In California water news this weekend …
Tribes accuse California water board of discrimination and urge EPA oversight of Bay-Delta
“A coalition of California tribes and environmental justice groups filed a civil rights complaint Friday against the State Water Resources Control Board, charging it with discriminatory water management practices that it says have led to the ecological decline of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Members of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, Little Manila Rising, Restore the Delta and Save California Salmon are calling for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency oversight of the state water board, including an investigation into its alleged failure to review and update water quality standards in compliance with the Clean Water Act. The Title VI civil rights complaint comes about seven months after the same coalition petitioned the board to review and update its water quality plan for the delta and San Francisco Bay — a petition the groups said went largely ignored. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: Tribes accuse California water board of discrimination and urge EPA oversight of Bay-Delta | Read via AOL News
ICYMI: Civil rights complaint seeks US EPA oversight of CA State Water Board: Bay-Delta ecological crisis harms California Tribes and Delta EJ communities
“Today, the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Winnemem Wintu Tribe, Little Manila Rising, Restore the Delta, and Save California Salmon filed a Title VI (Civil Rights) Complaint and a Petition for Rulemaking with the US Environmental Protection Agency. The coalition is represented by the Stanford Environmental Law Clinic. The complaint and petition seek relief for California Tribal nations and disadvantaged Delta communities. In May 2022, this same coalition of groups petitioned the State Water Resources Control Board to update water quality standards for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary (the “Bay-Delta”) to improve instream flows to save fish species and address harmful algal blooms (HABs) that plague their communities. The State Board refused to act on these requests. … ” Read more from Restore the Delta via Maven’s Notebook here: Civil rights complaint seeks US EPA oversight of CA State Water Board: Bay-Delta ecological crisis harms California Tribes and Delta EJ communities
Tribes decry Klamath water proposal
“The Karuk and Yurok tribes issued a warning this morning that a Bureau of Reclamation proposal to reduce flows on the Klamath River could kill off an entire salmon run in advance of a historic dam removal and restoration effort aimed at saving the fish. Nothing that tribes and state officials just last week celebrated the historic agreement to remove four hydroelectric dams from the lower Klamath River — a pact reached after decades of efforts by the tribes and environmental groups — the tribes issued a press release this morning warning that regulators have proposed reducing the river’s flows by 40 percent. “We are hurt and frustrated,” said Yurok Vice Chair Frankie Myers in a press release. “We are on the verge of the biggest salmon restoration project in history and now we learn of plans to de-water the river.” … ” Read more from the North Coast Journal here: Tribes decry Klamath water proposal
Feds propose cutting Klamath River flows as irrigators illegally divert river
“Last week Tribal communities celebrated as Klamath dam removal plans were approved. This week, the celebration was cut short as the Bureau of Reclamation proposed a plan to cut Klamath River flows by 40%. “We are hurt and frustrated,” said Yurok Vice Chairman Frankie Myers. “We are on the verge of the biggest salmon restoration project in history and now we learn of plans to de-water the river.” Several consecutive years of drought has led to irrigation diversion curtailments, poor water quality, and fish kills. With mounting political pressure on federal agencies to fill the only water storage feature on the mainstem Klamath, Upper Klamath Lake, the Bureau of Reclamation has floated a proposal to cut river flows by 40% when flows are already below recommended minimums. … ” Read more from the Daily Kos here: Feds propose cutting Klamath River flows as irrigators illegally divert river
ICYMI: Bureau of Reclamation plans to set aside a twenty-two year-old agreement on Trinity River; Hoopa Valley Tribe files for injunction
“[Friday], the Hoopa Valley Tribe asked a California federal court for an injunction against the Interior Department agency responsible for restoring Hoopa’s fishery on California’s Trinity River. The Bureau of Reclamation plans to set aside a twenty-two year-old agreement with the United States to restore the Tribe’s fishery, which was devastated by Reclamation’s unlawful over-diversion of water to industrial agriculture and other uses in California’s Central Valley. This case is Hoopa’s latest battle in an ongoing war to defend its sovereignty and fishing rights. “That agreement is sacred to us”, said Tribal Chairman Joe Davis. “It took an act of Congress and years of negotiation to make a restoration plan we could agree on. More than a generation ago, on December 19, 2000, Federal, State, Local, and Tribal officials gathered in Hoopa at a ceremony on the banks of the Trinity River to witness Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and Tribal Chairman Duane Sherman sign the agreement.” … ” Read more of this press release from the Hoopa Tribe via Maven’s Notebook here: ICYMI: Bureau of Reclamation plans to set aside a twenty-two year-old agreement on Trinity River; Hoopa Valley Tribe files for injunction
