Southern California may see its biggest soaking this week since Christmas; some flooding, debris flows possible: “This week, Southern California may see their most soaking rain since Christmas after parts of Northern California picked up their first rain since January. To say it’s been dry recently in the Golden State is an understatement. The state just had its driest February in 126 years, according to NOAA. Drought has also returned. About a third of California is in moderate drought, and nearly 70% of the Golden State is abnormally dry, according to the latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor. … ” Read more from The Weather Channel here: Southern California may see its biggest soaking this week since Christmas; some flooding, debris flows possible
An atmospheric river with subtropical moisture is taking aim at Southern California next week: “An unstable low-pressure system from the Gulf of Alaska will tap into subtropical moisture, bringing the potential for heavy rain in Southern California on Tuesday and Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. The southern part of the Sierra Nevada could see heavy, wet snow, and parts of Arizona and Nevada are also expected to get heavy rain. The cutoff low will merge with a weak to moderate atmospheric river, focusing precipitation on Central and Southern California. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: An atmospheric river with subtropical moisture is taking aim at Southern California next week
DWR probes atmospheric rivers’ impact on Calif. reservoirs: “California water regulators want to know more about the periodic megastorms called atmospheric rivers that drop as much as half of the state’s precipitation. State and federal lawmakers have invested millions of dollars in a California Department of Water Resources program to research atmospheric rivers, mitigation and climate forecasting to increase knowledge about these massive streams of water vapor and wind, according to an agency blog post. ... ” Read more from the Western Farm Press here: DWR probes atmospheric rivers’ impact on Calif. reservoirs
Congress calls on Nestle to answer for its water-bottling practices in California and beyond: “Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are demanding international food giant Nestlé answer for its water-bottling practices, including in California where it pumps from the San Bernardino National Forest for its Arrowhead brand. Rep. Harley Rouda, D-Calif., and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., sent a letter to the company this week from the environment subcommittee under the Committee on Oversight and Reform requesting a list of all the locations where Nestlé extracts water, the amount of water pulled at each site, and revenue associated with the sale of this water. The committee asked for a response by March 17. … ” Read more from The Desert Sun here: Congress calls on Nestle to answer for its water-bottling practices in California and beyond
DWR Receives National Climate Leadership Award: “The Department of Water Resources (DWR) won a prestigious national award March 5 for its influential role in the nation’s fight against climate change, receiving recognition for the Department’s outreach on climate resilience and for taking a comprehensive approach that aligns state and local water management. Two organizations, the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions and The Climate Registry, presented DWR with the Climate Leadership Award for Organizational Leadership. It marks the fourth time in six years DWR received the award at the Climate Leadership Conference, an annual event that honors innovative leadership and sustainability practices carried out by individuals and leaders to combat climate change. … ” Read more from DWR News here: DWR Receives National Climate Leadership Award
Joseph Countryman, 76, of Sacramento, has been reappointed to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, where he has served since 2012. Countryman has been an independent engineering consultant since 2011. He was a civil engineer at MBK Engineers from 1987 to 2010. Countryman was chief of the Civil Design Branch at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1983 to 1987, where he was an engineer from 1966 to 1983. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $50,497. Countryman is a Democrat.
Timothy Ramirez, 52, of Albany, has been reappointed to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, where he has served since 2012. Ramirez has been natural resources and lands management division manager at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission since 2005. He was senior advisor at the California Bay-Delta Authority from 2003 to 2005. Ramirez was assistant secretary for water policy and science at the California Resources Agency from 1999 to 2003. He is a member of the American Fisheries Society and the American Geophysical Union. Ramirez earned a Master of Science degree in civil engineering, water resources and environmental engineering and a Master of Arts degree in urban planning, environmental analysis and policy from the University of California, Los Angeles. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $50,497. Ramirez is a Democrat.
