- The Delta Plan Interagency Implementation Committee meets from 1pm to 3pm in Sacramento. Agenda items include the Delta Science Funding and Governance Initiative, Ecosystem-based Management and Delta Plan, Critical needs for aquatic weed control, and social science task force. Click here for the full agenda.
- Public scoping meeting for the Delta Conveyance project in Redding at the Sheraton Redding Hotel from 6pm to 8pm. Click here for more information.
What’s happened since Trump visited the Valley? Quite a bit. “President Donald Trump’s quick visit to Bakersfield two weeks ago capped a years-long effort to send more water to the region and into Southern California from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. As written before, the Bakersfield rally and signing also served as a watershed moment in a decade-long push to restore water flow to the state’s breadbasket following legal sparring between environmentalists, major water users, and irrigated agriculture. And, it’s important to note, that Trump’s visit itself didn’t authorize the new environmental rules governing water exports from the Delta. That was done by high-level executives with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation one day prior. Instead, Trump came to sign a new memo to kickoff the next phase of action by the Federal government on California water infrastructure. So what’s happened since Trump made his visit to the Valley? More than you can imagine. … ” Read more from the San Joaquin Valley Sun here: What’s happened since Trump visited the Valley? Quite a bit.
Snow, rain reappear in California after parched February: “Snow and rain reappeared in California on Sunday, the first day of March, after the driest February on record for much of the state. Downtown Sacramento and downtown San Francisco each recorded not a drop of rain for the month, according to the National Weather Service. “Pretty remarkable. We’ve never had a dry February on record,” NWS meteorologist Cory Mueller said about the state capital. Records go back to 1878, he said. … ” Read more from NBC News here: Snow, rain reappear in California after parched February
SEE ALSO: Northern California’s Driest February Since the Civil War an Increasing Drought Concern; Any Relief Ahead this Spring?, from The Weather Channel
Yosemite ‘firefall’ slows to a trickle amid drought: “A natural spectacle called “firefall” happens each February in California’s Yosemite National Park when light from the setting sun strikes the park’s Horsetail Falls, making it look like it’s ablaze with fire. But this year the waterfall slowed to a trickle. NewsHour Weekend’s Christopher Booker spoke with University of California Berkeley climate scientist Patrick Gonzalez to learn more.” View/read transcript from PBS News Hour here: Yosemite ‘firefall’ slows to a trickle amid drought
How beef eaters in cities are draining rivers in the American West: “It’s not exactly news that the rivers of the western U.S. are in trouble. For decades, their water has been siphoned off by climate change-fueled heat and an ever-growing human demand for grassy front lawns and long showers. The biggest user of river water by far, though, is agriculture—and new research shows that across the western United States, a third of all consumed water goes to irrigate crops not for human consumption, but that are used to feed beef and dairy cattle. In the Colorado River basin, it’s over 50 percent. ... ” Read more from National Geographic here: How beef eaters in cities are draining rivers in the American West
A Trump insider embeds climate denial in scientific research: “An official at the Interior Department embarked on a campaign that has inserted misleading language about climate change — including debunked claims that increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is beneficial — into the agency’s scientific reports, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times. The misleading language appears in at least nine reports, including environmental studies and impact statements on major watersheds in the American West that could be used to justify allocating increasingly scarce water to farmers at the expense of wildlife conservation and fisheries. … ” Read more from the New York Times here: A Trump insider embeds climate denial in scientific research
Climate change is threatening winter sports’ very existence: “A warming planet has major ramifications on winter snowpack across the globe, including a long-term drying trend for many. That’s a concern for winter sports enthusiasts and communities that depend on snow throughout the year. Not many understand this better than the climate advocacy group known as Protect Our Winters (POW). The group is an organization of professional athletes and like-minded individuals fighting for policy to protect winter sports and mountain communities. … ” Read more from CNN here: Climate change is threatening winter sports’ very existence