California Drought: Exceptionally dry conditions drop by nearly half
“There is finally some good news to report in terms of the drought – exceptional drought conditions have dropped by almost half from nearly 13% to 7%. That 7% still resides on the San Joaquin Valley which has been largely deprived of meaningful, soaking rainfall the last three years apart from a few atmospheric river events. Years of drought have created a water deficit across the state, particularly for the groundwater supply beneath the parched San Joaquin soils. Although California is off to a good start this winter, it will take much much more to escape drought and even more to recharge the aquifers, which the upcoming dry stretch won’t help. ... ” Read more from Channel 10 here: California Drought: Exceptionally dry conditions drop by nearly half
How states across the West are using cloud seeding to make it rain
“Whenever there’s a big storm in the American West, pilots are likely flying into the eye, seeding clouds with a substance called silver iodide. The goal is to increase precipitation. Cloud seeding has been around since the 1940s. It’s become widespread of late as the West battles a drought of historic proportions. States, utility companies and even ski resorts are footing the bill. While it was was assumed for decades to be effective, recent studies have helped prove that cloud seeding works, and there’s no evidence that silver iodide is harmful at current levels. Experts say cloud seeding generally yields a 5% to 15% increase in precipitation. It’s no cure for drought, but cloud seeding can be an important water management tool. … ” Read more from CNBC here: How states across the West are using cloud seeding to make it rain
Over 100 people show at public meeting in Hood to protest the salmon-killing Delta Tunnel
“Gia Moreno of Hood spoke passionately about her commitment to stop the proposed Delta Tunnel at a public meeting hosted by the Delta Counties Coalition and Delta Legislative Caucus at the Willow Ballroom on Tuesday, Dec. 6. “I am a mother, an artist, an educator, and I’m tired. I’m tired of coming to these meetings,” Moreno testified. “I’m tired of hearing people from all over the state from all walks of life pour their hearts out in defense of the Delta, I’m tired of being one of those people, and I’m tired of the nonchalant responses that we receive in return. Even though I have become mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted from the last few years of this literal life or death fight, I can’t and won’t stop fighting.” … ” Read more from the Daily Kos here: Over 100 people show at public meeting in Hood to protest the salmon-killing Delta Tunnel
New state program will pay to keep groundwater in the ground
“The state will likely soon be offering up more cash to farmers who take their crops out of production. The state Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) new LandFlex program will pay out $25 million to local agencies and ultimately, as an incentive to farmers. This is different from the Multibenefit Land Repurposing program overseen by the state’s Conservation Department. The LandFlex program’s main goal is to relieve at-risk domestic wells from surrounding groundwater pumping. … ” Read more from SJV Water here: New state program will pay to keep groundwater in the ground
Changing climate, shift to more extreme weather intensify risk of flooding in California
“California’s shift to a hotter and drier climate is intensifying flood risk across the state and demands action, even during ongoing drought. With warmer temperatures, California needs to be prepared for more extreme flood events brought on by storms producing more rain than snow. Today, the Central Valley Flood Protection Board approved the 2022 Update to the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan (CVFPP) which outlines improved flood management and infrastructure investments to significantly reduce flood risk especially in the most vulnerable communities of the Central Valley. The CVFPP is a strategic roadmap for flood management in the Central Valley. The 2022 Update, developed by the Department of Water Resources (DWR), outlines a suite of recommended actions and clear opportunities to reduce flood risk especially in the San Joaquin River basin. … ” Read more from the Department of Water Resources here: Changing climate, shift to more extreme weather intensify risk of flooding in California
California plan proposes billions to protect Central Valley from mega flooding
