- FREE WEBINAR: Water Budget Handbook – An Interactive Public Webinar on Challenging Water Budget Topics from 9am to 11am, hosted by DWR. Click here to register.
- The State Water Resources Control Board at 9:30am. Agenda items include an update on Board actions and responses to COVID-19, Draft changes to Clean Water Act 303d list for waters in the North Coast Region, proposed resolution to permanently require monthly reporting from urban water suppliers, and consideration of the extension of compliance schedules on once through cooling for four coastal power plants. Click here for the full agenda. Click here to watch on webcast.
- WEBINAR: America’s Water Infrastructure Act – Implications for Water Reuse and COVID-19 from 2pm to 3pm. Presented by WateReuse. Click here to register.
The extinction crisis devastating San Francisco Bay: “Larry Collins is a big, gregarious man with tobacco-stained teeth, a salty tongue, and the commanding presence of a sea captain. For 40 years he has earned his living as a commercial fisherman, slinging wild-caught seafood from a bustling warehouse on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. Collins loves his profession; it has put enough money in his pocket to raise kids, buy a home, and save up for retirement in one of the most expensive cities in America. Sitting in his cramped office, with the smell of fresh fish wafting in from the docks, he talked about the days when more than 4,000 boats would head out from California’s ports each season and ply the waters of the Pacific Coast, trapping crabs and netting huge runs of Chinook salmon. … ” Read more from The Nation here: The extinction crisis devastating San Francisco Bay
California dam operators can’t dodge fish-endangerment claims: “Federal and regional operators of Southern California’s Twitchell Dam lost their bid to dismiss claims the dam causes unlawful killing of endangered steelhead trout, but they won’t face an emergency injunction restricting their operations, a federal judge ruled Friday. Conservation groups San Luis Obispo Waterkeeper and Los Padres ForestWatch say in their 2019 federal lawsuit the way operators of the dam manage activity there results in an “unlawful take” of Southern California steelhead salmon. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, overseen by the U.S. Department of Interior, and the Santa Maria Valley Water Conservation District — which operates the dam — limit the release of water in such a way that the fish cannot migrate, the complaint claims. … ” Read more from Courthouse News Service here: California dam operators can’t dodge fish-endangerment claims
Ag groups seek help from feds on water: “A coalition of 150 organizations representing water and agricultural interests in the western U.S. urged Congress and President Donald Trump today to address aging Western water infrastructure as further measures are considered to help the U.S. economy recover from the ongoing coronavirus crisis. “The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the importance of safety and stability provided by domestic food production,” the groups stated in separate letters to Congress and the president. … ” Read more from the Western Farm Press here: Ag groups seek help from feds on water
Water resources now are critical to ensure food supply later: “Although the concerns around the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak are front and center, there are other battles the agriculture industry are facing. Whether it’s unimpaired flow standards, SGMA, WOTUS, surface water, or water rights in general, water is one of the state’s top issues. ... ” Read more from Ag Net West here: Water resources now are critical to ensure food supply later
Changes in snowmelt threaten farmers in western U.S.: “For decades, scientists have thought that changes in snowmelt due to climate change could negatively impact agriculture. Now, a new study reveals the risks to agriculture around the world from changes in snowmelt, finding that farmers in parts of the western United States who rely on snowmelt to help irrigate crops will be among the hardest hit in the world by climate change. In a study published April 20 in Nature Climate Change, an interdisciplinary team of researchers analyzed monthly irrigation water demand with snowmelt runoff across global basins from 1985 to 2015. The goal was to determine where irrigated agriculture has depended on snowmelt runoff in the past and how that might change with a warming climate. ... ” Read more from the Colorado State University here: Changes in snowmelt threaten farmers in western U.S.
Final rule narrowing Clean Water Act jurisdiction to be published [today]: “On Tuesday, the Federal Register will officially publish the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers final rule establishing a new definition of “Waters of the United States” that are protected by the Clean Water Act. The final rule is set to take effect 60 days after publication, on June 20. The new rule, called the “Navigable Waters Protection Rule: Definition of Waters of the U.S.,” will narrow the scope of Federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. … ” Read more from Bloomberg Law here: Final rule narrowing Clean Water Act jurisdiction to be published tomorrow
PFAS in potable reuse: crisis or non-issue? “Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic fluorinated organic compounds widely used in industrial, commercial and consumer products due to their oil and water repellent characteristics. Product applications include oil and water repellent surface coatings for packaging, textiles and cookware (e.g., pizza boxes, fabric coating, and non-stick frying pans) and firefighting foams. Over 600 manufactured compounds can be classified as PFAS, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanyl sulfonate (PFOS). These two perfluorinated compounds were produced in the largest amounts within the U.S. but were largely phased out and replaced by shorter-chained analogs over the last 15 to 20 years. ... ” Read more from Water & Wastes Digest here: PFAS in potable reuse: crisis or non-issue?
