DAILY DIGEST, 12/13: Water providers still predict shortages next year; Past and present of the Central Valley Project; Accelerating water resilience through infrastructure finance; Pollution cleanup method destroys toxic “forever chemicals”; and more …

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On the calendar today …

• WEBINAR: Investing in Local Projects: Groundwater, Water Supplies, and Infrastructure from 10am to 11am. From carefully managing the Orange County Groundwater Basin to increasing local supplies, the Orange County Water District remains leaders in water supply reliability. This is made possible through investments in water infrastructure that lessen the dependence on imported supplies, helping retail agencies provide cost-effective, reliable water services to their customers. Agencies like Mesa Water, who rely on the groundwater basin, have further invested in projects to meet water demands entirely from local groundwater supplies.  Learn how this is made possible and hear from the Orange County Water District and Mesa Water District who will take a deep dive into local projects that ensure a sustainable water supply for generations to come. Click here to register.
• WORKSHOP: Round 2 (FY 22/23) Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program from 11am to 12pm.  The Department of Conservation will hold a workshop on the guidelines for Round 2 of the Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program.  Agenda: Overview of the Draft Guidelines, Changes from Round 1 Guidelines, Important dates and timelines, and Public Comments.  Click here to register.
• PUBLIC MEETING: 2021 Reinitiation of Consultation on the Long-Term Operation of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project from 1pm to 3pm. Reclamation is hosting a virtual public meeting to provide updates on the development of the Biological Assessment for the 2021 Reinitiation of Consultation on the Long-Term Operation of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project. Meetings are held quarterly in accordance with the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act. Location: Teams Meeting Meeting ID: 262 767 956 444; Passcode: f74jJg  Or call in (audio only) +1 202-640-1187; Phone Conference ID: 445624273#
• GRA SoCAL: Water Replenishment District Project Review and Current Groundwater Basin Conditions in Southern Los Angeles County from 6pm to 9pm.  WRD will present a high-level summary of several key projects being implemented to help protect and further utilize the local groundwater resources of two adjudicated groundwater basins located in southern Los Angeles County. WRD has been actively tracking groundwater contamination for key high priority sites through our Groundwater Contamination Program. A summary will be provided along with the results of an investigation performed to better define perchlorate impacts in deep groundwater with concentrations up to 5,000 μg/L. A groundwater remediation system is being installed to address these impacts and will be operational by the end of 2022. Attend virtually or in person.  More information here.

In California water news today …

Is California’s drought over? Water providers still predict shortages next year

“December has delivered a powerful punch of storms to California. But the wet weather comes with a dry dose of reality: The state’s largest reservoirs remain badly depleted, projected water deliveries are low, wells are drying up, and the Colorado River’s water, already diminished by a megadrought, is severely overallocated.  Throughout California, urban water managers are bracing for a fourth consecutive drought year. Nearly one out of every five water agencies — 76 out of 414 — in a recent state survey predict that they won’t have enough water to meet demand next year. That means they are likely to impose more severe restrictions on customers, with some Southern California providers considering a ban on all outdoor watering.  While December’s rain and snow show promise, water managers remember the same thing happened last year — epic early storms followed by the driest January through March in California’s recorded history. ... ”  Read more from Cal Matters here: Is California’s drought over? Water providers still predict shortages next year

Too soon to know how Sierra Nevada snowfall will impact California’s ongoing drought

“For the second weekend in a row, Sacramento and the Sierra Nevada mountains saw back-to-back storms bringing rain to the valley and snow to the hills.  Despite the recent wet weather, including snow intense enough to snarl mountain travel in the Sierra this weekend, California is still grappling with a number of drier-than-usual winters and persistent drought. So how much did these storms help?  CapRadio’s Mike Hagerty spoke with Dr. Andrew Schwartz, the lead scientist and manager of UC Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Laboratory at Soda Springs near Donner Pass, about how much snow we got and if it made a dent in the state’s drought. … ”  Read more from Capital Public Radio here: Too soon to know how Sierra Nevada snowfall will impact California’s ongoing drought

