In California water news today, San Francisco Estuary health report offers mixed review; Huffman files bill to protect, bolster salmon rivers; California tribe regains island it calls center of universe; The lost river: Mexicans fight for mighty waterway taken by the US; Money from socially responsible investors flows into US water stocks; Quiz: The most effective ways to curb climate change might surprise you; The Week in Water Podcast; and more …
In the news today …
San Francisco Estuary health report offers mixed review: “The health of North America’s largest estuary, the San Francisco Estuary, is showing some signs of improvement, but much of the historic damage caused to the massive watershed has either not improved or worsened, according to a new report. The 2019 “State of the Estuary” update, released Monday by the San Francisco Estuary Partnership, shows residents are continuing to conserve water. Meanwhile, there have been increasing efforts to restore the lost tidal wetlands that both provide habitat for wildlife and some protections from shoreline communities. ... ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal here: San Francisco Estuary health report offers mixed review
Huffman files bill to protect, bolster salmon rivers: “A California congressman on Thursday, 17 October filed a bill in Congress that he claims would restore and protect the country’s salmon rivers and watersheds. By drafting H.R. 4723, dubbed the Salmon Focused Investments in Sustainable Habitats (Salmon FISH) Act, U.S. Representative Jared Huffman in a statement said he wants to make the rivers that support salmon populations more resilient. The Democrat’s bill would call on NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to designate core abundance areas as “Salmon Conservation Areas” and the purest ones as “Salmon Strongholds.” … ” Read more from Seafood Source here: Huffman files bill to protect, bolster salmon rivers
California’s crashing kelp forest: “First the sea stars wasted to nothing. Then the purple urchins took over, eating and eating until the bull kelp forests were gone. The red abalone starved. Their fishery closed. Red sea urchins starved. Their fishery collapsed. And the ocean kept warming. It sounds like an ecological horror movie, but this scenario actually happened between 2013 and 2017. Its lasting impacts continue to affect northern California’s coast today, with another marine heat wave forecast for this winter. … ” Read more from Phys Org here: California’s crashing kelp forest
California tribe regains island it calls center of universe: “Indian Island off the coast of Northern California was the site of a massacre, a place that was contaminated by a shipyard and flush with invasive species. It’s also the spiritual and physical center of the universe for the small Wiyot Tribe, and it will belong to them almost entirely Monday after a city deeds all the land it owns on the island to the tribe. “It’s a really good example of resilience because Wiyot people never gave up the dream,” tribal administrator Michelle Vassel said. “It’s a really good story about healing and about coming together of community.” ... ” Read more from SF Gate here: California tribe regains island it calls center of universe
The Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall: “Every year, millions of people flock to see the giant trees in California’s Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and Redwood National and State Parks. “It’s just emblematic of what people value. People value big, old trees,” said Nate McDowell, an Earth scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash. Unfortunately, climate change puts these large trees at increased risk. “In the future, we might see droughts become more severe and more frequent,” said Xi Yang, an environmental scientist at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. … ” Read more from EOS here: The Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall
The lost river: Mexicans fight for mighty waterway taken by the US: ” … The Colorado originates in the Rocky mountains and traverses seven US states, watering cities and farmland, before reaching Mexico, where it is supposed to flow onwards to the Sea of Cortez. Instead, the river is dammed at the US-Mexico border, and on the other side the river channel is empty. Locals are now battling to bring it back to life. … ” Read more from The Guardian here: The lost river: Mexicans fight for mighty waterway taken by the US
Money from socially responsible investors flows into US water stocks: “Share prices for U.S. water utilities are on the rise as investors inject more money into socially responsible companies. While most utility shares are outperforming the markets, water utility stocks are being boosted by fears of water shortages and the rapid increase in assets of sustainable funds known as ESG. … ” Read more from CNBC here: Money from socially responsible investors flows into US water stocks
Quiz: The most effective ways to curb climate change might surprise you: “The planet is barreling toward 1.5 degrees of global warming as soon as 2030 unless we enact “unprecedented changes in all aspects of society,” a dire United Nations report warned in October. To reduce our impact on the climate and avert disaster, it’s going to take more than switching to high-efficiency light bulbs. But the most effective ways that individuals, policymakers and businesses can reduce our carbon footprint might surprise you. Let’s see how much you know about what can be done to fight climate change. … ” Read more from CNN here: The most effective ways to curb climate change might surprise you
This week in water podcast …
Airplanes from algae; Cow manure, antibiotics, and emissions; “Stormquakes”; and more …
In regional news and commentary today …
Chico ER editorial: Curious secrecy endangers pipeline project: “The California Water Service Co. may have just shot itself in the foot, with tens of thousands of residents in Paradise, Chico and northwestern Butte County as collateral damage. On Tuesday, the Butte County Board of Supervisors is likely to cancel a contract for a feasibility study for a pipe that could carry water from Paradise to Chico. It seems like a curious idea at first glance, but it actually could provide an elegant solution to several problems. ... Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record here: Chico ER editorial: Curious secrecy endangers pipeline project
Georgetown Divide PUD approves ditch lining: “A capital improvement project that’s been on the table for 17 years was finally approved at the Georgetown Divide Public Utility District’s Oct. 8 meeting. The project consists of removing vegetation and debris from the canal and lining three sections of the Main Canal with gunite. The canal takes water from Stumpy Meadows Reservoir to the Auburn Lake Trails Water Treatment Plant. … ” Read more from the Mountain Democrat here: Georgetown Divide PUD approves ditch lining
Steelhead Legal Battle Expands to Santa Maria: “Los Padres ForestWatch has sued the Department of Interior, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Santa Maria Valley Water Conservation District, charging that Twitchell Reservoir dam operations are inflicting serious ongoing damage to the steelhead trout, a federally endangered species, that rely on the Santa Maria River. The lawsuit, also brought by San Luis Obispo Coastkeeper, charges that the timing of water releases from the dam — designed to maximize groundwater recharge — has effectively rendered certain reaches of the lower river all but impassable during critical times in the steelhead’s spawning cycle. Such flow alterations, the lawsuit alleges, “are harassing, wounding, killing, trapping, capturing and harming steelhead.” … ” Read more from the Independent here: Steelhead Legal Battle Expands to Santa Maria
West Basin Municipal Water District presents El Segundo desalination plant to Manhattan Beach leaders for the first time: “The final environmental study for a proposed desalination plant in El Segundo will soon be released, the City Council for adjacent Manhattan Beach learned this week, when it received its first formal presentation on the potential project — even though the West Basin Municipal Water District first pitched the plant in 2015. If approved, the proposed $400 million plant — which would border El Porto, in El Segundo — would be capable of converting 20-to-60 million gallons of ocean water to drinkable water each day. District officials have said the plant is crucial to diversifying the region’s water supply, in case there’s an emergency or a severe drought. … ” Read more from the Daily Breeze here: West Basin Municipal Water District presents El Segundo desalination plant to Manhattan Beach leaders for the first time
Imperial County wants emergency money to deal with toxic dust as lake shrinks: “Toxic dust being blown around as a Southern California lake shrinks is pushing officials in one county to push for state and federal emergency declarations to deal with the problem. The Salton Sea is shrinking because water that would normally flow to it is being diverted to cities, the Desert Sun reports. As it shrinks, contaminants and caustic impurities from decades of past military testing and agricultural runoff have created the perfect storm for dangerous dust pollution. … ” Read more from Fox News here: California county wants emergency money to deal with toxic dust as lake shrinks
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.
