WEEKLY WATER NEWS DIGEST for July 17-22: Recommendations to update CA water rights laws; 5 questions with Jon Rosenfield; Environmental blocks of water; plus all the top water news of the week

A wrap-up of posts published on Maven’s Notebook this week …

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This week’s featured articles …

ACWA CONFERENCE:  Water Law “Update”  Or  Revolution?

GUEST ARTICLE: Building Blocks – Tools for Creating an Environmental Block of Water

Commentary by Barry Nelson, a water policy consultant who has been involved in Bay-Delta issues for more than thirty years

California rivers and wetlands have suffered serious damage from dams and water diversions. Reversing this damage and restoring healthy flows to these ecosystems is famously difficult. One traditional approach is for regulators to adopt requirements for minimum environmental flows based on an annual calendar and designed to meet particular ecosystem and species needs.

Over the past decade, water agencies, think tanks and some NGOs have suggested a different and more flexible approach – creating an “environmental block of water” – which dedicates a specific amount of water to an ecosystem. The central theory is that a block of water managed flexibly, depending on local conditions and scientific analysis, may produce the best results with the least water.

Click here to read this article.

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In California water news this week …

Despite more stored water than in 2021, California will keep closing spigots

“As drought conditions persist and with the potential for another dry winter due to La Niña, some good news: the California State Water Resources Board learned Wednesday reservoirs in the northern and central parts of the state have more water than at this time last year.  State Water Project reservoirs across Northern and Central California remain below historical averages after three consecutive years of drought. But with a combination of people cutting water use, curtailments, farmers fallowing fields and a focus on storage, the reservoirs in the State Water Project are either above or near where they were last year. By the end of September the reservoirs are forecast to be below historical averages but higher than 2021. ... ”  Read more from the Courthouse News Service here: Despite more stored water than in 2021, California will keep closing spigots

Agencies looking to “Plan B” as more valley towns on brink of going dry and emergency water suppliers are tapped out

“Groundwater levels are dropping and domestic wells throughout the San Joaquin Valley are going dry as California’s third year of drought grinds on.  That includes entire towns, such as East Orosi and Tooleville in Tulare County, which both went dry last week.  It’s bad. But it may get worse.  Area water suppliers are “locking down” and may not have enough to share, equipment is in short supply and so are people to get the water to those in need.  And there’s still a long stretch of summer to go.  “I’m concerned about a lot,” said Tami McVay, assistant program director for Self-Help Enterprises, a Visalia-based nonprofit that helps poor, rural residents with housing and water needs. … ”  Read more from SJV Water here: Agencies looking to “Plan B” as more valley towns on brink of going dry and emergency water suppliers are tapped out

Calif. policies choking off water from Valley hasn’t been savior for fish, report finds.

“A new policy brief from the Public Policy Institute of California is recommending cost-effective water storage investments as the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is seeing less inflow.  It also offers a damning picture of the thirty-year shift in how the Golden State divvied up water, largely pitting fish species against millions of its residents.  The institute – a nonpartisan think tank – initially published the brief in early spring, focuses on the Delta that supplies water to about 30 million residents and over six million acres of farmland.  “The ecological health of the Delta and the reliability of its water supplies are in decline,” the brief reads. “Given the challenges facing the watershed and the competing uses for scarce supplies, Delta water management issues are a source of conflict and many misunderstandings about water use. Weak water accounting systems make this worse.” … ”  Read more from the San Joaquin Valley Sun here: Calif. policies choking off water from Valley hasn’t been savior for fish, report finds.

Delta Conveyance Project hits another roadblock

“Congressman Josh Harder (D) says he will introduce a federal amendment to block Army Corp of Engineers from issuing a clean water act permit for a tunnel.”  (0:57)

Board begins CEQA Process for Bay-Delta Plan Update

“In its continuing effort to address the prolonged decline of native fish and the deteriorating ecosystem in the Lower San Joaquin River and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed, the State Water Resources Control Board announced plans Friday to develop a draft environmental impact report and hold a public scoping meeting on August 10 for a proposed regulation to implement the Bay-Delta Plan’s Lower San Joaquin River flow and southern Delta salinity objectives.  The board adopted an updated Bay-Delta Plan and an environmental review document in December 2018 that establish water quality standards and flow objectives for the Lower San Joaquin River and its three salmon bearing tributaries, the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced Rivers. The changes also included southern Delta salinity objectives for the reasonable protection of agriculture in the southern Delta. Worsening drought conditions and existing flow objectives (established in 1995) that are insufficient to protect fish and wildlife amplify the need to act as soon as possible. … ”