Thinning, prescribed burns protected forests during the massive Carlton Complex (WA) wildfire: “The 2014 Carlton Complex wildfire in north central Washington was the largest contiguous fire in state history. In just a single day, flames spread over 160,000 acres of forest and rangeland and ultimately burned more than 250,000 acres in the midst of a particularly hot, dry summer. The wildfire, driven by strong winds and explosive growth, was unprecedented in how it burned the landscape, destroying more than 300 homes in Washington’s Methow Valley. But “megafires” like the Carlton Complex are becoming more common in western U.S. forests as the climate warms and forests are crowded with trees after years of fire exclusion. … ” Read more from ESA here: Thinning, prescribed burns protected forests during the massive Carlton Complex (WA) wildfire
Federally protected lands reduce habitat loss and protect endangered species, study finds: “Using more than 30 years of earth satellite images, scientists at Tufts University and the non-profit conservation organization Defenders of Wildlife have discovered that habitat loss for imperiled species in the U.S. over this period was more than twice as great on non-protected private lands than on federally protected lands. As wildlife face a host of survival threats ranging from habitat destruction to global climate change, the study, published today in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, provides evidence that federal land protection and listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act are effective tools for stemming losses in species habitat. … ” Read more from ESA here: Federally protected lands reduce habitat loss and protect endangered species, study finds
Is winter over? with springlike temperatures ahead, you’d think so: “The first day of astronomical spring is still over a week away, but you wouldn’t know it by the recent weather. In the Northeast, despite a powerful lake-effect snowstorm at the end of the month, February was among the least snowy on record along the Interstate 95 urban corridor. Boston was the only major city in that corridor to receive any measurable snow. Recent warmth eroded snowpack over the Lower 48 states to its lowest aerial coverage for March 6 in at least 16 years, according to NOAA’s National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center – a stark contrast to the record-smashing cold and widespread snow cover in place one year ago. ... ” Read more from The Weather Channel here: Is winter over? with springlike temperatures ahead, you’d think so
Winter was the 6th hottest on record for U.S.: “In fact, the period from December through February was much warmer than normal across the contiguous United States, while precipitation remained above-average, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. February continued the balmy trend, with unusually warm and wet conditions across the Lower 48 states last month. Not so for Alaska: The state shivered under its coldest February in more than 20 years. Here are more highlights from NOAA’s latest monthly U.S. climate report … ” Read more from the NOAA here: Winter was the 6th hottest on record for U.S.
Trump, Senate strike deal to fund conservation projects, restore national parks: “Slashing the Land and Water Conservation Fund has been an annual tradition in Washington, D.C., for most of the 55-year-old program’s history, but no longer. In a rare show of bipartisan unity, Republican and Democratic senators gathered Wednesday to cheer a deal with President Trump on legislation to provide permanent, full funding at $900 million per year for the LWCF, which provides matching grants for public-lands investments. ... ” Read more from the Washington Times here: Trump, Senate strike deal to fund conservation projects, restore national parks
US considers more water recycling – including from oilfields: “The Trump administration moved Thursday on a water-recycling push it says could get good use out of more of the wastewater that industries, cities and farms spew out, including the billions of barrels of watery waste generated by oil and gas fields each year. Some environmental groups eye the effort suspiciously, fearing the Trump administration will use the project to allow businesses to offload hazardous wastewater in ways that threaten drinking water sources and otherwise risk public health. Businesses including oil and gas developers have urged the Trump administration to allow them more ways to get rid of their increasing volumes of wastewater. … ” Read more from US News and World Report here: US considers more water recycling – including from oilfields
Plastic planet: How Big Oil and Big Soda kept a global environmental calamity a secret for decades: “Every human on Earth is ingesting nearly 2,000 particles of plastic a week. These tiny pieces enter our unwitting bodies from tap water, food, and even the air, according to an alarming academic study sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, dosing us with five grams of plastics, many cut with chemicals linked to cancers, hormone disruption, and developmental delays. Since the paper’s publication last year, Sen. Tom Udall, a plain-spoken New Mexico Democrat with a fondness for white cowboy hats and turquoise bolo ties, has been trumpeting the risk: “We are consuming a credit card’s worth of plastic each week,” Udall says. At events with constituents, he will brandish a Visa from his wallet and declare, “You’re eating this, folks!” … ” Read more from the Rolling Stone here: Plastic planet: How Big Oil and Big Soda kept a global environmental calamity a secret for decades
Helping Salmon: “Rice fields in the Sacramento Valley are remarkably productive and versatile. From spring into fall, they produce virtually all of America’s sushi rice. In the fall and winter, those same fields are home to millions of birds. What’s next? A promising pilot project could help inform us as to how rice fields can help restore dwindling salmon populations.”
