In California water news today …
Proposed single delta tunnel could cost $15.9 billion
“A single tunnel proposed to take water under the sensitive Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and deliver it to farms and cities in the south could cost $15.9 billion, give or take, according to an initial assessment discussed at the Delta Conveyance Authority meeting on Thursday. This is a scaled down version of a proposal under Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration for two tunnels. Brown’s so-called “twin tunnels” would have had a combined capacity to move water at a maximum 9,000 cubic feet per second (CFS) and were expected to cost $17 billion. … ” Read more from SJV Water here: Proposed single delta tunnel could cost $15.9 billion
No California money for Friant-Kern Canal fix
“Any hope that California might kick in money to fix the sagging Friant-Kern Canal was killed Thursday when a bill that would have provided $400 million toward the effort was stripped of all funding. The bill, SB 559 by State Sen. Melissa Hurtado, D-Sanger, had been stuck in the suspense file (a kind of legislative purgatory) of the Assembly Appropriations Committee since the end of the 2019 Legislative session. On Thursday, SB 559 was brought out of suspense and passed by Appropriations but only as a “study bill,” per Appropriations Chair Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego. That means it no longer includes any money. … ” Read more from SJV Water here: No California money for Friant-Kern Canal fix
Poor planning left California short of electricity in a heat wave
“Everybody had known for days that a heat wave was about to wallop California. Yet a dashboard maintained by the organization that manages the state’s electric grid showed that scores of power plants were down or producing below peak strength, a stunning failure of planning, poor record keeping and sheer bad luck. … For example, the California Public Utilities Commission had assumed that hydroelectric plants would provide as much as 8,000 megawatts when demand peaked this summer. But that number appears to have failed to take into account low water levels at many dams, including the Big Creek Hydroelectric Project high in the Sierra Nevada. … ” Read more from the New York Times here: Poor planning left California short of electricity in a heat wave
California’s war against nutria is getting bloodier. But it’s unclear who’s winning
“Of the 1,680 nutria taken by members of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Nutria Eradication Program over the past two-and-a-half years, a whopping 663 (39.4%) have been hunted down in the last four months alone. Because the invasive 20-pound rodents pose a unique threat to California’s wetlands, the state has expanded the size of the Nutria Eradication Program over the past year to boast a staff of 26 field operatives 100% dedicated to exterminating the swamp rat. Unlike just about everything else in the state, the war against nutria has been almost entirely unaffected by the coronavirus pandemic. … ” Read more from SF Gate here: California’s war against nutria is getting bloodier. But it’s unclear who’s winning
Comment period open on San Luis expansion project EIR
“The Bureau of Reclamation and San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority are seeking public input on the B.F. Sisk Dam raise and Reservoir expansion project’s draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report. This joint proposed project would create an additional 130,000 acre-feet of storage space in San Luis Reservoir. “California is in critical need of additional water storage,” said Reclamation’s Commissioner Brenda Burman. “Growing demands for California’s shared water resources over the last century, combined with insufficient water storage capacity, limits our ability to meet customer needs. Reclamation is working hard to fulfill our goal of increasing water supply reliability and projects like raising B.F. Sisk Dam are a wise investment in achieving that goal.” ... ” Read more from Westside Connect here: Comment period open on San Luis expansion project EIR
Sea-level rise linked to higher water tables along California coast
“In the first comprehensive study of the link between rising sea levels and inland water tables along the California coast, researchers found an increased threat to populated areas already at risk from rising water tables, and the possibility of flooding in unexpected inland areas. In the new study, researchers modeled the effects of rising sea level along the entire California coastline. While results varied with local topography, the study indicates rising sea levels could push inland water tables higher, resulting in damage to infrastructure and increased severity of flooding. … ” Read more from Science Daily here: Sea-level rise linked to higher water tables along California coast
Ridgecrest Groundwater Replenishment Fee
Ridgecrest: Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority wrestles 7,000-percent cost increase or state takeover
“The long-awaited conflict between California’s ambitious laws to limit groundwater use and the people of California has arrived. The front: the Mojave Desert. Friday, the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority is set to hold a protest vote of its water users to determine if it will adopt a “basin replenishment fee.” The fee is an element of the Authority’s Groundwater Sustainability Plan, a key guiding document required under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). … ” Read more from the San Joaquin Valley Sun here: Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority wrestles 7,000-percent cost increase or state takeover
Ridgecrest: What if the state takes over the water basin?