State celebrates two tidal habitat restoration projects benefitting Delta smelt

“State, federal, and local agencies gathered this week to celebrate two tidal habitat restoration projects in Solano County that support the survival of Delta smelt and other fish species as part of the long-term operation of the State Water Project.  Bradmoor Island and Arnold Slough, two neighboring projects in the Suisun Marsh, are designed to provide high-quality habitat and food sources for fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Today’s event celebrated the completed Arnold Slough project and the start of construction at Bradmoor Island.  “As drought and climate change continue to stress California’s natural systems, these projects to support native fisheries become even more vital. We are excited that they also add new recreational opportunities for Californians to enjoy the beauty and bounty of the California Delta,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. … ”  Read more from the Department of Water Resources here: State celebrates two tidal habitat restoration projects benefitting Delta smelt

Letter: Coalition requests DWR and CDFW rescind any funding from proposition 1 of 2014 that is proposed for habitat restoration projects to meet existing mitigation and compliance obligations

The Coalition writes, “Dear Director Nemeth and Director Bonham:  On behalf of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club California, the Planning and Conservation League, Restore the Delta, San Francisco Baykeeper, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, Institute for Fisheries Resources, and Defenders of Wildlife, we are writing to request that your agencies confirm that taxpayer funding from Proposition 1 of 2014 is not being used for habitat restoration projects that are intended to meet existing compliance and mitigation obligations of the State Water Project (“SWP”) and federal Central Valley Project (“CVP”), including as part of the Lower Yolo Ranch Restoration Project. We are writing because public documents that have been recently obtained pursuant to the California Public Records Act and Freedom of Information Act indicate that DWR has awarded millions of dollars of public taxpayer funding from Proposition 1 of 2014 for habitat restoration projects that are intended to meet existing mitigation and compliance obligations, as well as using Proposition 1 funding that was intended for statewide flood protection improvements for these mitigation projects. This appears to violate the letter and intent of Proposition 1, and we request that DWR rescind any Proposition 1 funding for the Lower Yolo Ranch Restoration Project and substitute funding provided by the contractors to the SWP and CVP. … ”

White paper:  Building blocks: Tools and lessons for designing a block of water for the environment

“In California, across the Western United States and in many locations around the globe, competition for freshwater resources has increased and impacts on aquatic ecosystems are growing. In response to this situation, and as an alternative to traditional environmental regulation, many programs have been established or proposed to create a block of water dedicated to the environment – sometimes called an environmental water budget.  The focus on environmental blocks of water is often driven, at least in part, by the perception that flexible management of water for the environment can create more meaningful ecosystem improvements using less water than more rigid regulatory approaches.  Yet conversations about creation of blocks of water for the environment often remain at a high level and lack detail. To move beyond general discussions, this paper provides a guide for efforts seeking to create an environmental block of water. … ”  Read more from Defenders of Wildlife here: White paper:  Building blocks: Tools and lessons for designing a block of water for the environment

California is feeling optimistic it’s winning the war on giant, destructive swamp rodents

“California may be winning its five-year, $13 million battle with nutria — the 20-pound, orange-toothed swamp rodents that biologists once feared would play hell with wetlands, flood-control levees and the state’s water-delivery system. “We do absolutely feel like everything is trending in the right direction,” said Valerie Cook, who runs the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s nutria eradication program. Cook said her team is seeing nutria numbers declining, and they’ve managed to keep them out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California’s most important waterway. … ”  Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: California is feeling optimistic it’s winning the war on giant, destructive swamp rodents

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In commentary this week …

Column: Build more houses! Use less water! California, can you have it both ways?