“The Central Valley Flood Protection Board approved a blueprint to fortify the region against catastrophic flooding, which scientists predict will be consequence of climate change in California. A mega-flood could result in $1 trillion dollars in damage, the agency estimates. The plan calls for more than $3 billion in the next five years and $35 billion over the next 30 years for infrastructure upgrades, emergency preparation and floodplain restoration. “Climate change is causing great impacts but we have the tools,” said Gary Lippner, deputy director for flood management at the Department of Water Resources. “I’m just hoping we can get there a little quicker than climate change is going to impact us.” … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: California plan proposes billions to protect Central Valley from mega flooding
Feather River Fish Hatchery to increase production of fall-run chinook salmon to combat impacts of drought, thiamine deficiency
“The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) have announced that the Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville will increase its production of fall-run Chinook salmon in 2023 to approximately 9.5 million fish to combat the impacts of drought and a thiamine deficiency affecting natural spawning and in-river production. It is the second consecutive year the Feather River Fish Hatchery will exceed its typical production quota of 6 million fall-run Chinook salmon to help sustain California’s commercial and recreational salmon fisheries. The hatchery raised and released 8 million fall-run Chinook salmon smolts in 2022. ... ” Read more from the Department of Fish & Wildlife here: Feather River Fish Hatchery to increase production of fall-run chinook salmon to combat impacts of drought, thiamine deficiency
Golden Gate Salmon Association supports additional hatchery salmon production at Feather River hatchery response to drought and other stressors
“The Feather River hatchery will release millions of extra young salmon in early 2023 to help offset salmon losses caused by drought. The hatchery fertilized millions more eggs than it needed this year on the assumption the eggs might be needed by other Central Valley hatcheries due to low returns of adult fish in 2022. The other hatcheries, including Nimbus on the American River, the Mokelumne on the Mokelumne River and Coleman hatchery on Battle Creek, all ended up getting enough eggs in their own watersheds. The question immediately arose of what to do with the extra eggs. The California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), which runs the Feather River hatchery, recognized the value of hatching the eggs in light of drought losses. Different ideas were discussed about how long to rear the salmon, with consideration to the limited space at the Feather River hatchery and other factors. “The Golden State Salmon Association told CDFW it strongly supports allowing the eggs to hatch and adding them to the fishery,” said GSSA president John McManus. … ” Read more from the Golden State Salmon Association here: Golden Gate Salmon Association supports additional hatchery salmon production at Feather River hatchery response to drought and other stressors
$11 for a head of California lettuce? Here’s what’s behind the shortage causing ‘outrageous’ prices
“Don’t look now — the price of lettuce is soaring across the Bay Area. It’s $5.99 for a head of romaine at Country Sun Natural Foods in Palo Alto. Nearly $10 for little gem lettuce at Draeger’s Market in Los Altos. And a whopping $10.99 for iceberg at Piedmont Grocery in Oakland. Nationwide, the average cost of a head of romaine is currently just $2.50, according to federal data. But that’s still a 47% jump from October. Produce prices can vary widely across regions and even individual stores due to a range of factors, including local seasonal growing trends and the contracts grocers can negotiate with farmers and suppliers. The reason for the spike? It’s not just inflation and supply-chain problems. … ” Read more from the Whittier Daily News here: $11 for a head of California lettuce? Here’s what’s behind the shortage causing ‘outrageous’ prices
‘Game-changer’ satellite launched from California will measure most of the water on earth
“The first mission to survey nearly all of the water on Earth’s surface has launched. The international Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission, known as SWOT, lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County at 3:46 a.m. PT on Friday. The first stage of the rocket successfully landed back on earth at 3:54 a.m. PT. The mission, a joint effort between NASA and the French space agency Centre National d’Études Spatiales, will survey water on more than 90 percent of the world’s surface and measure the height of water in freshwater bodies as well as the oceans. The two agencies have collaborated for decades to monitor Earth’s oceans and SWOT is the next step in their partnership. … ” Read more from CBS News here: ‘Game-changer’ satellite launched from California will measure most of the water on earth
In people news this weekend …
Promotions, passings, profiles – submit people news items to maven@mavensnotebook.com.
