In California water news today, State says damaged Shasta County dam not an emergency; Voluntary agreements remain viable for California water; California threats jump from fires to floods as wet season hits; Seismic upgrades move forward at B.F. Sisk Dam; Why Calif. will let rising seas ‘knock out’ this building; Record-setting 75-foot-tall wave recorded off California coast; Trump orders toilet rule review over low-flow flushing; and more …
On the calendar today …
- Free webinar: Surf’s Up or Low Tide? California’s Water Sector: 2019 in Review & 2020 Predictions from 1pm to 2pm. This webinar will give an overview of key events in 2019 that affected water utilities in California, including Governor Gavin Newsom’s first year in office, 2019 legislative developments, state agency planning and regulatory actions and a few predictions for 2020. Presented by Nossaman. Click here to register.
In the news today …
Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
- BLOG ROUND-UP: Draining the last great aquifer: a group project; Toward a more resilient Delta for all; Frozen II: a water engineering and policy analysis; Hook, line & sinker!; Jobs per drop irrigating California crops; Freshwater ecosystem budgets; and more …
- GROUNDWATER RECHARGE: Free webinar to highlight new streamlined permitting process; ACWA’s groundwater replenishment framework
- WATER SUPPLY INDEX for December 1, 2019
State says damaged Shasta County dam not an emergency: “A dam Shasta County officials say is creating conditions of “extreme peril” after it was damaged during storms earlier this year does not rise to the level of an emergency, according to state officials. The Shasta County Board of Supervisors had asked the California Office of Emergency Services to declare an emergency over the condition of Misselbeck Dam in western Shasta County. … ” Read more from the Redding Record Searchlight here: State says damaged Shasta County dam not an emergency SEE ALSO: Photo gallery
Voluntary agreements remain viable for California water: “The concept of a more cooperative approach to water management has been gaining more and more support after initial skepticism earlier in the year. It appears that state officials are warming up to the idea for developing voluntary agreements among water districts and other agencies, despite the recent discord between state and federal officials. “The state Environmental Protection Agency recognizes the danger of not implementing voluntary agreements. They’re anticipating a decade of lawsuits, or more,” said Mike Wade, Executive Director of the California Farm Water Coalition. … ” Read more from Ag Net here: Voluntary agreements remain viable for California water
California threats jump from fires to floods as wet season hits: “California’s climate threats could soon be jumping from wildfires and blackouts to floods and mudslides as the wet season kicks into gear. About half the water that falls in the state in any given year does so in the 90 days between Dec. 1 and the end of February. Too much rain has at times meant catastrophic floods and dangerous mudslides. Too little threatens agriculture with drought, and potentially creates a tinderbox effect in the year ahead. … ” Read more from Bloomberg here: California threats jump from fires to floods as wet season hits
Seismic upgrades move forward at B.F. Sisk Dam: “A billion-dollar seimic upgrade project at B.F. Sisk Dam and San Luis Reservoir in California is to move forward, the US Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) have announced. A dam safety project at the dam will see stability berms and other physical features added to the existing 3.5 mile-long earthen embankment in a bid to reduce the risks associated with a large seismic event. The work was given the green light following an updated analysis of the risk and potential consequences of a large earthquake in the area. … ” Read more from Water Power & Dam Construction here: Seismic upgrades move forward at B.F. Sisk Dam
Why Calif. will let rising seas ‘knock out’ this building: “A waterfront condo building appears ideally located in a small California town. It features panoramic ocean views and an easy walk to the surf. Units recently sold for more than $1.6 million. But the building faces a bleak future. It’s ground zero for the impacts of sea-level rise — and for local planning decisions related to coastal retreat. Santa Cruz County, a hamlet about 30 miles south of San Jose that just unveiled its proposed climate adaptation plan, wants to restrict the construction of new sea walls and let the ocean move onto land in some locations. That means trouble for the condo building, which sits steps from a lagoon that drains into the Pacific Ocean. … ” Read more from E&E News here: Why Calif. will let rising seas ‘knock out’ this building
Record-setting 75-foot-tall wave recorded off California coast: “A 75-foot-tall wave was recorded less than 20 miles off the California coast last month, and scientists at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institute for Oceanography say it’s the largest individual wave ever recorded by their network of coastal buoys. … ” Read more from SF Gate here: Record-setting 75-foot-tall wave recorded off California coast
Report: Climate change is making specific weather events more extreme: “A drought that parched the southwestern U.S. Extraordinary flooding in the Mid-Atlantic states. Heat waves that baked the Iberian peninsula and northeast Asia. Vanishing sea ice in the Bering Sea. Scientists say these remarkable 2018 extreme weather events were made more likely by human-caused climate change, in new research published today in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Societyoffsite link (BAMS). … ” Read more from NOAA here: Report: Climate change is making specific weather events more extreme
Trump orders toilet rule review over low-flow flushing: “Donald Trump’s latest target for deregulation: American toilets. The president on Friday said he ordered a federal review of water efficiency standards in bathroom fixtures and complained that “people are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times as opposed to once” in homes with low-flow appliances. … ” Read more from Bloomberg News here: Trump orders toilet rule review over low-flow flushing
SCOTUS declines to wade into states’ water certification case: “The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up the question of when states waive their authority under the Clean Water Act to grant water-quality certifications for dam and pipeline projects. ... ” Read more from Reuters here: SCOTUS declines to wade into states’ water certification case
In regional news and commentary today …
Sacramento narrowing in on options for redesigned waterfront: “The Sacramento City Council will vote this week on next steps in the renovation of Old Sacramento, even as the city has put aside some parts of the planned redesign. The city has determined that the creation of a public swimming area between a floating barge and the shore is not feasible. Instead, architects have been looking at adding an elevator from the upper dock down to the water level and the addition of art, seating and landscaping. … ” Read more from Capitol Public Radio here: Sacramento narrowing in on options for redesigned waterfront
Marin commentary: Keeping our water on when the power goes off: Cynthia Koehler writes, “During last month’s PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoffs, like so many across California, my family lost electricity for four days. We couldn’t turn on the lights, access the internet or charge our phones. But we didn’t lose water for a moment, thanks to the steps our water provider had taken to prepare for this kind of emergency. I sit on the board of that utility, and am proud to say that, while 95 percent of our customers lost power that week, virtually none lost water. … ” Read more from Capitol Weekly here: Marin commentary: Keeping our water on when the power goes off
Black and brown muck: Can overwhelmed S.F. sewers ever stop flooding? “After a weekend storm walloped San Francisco, officials say preventing flood damage from powerful rains in vulnerable areas of the city largely remains a pipe dream. A storm that inundated San Francisco with more than an inch of rain in a single hour Saturday flooded two Muni light-rail stations, snarled traffic on Highway 101 and forced residents in parts of West Portal to wade through waist-deep water that surged into homes, causing thousands of dollars of damage. … ” Read more from the SF Chronicle here: Black and brown muck: Can overwhelmed S.F. sewers ever stop flooding?
