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- WEBINAR: Smart Water Innovations from 11am to 12pm. This month’s One Water Webinar will spotlight innovations that are being deployed at various points in the water systems to solve our most pressing water infrastructure challenges and the enabling condition that support the implementation of these new solutions. Click here to register.
Creaky, leaky dams among biggest risks to California: audit: “Despite a near disaster in 2017 at the nation’s tallest dam, operators and regulators of California’s high-risk dams have been slow to react and plan for catastrophic failures, according to a state audit released Thursday. Of the 650 dams the state believes could be deadly in the event of failure, just 22 have state-approved emergency plans in place. Subpar planning and lack of funding for repairs place people living beneath many of California’s 1,200 dams at high risk, says State Auditor Elaine Howle. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service here: 🔓 Creaky, leaky dams among biggest risks to California: audit
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- Most major California dams lack emergency plans. ‘High-risk issue,’ state auditor says, from the Sacramento Bee
- 🔓 Hundreds of California dams lack approved emergency plans, from KCRA
Dry, sunny days in January have taken a toll on California’s snowpack: “All of those dry January days have taken a toll on California’s snowpack, but officials say it’s too early to worry about drought conditions. Surveyors with the California Department of Water Resources trekked through a snow-covered field Thursday at the department’s Phillips station, above Lake Tahoe, to take the second seasonal measurement that serves as an important marker for the state’s water supply. The result — 40.5 inches deep — is 79% of average for the time of year at that location. If all the snow were to melt at once it would amount to about 14.5 inches of water, said Sean de Guzman, chief of the agency’s snow surveys and water supply forecasting section. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: Dry, sunny days in January have taken a toll on California’s snowpack
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As California preps for more ‘horizontal hurricanes,’ Air Force gathers intel over Pacific: “Massive storms sweeping over California from the Pacific have played havoc on the state for much of its recorded history, including a relentless 1862 downpour that forced Gov. Leland Stanford to take a rowboat to his own inauguration in Sacramento. In the decades since, similar storms dubbed “atmospheric rivers” have killed dozens of Californians, inflicted billions of dollars in damage, and three winters ago, blasted apart the spillways at Oroville Dam, the nation’s tallest. Nearly 200,000 people were evacuated. Yet forecasters don’t know nearly as much as they’d like about these “horizontal hurricanes,” despite the dangers and the important role they play in replenishing drought-prone California’s water supply amid a changing climate. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: As California preps for more ‘horizontal hurricanes,’ Air Force gathers intel over Pacific
National water and climate update, January 30, 2020: “The Natural Resources Conservation Service produces this weekly report using data and products from the National Water and Climate Center and other agencies. The report focuses on seasonal snowpack, precipitation, temperature, and drought conditions in the U.S. January storms have produced heavy amounts of precipitation in the Pacific Northwest. Most SNOTEL sites in the Cascades and northern Rocky Mountains reported January in the top 10 percentile on record for the month. Many additional sites west of the Cascades are at or near record amounts of rainfall. Saturated soils have caused landslides impacting roads in parts of the region. A series of warm, atmospheric rivers have kept the snowpack from building at the same near-record rate. Most SNOTEL sites in this region are at or below normal snow water equivalent (SWE), with the colder northern Rockies having a few more stations with slightly above normal SWE.” 🔓 Click here to read the report.