Voices of Klamath River watershed: Dr. Ann Willis
“While dam removal on the Klamath River is now certain, what happens after the dams come out is less certain. A dam removal and river restoration project of this scale has never been done before. As a scientist, Dr. Ann Willis is excited to see just how dramatically we may have underestimated the potential of the Klamath once the river is freed. “These rivers are so complex. The different pieces of them come together in such a mysterious and miraculous way. It’s foolish to try and predict the outcome of [dam removal], and I think it’s almost more magical to be surprised by it and to choose to be open to learning what we don’t know,” Willis said. As a former Senior Research Engineer at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, Willis spent much of her time researching California rivers to inform statewide water management. … ” Read more from Cal Trout here: Voices of Klamath River watershed: Dr. Ann Willis
The Fixer, Sean Earley
“The sight of cigarette smoke spiraling upward toward the porch ceiling is an image Sean Earley will never forget. In the scene, his grandfather is leaning back on the wood bench resigned to his sweat-drenched plaid shirt and dirt-caked boots, all in an effort to locate a moment of peace before the sun falls below the horizon. Even as a teenager, Sean knew there weren’t enough Marlboro Reds to settle his grandfather’s anxiety of making ends meet. As a farmer tending to several hundred acres in the belly of the Central Valley those meditative sessions did little to reduce his grandfather’s fears and typically led to sleepless nights for more than 50 years. An all-too-common occurrence for farming families. Somehow, these daily rituals did not dissuade Sean from pursuing a career in agriculture. As a high school graduate, Sean was working part time for his family laying irrigation lines. It was extremely hard work, and the pay was awful, but the meals with family made it worth it. … ” Read more from the Northern California Water Association here: The Fixer, Sean Earley
Retired Army general and Bruin engineer takes helm of Yorba Linda Water District
“Over his decorated 35-year career in the United States Army, Major General R. Mark Toy, M.S. ‘96 has served the country in active combat zones and overseen its Corps of Engineers’ massive water resources before retiring from the Army July 1. When presented with the opportunity to return to his Southern California roots to help solve one of the state’s most pressing challenges, however, the two-star veteran could not say no. A Bruin engineer with a master’s degree in environmental engineering, Toy served as the chief of staff of the United Nations Command in South Korea from August 2020 to April 2022 following his role as the commanding general of the Mississippi Valley Division from August 2019 to June 2020. The two posts mark the culmination of his decades long Army career that saw him move 20 times, including his deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia-Herzegovina. … ” Read more from UCLA Sameuli School of Engineering here: Retired Army general and Bruin engineer takes helm of Yorba Linda Water District
Appointment: Sabrina Ashjian, 43, of Camarillo, has been appointed to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.
From the Office of the Governor: Ashjian has been a Clinical Supervising Attorney in the Environmental Law Clinic at the University of California, Berkeley since 2021. She was California State Director of the Humane Society of the U.S. from 2019 to 2021 and Chairperson of the Cannabis Control Appeals Panel from 2018 to 2019. She was a Deputy District Attorney at the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office in the Consumer Fraud and Environmental Protection Unit from 2015 to 2018, an Associate at Stammer, McKnight, Barnum and Bailey LLP from 2014 to 2015 and a Public Defender at the Fresno County Public Defender’s Office from 2010 to 2014. Ashjian was an Attorney at the Amin Law Group Ltd. from 2009 to 2010. Ashjian is a board member of the American Red Cross Pacific Coast Region, National Women’s Political Caucus, California Lawyers Association Environmental Law Section, Emerge California and California Women Lead. Ashjian earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Pepperdine University School of Law, a Master of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Southern California and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Pepperdine University Business School. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $250 per diem. Ashjian is a Democrat.