SEE ALSO:

• • What does all the rain and snow mean for California’s drought?, from SF Gate
  • Recent storms give drought-weary California cause for hope, but will they continue?, from the LA Times
  • Dry days ahead for rest of the week after weekend storm ‘puts a dent’ in California drought, from the San Jose Mercury News
  • Tahoe snow makes for ‘best Christmas holiday conditions’ in years, from the San Francisco Chronicle
  • Northern California has been treated to a very soggy start to December. , from Channel 10

California Drought: “We’re moving the rain”- Past and present of the Central Valley Project

Are difficult times ahead as California enters a 4th year of drought? ABC10 speaks with the Bureau of Reclamation about possible water cutbacks.

Report: Sharing the cost: Accelerating water resilience through infrastructure finance in California

“Beyond the intensifying drought and widening infrastructure inefficiencies, there are billions of dollars worth of unmet operation and maintenance costs and system improvements currently to be found in the State Water Project and Central Valley Project, and throughout California. Accelerating water resilience throughout the state will require the state to gather better information regarding gaps in local water infrastructure project funding, operations and maintenance, and delivery systems. Additionally, the state will need to work with regions to facilitate the coordination, governance, and capacity-building capabilities necessary to harness innovative financing mechanisms that enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life for the residents in urban, rural, and agricultural communities. … ”  Read more and download report from the Milken Institute here: Report: Sharing the cost: Accelerating water resilience through infrastructure finance in California

Illegal pot grows are making forests high on water contamination

“Clandestine cannabis grows are messing with water quality in four separate national forests, harming potential drinking water supplies downstream of the illegal operations.  The U.S. Forest Service has long suspected that these secretive “grows” are causing harm to wildlife, but the impacts are more insipid than that.  What the federal agency found: A six-year study by Forest Service law enforcement, investigative ecologists and other partners found the fallout of illegal cannabis operations is doing more than hurting terrestrial wildlife, including the federally protected northern spotted owl and Pacific fisher. After the extensive monitoring, researchers found illegal and banned pesticides have been unexpectedly detected in surface waters below these sites. … ”  Read more from Deseret News here:  Illegal pot grows are making forests high on water contamination

What is a ‘Megaflood’? Taking a look at the past to predict a possible future

“Imagine the biggest storm you have been through — cold, hard rain for a few days. Ponding on roads and creeks. Rivers running high.  Well, what if the rain didn’t stop, the creeks rose higher, and the rivers became an inland salt-less sea spanning hundreds of miles? The water once seen as our friend would become our biggest enemy.  “When it started raining in November, people started to notice that winter’s coming early,” said Old Sac Underground tour guide, Shawn Turner. “Then right before Christmas, the storms really hit.” For folks living in California in 1861 and 1862, this wasn’t a bad dream, it was a nightmare. Their livelihoods were washed away. … ”  Read more from Channel 10 here: What is a ‘Megaflood’? Taking a look at the past to predict a possible future

Pollution cleanup method destroys toxic “forever chemicals”

“An insidious category of carcinogenic pollutants known as “forever chemicals” may not be so permanent after all.  University of California, Riverside, chemical engineering and environmental scientists recently published new methods to chemically break up these harmful substances found in drinking water into smaller compounds that are essentially harmless.  The patent-pending process infuses contaminated water with hydrogen, then blasts the water with high-energy, short-wavelength ultraviolet light. The hydrogen polarizes water molecules to make them more reactive, while the light catalyzes chemical reactions that destroy the pollutants, known as PFAS or poly- and per-fluoroalkyl substances.  This one-two punch breaks the strong fluorine-to-carbon chemicals bonds that make these pollutants so persistent and accumulative in the environment. In fact, the molecular destruction of PFAS increased from 10% to nearly 100% when compared to other ultraviolet water-treatment methods, while no other undesirable byproducts or impurities are generated, the UCR scientists reported in a paper recently published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters. … ”  Read more from the UC Riverside here: Pollution cleanup method destroys toxic “forever chemicals”