California is a Special Place: Steve Baker writes, “California farmers across the state are always talking about water. Steven Pastor, Executive Director of the Riverside County Farm Bureau, says farmers take great pride in growing safe and healthy food for people across the globe. Water plays a big and important role in the production of food and fiber. When it comes to growing crops, the state of California is a special place. Water is a Many Splendor’ed Thing brings you another water relationship that has a personally significant impact to your life.” Produced by Steven Baker, Operation Unite® Bringing People Together to Solve Water Problems, Online at www.operationunite.co
Why California should support Delta tunnel proposal: Mike Mielke with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group writes, “If our state wants to remain economically competitive, it must re-engineer the troubled estuary that serves as the hub of California’s elaborate water-delivery system — the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The best and most viable way to do this is via the single Delta tunnel project proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, which the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and our 350 members support. The water that flows through the Delta serves nearly 27 million people in our state and ensures 3 million acres of farmland stays productive. Yet, the current Delta water delivery system – comprised often of simple earthen levees – is fragile and extremely vulnerable to catastrophic disruption from earthquakes, floods, and rising seas. … ” Read more from the San Jose Mercury News here: Why California should support Delta tunnel proposal
Farms don’t need dangerous chemicals to grow food. Let’s cut our dependence on them, says Brian Leahy, director of the Department of Pesticide Regulation from 2012 to 2019: He writes, “Forty years ago, farm neighbors told my surprised family that our wildlife friendly farming practices were organic – which doubled the value of our rice crop. Our farming methods evolved after my father-in-law’s return from World War II. Like many peers, he tried new technologies – chemical pesticides and synthetic nitrogen fertilizer – and saw them kill the wildlife he loved and the soil he relied on. He sensed that a food system based on toxic chemistry was a dead end. Instead, he developed an approach that incorporated wildlife – instead of fighting it. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Farms don’t need dangerous chemicals to grow food. Let’s cut our dependence on them
Bleak water year looms for Klamath Project: “As Klamath County became the first in Oregon to officially declare drought in 2020, hundreds of local farmers and ranchers are bracing for what could be one of the most difficult water years in recent memory. Gov. Kate Brown signed a drought declaration for the county in south-central Oregon on March 2, more than two weeks before the arrival of spring, citing “significant economic impact” to agriculture. … ” Read more from the Capital Press here: Bleak water year looms for Klamath Project
Klamath River Renewal Corporation: Dam removal project is ‘on track’ and within budget: “The Klamath River Renewal Corporation announced on Monday that they have submitted requested documentation to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that demonstrates that they have sufficient funds to complete the removal of four dams on the Klamath River. Last week, KRRC announced that they’ve hired a company to ensure all the various phases of the project run smoothly and “in concert with one another.” … ” Read more from the Taft Midway Driller here: Klamath River Renewal Corporation: Dam removal project is ‘on track’ and within budget
How the San Geronimo Golf Course ballot measure might impact California’s endangered fish: Maria Finn writes, “Wild salmon have long been considered sacred by indigenous people on the West Coast. For native ancestors, local streams were full of these wriggling, spawning fish, which provided important nutrition. And though the salmon were feasted on heartily, every year a bounty of them returned. I worked with these amazing fish for nine years in Alaska, as a fisher and then collecting data on them for that state’s Department of Fish and Game. Their scales can be read like rings on a tree, revealing how long they lived in fresh water and how long in salt. I came to deeply admire the salmon’s powerful resolve to return from the ocean to spawn in its place of birth in rivers and streams. Seals and orcas follow the schools, fishers hunt them ahead of streams, eagles and bears scoop them from rivers, and terns dive on the newly hatched fry (fish) in the fresh water. Over 500 species in the wild eat wild salmon. ... ” Read more from Marin Magazine here: How the San Geronimo Golf Course ballot measure might impact California’s endangered fish
Oakland: McClymonds to stay closed while district awaits text results of toxic groundwater: “McClymonds High School, which closed Feb. 20 after a cancer-causing chemical was found in groundwater, expects to get air quality test results next week that could determine when the campus will be officially cleared by the state to reopen, according to a district spokeswoman. Meanwhile, all of the West Oakland high school’s students will continue to attend Ralph J. Bunche Academy. … ” Read more from the East Bay Times here: Oakland: McClymonds to stay closed while district awaits text results of toxic groundwater
San Lorenzo Valley bolsters water supply resiliency: “After years of negotiating, planning and saving, San Lorenzo Valley has taken a half-a-million-gallon weight off its mind. The San Lorenzo Valley Water District on Thursday celebrated completion of a new 500,000-gallon water tank, christened, like its immediate predecessor as “Probation Tank” in a nod to the facility’s proximity to the Santa Cruz County Juvenile Probation / Juvenile Detention Facility off Graham Hill Road. This time, the water tank — with five times the capacity of the district’s previous heavily leak-prone redwood tank — is made of modern welded steel. … ” Read more from the Santa Cruz Sentinel here: San Lorenzo Valley bolsters water supply resiliency
