DAILY DIGEST 1/9/2019: Ag pumping threatens CA’s main water artery; Wildfires a growing threat for military bases in California and beyond; 1.4 million CA kids have not received mandatory lead poisoning tests; Trump is set to alter NEPA; and more …

In California water news today, Ag pumping threatens California’s main water artery; A growing threat for military bases in California and beyond: wildfires driven by climate change; 1.4 million California kids have not received mandatory lead poisoning tests; Trump is set to alter NEPA, upend years of climate planning; Sites Reservoir receives $10 million toward completion; Friday’s Bay Area king tides offer a hint of what rising sea levels look like; and more …

On the calendar today …

  • California Advisory Committee on Salmon and Steelhead Trout Meeting from 10am to 4:30pm in West Sacramento. Agenda items include discussion of Central Valley Water Issues: Sites Reservoir, Delta Biological Opinions, and Implications to Trinity Division; consideration of letter to Director Bonham supporting a minimum bypass flow for Sites in the Sacramento River; and a briefing on proposed CDFW Restoration Reforms “to strengthen the Department’s practices and programs to make permitting and restoration “better, stronger, and faster.”  Click here for full agenda.  Remote access via call-in number available.

In the news today …

Ag pumping threatens California’s main water artery:  Lois Henry writes, “Heavy groundwater pumping to sustain a massive increase in orchards and vineyards in the San Joaquin Valley has brought the state’s main water artery to the brink of permanent damage, according to report released by the Department of Water Resources Dec. 31.  If groundwater pumping near the California Aqueduct continues at current levels through the next, inevitable drought, the land will sink further potentially resulting in “non-recoverable compaction and permanent land subsidence,” reducing the Aqueduct’s ability to deliver water, according to the report. … ”  Read more from SJV Water here: Extreme ag pumping threatens California’s main water artery

A growing threat for military bases in California and beyond: wildfires driven by climate change:  “The fire is violent and fast-moving. It’s rushing uphill and tearing through the dense, dry chaparral that covers some of the 100,000 acres of Vandenberg Airforce Base.  “Let’s go! Go!” screams a firefighter as waves of embers blast his truck. Day turns to night as black smoke covers the sun, engulfing him and his colleagues as they hurry back to their safe zone roughly 600 yards away.  It’s Sept. 19, 2016, two days into the Canyon Fire.  California is suffering through one of its worst droughts in recorded history, with record high temperatures to boot. And the fire offers a clear view of the state’s climate future: hot, dry and ready to burn. … ”  Read more from LAist here: A growing threat for military bases in California and beyond: wildfires driven by climate change

1.4 million California kids have not received mandatory lead poisoning tests:  “More than 1.4 million children covered by California’s Medicaid healthcare program have not received the required testing for lead poisoning, state auditors reported Tuesday, and the two agencies charged with administering tests and preventing future exposure have fallen short on their responsibilities. … ”  Read more from the LA Times here: 1.4 million California kids have not received mandatory lead poisoning tests

White House aims to roll back bedrock environmental law to speed development:  “The White House on Thursday issued sweeping changes to one of the nation’s bedrock environmental laws, relieving agencies from considering climate change when they assess the environmental impacts of big infrastructure projects.  The changes target the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires agencies to evaluate how pipelines, highways and some oil and gas development affects the environment and nearby communities. … ”  Read more from The Hill here: White House aims to roll back bedrock environmental law to speed development

In regional news and commentary today …

Siskiyou County: Save the Chinook and Coho salmon, says Felice Pace:  “The DFW salmon counting weirs on the Shasta and Scott Rivers were removed on December 31st. The preliminary counts are:  Scott River: 1505 Chinook and 334 Coho  Shasta River: 5867 Chinook and 61 Coho  These counts do not bode well for Coho salmon in these major Klamath River tributary basins. … ”  Read more from the Siskiyou Daily News here:  Save the Chinook and Coho salmon

Sites Reservoir receives $10 million toward completion:  “Another drop landed in the bucket of the multi-billion dollar Sites Reservoir project as the federal government approved around $10 million to go toward the proposed dam.  President Donald Trump signed a bill toward the end of 2019 that allowed for $6 million to be poured into the project which was coupled with an appropriation by Congress of around $4 million, said a press release issued Wednesday by Sites Project.  According to the Water Education Foundation, the total cost of the project lies between $2.3 and 3.2 billion dollars. … ”  Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record here: Sites Reservoir receives $10 million toward completion