Solar panels planned on aqueduct to save power and energy

“California’s newest infrastructure project will hit two proverbial climate birds with one stone. And Los Angeles city officials just decided last week to try one of its own.  The plan is to cover some of California’s exposed water canals with solar panels. It will prevent evaporation amidst the state’s historic drought. It will also create renewable energy as the state attempts to meet lofty decarbonization goals.The idea gained traction in California after researchers at UC Merced studied the possibility on the state’s canals last year.  “If we put solar panels over all 4000 miles of California’s open canals, we estimated we could save 65 billion gallons of water annually,” says Brandi McKuin, who led the study. “That’s enough for the residential water needs of 2 million people – enough to irrigate 50,000 acres of farmland.” ... ”  Read more from the Public News Service here: Solar panels planned on aqueduct to save power and energy

California’s 2022 fire season: “A remarkably different year”

“This year’s fire season was relatively quiet—a welcome change of pace for fire-weary Californians. But what does it mean in the larger scheme of things? We asked UC Berkeley professor and PPIC Water Policy Center research network member Scott Stephens for insights.  Q: The 2022 fire season has seemed much less intense than in the past few years. Does the data bear that out?  A: It has indeed been a remarkably different year. A couple of factors led to that: we didn’t have lightning igniting hundreds of fires simultaneously, and the weather was a little better, though it certainly wasn’t perfect—we had a six or seven day period of the highest temperatures ever recorded in California. Luckily that heat didn’t come with wind this year. We have seen more prescribed burns and thinning in the last five years, and some of these fuel treatments reduced fire behavior to allow for more effective suppression. Also, CalFire increased resources for initial attack, picking up fires as early as possible, and that helped—though we all know that’s not a solution to the situation we’re in. But it was a factor. … ”  Read more from the PPIC here: California’s 2022 fire season: “A remarkably different year” 

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In commentary today …

DWR’s unsustainable initial water supply allocation for 2023

Doug Obegi, Director of California River Restoration, NRDC’s Water Division, “While the California Department of Water Resources’ initial water supply allocation for the State Water Project is ostensibly only 5%, this allocation is a lot more water than it initially appears (more than 1.4 million acre feet of water) – and almost certainly more water than DWR can sustainably deliver if 2023 remains dry.   Last year, for the first time in its history, DWR announced that the State Water Project allocation would deliver water only to meet human health and safety needs.  While this was described in news stories as an initial allocation of “zero percent,” this initial allocation actually amounted to more than 800,000 acre feet of water for its contractors, because … ”  Continue reading at the NRDC here: DWR’s unsustainable initial water supply allocation for 2023

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In regional water news and commentary today …

MOUNTAIN COUNTIES

Storm not enough to ease drought

“The weekend’s wild weather brought some much-needed precipitation in the form of rain and in many areas, snow.  Eric Kurth with the National Weather Service in Sacramento reported that the service’s observer in Grass Valley tallied 3.74 inches of rain in the four-day period beginning Dec. 9.  Another observer located 1.3 miles north-northeast of Grass Valley reported two inches of snow, while those at higher elevations reported anywhere from 3 inches to 8 inches of snow.  “Generally the snow pack is in good shape,” Kurth said. “The northern Sierra is doing pretty well. The nearest station (to Grass Valley and Nevada City) is at Rollins Reservoir where (rainfall) is at 121% of normal. It isn’t snow, but observations of rainfall since October 1.”  Though water totals are encouraging, Kurth said we are not quite out of the drought yet. … ”  Read more from The Union here: Storm not enough to ease drought

Palisades Tahoe receives near record 24-hour snowfall from weekend storm

“The wet and windy storm that pounded the Sierra Nevada over the weekend brought a near record 24-hour snowfall total to Palisades Tahoe in Olympic Valley, the resort said Monday.  From Saturday morning to Sunday morning, the resort near Lake Tahoe received more than 35 inches of snow, the sixth largest 24-hour snowfall total in the resort’s recorded history, according to an email from Patrick Lacey, Palisades Tahoe public relations manager.  It has received a total of 7 1/2 feet of snow so far in this month alone.  During the weekend storm, temperatures dropped as low as 13 degrees and wind gusts reached speeds of 165 mph. … ”  Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat here: Palisades Tahoe receives near record 24-hour snowfall from weekend storm