How Angela DePalma-Dow, an MSU alum, is helping California navigate its water crisis
“Under normal circumstances, feeding a nation and supplying 40 million people with water is challenging enough, but California is currently in one of the longest and most severe droughts in state history. Not only do people need water, but they also need clean water. In an era of water scarcity, issues surrounding water quality can easily fall behind the focus of water quantity. Nonetheless, the ability of water managers to maintain clean water can become even more important when water supplies are stretched thin. Angela DePalma-Dow, a recent graduate of MSU with a master’s degree in Fisheries and Wildlife, has helped manage Clear Lake in Lake County, California since early 2018. Located about 120 miles north of San Francisco, Clear Lake is California’s largest naturally formed freshwater lake – Lake Tahoe is larger, but is shared with Nevada. … ” Read more from Michigan Sate University here: How Angela DePalma-Dow, an MSU alum, is helping California navigate its water crisis
Sunday reads …
Book review: The Coasts of California: A California Field Atlas, by Obi Kaufmann
Cameron Walker writes, “Last summer, my family and I drove out of my beloved home state of California for a road trip across the Southwest. Everyone groaned when I showed them the stack of road atlases I’d bought for the trip, each of them almost as big as a bed pillow—a very, very thin bed pillow. I didn’t care. They could use Google Maps all they wanted, but looking at the small square of a map on a phone makes me carsick. And it’s not only the queasiness that gets to me—finding my way by phone across such a vast landscape feels myopic. I wanted a wider view that showed me the mountains we passed, the rivers we crossed. A map that could take me through not only space, but time, so that I could understand how the places that we moved through came to be. In his most recent book, The Coasts of California: A California Field Atlas, naturalist, writer, and illustrator Obi Kaufmann has created a distinctive, generously-sized guide to California that provides the kind of view I seek. … ” Read more from Terrain.org here: Book review: The Coasts of California: A California Field Atlas, by Obi Kaufmann
Podcasts …
WATER IS A MANY SPLENDOR’ED THING: A Respect for Water
Water is life to the Winnemem Wintu People; from the beginning of mankind’s time on Earth to the future that is yet to be revealed. Chief Caleen Sisk describes the meaning of water and how their ceremonies support the People and the Earth. Water is a Many Splendor’ed Thing brings you another water relationship that has a personally significant impact to your life. Produced by Steven Baker, Bringing People Together to Solve Water Problems, water@operationunite.co 530-205-6388
VIC BEDOIAN: Wildfires, Climate And The Future Of Giant Sequoias
Devastating wildfires have swept through last remaining giant sequoia forests over the past few years. They’ve burnt through hundreds of thousands of acres of the sequoia ecosystem. Scientists are still determining the scope of the impacts on sequoia groves now and park managers are rethinking the fate of the giant sequoia ecosystem in the future. Two fires this year captured the world’s attention, focusing on the special place they hold in the collective imagination.
This program is a journey into giant sequoia world, their history and what fate may have in store for them. We’ll take that journey through the voices of three people whose professional lives have been deeply intertwined with the iconic monarchs.