Hollister signs agreement with water districts on future supply: “On Oct. 7, the Hollister City Council unanimously approved a resolution authorizing a memorandum of understanding between the city, the San Benito County Water District and Sunnyslope County Water District regarding the North County Groundwater project. The agreement is intended to ensure that high quality water continues to be delivered throughout the community. It also aims to provide redundancy for the northern part of the city and industrial park, as well as for agriculture and fire suppression at the Hollister Municipal Airport. ... ” Read more from BenitoLink here: Hollister signs agreement with water districts on future supply
Signal Hill grappling with long-term water and additional-housing plans: “At its upcoming meeting Dec. 10, the Signal Hill City Council will consider approving a long-term water-management plan and authorizing a request-for-proposals for a consultant to help develop State-required additional housing. ... ” Read more from the Signal Hill Tribune here: Signal Hill grappling with long-term water and additional-housing plans
Surfers’ hopes for Long Beach waves fade, but fish could be winners: “A 23-year push by surfers to remove the Long Beach breakwater and return waves to the area is evolving into something else altogether. Instead of removing any of the 2 1/2-mile offshore structure, an Army Corps Of Engineers study favors building new marine-life habitat — including kelp beds and rocky reefs — to restore habitat lost to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. ... ” Read more from the Long Beach Press Telegram here: Surfers’ hopes for Long Beach waves fade, but fish could be winners
IID seeks resolution over mitigation water delivered to Salton Sea in 2010: “To focus its efforts on future Colorado River negotiations, the Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors has authorized its general manager and management team to work with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to resolve a longstanding issue over the district’s 2010 pre-delivery of mitigation water to the Salton Sea. ... ” Read more from Cal Ag Today here: IID seeks resolution over mitigation water delivered to Salton Sea in 2010
Efforts to study crumbling Del Mar cliffs advance as UCSD Scripps deploys state-of-the-art wave buoy: “Scientists at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography just received a major new tool in trying to decipher the patterns of erosion eating away at the crumbling Del Mar bluffs, atop which passenger trains regularly run up and down the coast. A team from the Coastal Data Information Program at Scripps recently deployed one of the world’s most sophisticated buoys for measuring waves. Among other things, the device will record the height and direction of ocean waves about a mile off the city’s receding coast, providing real-time data to everyone from scientists to surfers. ... ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune here: Efforts to study crumbling Del Mar cliffs advance as UCSD Scripps deploys state-of-the-art wave buoy
Baja California water supplies remain at critical levels: “Tijuana and Rosarito residents may have gotten a brief reprieve from scheduled water shut-offs, but the delivery of water throughout Baja California is a vulnerable system in need of urgent repairs, state and water officials stressed this week. Like San Diego, Tijuana gets most of its water supply — at least 95 percent — from the Colorado River. It’s delivered through a single aqueduct that carries the water all the way across the state, including up and over La Rumorosa, a mountain pass more than 4,000 feet above sea level. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune here: Baja California water supplies remain at critical levels
Along the Colorado River …
System will study headwaters of the Colorado to gauge stream flow, soil moisture, evaporation: “A new federal program aims to fill in knowledge gaps on how water moves through the headwaters of arguably the West’s most important source of drinking and irrigation water. The U.S. Geological Survey announced the second location for its Next Generation Water Observing System will be in the headwaters of the Colorado and Gunnison rivers, near the Continental Divide. The pilot program, on the Delaware River Basin, started last year. ... ” Read more from Cronkite News here: System will study headwaters of the Colorado to gauge stream flow, soil moisture, evaporation
What is Paradox salt-injection program’s future? “A federal agency is considering whether to continue an underground injection program in western Montrose County that has proven highly effective in reducing salt levels in the Colorado River Basin but also causes earthquakes. The Bureau of Reclamation also is considering alternative salinity-control approaches including evaporation ponds or heat-driven crystallizers in the Paradox Valley some 50 miles southwest of Grand Junction and just east of the Utah border. … ” Read more from the Grand Junction Sentinel here: What is Paradox salt-injection program’s future?
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.