Columnist Teri Sforza writes, “Thousands of new apartments will be built in Irvine, and this create cognitive dissonance for Stan Jones.  The planned 24-acre lagoon at “Cotino, Storyliving by Disney” in Rancho Mirage, and the 17-acre Wavegarden Cove Pool and Resort in Palm Desert, do much the same for Paul Burt of San Pedro.  Larry Anderson shakes his head, too. He tracks construction within a 40-mile radius of Hemet and counts more than 7,000 new units planned or already rising, even as the governor implores Californians to dramatically cut water use to deal with historic drought and officials scold us for falling short.  “If the water shortage is that bad, why is there such a boom in new housing development going up all over the place?” Anderson asked. “How can anybody believe there is a water shortage when this new building is going on?” … It might seem crazy on its face. But the water czars say those goals are not as incompatible as they appear. … ”  Read more from the Riverside Press-Enterprise here: Column: Build more houses! Use less water! California, can you have it both ways?

What about desal?

The California Water Impact Network (C-WIN) writes, “Modern desalination technology employs one of two approaches: multi-stage flash distillation or reverse osmosis. Flash distillation uses heat to evaporate seawater; the vapor, free from salt and other impurities, is then recondensed. Reverse osmosis removes water from salt through temperature differentials across a special membrane. Most modern desalination plants employ reverse osmosis.Desalination can’t scale sufficiently to meet the needs of a state with 40 million people and a diverse economy that ranges from agriculture to high technology. … ”  Read more from C-WIN here: What about desal?

Cal EPA asserts shockingly broad domain over private property

Ken Kurson, founder of Sea of Reeds Media, writes, “Legend has it that Jed Clampett “was shootin’ at some food / When up through the ground come a bubblin’ crude.”  The Beverly Hillbillies’ transformation into instant millionaires illustrates one of the oldest conceptions in the western world: What’s on your land belongs to you. This idea predates the founding of America. If you find gold in your backyard, that resource belongs to you.  California wants to change that.  A source near San Diego has shared with California Globe a shocking letter that’s quietly being delivered to owners of private wells.  “California is marching toward a world where those with wells on their own property will be required to put a meter on them and pay the government,” writes the source. “Because in their world, the government owns everything and we’re just renters.” … ”  Read more from the California Globe here: Cal EPA asserts shockingly broad domain over private property

The Delta in April-June 2022 under TUCP

Tom Cannon writes, “A lot has been said about the drought’s effect on water supplies for cities and farms, but little is said about how Delta fish are faring.  Freshwater inflow to the Delta was about half of normal in April through June 2022 because of the State Water Board Order approving the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the Bureau of Reclamation’s Temporary Urgency Change Petition  (TUCP) for Delta operations.  With some of this limited Delta inflow going to water users during April, May and June, little was going to the fish.  The State Water Board granted the TUCP because Central Valley reservoir storage was so low at the end of winter in this third year of drought.  During drought, most of the Delta’s late spring and summer inflow comes from releases from storage in Shasta, Oroville, and Folsom reservoirs.  The TUCP has ended, and the normal operating rules for the Delta under Water Rights Decision 1641 have gone back into effect as of July 1.  It is now a good moment to review the effects of this most recent TUCP. ... ”  Read more from the California Fisheries blog here: The Delta in April-June 2022 under TUCP

A devastating water year in the Sacramento Valley! Yet, the California water rights is working and continually improving

David Guy, President of the Northern California Water Association, writes, “The State Water Board today adopted another emergency curtailment and reporting regulation for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed. With a series of dry years and a current water year having both the wettest and driest months we have seen; we appreciate the State Water Board’s efforts–despite the devastating water year in the Sacramento Valley–to implement the water rights priority system and to begin preparing for next year.  The Sacramento Valley depends upon an orderly water rights priority system in California to serve multiple benefits in the region and the water resources managers in the Sacramento Valley are working hard in the face of this uncertainty to advance ridgetop to river mouth water management and to better prepare for next year. Importantly, these regulations are working so far in 2022 as the State Water Board updates the curtailment notices every week based on current hydrology and the unavailability of natural flows throughout the Bay-Delta watershed, including the Sacramento Valley. … ”  Read more from the Northern California Water Association here: A devastating water year in the Sacramento valley! Yet, the California water rights is working and continually improving

Delta Flows: Failed drought planning for Delta

Barbara Barrigan-Parilla writes, “Yesterday, Restore the Delta sent the following scoping comment letter to the Army Corps of Engineers in response to a “Dredge and Fill (404) Application from California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to construct North Delta Drought Salinity Barriers Project.” DWR proposes in its application to add two more temporary rock fill barriers along Steamboat and Miner sloughs in the North Delta intending to prevent intrusion of high-salinity tidal waters into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta should critical drought conditions persist into 2023 and beyond.  Responding to planning for the installation of salinity barriers as the preferred method to manage drought in the Delta has always been difficult for Restore the Delta. ... ”  Continue reading at Restore the Delta here:  Delta Flows: Failed drought planning for Delta

On the public record: On your watch.