Here’s what to look for in February’s weather: “February brings a variety of weather conditions, including snow, tornadoes and big temperature changes, as signs of spring begin to emerge. Even if wintry weather dominates the month, the increased daylight becomes more noticeable and serves as a reminder that spring is coming. …Average high temperatures in February begin to warm slightly from January but remain chilly overall. Average highs in the teens become more confined to northern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota, while 60s expand farther north into more of the South and into parts of Central California. Average highs in the 70s return to parts of the Southwest. … ” Read more from Weather Nation here: 🔓 Here’s what to look for in February’s weather
Groups slam Trump Admin. move to weaken bird protections: “Conservation groups are speaking out against a move yesterday by the Trump administration to remove penalties for companies whose business activities incidentally kill birds. The U.S. Interior Department is finalizing a change to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, or MBTA, first announced two years ago. It removes penalties for bird deaths considered “incidental take,” even in cases of such gross negligence as a massive oil spill. Bob Dreher, senior vice president for conservation programs with Defenders of Wildlife, says this will lead to many more bird deaths. … ” Read more from the Public News Service here: 🔓 Groups slam Trump Admin. move to weaken bird protections
Across the U.S., states are bracing for more climate-related disasters: “State lawmakers across the country are calling for huge investments to mitigate the effects of wildfires, flooding, hurricanes, droughts and other natural disasters made more devastating and frequent by climate change. Following the hottest decade on record, which saw record-breaking wildfires in the West, extreme weather events like Superstorm Sandy, a years-long drought in California, and severe flooding in the Midwest, legislators in many states say it’s long past time to treat such events as the new normal — and invest accordingly. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: Across the U.S., states are bracing for more climate-related disasters
What Australia’s megafires mean for the west: “The news coming out of Australia has been almost unbearable. Despite a week of welcome rain, the worst fire season in the continent’s history—an unprecedented combination of drought, wind, and record-breaking temperatures that has been going on since September—continues, this time with a new blaze threatening Canberra. Fires have merged into megafires, species and their habitat have been flattened, municipal water supplies are full of ash, and the air was so noticeably unbreathable in Melbourne that the pros at the Australian Open started donating money for every ace. (One out of two Australians have donated money for relief efforts.) In all, over 27 million acres have burned, more than 10 times the amount scorched in California in 2018, the state’s worst year for wildfires. ... ” Read more from Outside Online here: 🔓 What Australia’s megafires mean for the west
As forests burn around the world, drinking water is at risk: “Fabric curtains stretch across the huge Warragamba Dam to trap ash and sediment expected to wash off wildfire-scorched slopes and into the reservoir that holds 80% of untreated drinking water for the Greater Sydney area. In Australia’s national capital of Canberra, authorities are keeping a wary eye on burning forests and bushland, hoping a new water treatment plant and other measures will prevent a repeat of water quality problems and disruption that followed deadly wildfires 17 years ago. … ” Read more from the Santa Maria Sun here: As forests burn around the world, drinking water is at risk
Report: Data demand will drive $92 billion in investment by 2030: “Spending for digital water solutions in the United States and Canada is forecasted to grow 6.5 percent annually, far outpacing the growth of the broader municipal water and wastewater sector over the next decade, says a new report from water market research firm Bluefield Research. During this same period, annual capital expenditures for digital water will rise from $5.4 billion (USD) in 2019 to $10.8 billion in 2030, setting the stage for more advanced monitoring and management of critical infrastructure. According to Bluefield Research’s report, Water Industry 4.0: U.S. & Canada Digital Water Market Forecast, 2019-2030, utility spending on connected hardware, software solutions and digitally enabled professional services will reach a combined $92.6 billion over 12 years. This investment has been catalyzed by a wave of newly available technology solutions, increasing customer expectations and utility leaders’ reliance on data to tackle mounting financial and environmental pressures. … ” Read more from Water Finance and Management here: 🔓 Report: Data demand will drive $92 billion in investment by 2030