In regional water news this weekend …
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
El Dorado Irrigation District water supplies up
“While work continues on a small but challenging flume section of the 22-mile El Dorado Canal, rain and snow have improved potential water supplies. El Dorado Irrigation District Operations Manager Dan Corcoran told water agency directors Dec. 12, “The snowpack looks really good.” Meanwhile the California State Water Resources Control Board has lifted all water curtailments and plenty of water is available now for Outingdale through its rebuilt diversion dam, new pump and fairly new water tank. … ” Read more from the Mountain Democrat here: Water supplies up
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Woodland City Council authorizes $3.75 million grant application to improve water resiliency
“The Woodland City Council adopted a resolution authorizing a grant application for $3.75 million in funding for its Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) program, which helps improve short-term drought resiliency and long-term water supply reliability by storing treated Sacramento River water. The grant application will be sent to the California Water Resources Control Board’s Department of Water Resources funding program for Urban Project Drought Relief. The program offers $190,000,000 for urban water systems including Woodland’s and city staff has already executed an agreement for $15,000 with Luhdorff & Scalmanini Consulting Engineers to prepare the grant application. According to the city staff report, funds received from the grant will be used to create a fourth ASR well by 2025, which will help improve the water system’s reliability and accommodate for growth in the city. … ” Continue reading at the Woodland Daily Democrat here: Woodland City Council authorizes $3.75 million grant application to improve water resiliency
BAY AREA
New Marin Municipal Water District board takes look at supply options
“The newly reorganized Marin Municipal Water District board began its review of potential supply options this week for the first time since voters elected a majority that campaigned on the issue. The district, which serves 191,000 residents in central and southern Marin, began studying new water supplies in March after the prospect last year of depleting local reservoirs as soon as mid-2022. In November, voters elected three new board members who ran campaigns promising to bolster the district’s two-year water supply and criticizing longtime incumbents for failing to prepare for the drought emergency. In its regular meeting on Tuesday, the board was presented with four portfolios of water supply options that will be tested against different drought scenarios of varying intensities. … ” Read more from the Marin Independent Journal here: New Marin Municipal Water District board takes look at supply options
EASTERN SIERRA
Desert groundwater agency mulls how to get water from San Joaquin Valley
“A high-desert groundwater agency in eastern Kern County that’s in the midst of buying water from Kings County in the San Joaquin Valley, recently considered alternatives for how to actually get that water up and over the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority, which covers the Ridgecrest area, got updates on three potential pipeline alignments at its Dec. 14 meeting. No decisions were made at the meeting but the clock is ticking for the board to use a $7.6 million grant from the state Department of Water Resources toward the pipeline study and alignment adoption. ... ” Read more from SJV Water here: Desert groundwater agency mulls how to get water from San Joaquin Valley
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
LA River: Using fossils to bring a river covered in concrete back to life
“It’s called the Los Angeles River but it’s really a 51-mile stretch of concrete. In the 1930s the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started lining the waterway to limit the risk of flooding in the rapidly growing city. Now work is underway to make the river more like what it once was. In a segment called the Bowtie parcel, scientists are seeking to transform what was once a busy rail yard into a place where life can thrive again, and where people can go and enjoy nature. “The hardest thing is to see something that isn’t there, so you need to help make the invisible visible,” said Lewis MacAdams, a poet and activist for bringing nature back to the L.A. River, before he died in 2020. He shared that idea with Kat Superfisky, an urban ecologist with the City of Los Angeles who works on the river. But when so much of the life that existed along the river was erased long ago by concrete, how do you make the invisible visible? Part of the answer involves studying organisms that died within the past 60,000 years or so. … ” Read more from the New York Times here: LA River: Using fossils to bring a river covered in concrete back to life
Water recycling sites to help with drought crisis
“The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) has declared an emergency for all of southern California. The MWD, which provides water to 20 million people in southern California, says unless we get a very wet winter, we could see mandatory cuts backs in just a few months. “It’s our showers, brushing our teeth, it’s washing our face ” Liliana Garcia, Van Nuys resident. Garcia uses a water recycling site in her Van Nuys neighborhood to help conserve water. … ” Read more from CBS News here: Water recycling sites to help with drought crisis
The toxic truth of L.A.’s stormwater sewer system
