DAILY DIGEST, 3/31: Interim Klamath plan means more water for fish; The future of water: Onsite desalination for hyperlocal reuse; San Diego calculated how fast the sea will rise, but not the cost; Can ‘carbon smart’ farming play a key role in the climate fight?; and more …

On the calendar today …

  • Free webinar: Drinking Water Regulations 101 and Best Practices for Training Utilities from 11am to 12pm.  Presented by the US EPA.  Click here to register.

In California water news today …

Interim Klamath plan means more water for fish:  “There’ll be more water for fish in the Klamath River — for the next few years, at least. Federal water managers have come to an agreement with the Yurok Tribe and a group representing commercial fishermen. Last year, low water flows in the Klamath River led to a disease outbreak and a subsequent fish die-off. … ”  Read more from Jefferson Public Radio here:  Interim Klamath plan means more water for fish

Yurok Tribe and commercial fishing families secure more water for Klamath River salmon (Earthjustice press release): The Yurok Tribe, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA), and the Institute for Fisheries Resources (IFR), represented by the nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice, have successfully obtained a new three-year plan from the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) for operating the Klamath Irrigation Project to increase springtime flows in the Klamath River. The Tribe and commercial fishing groups filed litigation in 2019 to protect threatened salmon and avoid more closures of valuable salmon fisheries in most water years. This course correction, securing more water to sustain salmon and mitigate disease outbreaks, is the outcome of the decision to bring the matter to court. ... ”  Read more from Earthjustice here: Yurok Tribe and commercial fishing families secure more water for Klamath River salmon

SEE ALSO: PHOTOS: Klamath River dam removal stirs debate over coveted water, from the Redding Record Searchlight

The future of water: Onsite desalination for hyperlocal reuse:  “People have dreamed of turning salty water into drinking water since the early 1960s, when President John F. Kennedy famously said, “If we could produce fresh water from saltwater at a low cost, that would indeed be a great service to humanity, and would dwarf any other scientific accomplishment.” Today this technology is routine worldwide, with about 120 countries operating desalination plants. Now, Peter Fiske wants to take desalination technology even further than Kennedy envisioned. ... ”  Read more from the Bay Area Monitor here: The future of water: Onsite desalination for hyperlocal reuse

Cuyama River cleanup continues:  “A major cleanup has been ongoing in the Cuyama River for nearly two weeks to remove more than 4,000 gallons of oil spilled when a tank trailer overturned. ... ”  Read more from the Taft Midway Driller here: Cuyama River cleanup continues

San Diego: Water agency to sell 360 acres in El Monte Valley:  “Nearly 340 acres of open space in Lakeside’s El Monte Valley is going to be put up for sale and interested parties are already raising their hands.  The five-member board of the Helix Water District unanimously voted earlier this month to sell the land along Ashwood Street and Willow Road, a lot it is splitting into three separate parcels. It purchased the land between 1926 and 1953.  Most of the property, more than 230 acres, is zoned for agricultural use, an additional eight acres are leased to the River Valley Equestrian Center and the third parcel contains a bit more than 100 acres of land zoned for either agriculture or sand extraction. … ”  Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune here: Water agency to sell 360 acres in El Monte Valley

San Diego calculated how fast the sea will rise, but not the cost:  “If the city of San Diego does nothing, in 80 years ocean waves will probably flood Mission Beach’s iconic boardwalk, lapping dangerously close to Belmont Park’s Giant Dipper roller coaster. Homes and businesses along portions of Neptune Avenue in La Jolla will lose their beachfront, threatening the already crumbling cliffs.  And that’s the best-case scenario, according to San Diego’s sea-level rise vulnerability assessment, a report quietly published on Christmas Eve on the city’s website. … ”  Read more from the Voice of San Diego here: San Diego calculated how fast the sea will rise, but not the cost

Colorado River flow dwindles as warming-driven loss of reflective snow energizes evaporation:  “New USGS research indicates that streamflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) is decreasing by about 5% per degree Fahrenheit as a consequence of atmospheric warming, causing a 20% reduction over the past century.  This study, recently published in Science, also finds that projected precipitation changes in the UCRB – where water demand already exceeds sustainable supply – are highly uncertain, and might (at best) partially ameliorate but not completely reverse the drying effect of the warming, while possible precipitation decreases could make matters worse.  … ”  Read more from the USGS here: Colorado River flow dwindles as warming-driven loss of reflective snow energizes evaporation

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In national/world news today …

Can ‘carbon smart’ farming play a key role in the climate fight?  “Trey Hill led a small group of fellow farmers to a field outside his office in Rock Hall on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It was a cloudy February day, but the ground was alive with color — purple and red turnip tops mixing exuberantly with green rye, vetch and clover, and beneath it all, rich brown soil. Hill reached down, yanked a long, thick, white daikon radish from the earth and showed his visitors sumptuous coffee-colored clods clinging to hairy rootlets. Those clumps, he explained, hoard carbon — carbon that’s not heating the planet.   Hill didn’t adopt “carbon smart” practices like cover-cropping to fight climate change. He did it to build soil, retain water, and make money. But when the third-generation corn, wheat, and soybean farmer learned about Nori, a Seattle-based startup looking to sell credits for carbon stored in the soils of farms like his, he was all in. … ”  Read more from Yale E360 here:  Can ‘carbon smart’ farming play a key role in the climate fight?

EPA corrects the record after reckless reporting on temporary compliance guidance (press release from EPA):  “The mission of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to protect human health and the environment, and during this time of unprecedented public health concerns, that mission is even more critical. On March 26, EPA released a temporary policy regarding the agency’s enforcement of environmental legal obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic. This temporary policy is not a license to pollute.  We strongly encourage the press to actually read EPA’s Temporary Policy before repeating reckless propaganda about it. Instead of including factual information about the policy, outlets such as E&E News, The Hill , the AP, and  the New York Times are relying on sources who falsely claim that the policy provides a blanket waiver of environmental requirements or creates a presumption that the pandemic is the cause of noncompliance.  Here are some of the facts that have been conveniently left out of the press narrative: … ”  Read more from the EPA here: EPA corrects the record after reckless reporting on temporary compliance guidance

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Legal briefs …

Free water: A family sued San Luis Obispo in superior court, claiming it has to supply them with enough free water for 30 head of livestock under a deal reached in 1911.  Via Courthouse News Service.

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And lastly ...

This ‘National Emergency Library’ is offering free online access to 1.4 million books:  “Already demolished that stack of novels on your bedside table? Good news: you can now access more than a million books for free as part of a ‘National Emergency Library’ launched this week.  The Internet Archive, a non-profit organisation best known for creating the Wayback Machine archive, has removed waiting lists from its comprehensive library of digitised books and other materials donated by libraries and universities around the world. … ”  Read more from Time Out here: This ‘National Emergency Library’ is offering free online access to 1.4 million books

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Also on Maven’s Notebook today …

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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 Association53(2), 411-430.

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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