“Yesterday Max Gomberg had his last day at the State Water Resources Control Board. He sent this on his last day, and cc’ed me. With his permission:  “Hello everyone: I am sharing my parting thoughts because I believe in facing hard truths and difficult decisions. These are dark and uncertain times, both because fascists are regaining power and because climate change is rapidly decreasing the habitability of many places. Sadly, this state is not on a path towards steep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions reductions, massive construction to alleviate the housing crisis, quickly and permanently reducing agriculture to manage the loss of water to aridification, and reducing law enforcement and carceral budgets and reallocating resources to programs that actually increase public health and safety. All of these (and more) are necessary for an equitable and livable future.  I think at some level many of you know this, yet you convince yourselves that inhabiting the middle ground between advocates and industry (and other status quo defenders) makes you reasonable. But it does not. It makes you complicit.  To my Water Board colleagues: … ”  Continue reading at On the Public Record here: On the public record: On your watch.

The eye of the storm and the State Water Resources Control Board

Deirdre Des Jardins writes, “The State Water Resources Control Board’s Climate Change Mitigation Strategist, Max Gomberg, just retired, and sent an incendiary parting letter to his colleagues, stating, ‘Witnessing the agency’s ability to tackle big challenges nearly eviscerated by this Administration has been gut wrenching. The way some of you have simply rolled over and accepted this has also been difficult to watch.’  One of the things I came to understand in our campaign last year to save the Delta Independent Science Board was that California water is like hurricane, and the Delta Independent Science Board and regulatory agencies such as the State Water Resources Control Board need to operate in the eye of the storm. … ”  Read more from the California Water Research blog here: The eye of the storm and the State Water Resources Control Board

Fresno State student shares his experience of growing up without safe water at home

“Emmanuel Agraz Torres, an ambassador with California Environmental Voters Education Fund and a student at Fresno State, writes, “Growing up in Dinuba, my family and I worried about whether the water coming out of our tap was safe to drink. We knew that our groundwater was likely contaminated by nitrates and other toxic chemicals from agriculture. Like many other immigrant families, we would fill up three 5-gallon containers of water at a vending machine station on a weekly basis. To this day, we still don’t trust that the water in our home is safe to drink. My experience of growing up without clean, safe drinking water is not, unfortunately, a unique one. In California, over 1 million people are without access to clean drinking water. In the Central Valley, about 100,000 people have a contaminated water supply in their homes. … ”  Read more from the Fresno Bee here: Fresno State student shares his experience of growing up without safe water at home

Mapes’ water sales may roil irrigation district

Eric Caine writes, “Longtime Modesto Irrigation District Board member John Mensinger announced recently he would be stepping down from the board. Thus far, the only declared candidate for his position is Frank Damrell, former Senior District Representative to Cathleen Galgiani when she was a State Senator.  Mensinger’s term was stormy, with board members disagreeing about water sales, electricity rates and lawsuits. In one recent lawsuit, female members of the district’s legal department accused Mensinger of, “gender discrimination, retaliation and more.” The district settled the case without admission of wrongdoing by Mensinger.  Any new board members will face a host of problems, some of them ongoing over decades. MID has never managed to separate costs of delivering electricity from costs of delivering water, and that failure alone has made the district look incompetent and vulnerable to charges of fraud and dysfunction. … ”  Read more from the Valley Citizen here: Mapes’ water sales may roil irrigation district

On the Public Record: Abundance progressivism

On the Public Record writes, “I saw this description of Abundance Progressivism with great relief. I was delighted for a name for my position. It also explained to me why I’ve been irritated with the “tear out your lawn” school of water conservation in this drought. … Over the past few years, I have increasingly come to the position that we must create the improved next climate world before we eliminate the things we can no longer sustain. This is based on a few things ... ”  Read more from On the Public Record here: On the Public Record: Abundance progressivism