Making 209 residents pay $11,695,376 per salmon while fueling LA growth: Dennis Wyatt writes, “We are all one California. Before we get all teary-eyed about that sentiment that has been voiced by backers of the State Water Resources Control Board advancing state water policies that largely hinge on commandeering out-of-watershed water to keep powering Los Angeles’ unnatural expansion growing. This time around they are working to swoop in and add the raping of the San Joaquin Valley to the Owens Valley-style graveyards created so La-La Land can prosper. It is time we talk about the original sin. ... ” Read more from the Manteca Bulletin here: Making 209 residents pay $11,695,376 per salmon while fueling LA growth
Klamath Basin to create water bank: “Despite the accumulation of recent snow in the mountains and the snow water equivalent hovering around average levels, the possibility for providing drought relief funds remains of high importance to Klamath County Commissioners, Siskiyou County board of supervisors, the Klamath Water Users Association and the Klamath Basin Area Office of the Bureau of Reclamation. Klamath County Commissioners and Siskiyou County board of supervisors in early January asked the Bureau of Reclamation’s Klamath Basin Area Office to configure a work plan for how to spend extra expenditures allocated to them in 2019, and calling for the creation of a water bank in 2020. … ” Read more from Farm & Ranch News here: 🔓 Klamath Basin to create water bank
Yuba Water Agency adopts groundwater plan: “The Yuba Water Agency, along with other local groundwater sustainability agencies like Cordua Irrigation District and the city of Marysville, recently developed an official groundwater sustainability plan that outlines how to best utilize the county’s groundwater subbasins in a sustainable manner. As part of the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, groundwater sustainability agencies across the state are required to prepare and submit plans that include measurable objectives and milestones to achieve sustainability. … ” Read more from The Union here: Yuba Water Agency adopts groundwater plan
Napa County’s winery streamlining plan faces legal threat: “Napa County intends to cut red tape for what it deems to be modest winery expansion requests, even though a group called Water Audit California warned of possible legal action. County officials said the goal is simply to move consideration of more routine decisions from the Planning Commission to county staff, such as adding a few employees or a certain amount of wine production. Environmental rules and public noticing will still apply. But Water Audit California is expressing concern that streamlining could hurt streams and fish. … ” Read more from the Napa Register here: Napa County’s winery streamlining plan faces legal threat
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission makes major land purchase: “The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission says the recent acquisition of Wool Ranch in Southern Alameda County is the largest piece of land the commission has purchased since the 1930s. Cool fog rolls across what is described as a once in a generation opportunity. One of the last privately owned parcels of California’s old Spanish land grants has been sold. … ” Read more from KPIX here: 🔓 San Francisco Public Utilities Commission makes major land purchase
Santa Clara: How the Almaden Lake Project will help the environment: Director Linda LaZotte writes, “With the public comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Almaden Lake Improvement Project now closed, I wanted to take a moment to thank all the members of the community who have participated in our extensive outreach for this project. As an initiative funded through our Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection program, the Almaden Lake project is locally financed, and it is very important that our community’s voice is heard. … ” Read more from Valley Water News here: 🔓 Santa Clara: How the Almaden Lake Project will help the environment
Santa Nella: Sisk Dam seismic retrofit project moving forward: “A multi-year seismic retrofit project of B.F. Sisk Dam is moving forward, the federal Bureau of Reclamation and state Department of Water Resources recently announced. The preferred alternative to address seismic safety concerns at the structure, commonly known as San Luis Dam, involves raising the crest of the dam by 12 feet, adding shear keys to prevent slippage and construction of downstream berms to strengthen the structure, bureau spokesperson Christie Kalkowski told Mattos Newspapers. … ” Read more from Westside Connect here: 🔓 Santa Nella: Sisk Dam seismic retrofit project moving forward
Save the Redwoods reaches deal for 564-acre Cascade Creek Forest near Año Nuevo: “Save the Redwoods League has agreed on a deal to acquire 564 acres of redwood forest in the Santa Cruz Mountains, creating a new connection from Big Basin to Año Nuevo State Parks and protecting the headwaters of Cascade Creek. Cascade Creek will form a protected corridor from the spine of the Santa Cruz Mountains to the ocean, said Save the Redwoods League Senior Manager of Land Protection Catherine Elliott. “It’s this puzzle piece of private land between the two state parks,” Elliott said. “It’s a property we’ve been interested in for a long time.” … ” Read more from Bay Nature here: 🔓 Save the Redwoods reaches deal for 564-acre Cascade Creek Forest near Año Nuevo