Eastern Sierra (sorta): Controversial Walker Lake hydropower proposal by California firm wins preliminary permit: “A proposal to pump water out of Nevada’s fragile Walker Lake to generate hydropower to sell in California won preliminary approval from federal regulators. On Friday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a preliminary permit and granting priority to file for the proposed Walker Lake Pumped Storage Project. The permit doesn’t authorize developers to move dirt or build anything at the proposed site. But it does give Premium Energy Holdings, LLC., of Walnut, Calif., approval to continue studying the idea. … ” Read more from the Reno Gazette Journal here: Eastern Sierra (sorta): Controversial Walker Lake hydropower proposal by California firm wins preliminary permit
Indian Wells Valley: Supervisor Gleason talks SGMA at local conference: ” … He gave a nutshell version of the dictates of SGMA: the IWV groundwater basin, which is considered critically overdrafted, is now required by California law to balance its water usage with the basin’s sustainable yield. The bad news here is that, according to Gleason’s presentation, the water demand is about five times greater than the basin’s sustainable yield. Gleason said that it is an irrefutable fact that “our groundwater table is in chronic decline” but that the basin is not running out of water. Gleason said to balance the basin, water resources are going to be allocated according to California law. … ” Continue reading at the Ridgecrest Independent here (scroll down for SGMA part): ‘The eyes of Kern County are shifting to the east’
‘Nothing’s going to be the same as it was’: Santa Ynez Valley residents hear about climate change impacts: “Santa Ynez Valley residents can expect to see an increase in the number and destructive effects of wildfires, rising air temperatures, decreasing rainfall, changing crops and growing practices and new agricultural pests as a result of climate change, according to experts speaking at a Thursday night forum. About 30 people gathered at St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley Lutheran Church to hear about climate change impacts from experts invited by the Citizens Planning Association at the forum it co-sponsored with WE Watch in Los Olivos. … ” Read more from the Santa Ynez Valley News here: ‘Nothing’s going to be the same as it was’: Santa Ynez Valley residents hear about climate change impacts
Santa Barbara: The Light Blue Line: 13 Years Later: “In 2007 a proposal to stripe a blue line throughout downtown Santa Barbara would have shown the potential sea level rise in our fair city as a result of climate change. I was shocked to see how much of the community would be impacted — sandy beaches gone, coastal habitats lost, neighborhoods wiped out, and transportation corridors flooded. At the time, I was working on creek and watershed protection. This seemed like a great opportunity to integrate a message about the health of wetlands and upland streams in the face of climate change. But what seemed like a low-key, elegant gesture using art to expand awareness turned into a high-profile, heated debate between environmental concerns and business interests. … ” Read more from the Santa Barbara Independent here: The Light Blue Line: 13 Years Later
Gas storage facility threatens to alter the Ballona wetlands: “The Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve has been one of the only long standing natural reserves that remains in the city of Los Angeles, an ecological reserve home to many species. On Feb. 13, protesters gathered together to speak out against a plan to expand gas storage facilities near the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve. At the intersection of Jefferson and Lincoln, one protester told the Oarsman, “there was a lot of support from people honking their cars at us and giving us thumbs ups in support of us.” … ” Read more from The Oarsman here: Gas storage facility threatens to alter the Ballona wetlands
Climate change could result in a beachless Manhattan Beach: “A week after delivering a buoyant State of the City address and a day before the end of her mayorship, Mayor Nancy Hersman Monday night led a town hall meeting on climate change that included an ominous look at the future of Manhattan Beach’s defining trait, its beach, and suggestions from a panel of experts about how to address an unfolding environmental catastrophe. Hersman, whose tenure as mayor has been characterized by a thoughtful geniality and a longer look at the city’s history, confessed that prior to being elected to city council she’d given little thought to climate change. That has changed. She now drives an electric car and has solar panels on her house. … ” Read more from Easy Reader News here: Climate change could result in a beachless Manhattan Beach
Long Beach: Can oysters be the answer to eroding shorelines?: “Oysters could one day be the answer to the complex question of how to protect California’s disappearing coastline. While a project to restore oyster populations is still in its early stages, restoration efforts by Orange County Coastkeeper have attracted tens of thousands of native oysters to a habitat that also helps stabilize shorelines while improving water quality. About 30 volunteers, mostly students from Cal State Long Beach and Cal State Fullerton, worked in the Alamitos Bay in Long Beach, Saturday, March 7, to expand a habitat designed to restore the Olympia oyster population, a native species that has been nearly wiped out. … ” Read more from the Long Beach Press Telegram here: Long Beach: Can oysters be the answer to eroding shorelines?