Op-Ed: Face it, Yosemite lovers — sprinklers can’t save the Mariposa Grove forever

Char Miller, a professor of environmental history at Pomona College, writes, “Californians are shutting off their irrigation systems to reduce water consumption amid a devastating, climate-driven drought. In Yosemite National Park, sprinklers were turned on in hopes of slowing the climate-driven Washburn fire from threatening the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias.  The differences are instructive. Embracing brown lawns is a proactive commitment to a more climate-resilient landscape. The Mariposa sprinklers, deployed to protect such iconic trees as the Grizzly Giant, are a denial of the climate realities that have made the Sierra increasingly vulnerable to wildfire.  The same kind of denial is evident in two problematic ideas that frame the concerted effort to stop the Washburn blaze — preservationism and fire suppression. … ”  Read more from the LA Times here: Op-Ed: Face it, Yosemite lovers — sprinklers can’t save the Mariposa Grove forever

What will happen if Lake Mead dries up? Look to the Salton Sea.

Richard Thomas, retired business owner and author, writes, “Lake Mead’s water level continues to fall to historic lows, bringing the reservoir less than 150 feet away from “dead pool” — so low that water cannot flow downstream from the dam. The loss of water entirely from this source would be catastrophic. Eliminating the hydroelectric power source that supplies 29 million people in the Southwest with a portion of their electricity would only compound the problem.  Such an event would have an enormous impact on San Diego County where half of the region’s total water supply relies on the Colorado River. … Think it could never happen? It already has on a smaller scale. … ”  Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune here: What will happen if Lake Mead dries up? Look to the Salton Sea.

There’s a crisis on the Colorado River

Dan Keppen, executive director of the Family Farm Alliance, writes, “The Bureau of Reclamation in June issued a call to the public for assistance in developing future long-term operating provisions on the Colorado River. This announcement came within days of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton’s message to a Senate committee that the seven states of the Colorado River Basin must come up with an emergency deal by mid-August to conserve between 2 and 4 million acre-feet of water in the next year in order to protect the entire river system. … Farmers and ranchers throughout the Basin also believe that urban interests served by the Colorado River – many of them who rely on water exported out of the Basin – must share the pain.  “If farmland doesn’t get water, city lawns shouldn’t get water” is a common refrain.  The full spectrum of impacts – not just direct impacts, but also impacts to national security, food supply, rural communities, the Salton Sea, and third-party stakeholders – must be assessed.  Agriculture cannot be decimated by these short-term measures. … ”  Read more from the Western Farm Press here: There’s a crisis on the Colorado River

Climate change collides with Western water law

George Ochenski, a columnist for the Missoulian, writes, “Climate scientists have long warned of the impending crises as human pollutants create an ever-warming planet. We are now living with those grim predictions come true as the “sixth great extinction event” wipes away thousands of species, the oceans acidify and warm, wildfires rage even on the Alaskan tundra, and the planet’s ice caps inexorably melt and raise sea levels.  While the desperate calls for new laws to combat on-going atmospheric pollutants ring out across the globe, they are unfortunately ignored by societies resistant to necessary change. As the mega-drought ravages the American West, a long-standing law determining water allocation has come into sharp focus. And from all evidence, Western water law with its Doctrine of Prior Appropriation will fall to the needs of millions of people. … ”  Read more from Counter Punch here: Climate change collides with Western water law

Why can’t the U.S. figure out a way to move water from the Great Lakes to the West?

John Phipps writes, “Regular viewer Eric Smassanow asks a question that pops up from often during droughts: “Why has the government never taken action besides Lake Mead to move water around the country like we do energy? Seems like there are many times pumping water west from the east would help both regions.”  As the western US continues to suffer a 22-year megadrought, it is hard not to look at a map and zero in on the Great Lakes as the obvious solution. All we need to do is pump some of that excess fresh water west – like this idea from William Shatner to pump Lake Superior water to the Green River and on to Lake Mead. After all the Great Lakes are one of the largest sources of fresh water in the world. ... ”  Read more from Dairy Herd here: Why can’t the U.S. figure out a way to move water from the Great Lakes to the West?