Keystone XL ruling has ‘sweeping’ impacts for other projects: “A federal court’s decision striking down a critical Keystone XL permit has broad implications beyond the embattled oil pipeline. The Wednesday ruling from the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana tossed a nationwide permit the Army Corps of Engineers uses to approve water crossings for projects all over the country, concluding the agency hadn’t properly considered impacts on endangered species. “This is a sweeping ruling,” said Larry Liebesman, a former Justice Department environmental lawyer now at the water resources consulting firm Dawson & Associates. “This judge used his authority to enjoin it nationwide.” … ” Read more from Bloomberg Law here: Keystone XL ruling has ‘sweeping’ impacts for other projects
When it comes to water, you have to think global: “Earth is a pale, blue dot when seen from space. Its blue color is due to our home planet being 71% covered in water. NASA monitors Earth’s water from space, the skies, ground stations on land, ships sailing the seas and even with apps on mobile phones. While Earth is so wet it looks blue from space, most of that water is saltwater. Only 2.5% of water on Earth is freshwater and nearly all of that water is frozen – locked up in polar ice caps, glaciers and other ice. The small amount of freshwater that remains is all that’s available for all the ways we use water. “All the water on Earth already exists. We can’t make more,” said Bradley Doorn, program manager for NASA Earth Applied Sciences’ Water Resources program area. “We can only track it, predict it and protect it as it cycles around our world.” … ” Read more from NASA here: When it comes to water, you have to think global
Radio show: One planet: tackling the climate crisis as we mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day: “On this edition of Your Call’s One Planet Series, we’ll mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day by discussing the Trump administration’s drastic changes to US environmental policies. In recent years, scientists have been sounding the alarm about the dire consequences of the climate crisis, including the destruction of ecosystems and extreme weather patterns. How are the administration’s policies hampering efforts to tackle the climate crisis? And what is the solution? Later in the show, we’ll discuss the Wetland Project, a study of an environemental soundscape. The sounds were recorded in the TEKTEKSEN marsh in traditional WSÁNEĆ territory, located on the Saturna Island, British Columbia. On Wednesday, KALW will celebrate Earth Day with a 24-hour real-time recording of these wetlands.” Listen at KALW here: Radio show: One planet: tackling the climate crisis as we mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day
California’s drought without end: The San Francisco Chronicle writes, “Californians tend to regard our droughts in seasonal and annual terms: The winter storms fill reservoirs with rain and mountains with snow, or they don’t, or sometimes, like this year, they do so in the spring. But a new study proposes a broader perspective in which recent years’ shifts from dry to wet to weird are just minor variations within a longer and more extraordinary period of widespread parching. The researchers believe this so-called mega-drought began around the turn of the century, affects the greater West, and can be grouped with only a few other multi-decade desiccations over the last dozen centuries. … ” Continue reading at the SF Chronicle here: California’s drought without end
Move over, San Andreas: There’s an ominous new fault in town: “U.S. route 395 is a geologic master class disguised as a road. It runs north from the arid outskirts of Los Angeles, carrying travelers up to Reno along the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada. On the way, they pass the black cinder cones of Coso Volcanic Field and the eroded scars of a mighty 19th-century earthquake near Lone Pine. In winter, drivers might see steam rising from Hot Creek, where water boils up from an active supervolcano deep underground. About an hour from the Nevada border, Mono Lake appears, with its bulbous and surreal mineral formations known as tufa towers. Even for someone with no particular interest in rocks, these are captivating, otherworldly sights. But for James Faulds, Nevada’s state geologist, they are something more—clues to a great tectonic mystery unfolding in the American West. If he’s right, all of this, from the wastes of the Mojave Desert to the night-lit casinos of Reno, will someday be beachfront property. … ” Continue reading at WIRED Magazine here: Move over, San Andreas: There’s an ominous new fault in town
links to other content
BLOG ROUND-UP: Return to the solution table; Feinstein’s letters; Ag lender view of SGMA; Central Valley salmon; and more …
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.
