms, sea levels will continue to rise, threatening some of our most beloved stretches of coastline. I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time on those beaches. Raised in the San Fernando Valley, I used to head over the hill in my friend’s baby blue VW bus, or my mom’s minivan, to surf Topanga or Malibu on my 9’8 Kennedy longboard. It was and still is an amazing escape from the traffic, heat and urban sprawl of the Valley. … ” Read more from the LAist here: Bye-Bye Beaches: How Parts Of SoCal’s Iconic Coast Could Disappear In Our Lifetime
Concrete Jungle: The Quest to Make the LA River Wild Again: “A dozen kayakers paddled down the tree-lined, sandy-bottomed Los Angeles River in late August, running their hands through sycamore and willow leaves and gliding over carp and steelhead trout as traffic noise from the nearby 405 Freeway buzzed overhead. Park ranger Fernando Gomez led students and wildlife advocates down the river in the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Preserve, a flood basin and park also called “the symphony of sounds” for its proximity to city infrastructure. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service here: Concrete Jungle: The Quest to Make the LA River Wild Again
Rising tide, what it means for Catalina: “In the Catalina Island Conservancy’s Last Friday Lecture Series, USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center Oceanographer Juliette Finzi Hart discussed the realities of sea level rise and what it means for Catalina Island. Current global projections show rapidly increasing levels of sea level rise; however, there is still time to come together to make a difference. … ” Read more from the Catalina Islander here: Rising tide, what it means for Catalina
San Diego’s Climate Crisis: Sea Level Rise Will Threaten Imperial Beach For Decades: “Imperial Beach regularly experiences flooding during high-tides and storms — climate change and rising oceans are threatening to make that flooding significantly worse. “IB is vulnerable,” said Imperial Beach Lifeguard Captain Robert Stabenow. “The highest point in the whole city is 40 feet (above sea level) — so the whole area is low-lying.” … ” Read more from KPBS here: San Diego’s Climate Crisis: Sea Level Rise Will Threaten Imperial Beach For Decades
And lastly …
The 5 best places to bask in California’s fall colors: “New England has the architecture, but California has the landscapes. That, according to the fall color connoisseur John Poimiroo, makes the Golden State America’s premier autumn destination. As evidence, he cited a photograph of the Eastern Sierra’s Bishop Creek Canyon aflame with color a couple Septembers ago (shown above). “I’ll take any photograph you can show me in New England, put this next to it, show it to a hundred people, and say, ‘Which one takes your breath away?'” said Poimiroo, who runs the website California Fall Color. “This one takes your breath away.” … ” Read more from the California Sun here: The 5 best places to bask in California’s fall colors
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
THIS JUST IN … Reclamation requests changes to Fall X2 action
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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.