“What would state intervention with local water management look like? Well, for a start, local groundwater extractors can likely look forward to forced reduction of water use and forced monitoring courtesy of the state water board. And state control would be exerted directly, rather than through the groundwater authority. New fees would also be assessed, since local users would be expected to foot the bill to pay for the temporary government oversight. … ” Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent here: What if the state takes over the water basin?
California wildfires …
At least 5 dead in massive California wildfires; more than 60,000 flee, thousands of homes threatened
“Thousands of people remained under evacuation orders in regions around the San Francisco Bay Area on Thursday as wildfires blazed across the state amid a blistering heat wave now in its second week. In all, according to Cal Fire, more than 60,000 California residents have evacuated because of fires that are burning about 780 square miles across the state. That’s an area equal to about half the size of Rhode Island. Statewide, as of Thursday evening, officials said the fires have destroyed 175 structures, including homes, and are threatening 50,000 more. In all, 33 civilians and firefighters have been injured, and at least five people have died. … ” Read more from the USA Today here: At least 5 dead in massive California wildfires; more than 60,000 flee, thousands of homes threatened
Grappling with the statewide “wildfire siege”
“California is in the midst of a wildfire siege: multiple fires burning simultaneously over large geographic areas that are severely challenging fire suppression resources. There are currently dozens of major wildfires across the state—several of which are large complexes made up of many smaller blazes. Fires are burning in the outskirts of the Los Angeles metropolitan region and the remote and rugged Trinity Alps Wilderness in Northern California, and many areas in between. Affected regions include the Central Coast, greater Bay Area, Sierra Nevada, and Northern Coast Range. The variety of landscape types under siege—from rugged wilderness areas to rural communities and suburban areas—complicates the firefighting picture. Most of these fires ignited in the last few days. … ” Read more from the PPIC here: Grappling with the statewide “wildfire siege”
California’s devastating summer blazes are a bad omen for fall wildfire season
“As if Northern California’s summer lightning fire siege isn’t devastating enough, experts say it is a troubling sign of what lies ahead during the state’s more traditional fall wildfire season. Though California regularly sees summer wildfires, the state’s most deadly and destructive blazes have tended to hit in fall, when weather patterns shift and warm, dry winds from the high desert blow offshore across tinder-dry grasses, shrubs and trees that haven’t seen significant rain since the spring. … ” Read more from the Mercury News here: California’s devastating summer blazes are a bad omen for fall wildfire season
California looks to battle mega wildfires with fire
” … By the time the flames were out, the Caples Ecological Restoration Project had burned 3,435 acres in the mountainous watershed of Eldorado National Forest, 70 miles east of Sacramento—part of an area that provides the primary water supply for more than 110,000 people. It was the largest intentional fire ever set in the Sierra Nevada and one of the largest on federal land in the state. The effort marks a milestone in California’s pivot away from a century of suppressing fire at all costs and toward working with it instead—using controlled flames to restore ecosystems that evolved to burn in frequent, mostly low-intensity blazes. … ” Read more from Scientific American here: California looks to battle mega wildfires with fire
Trump blames California for wildfires, tells state ‘you gotta clean your floors’
“President Donald Trump on Thursday blamed California for its raging wildfires and threatened to withhold federal money, reprising his attacks from previous rounds of catastrophic blazes. “I see again the forest fires are starting,” he said at a rally in swing-state Pennsylvania. “They’re starting again in California. I said, you gotta clean your floors, you gotta clean your forests — there are many, many years of leaves and broken trees and they’re like, like, so flammable, you touch them and it goes up.” … ” Read more from Politico here: Trump blames California for wildfires, tells state ‘you gotta clean your floors’
In regional water news and commentary today …
In 20 years of Tahoe Summits, much has been done to protect the lake, says Senator Feinstein
She writes, “Growing up in Northern California, I spent my summers visiting the Tahoe Basin, learning to appreciate the natural environment. Those summers were filled with trips into the remarkable backcountry, biking around the lake’s 72-mile perimeter and swimming in its clear, blue water. It’s those memories that I would carry with me each year into the Lake Tahoe Summit – California and Nevada’s annual meeting to discuss the challenges facing our shared lake. Unfortunately, because of the coronavirus pandemic, we are unable to gather in person on the shores of the lake this year, but instead will gather virtually to celebrate Lake Tahoe and the progress we’ve made protecting it. … ” Read more from the Tahoe Daily Tribune here: In 20 years of Tahoe Summits, much has been done to protect the lake