The ocean’s swirling currents are migrating poleward: “Enormous, swirling gyres compose some of the world’s biggest and most important ocean currents. Found in the North and South Pacific, the North and South Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean, these massive, rotating currents help transport heat and nutrients around the globe. Now, new research suggests, they seem to be on the move. A recent study, conducted by scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany and the Ocean University of China, finds major ocean gyres are steadily creeping toward the poles. Since the 1980s, they’ve been migrating by about a half mile each year. … ” Read more from Scientific American here: The ocean’s swirling currents are migrating poleward
Coke and Pepsi are being sued for lying. That story and other headlines in the current newscast of This Week in Water: “Houston, we have an infrastructure problem. The largest carbon sink you’ve never heard of is threatened by oil development. Ocean gyres have been creeping toward Earth’s poles by about a half mile each year since the 1980s. A new lawsuit claims that companies like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Nestlé knowingly polluted the oceans while misleading the public. The “doomsday” vault got a new, big deposit.” Listen/read at H2o Radio here: This Week in Water
Dry spell prompts Sonoma County to inflate Russian River rubber dam early: “The Sonoma County Water Agency has begun inflating its rubber dam on the Russian River near Forestville in response to a month of dry weather, officials said Friday. The rubber dam, typically inflated in spring or early summer when demand for potable water increases, is being put to use now because of the lack of measurable rainfall in February and warm temperatures, coupled with increased water demand at a time when the river is relatively low. … ” Read more from KPIX here: Dry spell prompts Sonoma County to inflate Russian River rubber dam early
Heavy blow from February 2019 flood lingers along lower Russian River: “A faint line between the glass panes of a half-moon window in a door at the Rio Nido Roadhouse marks the point where the roiling floodwaters finally stopped their upward surge a year ago. At 6 feet, 4 inches above the ground, the thick, dark water reached above most people’s heads and created an expanse of brown liquid that swirled in and around the roadside eatery, ruining the electronics, overloading the plumbing and leaving a slippery layer of mud and grit on every surface after its retreat. ... ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat here: Heavy blow from February 2019 flood lingers along lower Russian River
Mountain View baseball field doubles as flood basin: “A baseball field and community park complex that doubles as a flood protection basin for the adjacent Permanente Creek will be celebrated Saturday by the Santa Clara Valley Water District, the city of Mountain View and Mountain View Little League. The $89 million Permanente Creek Flood Protection Project will provide flood protection for roughly 2,200 properties downstream in Mountain View and Los Altos by acting as a reserve basin when the creek floods, according to the water district. … ” Read more from KTVU here: Mountain View baseball field doubles as flood basin
Kings River fish fry (release): “A gazillion baby rainbow trout were ready to stretch their fins and the Kings River Fisheries Management Program was there to help. On a warm February afternoon a handful of volunteers gathered at the nondescript trout incubator in the shadow of the Pine Flat Dam ready to set tens of thousands of fry free into the Kings River. … ” Read more from SJV Water here: Kings River fish fry (release)
- MONTHLY RESERVOIR REPORT for March 1st
- WATER WRIGHTS: Kern Groundwater Authority, Glenn Colusa ID, Buena Vista WSD, and more …
- NEW REPORT: Low-Income Water Rate Assistance Program Report to the Legislature
- OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT: Draft Comprehensive Operations Plan for the Southern Delta Salinity Objective
- FAMILY FARM ALLIANCE: Trump’s water subcabinet meets the Alliance in Reno; D.C. Efforts to modernize the ESA: Where are we?; HCPs for ESA Coverage: Real protection or fake news? and more …
- OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT: Delta Stewardship Council Draft Public Participation Plan Available for Public Comment through March 31, 2020
- SGMA Implementation: GSP Annual Report Module Now Available on SGMA Portal
- Reclamation completes first group of congressionally-mandated Central Valley Project contract conversions
- FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTS for Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion project
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.