“In a region that lauds itself as a bastion of environmental progress, the 100 billion gallons of polluted runoff that flows out of storm drains annually is Los Angeles’ dirty secret. When rain water hits L.A.’s largely impervious landscape it drains into run-off channels that criss-cross through the county accumulating a toxic slew of chemicals, oil, fertilizer, trash, hard metals, and bacteria before entering a storm drain and spewing out into the ocean. Over 30 billion gallons of this polluted mixture exits through 200 drains into the Santa Monica Bay each year, according to LA Sanitation & Environment. This watershed incorporates 55 miles of coastline, but several key drains are located in the City of Santa Monica, including the Pico-Kenter Storm Drain and the Pier Storm Drain. … ” Read more from the Santa Monica Daily Press here: The toxic truth of L.A.’s stormwater sewer system
SAN DIEGO
Water Authority board oks $274 million upgrade of desal plant to protect marine life
“The San Diego County Water Authority‘s board has unanimously approved $275 million in upgrades to the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant to protect marine life. New seawater intake and discharge facilities have been in the plans since construction of the plant began a decade ago. Originally the plant shared intake with the nearby Encino generating station, but that has since been dismantled. The project will take approximately two years and could require the plant to shut down for up to six weeks. The wholesale cost of water produced by the plant will rise by 30% over a four-year period to pay for the upgrades. … ” Read more from the Times of San Diego here: Water Authority board oks $274 million upgrade of desal plant to protect marine life
Along the Colorado River …
Disaster scenarios raise the stakes for Colorado River negotiations
“The water managers responsible for divvying up the Colorado River’s dwindling supply are painting a bleak portrait of a river in crisis, warning that unprecedented shortages could be coming to farms and cities in the West and that old rules governing how water is shared will have to change. State and federal authorities say that years of overconsumption are colliding with the stark realities of climate change, pushing Colorado River reservoirs to such dangerously low levels that the major dams on the river could soon become obstacles to delivering water to millions in the Southwest. The federal government has called on the seven Western states that rely on Colorado River water to cut usage by 2 to 4 million acre-feet — up to a third of the river’s annual average flow — to try to avoid such dire outcomes. But the states have so far failed to reach a voluntary agreement on how to make that happen, and the Interior Department may impose unilateral cuts in coming months. Many state water officials fear they are already running out of time. … ” Read more from the Washington Post here (gift article): Disaster scenarios raise the stakes for Colorado River negotiations
Federal officials say urgent action needed to protect shrinking Colorado River reservoirs
“With Colorado River reservoirs nearing dangerously low levels, the federal government has given basin states a Jan. 31 deadline to negotiate major water cuts and stave off a possible collapse in supplies. Speaking at a conference in Las Vegas, federal officials told water managers from the seven states that rely on the river that they will weigh immediate options next year to protect water levels in depleted reservoirs, and that the region must be prepared for the river to permanently yield less water because of climate change. “The hotter, drier conditions that we face today are not temporary. Climate change is here today and has made it likely that we will continue to see conditions like this, if not worse, in the future,” said Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: Federal officials say urgent action needed to protect shrinking Colorado River reservoirs
‘Everything all at once, yesterday:’ Takeaways from a Colorado River gathering
““Everything all at once, yesterday.” That’s how a federal water manager described dealing with the Colorado River at a conference of water users in Las Vegas this week. The river faces a crisis fueled by overuse and amplified by climate change — and as Wayne Pullan, the upper Colorado River regional director for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation stated, officials are taking an all-hands approach. “We joke within the region that we’re going to change our slogan” to the Latin phrase for “everything all at once, yesterday,” Pullan said during a meeting Wednesday. The conference comes on the precipice of action as federal water managers with the bureau continue to push Colorado River users to cut back and put forward a set of consensus-based policies to start stabilizing the river’s quickly declining storage reservoirs in a matter of months. … ” Read more from the Nevada Independent here: ‘Everything all at once, yesterday:’ Takeaways from a Colorado River gathering
‘This is going to be painful’: States are on the clock for big Colorado River cutbacks
“The seven states that share the Colorado River are racing to craft a new water conservation plan this winter, before federal officials who operate the dams impose one on them. Whatever they face, whether by consensus or by order of U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the people responsible for supplying 40 million Western residents with water will have to cut more this year than they’ve saved over 20 drought years of negotiations, squabbles and collaborations. “Do the math and face reality,” Southern Nevada Water Authority General Manager John Enstminger told his colleagues Thursday at an annual gathering of the Colorado River Water Users Association. … ” Read more from the Arizona Republic here: ‘This is going to be painful’: States are on the clock for big Colorado River cutbacks