Efforts to keep pollutants out of Lake Tahoe surpass targets
“Local government and state transportation agencies have successfully surpassed 2019 pollution prevention targets established to reduce urban stormwater pollution and restore Lake Tahoe’s famous, crystal-clear water, officials say recent data shows. Stormwater from roads and urban areas is the primary source of fine sediment particles, which scatter and reduce light, reduces water clarity. The Lake Tahoe Total Maximum Daily Load Program’s 2020 Performance Report found that, in 2019, urban implementing partners collectively reduced fine sediments by 477,000 pounds; this equates to 853 drums (55-gallon) of fine sediment no longer washing into the lake, surpassing targets for the program. Reductions of nitrogen and phosphorus — which spur algae growth — also surpassed program targets. … ” Read more from the Tahoe Daily Tribune here: Efforts to keep pollutants out of Lake Tahoe surpass targets
Tahoe: Story map released for West Shore for restoration efforts
“Lake Tahoe West partners have released an interactive story map to explain ongoing and proposed actions to restore forests and watersheds across 59,000 acres of Lake Tahoe’s West Shore. The story map allows community members and visitors to learn more about the threats to the West Shore landscape and how science is informing a landscape-scale restoration approach to addressing those threats. Multiple restoration efforts are already underway. The story map highlights current projects on the west shore to reduce fire hazards near communities, restore meadows, and create healthier, more resilient forests. … ” Read more from the Tahoe Daily Tribune here: Tahoe: Story map released for West Shore for restoration efforts
San Jose: Valley Water Board of Directors votes to place updated Safe, Clean Water and Flood Protection Program renewal measure on November ballot
“The Valley Water Board of Directors voted unanimously on July 21, 2020, to place a renewal measure of the Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program (Safe, Clean Water Program) in front of voters this Nov. 3 for their approval. In November 2012, 74% of voters approved the Safe, Clean Water Program as a countywide special parcel tax to provide local funding for local projects that deliver safe, clean water, natural flood protection, and environmental stewardship to all the communities we serve in Santa Clara County. … ” Read more from Valley Water News here: Valley Water Board of Directors votes to place updated Safe, Clean Water and Flood Protection Program renewal measure on November ballot
Resnick takes Pistachio War to Tulare, eyes halting another Assemi pistachio plant
“Billionaire Stewart Resnick’s on-going war with the Assemi Family has a new setting: Tulare County. In a lawsuit filed in mid-July, The Wonderful Company – owned by Resnick and his wife, Lynda – argues that Assemi-owned Touchstone Pistachio Company is illegally expanding a pistachio processing facility. Wonderful is suing Tulare County, claiming the county illegally issued building permits to Touchstone to expand the facility. … ” Read more from San Joaquin Valley Sun here: Resnick takes Pistachio War to Tulare, eyes halting another Assemi pistachio plant
Paso Basin boundaries will remain the same
“After hearing backlash from landowners, on Aug. 18 the SLO County Board of Supervisors scrapped a plan to revise the boundaries of the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin so that the county’s boundary matched the state’s. While the revision would’ve aligned the basin maps as stakeholders start to implement a 20-year sustainability plan mandated by state law, it would’ve also drawn more than 500 new property owners into its boundaries, subjecting them to an irrigation moratorium and other county water conservation policies. … ” Read more from New Times SLO here: Paso Basin boundaries will remain the same
SoCal: State must analyze practice of dumping billions of gallons of wastewater into sea
“Every day Hyperion Water Treatment Plant discharges enough treated wastewater into the ocean to fill the Rose Bowl 2.5 times over. Now a court has instructed state water officials to analyze whether it is “wasteful” and “unreasonable” to dump billions of gallons of wastewater into the sea. According to Santa Monica-based advocacy group Los Angeles Waterkeeper, water treatment plants Hyperion, Tillman, Burbank and Los Angeles-Glendale dump an average of nearly 270 million gallons of treated water into the Los Angeles River and Pacific Ocean every day. … ” Read more from Westside Today here: State must analyze practice of dumping billions of gallons of wastewater into sea
San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District awarded for its collaborative water recharge efforts