SEE ALSO:  4 feet of weekend snow brings early Christmas to Lake Tahoe resorts, from the Tahoe Daily Tribune

SACRAMENTO VALLEY

How Tehama and Glenn County residents in need can sign up for free water deliveries

“There is help in the form of free water deliveries for Tehama and Glenn County residents who have felt the direct impacts of the drought, thanks to a 5 million dollar grant.  The North Valley Community Foundation (NVCF) received a $5,040,240 grant from the Department of Water Resources to create a water delivery program in Tehama County and expand a similar existing program in Glenn County.  California is still in the middle of a multi-year drought, and NVCF reports more than 422 households in Glenn County and 142 in Tehama County have reported dry or intermittent wells with the highest concentration of dry wells in the Orland and Corning areas. … ”  Read more from KRCR here: How Tehama and Glenn County residents in need can sign up for free water deliveries

BAY AREA

NASA satellite could show unprecedented view of S.F. Bay Area waters — and looming threats

“Scientists are about to get a clearer picture of Earth’s oceans, lakes, rivers and reservoirs.  High-definition details will come courtesy of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, scheduled to launch on Thursday, Dec. 15 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County. The mission is co-led by NASA and French space agency Centre National D’Etudes Spatiales.  The satellite will provide the first truly global view of the planet’s water, surveying over 90% of Earth’s surface. This information will allow researchers to investigate a smorgasbord of science questions, from the impact of rising sea levels on coastal communities to how water moves through the water cycle. … ”  Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: NASA satellite could show unprecedented view of S.F. Bay Area waters — and looming threats

CENTRAL COAST

Santa Cruz wastewater plant turns methane into power

“At a sprawling sewage treatment plant in north San Jose, engineers are slowly perfecting the ideal temperature for a smelly mixture of bacteria and human waste as the stew churns inside four massive air-tight cauldrons.  The plant, the largest wastewater treatment facility west of the Mississippi to produce water clean enough to be discharged into a sensitive ecosystem like San Francisco Bay, is experimenting with new heat-loving bacteria that excel at turning poop into compost and energy — harnessing the power of dangerous greenhouse gases.  “It’s like making bread or making yogurt,” said civil engineer Mariana Chavez-Vazquez, who oversaw the renovation of the cauldrons. The bacteria “need to be happy. They need to be a certain temperature. If you put in something that they don’t like, they will go sour.” … ”  Read more from the Santa Cruz Sentinel here: Santa Cruz wastewater plant turns methane into power

Morro Bay to test water samples after Sunday sewage spill near California Men’s Colony

“The county of San Luis Obispo Public Health Department reported an overnight sewage spill at California Men’s Colony on Sunday, Dec. 11.  Sewage from a nearby plant overflowed into Chorro Creek after an equipment malfunction caused by the heavy rain over the weekend from midnight to 9 a.m. weakened the infrastructure. Operations at the sewer plant resumed to normal by the time the spill was stopped. … ”  Read more from KEYT here: Morro Bay to test water samples after Sunday sewage spill near California Men’s Colony

Storm brought over 8 inches of rain to one SLO County spot. See how much fell in your area

“The powerful storm that hit San Luis Obispo County on Saturday and Sunday brought several inches of rain to many areas of the region, along with blustery winds that wreaked havoc across the region. Thousands of businesses and homes experienced power outages, a few of which are still yet to be fixed by PG&E. That includes about 300 customers in Grover Beach, a few customers in Los Osos and about 50 along Highway 46 west of Templeton, according to the utility’s power outage website. The storm forced the closure of Highway 1 due to a flash flood warning, and heavy rains were blamed for a “large, unknown volume” of treated sewage that spilled released into a San Luis Obispo creek from California Men’s Colony on Sunday morning. … ”  Read more from the San Luis Obispo Tribune here: Storm brought over 8 inches of rain to one SLO County spot. See how much fell in your area