Long Beach: Low tides exposing sand dollar treasures along the coast: “You might not be able to spend these dollars at the local supermarket, but come across one and you may feel like you’ve found a treasure. Beachgoers in the past few months have been sharing photos of sand dollar finds along the shore, a common sight off the Southern California coast decades ago, but less so in recent years. With extreme winter low tides in the afternoon hours this weekend, it could be a good time to get a glimpse of these beach attractions that look as if they’ve been stamped by a delicate flower. ... ” Read more from the Long Beach Press Telegram here: Long Beach: Low tides exposing sand dollar treasures along the coast
The control of water in the Imperial Valley: Brian McNeece, member of the I.V. Coalition for Fair Sharing of Water and the IBWC Colorado River Citizens Forum, writes: “On February 4, 2020 local judge Brooks Anderholt wrote an opinion that is a breath of fresh air for those of us concerned about who controls water in Imperial County. With one deft stroke, Judge Anderholt put to rest many farmers’ claim that agricultural landowners are the sole beneficiaries of the Imperial Irrigation District’s rights to Colorado River water. This is a complex issue with deep historical roots, but recent developments tell the story well enough. … ” Read more from the Desert Review here: The control of water in the Imperial Valley
Storm to bring heavy rainfall, possible flooding to San Diego: “An atmospheric river is set to bring widespread showers — which could lead to flooding — to San Diego County the next week. Rains are expected to begin Monday afternoon and finally taper off Thursday, with the most widespread and heavy rainfall coming Tuesday. Initial forecasts show rain totaling 1 to 3 inches for most areas of San Diego, with up to 5 inches of snow in some mountain locations, according to 10News weather anchor Vanessa Paz. … ” Read more from ABC 10 here: Storm to bring heavy rainfall, possible flooding to San Diego
Unsung and Unseen: San Diego’s sewer system: “Imagine stray dogs and wild pigs consuming sewage and garbage dumped into streets and empty lots. A town in Crete in 2500 B.C.? Yes. But also San Diego in 1880. The modern sewer design of underground pipes with access manholes for cleaning and repairs was not envisioned until 1882. And it took until 1917 for almost all houses built in San Diego to have wastewater removal either by the city system or septic tanks. It is not a topic we want to think much about. In contrast, the newly built, eight-foot diameter sewer tunnels in Paris during the 1700s were considered an engineering feat and a public attraction. People toured the sewers in barges to admire the efficient system. … ” Read more from Uptown News here: Unsung and Unseen: San Diego’s sewer system
Wyoming lawmakers angle for a seat at the table in Colorado River drought negotiations: “For nearly a century, the Colorado River Compact has practically been seen as scripture for states from Wyoming all the way down to the Mexican border. … With a sparse population, Wyoming currently boasts among the highest unobligated shares of water of any state within the compact, with most of its water tied in a number of areas, including the state’s heavy industries and its municipalities. Both, Sen. Larry Hicks, R-Baggs, said in the House Appropriations Committee this week, could likely see a reduction under any drought management plan as part of the effort to stabilize the water levels in Lake Powell. “If we were facing a curtailment – in other words a regulatory call on the Colorado — it would be our municipalities and our heavy industries that are the first ones that are going to get shut off,” he said. ... ” Read the full story at the Casper Star-Tribune here: Wyoming lawmakers angle for a seat at the table in Colorado River drought negotiations
Sharing Butte Creek: “For more than two decades, Butte Creek salmon numbers have soared, thanks to an innovative, wide-ranging collaboration between landowners, urban and agricultural water managers, conservationists and state and federal officials. This was a groundbreaking effort that helped guide and contribute to a larger, concerted program to enhance our environment by improving spawning and migratory corridors for salmon and reconnecting them to historic floodplains in the region.”
- NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING: Perchlorate detection limit for purposes of reporting
- OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT/WORKSHOPS: White Paper Discussion on Economic Feasibility Analysis in Consideration of a Hexavalent Chromium Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL)
- FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: Lower American River Conservancy Program 2020 PSN Consultation Opportunity
- FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: Climate Change Funding for Farmland Conservation Now Available
- PUBLIC WORKSHOP: Clean Water State Revolving Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Intended Use Plans
- WATER SUPPLY INDEX for March 1
- NOTICE: Availability of WaterFix Change Petition Hearing Documents
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.