“Unprecedented teamwork among local water districts to establish a regional water storage program has received statewide recognition as the Innovative Project of the Year by the California Special Districts Association, the San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District (SBVWCD) announced Wednesday, Aug. 12. The award was presented in recognition of outstanding collaboration among San Bernardino Basin Groundwater Council members that include: the SBVWCD in partnership with San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District; East Valley Water District; the cities of Colton, Redlands, Loma Linda and Rialto; San Bernardino Municipal Water Department; Fontana Water Company; Western Municipal Water District; Yucaipa Valley Water District; and West Valley Water District. ... ” Read more from the Highland Community News here: San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District awarded for its collaborative water recharge efforts
San Diego: Local giant kelp forests are threatened by warming waters, experts say
“The waters off San Diego are home to the two largest kelp forests on the West Coast, and both are being closely watched by local experts who are concerned about the effects of climate change on the underwater groves. The giant kelp forests off La Jolla and Point Loma are important to the ecosystem, said Ed Parnell, a researcher at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla whose studies focus on coastal ecosystems in Southern California. … ” Read more from La Jolla Light here: Local giant kelp forests are threatened by warming waters, experts say
In national water news today …
The CDC wants state and local sewage systems tested for coronavirus
“The federal government is teaming up with local health departments to begin testing sewage systems for the coronavirus in an effort to catch the virus before it spreads rapidly, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The CDC in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other federal government agencies will begin working with state, local, territorial and tribal health departments to collect data on the sewage samples, an effort they call the National Wastewater Surveillance System, or NWSS, according to CDC guidance updated on Monday. … ” Read more from CNBC here: The CDC wants state and local sewage systems tested for coronavirus
Legal alert: NEPA rules rewrite: public involvement process
“Public involvement is one of the most important steps in the NEPA process for a number of reasons. First, the NEPA process is usually the most formal way the public engages with the agencies regarding the proposed action. There may also be earlier opportunities for public involvement in various contexts, such as during the federally mandated transportation planning process. Non-federal permit applicants may have provided at least some information to the public about a proposed project, particularly where state or local statutes or regulations require it. But none of these public involvement mechanisms have historically provided the same forum for input as the NEPA process. … ” Read more from Nossaman here: NEPA rules rewrite: public involvement process
Alaska’s salmon are significantly smaller than they were 60 years ago
“Salmon returning to Alaskan rivers have become significantly smaller over the past 60 years, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Communications. The research found that due to climate change and competition from hatchery fish, wild salmon are spending less time at sea and are returning to spawning grounds at younger ages — a trend that could have important economic and ecological impacts. The study, led by scientists at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks and the University of California Santa Cruz, examined measurements from 12.5 million fish collected by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game from 1957 to 2018. The data showed that four of Alaska’s five wild salmon species — Chinook, chum, coho, and sockeye — have shrunk in size. ... ” Read more from Yale E360 here: Alaska’s salmon are significantly smaller than they were 60 years ago
In commentary today …
Reclassify hydropower now – as renewable energy, says Assemblymember Adam Gray
“On the day California ran out of electricity, where did the state turn to find more power? To the oldest and cleanest form of electricity there is – hydropower. Considering that California is going out of its way to make hydropower more expensive and less available, you don’t have to be an electrical engineer to see the disconnect. This week, California had a true heat emergency – 109 in Modesto, 111 in Merced, 112 in Fresno. Death Valley hit 130, the hottest reading on the planet in almost 100 years. This heat generated incredible electrical demand. Even with the millions of solar panels and thousands of windmills installed over the last decade, California couldn’t meet that demand. … ” Read more from Cal Matters here: Reclassify hydropower now – as renewable energy, says Assemblymember Adam Gray
National water and climate update …
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.
dmrpt-20200820Also on Maven’s Notebook today …
WATER PLAN eNEWS: ~~Water Equity~ Sea Level Rise~ UCLA Study~ Conservation Handbook~ Environmental Flows~ Water Budgets ~~
DELTA eNEWS: ~~ Centennial Celebration~ DSC Meeting~ CDFW Outreach~ Franks Tract~ Delta Voice ~~