Sites Reservoir proposal receives $6M in federal funds:  “Sites Reservoir will receive $6 million from the federal government as part of a bipartisan spending bill that was signed by President Trump at the close of 2019.  The funding, authorized by the WIIN Act, was appropriated to the Bureau of Reclamation to advance Sites Reservoir. With the passage of this legislation, Congress has now appropriated roughly $10 million in WIIN Act funding to the Bureau of Reclamation for Sites Reservoir. … ”  Read more from the Daily Democrat here: Sites Reservoir proposal receives $6M in federal funds

New American River habitat restoration project nurtures record number of salmon nests:  “Kat Perkins, a scientist with the Sacramento Water Forum, poured over an aerial image of the lower American River near Sailor Bar in Fair Oaks, looking for redds—underwater depressions or “nests” created by female salmon to lay their eggs. Part of an annual ritual to systematically count redds first by inspecting aerial imagery and then in person, last year she found zero. This year was a different story—the area teamed with redds—more than 345 this time around. … ”  Read more from ACWA’s Water News here: New habitat restoration project nurtures record number of salmon nests

Friday’s Bay Area king tides offer a hint of what rising sea levels look like:  “King tides, a naturally occurring phenomenon that received a common name only a decade ago, are heading to California shorelines this weekend — and with them, a series of public events intended to show people the dangers posed by sea level rise.  The aim isn’t simply to point out what really high tides look like, but to explain why they’re likely to swell higher and higher in the decades to come. … ”  Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: Friday’s Bay Area king tides offer a hint of what rising sea levels look like

SCV Water Detects PFAS Chemicals in Another Well: SCV Water’s November 2019 quarterly well sampling of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) found one well in excess of the state’s nonregulatory notification levels for PFAS chemicals, the agency reported Wednesday. … ”  Read more from SCV News here: SCV Water Detects PFAS Chemicals in Another Well

LA cleanup of Sepulveda Basin homeless camps begins final phase in the ‘Bamboos’:  “The final phase of a cleanup of homeless encampments in the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area began early Wednesday morning and is expected to continue for several weeks, say city officials.  Police and city sanitation workers began removing individuals, their belongings and debris from the Encino Creek area, also known as the ‘Bamboos’— the park’s most noted encampment area south of Burbank Boulevard nicknamed for its tree cover. … ”  Read more from the LA Daily News here: LA cleanup of Sepulveda Basin homeless camps begins final phase in the ‘Bamboos’

The rope behind Poway’s water problems had been there a long time:  “Nobody seems to know why a rope that caused a nearly weeklong boil-water advisory in Poway was there in the first place.  The rope had been hanging on a wall in a vault adjacent to the clearwell drinking water reservoir and a stormwater drain. When heavy rains on Nov. 28 and 29 caused the stormwater to surge and back up into the vault, somehow the rope became lodged in a swing gate allowing muddy water to leak into the reservoir, according to a report prepared by the city and submitted to the state’s Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water. ... ”  Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune here: The rope behind Poway’s water problems had been there a long time

USMCA trade pact includes $300M for U.S.-Mexico border sewer woes, but critics fault deal: “When lawmakers in the House of Representatives approved the Trump administration’s new trade deal with Mexico and Canada last month, they authorized $300 million to help fix failing sewer systems that send raw sewage and toxic pollution flowing into rivers along the U.S.-Mexico border.  The decision could bring an infusion of funding to help clean up the badly polluted New River, Tijuana River, and other rivers that flow across the border into the U.S. ... ”  Read more from The Desert Sun here: USMCA trade pact includes $300M for U.S.-Mexico border sewer woes, but critics fault deal

Also on Maven’s Notebook today …

STATE OF THE ESTUARY: Underappreciated Effects of Sea-Level Rise on Groundwater Levels

SCIENCE NEWS: Federal court stops longline fishing to protect turtles; How we can live with humpback whales in SF Bay; San Diego’s native Hermes Copper Butterfly proposed for listing; Washington considers breaching Lower Snake River dams; Catastrophic wildfires in southeastern Australia; and more…

WATER SUPPLY INDEX FORECAST for January 1, 2020

WATER PLAN eNEWS: ~~ Resilience Portfolio~ Crop Mapping~ Data Workshop~ Splash: Water Resilience ~~

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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.

 

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