Santa Barbara creeks running again

“The music of running water returned to Santa Barbara creeks after the rains on Saturday, with the continued overnight downpours topping seven inches at the San Marcos Pass and about an inch and a half in town by the end of the weekend. The cold night even brought a sprinkling of snow to the tops of the Santa Ynez Mountains.  Lake Cachuma itself received about three inches of rain from the storm, plus runoff from the Santa Ynez River. The total increase was about 450 acre-feet of water, though the current capacity is just 31.5 percent of full. Gibraltar is similarly at 30.1 percent full, and Jameson Reservoir above Montecito at 56.3 percent capacity. … ”  Read more from the Santa Barbara Independent here: Santa Barbara creeks running again

SEE ALSO:  A wet December is encouraging in drought dry Santa Barbara County, from KEYT

EASTERN SIERRA

Low-level helicopter flights to image 3-dimensional geology in Nevada and California

“Earth MRI is a cooperative effort between the USGS, the Association of American State Geologists, and other Federal, State, and private sector organizations to improve our knowledge of the geologic framework in the United States.  The survey data will be collected using a helicopter and will fly over parts of four counties in western Nevada and eastern California. Counties include Mineral, Nye, and Esmeralda in Nevada as well as Mono in California.  Weather permitting, the survey will begin in mid-December 2022 and be completed in April 2023. ... ” Read more from the USGS here: Low-level helicopter flights to image 3-dimensional geology in Nevada and California

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Antelope Valley:  Water contractors look at recharging aquifer

“Seeking additional means of storing water when it is available, the Antelope Valley State Water Contractors Association is studying the potential for recharging the underlying aquifer with surplus water from the State Water Project in and adjacent to Big Rock Creek, in the southeastern part of the Valley. The Association is made up of representatives of the three entities in the Valley that contract for water through the State Water Project and carried through the California Aqueduct: Palmdale Water District, Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency and Littlerock Creek Irrigation District. … ” Read more from the AV Press here: Antelope Valley:  Water contractors look at recharging aquifer

Southern California coastal towns are losing valuable sand, putting some beaches at risk

“Gone are the bonfires, the volleyball nets and the sunbathers from some sand-depleted beaches in Southern California.  Memories are all that’s left, as the force of the ocean’s waves menace homes, parking lots and an important rail line that hugs the coast. In place of plush sand, walls of gray boulders now serve as barriers against the sea where beach towels once lay.  Millions of residents and tourists flock year-round to Southern California’s iconic coast. Each year, Los Angeles County beaches attract more than 50 million visitors; an estimated 6 million people visit Laguna Beach alone each year.  But the coastal landscape is dramatically changing in Southern California as the sand disappears from several beloved beaches. One study predicts two-thirds of the beaches could be gone by 2100 if no one intervenes.  And Southern California is not alone. More than half the coastline in Florida is critically eroded. Coastal dunes in New Jersey have been devastated by storms. … ”  Read more from the OC Register here: Southern California coastal towns are losing valuable sand, putting some beaches at risk

RELATED:

• • An Orange County coastal town grapples with losing its beach, from the OC Register
  • Can Southern California save its disappearing beaches?, from the OC Register

SAN DIEGO

Storm makes it likely more potential drinking water will have to be released from Lake Hodges

“While rain is usually a very welcome sight for officials who oversee the City of San Diego’s drinking water supply, Monday’s storm will, at least in part, not provide its usual benefits.  That’s because the Lake Hodges Dam is in such bad shape, it’s not capable of holding its regular supply of water, meaning much of the runoff from this storm may have to be released.  “It’s not ideal to have to do this release when you’re talking about conservation and use of this water because it’s a precious commodity,” said Lisa Celaya of the city’s Public Utilities Department. … ”  Read more from Channel 10 here: Storm makes it likely more potential drinking water will have to be released from Lake Hodges