Monterey: California Coastal Commission staff asks Cal Am to postpone desal appeal: “Coastal Commission staff has recommended California American Water withdraw and resubmit a coastal development permit application involving the company’s proposed Monterey Peninsula desalination project, which would likely postpone a hearing on the desal permit and a pending appeal until September at the earliest. Acknowledging that further analysis of California American Water’s proposed desalination project won’t be done in time for a planned March hearing, commission staff sent a Jan. 28 letter with the recommendation, which the letter says Cal Am officials requested during conversations earlier this month in order to formalize the staff recommendation. … ” Read more from the Monterey Herald here: California Coastal Commission staff asks Cal Am to postpone desal appeal
Monterey: Coastal Commission: Cal-Am should withdraw desal application until later date: “The California Coastal Commission has notified California America Water Company that they should withdraw their water desalination permit application. According to Tom Luster with the CCC, additional modeling exercises and new data is needed to better understand the impacts the project has on local aquifers. Due to the permit lasting a limited time the withdraw was recommended. … ” Read more from KSBY here: 🔓 Coastal Commission: Cal-Am should withdraw desal application until later date
An effort to transform the Carmel River gets a critical stamp of approval: “It’s been years upon years in the making, and there are still many years to go, and that’s assuming some necessary grant funding comes through. But the multi-year, multi-agency effort to transform the lower landscape of the Carmel River into a natural floodplain took a massive step forward Jan. 28 when the Monterey County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the project’s final environmental impact report. That project is known formally as the Carmel River Floodplain Restoration and Environmental Enhancement Project, and informally as Carmel River FREE. ... ” Read more from Monterey County Weekly here: 🔓 An effort to transform the Carmel River gets a critical stamp of approval
Increased water rates coming for Santa Monica: “Increased water rates are coming for Santa Monica residents and businesses. At the Santa Monica City Council meeting on January 28, the council approved new rates for water and wastewater for Santa Monica’s 93,000 residents and 2,700 businesses. According to the City, the rates will nearly eliminate imported water over the next five years and continue water pipe replacement projects. … The average Santa Monica resident will pay $115 per month by 2024 under the new rates. … ” Read more from the Santa Monica Mirror here: Increased water rates coming for Santa Monica
Recap: Every bill about water in the Arizona legislature right now: “The Colorado River basin is taking a breather this year before ramping up negotiations again. But water is still a major subject at the Arizona Capitol. Lawmakers have proposed many water related bills that would have wide reaching effects. And here to give us a little rundown is KJZZ’s Bret Jaspers. So let’s start with big wells meant for irrigating industrial farms. There’s more attention on this after an investigation in the Arizona Republic showed an increase in the number of wells for industrial farms in rural areas, also deeper wells. So what have lawmakers proposed to address that? ... ” Read more or listen to podcast at KJZZ here: 🔓 Recap: Every bill about water in the Arizona legislature right now
From the National Weather Service: “Dry with above normal temperatures today and Saturday. Pacific storm brings much cooler conditions with some mainly light precipitation, mostly over the foothills and mountains, Sunday and Sunday night. Snow levels lower into the foothills Sunday afternoon into evening. Local snow accumulations up to 5 inches possible over the higher elevations of the Western Plumas mountains and Northern Sierra Nevada. Drier Monday with continued below normal temperatures and breezy conditions.”
- THE CURRENT: Science issue: The important role of estuaries, Genetic findings from the Fall River fish sampling, the CA Environmental Flows Framework and more …
- SWP CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS: February 5 meeting canceled, negotiations to continue into March
- DELTA eNEWS: ~~ Highway Closures~ ISB Meeting~ DSC Report~ SWP Allocation~ Report Cards ~~
- THIS JUST IN … Late January Storms Bring Needed Precipitation but Snowpack Remains Below Average
Image credit: CA streamflow assessment map, courtesy of Belize Lane. From this paper: Lane, B. A., Dahlke, H. E., Pasternack, G. B., & Sandoval‐Solis, S. (2017). Revealing the diversity of natural hydrologic regimes in California with relevance for environmental flows applications. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 53(2), 411-430.