Conferees in Las Vegas told Colo. River action ‘absolutely critical’
“The first weeks of 2023 will be crucial for Southwest U.S. states and water entities to agree how to use less water from the drought-stricken and fast-shrinking Colorado River, a top federal water manager said Friday. “The coming three months are absolutely critical,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Interior Tommy Beaudreau told the Colorado River Users Association conferees ending three-day annual meetings in Las Vegas. “To be clear, the challenge is extraordinary,” Beaudreau said of a withering two-decade Western drought that scientists now attribute to long-term, human-caused climate change. “The science tells us it’s our new reality.” … ” Read more from the Las Vegas Sun here: Conferees in Las Vegas told Colo. River action ‘absolutely critical’
What we learned about the Colorado River crisis at the annual Las Vegas convention
“First, the good news: Las Vegas hasn’t changed much in recent decades. You can still catch Wayne Newton in concert (though, he doesn’t look so great these days), you can still smoke indoors and you’ll still be harassed on the Strip by locals who want your money. Okay, now the bad news: Las Vegas is in trouble and so is everybody else who lives in the Colorado River Basin, some 40 million people. The river is drying up and nothing state and federal officials have done so far is enough to stop an impending crash. So far solutions are few and far between. This week some of the best minds looking for a way to avoid disaster flew into Las Vegas for the annual Colorado River Water Users Convention and for the most part, little new information emerged. Water managers, politicians, scientists and business officials hashed and rehashed what most of them already knew. With the receptions, raffles and wine tastings throughout Caesar’s Palace, the occasion drew at least a few comparisons of the Roman emperor Nero fiddling while Rome burned. … ” Read more from the Denver Post here: What we learned about the Colorado River crisis at the annual Las Vegas convention
Arizona: Our water future: We’ll pay more and use much less. Here’s how
“Something’s got to give. As Colorado River water grows increasingly scarce over the next 30 years, we in the Southwest could be using as little water every day as drought-stricken Sydney, Australia, uses today. Even in 5 to 10 years, we’re likely to pay 60% more than now to bring Central Arizona Project water from the river to Tucson. Food prices are likely to be higher and crop production lower in the Southwest. City residents will keep installing more efficient toilets, faucets, shower heads and other indoor plumbing fixtures, while lawns will be increasingly scarce across the region. … ” Read more from the Arizona Republic here: Arizona: Our water future: We’ll pay more and use much less. Here’s how
Arizona: WIFA may fast-track desalination plant, ‘large expenditure of taxpayer dollars’ without public comment, lawmakers say
“Arizona water experts have been talking about converting seawater into drinkable water in the abstract, with no timeline for when the theoretical new source of water would become a reality. That reality got a lot closer suddenly on Friday when lawmakers announced a state water authority was trying to fast-track millions in taxpayer funding for a desalination plant without the chance for public comment. Desalination is the process in which salt is removed from seawater. “The Legislature has learned of a rushed movement by the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority to provide preliminary approval of a large expenditure of taxpayer dollars on a desalination plant proposal without an appropriate opportunity for public discussion and comment,” Kim Quintero, director of communications for Arizona State Senate Republicans, said in an email to media Friday. … ” Read more from Channel 12 here: Arizona: WIFA may fast-track desalination plant, ‘large expenditure of taxpayer dollars’ without public comment, lawmakers say
In national water news this weekend …
When climate adaptation backfires
“Around the world, people are building levees, shoring up dams, digging canals and constructing infrastructure to confront the impacts of climate change. Most of these investments will likely save countless lives and protect property, but some will inadvertently add to the problems they are trying to address. Experts call this phenomenon maladaptation. It generally refers to a protection effort against the impacts of climate change that backfires and increases vulnerabilities. For years, maladaptation was given short shrift as research and policy prioritized mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. Now, with the world lagging utterly behind that effort — in the U.S. alone, reports in 2022 showed that global warming could cost $2 trillion by 2100 — adaptation and its hazards are getting a hard look. … ” Read more from Discover Magazine here: When climate adaptation backfires
Also on Maven’s Notebook this weekend …
SAN JOAQUIN RIVER RESTORATION PROGRAM increases Restoration Flows during winter
NEW RESOURCE: Drought Resilient Communities Toolkit
DELTA STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL: Notice of Modification of Delta Levee Investment Strategy Economic and Fiscal Impact Statement
NOTICE: Participatory Science/Remote Sensing/Wetlands Workshop on January 9