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Along the Colorado River …

Colorado River users set to meet, but water deal seems a ways off

“As Western water managers get set to gather in Las Vegas this week, a long-sought deal to curtail water use along the cratering Colorado River still seems a ways off.  Nearly six months have passed since Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton first asked the Western states to come up with a plan to cut back on water use from the river next year by as much as 30 percent, but a cohesive proposal from the seven states that pull from the Colorado that supplies water to some 40 million people has yet to emerge.  Things have only gotten worse along the river since Touton’s request, and that decline shows no signs of slowing down. Reclamation officials said during public meetings in recent weeks that without any adjustments to current operations on the river, Lake Powell could drop to a point where Glen Canyon Dam would not be able to generate hydropower as early as the middle of next year while Lake Mead could drop another 100 feet — putting Hoover Dam’s power generation capabilities in jeopardy — by spring of 2025. … ”  Read more from the Las Vegas Review-Journal here: Colorado River users set to meet, but water deal seems a ways off

Experts split on need to retool Colorado River compact

“Management of the depleted Colorado River needs an overhaul, speakers at a University of Arizona-sponsored conference agreed.  But at a conference called last week to observe the 100th anniversary of the interstate compact that divided river water rights among Western states, the speakers disagreed over whether the Colorado River Compact itself needs a major rework.  “The compact negotiators negotiated on a river that no longer exists,” said Eric Kuhn, an author and retired Colorado water district general manager who told attendees at last week’s conference that he “absolutely agrees” it needs fixing. … ”  Read more from the Arizona Daily Star here: Experts split on need to retool Colorado River compact

Arizona: The latest in user-friendly tech from Water Resources: The WMAP dashboard

“Like several other Arizona state agencies that work in complex systems, ADWR has been committed to making its data not only accessible to the public, but understandable to the public.  We’ve been accomplishing that goal in a variety of ways, including with several new, user-friendly techno-tools on our website that allow users to access detailed information without having to pore over eye-glazing charts, tables and graphs.  The latest such feature is a “Water Management Assistance Program interactive dashboard” on the Active Management Area website that provides information on project funding and other details related to the program. … ”  Read more from the Arizona Department of Water Resources here: Arizona: The latest in user-friendly tech from Water Resources: The WMAP dashboard

San Carlos Apache Tribe steps in to provide water to north Scottsdale community

“Last week, the San Carlos Apache Tribe announced that it has reached a preliminary agreement with Dynamite Water Company to provide water for more than 700 homes in the Rio Verde Foothills, an affluent neighborhood north of Scottsdale.   The City of Scottsdale announced in 2021 that it would no longer provide water to commercial companies transporting water to the Rio Verde by the end of 2022.  “The Tribe is pleased to have the opportunity to provide assistance to Arizona communities in need of water and stands ready to work cooperatively on complex water issues facing our Tribe and State,” San Carlos Apache Tribal Chairman Terry Rambler said in a statement on Thursday, Dec. 08. … ”  Read more from Native News Online here: San Carlos Apache Tribe steps in to provide water to north Scottsdale community

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In national water news today …

How water cycles can help prevent disastrous floods and drought

Erica Geis, author of ‘Water Always Wins, writes, “In just a few months this year, abnormally low water levels in rivers led China to shut down factories, and floods inundated one-third of Pakistan, killing around 1,500 people and grinding the country to a halt. A dried-up Rhine River threatened to tip Germany’s economy into recession, because cargo ships could not carry standard loads. And the Las Vegas strip turned into a river and flooded casinos, chasing customers away. It seems that such water disasters pepper the news daily now.  Many businesses have long lobbied against changing their practices to safeguard the environment, by refusing to implement pollution controls, take climate action or reduce resource use. The costs are too high and would harm economic growth, they argue. Now we are seeing the price of that inaction. … ”  Continue reading from Scientific America here: How water cycles can help prevent disastrous floods and drought