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In regional water news this week …

Big Springs must follow state drought rules, judge orders

“Farmers and ranchers in a Siskiyou County community may not continue pumping ground water for irrigation, following the latest court ruling.  The Siskiyou County Superior Court issued an order denying the Big Springs Irrigation District relief from water curtailment regulations set by the California Water Resources Board.  “The (California Water Resources) Board has the legal authority to curtail uses of water that are deemed unreasonable,” wrote Siskiyou County Superior Court judge James D. Garbolino in his July 11 decision to deny the irrigation district’s request for exemption from the state’s water curtailment rules while the case Big Springs Irrigation District vs. California State Water Resources Board makes its way through the judicial system. ... ” Read more from the Siskiyou Daily News here: Big Springs must follow state drought rules, judge orders

In Shasta County, some residents of A.C.I.D face devastating consequences from federal water cutbacks

“This year, after the federal government severely reduced water allocations to the Anderson Cottonwood Irrigation District (A.C.I.D.), the board of A.C.I.D. sold off the rest of the district’s allocated water, saying it would not travel far enough through the system to benefit residents. The board appears to be still holding the $7.5 million in revenue from those water sales. Meanwhile, some residents of A.C.I.D. are struggling to access enough water for their daily living needs. They’re confused, angry, and wondering where to find help to survive. … ”  Read more from Shasta Scout here: In Shasta County, some residents of A.C.I.D face devastating consequences from federal water cutbacks

A new gold rush pits money and jobs against California’s environment

“Where the Sacramento Valley steepens into the Sierra Nevada, Susan Love found a home with big windows and pine-forest views. It was the house she shared happily with her husband before his death. The surroundings, though, are changing.  A long-dormant gold mine within view of her front garden is showing signs of life. Once the second-highest-producing gold mine in the nation, the Idaho-Maryland Mine is again in the sights of prospectors, this time a Nevada-based company proposing to reopen it in this place born more than a century and a half ago in a rush of gold. … ”  Read more from the Washington Post here: A new gold rush pits money and jobs against California’s environment

Tahoe Conservancy’s marsh restoration making progress

“The California Tahoe Conservancy is nearing completion of the second stage of a project to restore the Upper Truckee Marsh, which is just a piece of the plan the state agency has been working on the last 20 years to bring the marsh back to its former glory.  The Upper Truckee Marsh sits just east of Tahoe Keys and north of Highway 50, where the Upper Truckee River meets Lake Tahoe on the south shore.  An aerial photo of the marsh from the 1940s shows a very different marsh than the one that’s there today. The Upper Truckee River split into multiple channels and lagoons and the water flowed through the 1,600 acres of marsh before entering Lake Tahoe. … ”  Read more from the Mountain Democrat here:  Tahoe Conservancy’s marsh restoration making progress

EPA announces unprecedented $29 million for San Francisco Bay watershed restoration grants

“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is accepting applications for approximately $29 million in grants, the largest annual allocation ever, to protect and restore San Francisco Bay watersheds and wetlands. The agency is announcing two separate funding opportunities with a due date for applications of September 20, 2022.  “Among our nation’s iconic bodies of water, the San Francisco Bay stands out not only for its unique beauty and striking vistas, but for the tremendous environmental and economic benefits it brings to California and the United States,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “These federal grants provide critical funding to support climate resiliency and safeguard wetlands throughout the Bay Area, especially in communities that have been bearing greater pollution burdens.” … ”  Read more from the US EPA here: EPA announces unprecedented $29 million for San Francisco Bay watershed restoration grants

Land Transitions and dust in the San Joaquin Valley

“The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) requires groundwater users to bring their basins into balance over the next two decades. In the San Joaquin Valley, this will mean taking more than 500,000 acres of agricultural land out of intensive irrigated production. Among other issues, this could potentially lead to air quality impacts if the lands become new sources of dust, especially windblown dust, which can have numerous negative short- and long-term health and environmental impacts. In addition, the changing climate may exacerbate risks as warmer temperatures can dry out soils and increase dust emissions. The overall air quality impact of transitioning agricultural land to new uses is nuanced, but proactive management can help to identify high-risk areas and at-risk communities, and direct effort and funding to the most cost-effective interventions. … ”  Read more from the PPIC here: Land Transitions and Dust in the San Joaquin Valley

Exploring the potential for water-limited agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley

“The rollout of California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) is altering the state’s agricultural landscape. As groundwater sustainability measures are implemented and water scarcity increases, at least half a million acres are projected to come out of irrigated production in the San Joaquin Valley, the state’s agricultural heartland. Rather than widespread land idling—which comes with unintended consequences such as dust, weeds, pests, and soil degradation—a switch from summer irrigated crops to winter crops produced with limited water (including winter cereals and forage crops, among others) might keep some of this land in production. Although water-limited agriculture faces large hurdles, some promising aspects warrant further exploration. … ”  Read more from the PPIC here: Exploring the potential for water-limited agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley

Ridgecrest: Groundwater Authority strikes tentative deal to buy water

“The Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority has struck a tentative deal to purchase imported water, but it remains unclear how much it will all cost if the deal is approved. The GA’s attorney announced the tentative deal in his closed session report at the authority’s meeting last week.  The authority has “agreed in principle” to buy 753 acre-feet a year of water annually from the permanent State Water Project Table A entitlement, according to a news release. Official GA approval plus state approvals — including transfer approval from the DWR — are needed before the agreement is a done deal. ... ”  Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent here: Groundwater Authority strikes tentative deal to buy water

How Boeing created a nature preserve that may also preserve pollution

“The scientists and engineers of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory saw themselves as pioneers. Their work from the 1940s through the early 2000s helped put men on the moon and build missiles used to stare down the Soviet Union during the Cold War.  But the innovation came at a cost.  Decades of unsafe pollution management created a health hazard that would endanger neighbors for decades to come. … In 2007, Boeing signed an agreement with California to make 1,900 acres clean enough that people could live on the land and eat vegetables from their gardens.But most of that cleanup never happened. Now, Boeing is pursuing an unorthodox strategy that could enable it to bypass cleaning up much of the land. The company is using a legal agreement meant to preserve nature to argue that it should be allowed to leave much of the pollution untouched. … ”  Read the full story at NASDAQ here: How Boeing created a nature preserve that may also preserve pollution

3 plans to import water from Sea of Cortez to Salton Sea advance in state review

“Three concepts to restore the Salton Sea by importing water from the Sea of Cortez are moving forward for review by a state-appointed independent panel.  The Salton Sea Independent Review Panel has been analyzing 18 water importation concepts submitted to the state between 2017 and 2021; some envisioned sourcing water from the Pacific Ocean, while others would tap Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, which lies between Baja California and mainland Mexico.  Thirteen concepts passed an initial screening, but only three (all of which involved importing water from the Sea of Cortez) passed the next round of scrutiny — a “fatal flaw” review — according to a report released this week. … ”  Read more from the Desert Sun here: 3 plans to import water from Sea of Cortez to Salton Sea advance in state review

On the Colorado River the feds carry a big stick. Will the states get hit?

“The seven Colorado River basin states have until mid-August to come up with a plan to drastically cut their water use. Federal officials say the cuts are necessary to keep the river’s giant reservoirs from declining to levels where water cannot be released through their dams and hydropower production ceases. If state leaders fail to devise a plan, they could face a federal crackdown.  But while federal intervention is a key feature of Colorado River governance and management, to cajole stubborn water users into negotiating — it’s rarely tested. That leaves users along the river from Colorado to California to wonder just how serious the federal government is when it threatens unilateral actions. … ”  Read more from KUNC here: On the Colorado River the feds carry a big stick. Will the states get hit?

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Announcements, notices, and funding opportunities …

NOTICE of a decision to accept funds from the California Department of Water Resources, Division of Operations and Maintenance

NOW AVAILABLE: FY 2020-2021 Delta Crosscut Budget Report

NOTICE: San Joaquin River Restoration Program Updates 2022 Restoration Flow Schedule

REVISED NOTICE of Availability of Revised Draft Initial Biological Goals for Lower San Joaquin River and Notice of Workshop

NOTICE OF PREPARATION/CEQA SCOPING MEETING – Proposed Regulation to Implement the Bay-Delta Plan

NEPA DOCS: 2022 Temporary Change in Nitrate Water Quality Requirements for Groundwater Introduced into the Delta-Mendota Canal

NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING: State Water Resources Control Board Discussion Of Water Board Priorities

NOTICE: Direct Potable Reuse (DPR) Criteria Expert Panel – final panel preliminary findings posted

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: Delta Conservancy Announces Climate Resilience, Community Access, and Natural Resource Protection Funding

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