Delta Tunnel: DCA submits Final Central and Eastern Corridor Designs to DWR
Deirdre Des Jardins writes, “The Delta Conveyance Design and Construction Authority has completed the Engineering Product Reports for the Central and Eastern Corridor Options for the Delta tunnel, according to the February 2021 Board report. Deliverables included “engineering drawings, GIS mapbooks, and all associated technical memoranda (TMs).” The DCA has also delivered draft documentation to DWR on the Bethany Reservoir alternative. … ” Continue reading at the California Water Research blog here: Delta Tunnel: DCA submits Final Central and Eastern Corridor Designs to DWR
SoCal marine protected areas, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta threatened by oil and gas wells
Dan Bacher writes, “A recent report by Kyle Ferrar of the Fractracker Alliance confirms my extensive reporting on how the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative in Southern California, chaired by Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) President, did little or nothing to protect the marine environment from oil and gas drilling. The report also reveals the threat to the ecosystem presented by oil and gas production wells on state land on Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. This is particularly alarming considering that Newsom Administration is currently fast-tracking construction plans for the Delta Tunnel, potentially the most environmentally destructive public works in California history. … ” Continue reading at the Daily Kos here: SoCal marine protected areas, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta threatened by oil and gas wells
Will barons of blue water be more equitable than those of black oil?
William Smith writes, “Many of today’s under-resourced communities have no more access to blue gold (scarce water) than the under-resourced white residents of the Owens Valley have had since the 1920s. In 1924 greedy public and private water interests transformed the lush Owen’s Lake into a noxious dust bowl. One of the guilty parties LADWP (Department of Water and Power), recently celebrated partial restoration of Owens Lake by constructing a ghostly monument of granite and sculpted earth in the long desiccated lake bed. … ” Continue reading at the Sierra Club here: Will barons of blue water be more equitable than those of black oil?
Campaigning for water affordability in California
Cristal Gonzales writes, “I joined Clean Water Action almost a year ago in March, at the beginning of the pandemic and the first shelter in place order in California. At the time, there was (and still is) a lot of uncertainty about the future and the extent to which our current ways of being and systems would be impacted. I came into this work with a background in environmental justice and intersectional approach to social, racial, and environmental issues. Although I understood that the inequalities that existed in accessing safe, clean, and affordable water would be compounded by this new health crisis, I would soon realize the work that lay ahead to ensure continued access to water for communities. ... ” Read more from the We All Live Downstream blog here: Campaigning for water affordability in California
Our future in the Sacramento Valley: serving water for multiple benefits
Don Bransford writes, “There has been recent commentary and discussion around a commodity futures market for water in California. In the Sacramento Valley, we are not involved in this process; nor are we participating in these contracts. Although we are not entirely clear on this market or what is being traded, it is clear that this new market does not involve real/wet water–which is our focus in the Sacramento Valley. We will continue to focus on serving water for cities and rural communities, farms, fish, birds, other wildlife and recreation. As the President of Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District (GCID) and a Board Member for the Northern California Water Association (NCWA), as well as a farmer, an avid conservationist, and a resident of Colusa, I have an important responsibility to our customers and the region. … ” Continue reading at the Northern California Water Association blog here: Our future in the Sacramento Valley: serving water for multiple benefits
Tisdale Weir Fish Passage Project
Tom Cannon writes, “The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Division of Flood Management is planning fish a major passage improvement to the Sutter Bypass: a notch in the Tisdale Weir.1 The notch will extend and enhance river flows into the bypasses, thereby allowing more access for juvenile salmon to rear in the bypass and improved upstream adult salmon passage from the bypasses back into the Sacramento River. DWR plans to place an operable gate in the notch, which DWR would open when flows over the weir ceased. This would extend the duration of flows into the bypass. As planned, DWR would not open the gate until after the weir had already overflowed. ... ” Read more from the California Fisheries blog here: Tisdale Weir Fish Passage Project
Scoring our water systems: A water quality gradebook for LA and OC’s drinking water
“As part of the Sierra Club’s long-standing efforts to protect sources, supplies, and just access to water throughout the country, the Angeles Chapter Water Committee is preparing a tool to evaluate drinking water quality in all cities of Los Angeles and Orange counties. Each of the 123 cities will earn a score from A to F, to be used to visualize and communicate the current state of regulation compliance and infrastructure reliability. The idea of a Water Quality Scorecard grew from the success of the Sierra Club Water Conservation Scorecard project in 2010. ... ” Read more from the Sierra Club here: Scoring our water systems: A water quality gradebook for LA and OC’s drinking water
On the value of Colorado River Beat reporting
John Fleck writes, “On a Zoom call with a group of Colorado River brain trusters this morning, there was a realization that we’d all been talking in recent weeks to the same reporters. Sometimes it’s someone new to the issues, looking for help with a single story. With dropping reservoirs, several pressing near-term political and policy questions, and a lousy runoff forecast, there’s a lot of that. Often it’s one of the regulars – beat reporters who have been on this story for a while, who know its nuances well, and who offer their readers and listeners continuing coverage rather than a one-off. In my journalism career, I did both kinds of work, but I always found far more value in the latter. … ” Read more from the Inkstain blog here: On the value of Colorado River Beat reporting
Colorado River Futures – “Climate & the River” Edition
Page Buono & Sinjin Eberle write, “In this, our “Climate & the River” edition, we’ll highlight findings from the study that underscore how important it is that, as we look to the future, we model future hydrology not only by understanding the past, but by looking ahead to the impacts of back-to-back and longer-term droughts paired with warming temperatures that precipitate aridification. As climate scientist Brad Udall likes to say, it’s a “hot drought,” where warmer temperatures are leading to less water in the river, even if precipitation is actually remaining roughly the same. … ” Read more from American Rivers here: Colorado River Futures – “Climate & the River” Edition
Preventing the Next Drinking Water Emergency
Aaron Colangelo writes, “There is a drinking water crisis in Texas right now, where seven million people lack safe water because of this week’s winter storms. The same thing has happened over and over in recent decades—in Louisiana, Puerto Rico, California, Ohio, and elsewhere—after hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and other disasters. This latest tragic example reveals once again a disastrous lack of preparedness to deal with drinking water emergencies in the United States. States and the federal EPA should be better prepared when this happens. … ” Read more from the NRDC here: Preventing the Next Drinking Water Emergency