Which wetlands to protect? Supreme Court will soon decide

” … Currently, the law governing wetland protection is muddled. The Clean Water Act of 1972 holds that federal protections apply to navigable waters, which are referred to as the “waters of the United States” (known as WOTUS). Wetlands often aren’t navigable, yet they help keep navigable waters clean and healthy. The Clean Water Act left it to federal regulators to determine exactly what should be should be included under “waters of the United States,” and court decisions have so far failed to clarify the issue.  A previous Supreme Court case, in 2006, only added to the confusion when the opinion split three ways. A plurality of justices, in an opinion written by Justice Antonin Scalia, found that a “continuous surface connection” was the test to define a wetland to find protection under the Clean Water Act. But a separate opinion, by Justice Anthony Kennedy, found there needed to be a “significant nexus” to navigable waters, which means that if there wasn’t an obvious surface connection, research was needed to show that the wetlands played a role in assuring the integrity of the larger body of water, for wildlife habitat or for other ecological value. Subsequent decisions by lower courts have said that either Kennedy’s opinion should be followed or that either opinion may be used. … ”  Read more from Yale e360 here: Which wetlands to protect? Supreme Court will soon decide

Latest international water satellite packs an engineering punch

“Set for a Thursday, Dec. 15 launch, the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite promises to provide an extraordinary accounting of water over much of Earth’s surface. Its measurements of fresh water and the ocean will help researchers address some of the most pressing climate questions of our time and help communities prepare for a warming world. Making this possible is a scientific instrument called the Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn).  Years in development, the instrument has been designed to capture very precise measurements of the height of water in Earth’s freshwater bodies and the ocean. KaRIn will measure the height of water in the ocean, “seeing” features like currents and eddies that are less than 13 miles (20 kilometers) across – up to 10 times smaller than those detectable with other sea level satellites. It will also collect data on lakes and reservoirs larger than 15 acres (62,500 square meters) and rivers wider than 330 feet (100 meters) across. … ”  Read more from NASA here: Latest international water satellite packs an engineering punch 

Droughts are associated with increase in suicides in the U.S.

“Droughts may increase the rate of suicide in the United States, according to new research being presented at AGU’s Fall Meeting on 13 December in Chicago and online.  The health impacts of drought are less understood than impacts from other types of natural disasters due to their slower nature compared to hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes. And most of the research that has been conducted on drought is related to physical health impacts, such as the increased incidence of strokes in the hot, dry weather.  “We don’t have studies on drought and suicide in the U.S.,” said Azar Abadi, a researcher in climate epidemiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center who will be presenting the work. “Mental health is one of the hidden health outcomes of climate change.” … ”  Read more from Yuba Net here: Droughts are associated with increase in suicides in the U.S.

The year in water, 2022: Sharpening the shark’s teeth

“Spend a few days at a water conference and you’ll hear a favored metaphor for the environmental changes that are unsettling the planet.  If climate change is a shark, attendees will say, then water is the shark’s teeth. In this telling, when higher temperatures bite, victims are likely to suffer a hydrologic trauma: too much water or too little. Floods wash away homes; droughts kill livestock and crops.  The strength of the shark’s teeth and the breadth of the bite were on full display in 2022.  Ferocious monsoon floods submerged one-third of Pakistan, devastating the agriculture sector in Sindh province, displacing 8 million people, and killing more than 1,700. A third consecutive year of the La Niña weather pattern was a calamity for the Horn of Africa, where parts of Somalia are on the verge of famine for the second time this century. … ” Read more from the Circle of Blue here: The year in water, 2022: Sharpening the shark’s teeth

23 predictions for 2023

“We took a look back at some of the biggest climate stories from the past year and asked 23 experts to forecast what 2023 holds in a few key areas: water, ecosystems, politics and policy, mitigation and adaptation, technology, and business. Their predictions provide a glimpse of what progress could look like in the months ahead, and a rubric for measuring success. (Comments have been edited for length and clarity.) … ”  Read more from Grist here: 23 predictions for 2023

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